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Help shooting night games under lights

KCsActionPhotosKCsActionPhotos Registered Users Posts: 8 Beginner grinner
edited February 25, 2009 in Technique
My daughter just made the high school softball team and I need help to get the settings right to shoot night games under the lights.

I just got a Nikon D90 and I'm using a Nikkor 55-200 ED lense. So far I've not been able to get it just right to catch any good action shots when they play at night under the feild lights.

Any suggestions would be helpful as far as what settings to use in Manual mode.

Thanks

Karen

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    Cygnus StudiosCygnus Studios Registered Users Posts: 2,294 Major grins
    edited February 18, 2009
    The 55-200mm is a tad slow at 4-5.6, so you will have to raise your ISO to get your shutter speed up. You will probably need 3200 or 6400.
    If you can sit at a position that allows the light to come in from behind you that will help a little.
    Steve

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    gchappelgchappel Registered Users Posts: 120 Major grins
    edited February 24, 2009
    Tough shooting isn't it?
    F5.6 is probably too slow.
    You will want a shutter speed of at least 1/250- faster if you can get it.
    I often need iso of 6400 or more to get 1/250 at f2.8. At 5.6 that would be an iso of 25,600! You may need faster glass.
    You may also find that the lights pulse- you will get different exposures and worse yet different white balances from shot to shot as the lights pulse at 60hz.
    Practice looking at the light as it varies across the field will help some, you will learn to post process to correct color, noise, etc.
    Easiest solution- get her to play during the day!
    Good luck- it is doable but takes practice and fast glass.
    Gary
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    chasgrohchasgroh Registered Users Posts: 50 Big grins
    edited February 25, 2009
    gchappel wrote:
    Tough shooting isn't it?
    F5.6 is probably too slow.
    You will want a shutter speed of at least 1/250- faster if you can get it.
    I often need iso of 6400 or more to get 1/250 at f2.8. At 5.6 that would be an iso of 25,600! You may need faster glass.
    You may also find that the lights pulse- you will get different exposures and worse yet different white balances from shot to shot as the lights pulse at 60hz.
    Practice looking at the light as it varies across the field will help some, you will learn to post process to correct color, noise, etc.
    Easiest solution- get her to play during the day!
    Good luck- it is doable but takes practice and fast glass.
    Gary

    ...all of the above! I shoot marching band shows and it's really an adventure, 'specially when it goes from day to under the lights...BIG problems there, even how the stadium is laid-out (east/west vs north/south). In daylight I work the f-stops just to keep it within the mechanical boundaries of my camera, but once it gets sunset time, I open 'er up all the way and go to aperture priority (this allows me to shoot pretty fast, trying to get all the participants in one shot or another, and produces great bokeh with regularity)...I keep an eye on shutter speed and work the ISO up to whatever it takes to make it all work during the sun to lights transition, then just run it the rest of the way (I *like* to keep the ISO 2000 or less)...some of these venues have really crappy lighting so it's always challenging...post is where it really comes together, I'm still learning but Lightroom and DXO in combo has really helped with the speed thing...

    cg
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