Lens/Flash Suggestion for Nighttime Flag Football Game

bandgeekndb

Hello everyone! First off, I want it to be noted, I did try the search function first, just didn't find too much. Just shoot me if it was bad keywords or I'm blind...god knows why I'm up at this hour!

Anyway, in November, I'll be shooting a flag football game played by a bunch of my college buddies. Big game for us, it's a yearly tradition. I haven't been given a time yet, but it's been afternoon to evening for the longest time and I doubt they'd change, but feel free to suggest ideas for any time of the day!

I will be using my trusty D40 to catch the action, and tentatively, I'll be borrowing a 70-200 VR f2.8 from borrowlenses.com for the week.

1. First, is this the best idea for a lens? It seems to be the de facto standard for sports photography, especially at night, but I don't want to spend the money for nothing.
2. Second, what is the best suggestion for a flash (flash prohibition won't be a problem here)? I was thinking of renting a SB-400/600/800 depending on what I would need. Any reason why I would need more than the 400?
3. Third, if there is anyone in the middle NJ area that has it in their heart to loan out either lens/flash or both, please PM me! I am a VERY trustworthy college student who would rather not pay the $100 to rent said equipment from BL, since college eats up almost all of my photography budget! I would even be willing to pay part of BL's price if that would make a potential loaner interested.

Well, I know #3 is a long shot, since I haven't met anyone here in real life and I'm sure everyone here is as protective of their equipment as I am, but it's worth a shot, right? People here seem REALLY nice!

Sorry for the long post, hope to hear some answers! Thanks for listening!

~Nick

aktse

bandgeekndb wrote:

Hello everyone! First off, I want it to be noted, I did try the search function first, just didn't find too much. Just shoot me if it was bad keywords or I'm blind...god knows why I'm up at this hour!

Sorry. Blind. -- just search night football Did you try the advance search?
http://dgrin.com/search.php?searchid=1238087

And I believe there were people asking this exact same questions a few days ago.

And for night time sports flash, look at the rwells tutorial.

bandgeekndb

aktse wrote:

Sorry. Blind. -- just search night football Did you try the advance search?
http://dgrin.com/search.php?searchid=1238087

And I believe there were people asking this exact same questions a few days ago.

And for night time sports flash, look at the rwells tutorial.

Well, clicking on the search link says "No Matches Found. Try different terms."

I did use advance search, just nothing with a really definitive answer, which is why I posted. Trust me, I am one who hates reposts when search will find you the answer.

And I like the rwells tutorial, but I need a flash unit to use with that tutorial, so I am looking for a suggestion. Thanks!

~Nick

bobcool

If this is such an important annual event for you and your buddies, you should ask them to chip in so you can rent the right lens and flash.

Rent the 70-200 2.8 VR and an SB-800 - that's all you should need since you'll be able to get close to the action.

bandgeekndb

bobcool wrote:

If this is such an important annual event for you and your buddies, you should ask them to chip in so you can rent the right lens and flash.

Rent the 70-200 2.8 VR and an SB-800 - that's all you should need since you'll be able to get close to the action.

I agree with your idea...I wasn't sure about pitching the idea to them, but I'll see. Maybe that will decide whether I'm going to do this shoot, who knows.

Either way, thanks for the advice, it is much appreciated. I had heard a lot of nice things about the 70-200 f2.8, but nothing about what flash to go with it. I'm gonna have to be creative though to rig my monopod like rwells did.

Thanks!

aktse

bandgeekndb wrote:

Well, clicking on the search link says "No Matches Found. Try different terms."

I did use advance search, just nothing with a really definitive answer, which is why I posted. Trust me, I am one who hates reposts when search will find you the answer.

And I like the rwells tutorial, but I need a flash unit to use with that tutorial, so I am looking for a suggestion. Thanks!

