The Perfect Baseball Picture.....is wanted

Kagan

A question for the baseball shooters out there-who remember what its like to have a cameral with no lense assortment. I am shooting in super bright light. Settings are usually around 3.1 AP with shutter speed anywhere from 1/2500 up to 1/4000-I cant seem to beat the blur-I am having a horrible time getting super sharp pictures. I am using a Fuji S700 so ISO options are 200,400,800 or Auto. It also takes awhile to focus so i have been trying to focus where they will be running to when rounding bases and let them run into the picture so to speak. I have tried bursts of continuous shots but this also results in blur. It shoots 2-3 fps. I have decided to try a tripod for next game to minimize my motion but I am still stumped. Should I start with getting a camera suited to what I want to do? :dunno Or is it the operator? :scratch I am looking this summer to get a new camera (20d possibly-I want something for just this venture-shooting team school sports) but I want to be able to justify the added expense in my head. If its me, I am still going to have blurred pics with a more expensive camera. If I get a new camera and the pics are super sharp....Then the wife will be much much more understanding! HELP!

ian408

Kagan wrote:

A question for the baseball shooters out there-who remember what its like to have a cameral with no lense assortment. I am shooting in super bright light. Settings are usually around 3.1 AP with shutter speed anywhere from 1/2500 up to 1/4000-I cant seem to beat the blur-I am having a horrible time getting super sharp pictures. I am using a Fuji S700 so ISO options are 200,400,800 or Auto. It also takes awhile to focus so i have been trying to focus where they will be running to when rounding bases and let them run into the picture so to speak. I have tried bursts of continuous shots but this also results in blur. It shoots 2-3 fps. I have decided to try a tripod for next game to minimize my motion but I am still stumped. Should I start with getting a camera suited to what I want to do? Or is it the operator? I am looking this summer to get a new camera (20d possibly-I want something for just this venture-shooting team school sports) but I want to be able to justify the added expense in my head. If its me, I am still going to have blurred pics with a more expensive camera. If I get a new camera and the pics are super sharp....Then the wife will be much much more understanding! HELP!

Can you post a couple of examples? That'd be a big help.

On the surface, it sounds like shutter lag. Meaning that even though
you've pre-focused (are you using manual focus?), the player's moved
beyond your pre-focus spot because the shutter fires a moment after
you release it.

Your shutter speeds are fast enough to catch the action. You've addressed
another possible cause and that's camera shake. Sometimes, the act of
pressing the shutter button can cause it. In my case, it's too much caffeine

Do post an example and hopefully, we can be of more help.

Ian

Kagan

ian408 wrote:

Can you post a couple of examples? That'd be a big help.

On the surface, it sounds like shutter lag. Meaning that even though
you've pre-focused (are you using manual focus?), the player's moved
beyond your pre-focus spot because the shutter fires a moment after
you release it.

Your shutter speeds are fast enough to catch the action. You've addressed
another possible cause and that's camera shake. Sometimes, the act of
pressing the shutter button can cause it. In my case, it's too much caffeine

Do post an example and hopefully, we can be of more help.

Ian

Actually was using Auto-Focus-was just holding shutter down before they got to the spot and then releasing-might be the problem you think?

Kagan

Also occured to me-to get as close as I did-was using every bit of zoom that the camera had, optical and digital. Part of the problem perhaps?

ian408

In your example, it looks like the focus point is not the
player but something in the background.

Ian

Kagan

ian408 wrote:

In your example, it looks like the focus point is not the
player but something in the background.

Ian

I will work on that this week then and make sure that and camera shake is not the problem. Thanks Ian!

ChrisJ

See if you have a spot focusing option, too. That can help with autofocusing on a standout object (like cute little ballplayers!).

Kagan

Thanks Chris-Tonight is practice so I will have a chance to practice right along with them and wont matter(as much) if I mess up a few shots. Thanks again to all for the help!

95Mcaj wrote:

See if you have a spot focusing option, too. That can help with autofocusing on a standout object (like cute little ballplayers!).

Creativesifu

Beginning Shooting Sports

Kagan wrote:

Thanks Chris-Tonight is practice so I will have a chance to practice right along with them and wont matter(as much) if I mess up a few shots. Thanks again to all for the help!

1. Buy a monopod, it is cheaper than a tripod and willl allow you to move more rapidly if the ball/player is coming towards you.

2. Having a digital rebel which is also slow to focus (warm-up time & shutter lag) you have to plan you shot and time your shot. It took me half a season to get my timing down.

3. Increase the number of shots per game. When I first started I did 50 pics a game, now I do 400-500 per game. Shoot till you have blisters; I mean hey your digital.

4. Get the most of your present camera before you move up. Remember good technique will help you take better photos, better equipment will not help you take better photos if you have bad technique.

5. Take a photography class at a local college. That way you can interact with other new shooters. It helped me tremendously.

If you have the money buy a 20D, I will be buying one as soon as I make enough money selling photos with what I have.

wxwax

It's not camera shake, not at those shutter speeds.

It's the slowness of your camera. Its autofocus isn't quick enough to keep up with sports. And its shutter lag means it's very hard for you to prefocus on a spot and get the player in that spot.

Since you're shooting in bright light, I'd suggest using the smallest aperature you can, in order to increase your depth of field. I would not use the digital zoom - better to crop afterwards. And I would prefocus on a spot on the ground that the player will cross. Then I'd hold the button half-down, to retain that focus, and try to time the shutter release for when you think the player will be at your chosen spot.

But it's a heckuva challenge with your camera. This is one area where a dslr really make a huge difference, with its non-existent shutter lag and better autofocus.

Kagan

I took this picture behind 3rd about 10 feet away, while toying with settings. It is much sharper than anything else I have taken. I used the tripod and raised it up over the fence. I took absolutely great pictures with it of them when that close. Anything farther away was a wash. I tried some shots of runners going to third, even at their slow speeds the camera focus was NOT keeping up. I even tried your suggestion on the off chance it might help-Im glad to see it was the right idea-unfortunately it helped but little. Anything farther away than that lad was pretty grainy and utterly worthless quality wise. Great lil pics of the kids having fun but hardly anything to be bragging about. I guess this helps confirm what I was wondering. I have a post going in the pro section about what camera to buy with a dollar amount posted. And what lenses that are must haves. Thanks alot!

wxwax wrote:

It's not camera shake, not at those shutter speeds.

It's the slowness of your camera. Its autofocus isn't quick enough to keep up with sports. And its shutter lag means it's very hard for you to prefocus on a spot and get the player in that spot.

Since you're shooting in bright light, I'd suggest using the smallest aperature you can, in order to increase your depth of field. I would not use the digital zoom - better to crop afterwards. And I would prefocus on a spot on the ground that the player will cross. Then I'd hold the button half-down, to retain that focus, and try to time the shutter release for when you think the player will be at your chosen spot.

But it's a heckuva challenge with your camera. This is one area where a dslr really make a huge difference, with its non-existent shutter lag and better autofocus.

Kagan

on a related note. I experimented early on with a 2x extender lens for the fuji s7000. I had to quit using it. I was focusing on the players faces with it. When I got home, ALL the shots were blurred basically everywhere but the face. It was a horrible distortion everywhere but the face of the player. I even checked to see if I had cross threaded the lens but appears to be fine. Any ideas on that?