Friday, November 2, 2007

Help !!!!

Ok, was taking pics at volleyball last night and I am SO frustrated!!! I got NOTHING usable during the game and afterwards the team got together to do a team pic with a lot of parents taking shots. I didn't have time to switch lenses so those aren't great either. I have had such a hard time with focus 'issues' and I'm still trying to figure out what's going on. I am more than willing to admit user error, but I just want to figure it out so I can fix it! I'm not even sure whether it's a focus problem or noise....or both. So, I am posting 2 pics and I really want you gals to help me here.....PLEASE.





First is the during the frosh game, I really thought I had nailed this one (and I cropped it to get closer to the writing on the ball) when I looked at it in the LCD screen (I should know better than to trust that little pic!). But it looks lousy now...seems OOF to me but pretty noisy too, not to mention the lighting is off (not only is the lighting yellow, the gym is painted yellow).



The second shot is after the team shot, I zoomed in to get a few close-ups.
Both were shot at ISO3200, ss250, f4 and have been sharpened for web.

I am almost embarrassed to post the first pic because it's the best action shot I got all night, the only decent shots at all were of the girls setting up (in other words- not moving)
Nothing I got last night with this lens seems sharp...or maybe it's just the noise from having to use 3600ISO. Can anyone of you wonderful, talented, generous, gifted (sucked up enuf?) gals enlighten me here?

4 comments:

Cindy Shaver said...

Meg, What lens are you using? Were you able to stand close to the court? If you have the 50mm 1.8 or 1.4 lens you'll get the best pics with those by standing just behind the upref.

If you are shooting from the balcony or bleachers, then you'll need a 70-200 2.8 or a 105 2.8, possibly the 85 mm would work well.

Volleyball, as with any sport, is hard if you aren't familiar with the game and can't predict the action.

Do you have any type of noiseware? IF not, you can download a free version that works pretty well - Noiseware Community Edition. I used it for nighttime soccer last week on images that were shoot with a high ISO and noisy. It worked great on the default settings.

With volleyball - take A LOT and you'll get a few.

Maureen said...

thanks Cindy...I have a Canon 70-200mm 2.8 and I usually stand right next to the officials stand. And I absolutely can't predict the action and will willingly admit that. But I just can't seem to get the focus to stick on these and even the ones that seem sharp aren't tack sharp by any means.
I'm most disappointed in the close-up tho, I love those kinds of shots and they all seem soft (and yellow) I definitely need to get noiseware... maybe it will help...some :)

Cindy Shaver said...

I'd think standing that close to the court you'll need to use a wider lens. Do you have the 50mm? If not, stand at the corner of the court, behind a line judge or something - just don't get in the way of play because it extends well beyond the court.

Until you learn the game, here's a tip that might help. At this age, the serve will usually go to the back row, so be focused there for serves. Second ball hit will go to the front row and should stay there - so be ready for that.

Maureen said...

thanks SO much Cindy, I'm going to try another lens at the next game. And thanks for the tips on what to look for, it's a harder game to shoot than I thought it would be.

...but I still have the issue of why this particular lens doesn't seem to be as sharp as it should be...boo hoo