Second Trip to the Diamond

[LSCSN.com]

Well timing is still WAY off for the spring sports .

Here are a couple from a 22-4 whooping.

[Mongo]

Id say the timing was pretty good on #2 there Jason. Nice shots!

[LSCSN.com]

Yeah but the problem was all the shots it took me to get that one :-).

[dmcantrell]

That's cool that you can see the bend of the bat. Neat work.

[LSCSN.com]

You can see some pretty big bends in the softball bats of some of the players. I was pretty amazed when I first saw that.

[MT Stringer]

They look good to me. The last time I drove by the school I noticed they had been doing some upgrades to the baseball field. Last game I shot there, it looked like a cow pasture with a backstop! :-)

[jefft]

I like them both, thanks for sharing.

[GUER03]

Hey Jason good start I like both of them as well.

Play ball!

[andyz]

For the baseball shooters, especially shots like the batter, is that just getting your timing down, or 10 fps and hope for the best?

I'm guessing folks like me cheat with the latter and the experienced folks the former. Which makes me ask, how long does that skill take and are there any tricks?

[Matt_G]

Because of the speed of the bat and ball and the amount of time the ball is actually in the frame the only real way to get consistent results is with timing.

The trick is to read the batter... they let you know when they are going to swing. I have found the older the kids the easier it is to time beacuse the clues the players give.

[MT Stringer]

I try to make the first shot count, then shoot through the swing. Timing is so-so so far this season. :-(
Mike

[Matt_G]

It is very hard to get only one shot off with the Mark III on high speed burst.. usually I take 2 shot burst and would say about 70% of the time the first shot is the keeper..however the other 30% make the burst very useful.

I rarley EVER use more than 3-4 shots in a burst. Its not how many shots the camera can burst that matter to met but instead how fast the first 2-4 are taken. I would gladly give up my "10 shot" burst for "20 frames per second...even if it only lasted for only 3-5 clicks" ...does that make sense??

[LSCSN.com]

Agreed that it is a timing thing. And I completely agree that the older and more experienced the player is the easier it is to get a BOB shot. When I shot college baseball I got a LOT more shots that were either BOB or really close.

I probably use up a lot more shots than Matt because I haven't figured out the clues as to when a player is going to swing or not. I'm not as bad as I used to be, so I have gotten better, but if someone wanted to know what the clues were that made me shoot and not shoot I couldn't tell you. Not because I don't want to, but because I just have no clue.

There's just something that says shoot and something that says don't shoot. That probably sounds corny, but hey I'm just a corny kinda guy.

One trick that folks have shared with me is to shoot with both eyes open. You use your right eye to look into the lens and get the camera focus ready, but you use your left eye to actually focus physically on the batter which is said to help with timing.

Some days it helps me and other days I can't seem to focus with my left eye on the batter. Like I said I'm just a corny kinda guy.

[John Godwin]

From my limited experience a whole lot of timing and a little bit luck are what is necessary.

I watch for the hands in a lot of cases, other times it is a slight hitch in their get along and sometimes their feet are a give away.

In all cases you have to have your timing such that when you press the shutter the ball will be in the proper location. If my math is correct a 95 MPH fastball travels about 1.39 feet in 10 milliseconds. Which means even in a 10 fps camera the ball will move 13.9 feet between frames. Good luck with that getting the ball on the bat!!!

[Matt_G]

Exactly Jason..cant quite explain what I see but I see something... I played baseball up until junior year of college and that expereince helps me with baseball. Both eyes open is crucial..not only for helping to time but also when its fouled at you its easier to pick up the ball and dodge. I am very good doing this with my right eye in the viewfinder...however not so good the other way. And depending on where/what your shooting, being able to use both really helps.

and luck helps a lot too.. if they are slightly "behind" or "in front" of the pitch it is easily out of frame...of course those usually arent the best swings anyway.

For what its worth I prefer the "pose" after the swing much more as it often highlights action and a good face shot. Something like this...