~Nick

Oops: try these: Most of your first answers in the first part of your question can be found by going through threads in search. And as a added bonus, you get tips on shooting night sports too.

http://dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=106206&highlight=night+football
http://dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=105642&highlight=night+football
http://dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=104256&highlight=night+football
http://dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=88437&highlight=night+football
http://dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=71700&highlight=night+football
http://dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=45140&highlight=night+football
http://dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=44716&highlight=night+football


In general, from those threads most people are using the 70-200 + longer longer lenses -- 300mm, 400mm, 500mm. 200 mm gives you about a 20-30 yards of reach. You just have to know where you can shoot with the 70-200. The other option is the siggy 120-300mm, but most people want that on a monopod. I hand hold it, but I'm used to the weight.

Search is your friend.

As for the flash. do another search. In general, more expensive ones has more bells and whistles, have more output juice, more controls, etc. What's the best flash? The flash that you have and actually use.

bandgeekndb

Wow...time to get my "legally blind" card from the doctor!

aktse, thanks for taking the time to grab those links for me. Next time, I'll dig a little deeper into the advanced search results, because I don't remember reading seeing those threads when I searched "night football."

Based on some suggestion, I'm going to go with the 70-200 on a monopod, and I'm going to have to work with an SB-800 flash mounted to the hotshoe. Since I'm not purchasing this equipment, it's silly for me to try to get the accessories needed for this now. If I ever do this more than once or twice a year, I'll look into making the permanent investment.

Now, the grueling task of going over tons of pictures and figuring out what to shoot when in the game (I know a decent bit of football, but I can't say I understand every play. I might need an assistant here)!

Thank you to everyone that has replied, I look forward to coming back in November with some great shots. My goal now is to learn as much technique as I can so I'm ready to go when the equipment gets here!

~Nick

ian408

You may want to consider the option of mountain the flash under the camera. In either case, there are some issues with shadows. You would need some additional hardware to more than mount the flash to the shoe.

bandgeekndb

Well, if I can be creative enough to make (or someone here can recommend) a cheap (preferably free or under $5) solution to the problem, I'll certainly try it.

I'm thinking I'll try to find a cheap Nikon flash cable, then find a "creative" way to attach the flash to the monopod. Since it'll be rented equipment, I probably shouldn't use duct tape, and I want to make sure it's secure!

Thanks!

rockcanyonphotos

bandgeekndb wrote:

Well, if I can be creative enough to make (or someone here can recommend) a cheap (preferably free or under $5) solution to the problem, I'll certainly try it.

Here is how I did it:

Went to home Depot. Bought the following:

1) Hose clamp (thin metal loop that adjusts its size with a set screw) the type you would use to hold a radiator hose on with.

2) L-bracket (about 3" long per side with multiple holes in it to mount your flash)


Place the L-bracket where you want to mount the flash on your monopod and then tighten it down with the hose clamp...might want to use 2 clamps)

Attach your flash chord to the L-bracket, mount your flash and ... ta, da!!

then all you have to do is figure out the right distance down your monopod... I would start with full the full length of your flash chord and adjust from there.

fit's the $5 requirement and worked great for me the 2 season's I used it.

regards, kevin

bandgeekndb

Alright, now I think I've truly done my job of searching for this (it's hard when the keyword "d40" isn't long enough to search on!). Now, I'm afraid that my D40 isn't enough of a camera body for catching these pictures. I have no interest in renting a camera or buying a new one, but I don't want to have friends drop this money into a rental only to find out my camera just isn't up to snuff.

I plan on shooting with my 18-55 on every setting i've read on these boards to find what works best, but somehow I have a feeling I'm going to be very busy the first few days this lens and flash come in if I decide to get them. Luckily, I have a pretty decent knowledge of football and I've got a buddy or two that have offered to coach me through a few practices of what shots they'd like and where the action tends to be.

With only 6mp, does the D40 have enough pixels, etc. to work with in post-processing? And at High ISO, since performance is nowhere near upper level cameras like the D700, etc., am I going to have to a lot of work in PS?

Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to answer my very newbie-ish questions, but I know you guys and gals are some of the best, so who better to ask!

~Nick