Nikon D70 Shutter Speed / Blur
I have been taking Martial Arts photos for a school and these buggers go so bloody fast sometimes, that most of what I get is blur. :beatwax It has been suggested that I increase the shutter speed to accomidate, but all I can find is the ASA setting which I am told is not the same thing. Anyone have any thoughts? :dunno I have a uber high speed flash, and a standard zoom lens.
Also, while I'm at it, a Cannon friend said that I should look into a static lens with a low low fstop which should be rather cheap but effective. Anyone know of a good place to buy one oneline? :scratch
Thanks,
Counselor
Also, while I'm at it, a Cannon friend said that I should look into a static lens with a low low fstop which should be rather cheap but effective. Anyone know of a good place to buy one oneline? :scratch
Thanks,
Counselor
0
Comments
I'm no expert, but here are a couple of things you can do,
1. set your camera to aperture mode (this will automatically give you the fastest shutter speed possible considering available light)
2. set the aperture to the widest setting ( the lower the number the better)
3. shoot in the brightest conditions possible, broad daylight is the best (if possible)
4. If that doesn't work then increase your ISO setting which is probably at the default 200. try 400, then 800, until you get the result you're looking for.(the higher the ISO, the grainier the image, but its a trade off)
I'm sure there's different things people will suggest but that's what I've done in the past.
hoping this message finds you well -Ian
also, run continuous shot mode and fire three or four every time you shoot... you are more likely to get at least one good shot; and, if you are running out of spce this way then delete as you go... my rule of thumb is that if i can see any bit of blur in the lcd it's gone for being too blurred
also, hey... if you can focus a face and body and have a blurred leg inches from contact with some kids liver then that's a keeper anyway!
... come along.
You can also try different White Balance settings to help with Brightness and Color Temperatures.
Just remember, shooting High ISO will give you noise so be careful with that, the images may look great on the LCD but be trash when you download them, same with blur like LeDude said.
The only way to get better "stop action" is going to be with a faster lens, I would reccomend a 80-200 f/2.8.
Most Gyms, Domes, Arenas, are not lit well at all, you will need strobes to get "stop action" shots and even then you still may get just a touch of blur on fast action shots.
Shooting inside is without a doubt the hardest thing you will ever shoot without some frustration, even with the right equipment it still gets frustrating because then you start dealing with strobe placement and shadowing issues.
I would look into a faster (f/2.8) lens and use all the suggestions that were just posted in the previous posts along with mine.
kehcamera.com has great deals on quality used equipment.
I have some College Volleyball shots on my smugmug page that were shot with 4 Strobes, one in each corner of the Gym, triggering them with a Pocket Wizard Transmitter they put out a blanket of light but there was still just a touch of blur in a few of the fast action shots.
In a few, there was also a liitle shadowing but it was acceptable. www.actionshots4u.smugmug.com
Best thing to do is just go out and shoot, experiment and realize that every place you shoot it will be different.
With the correct settings and a faster lens you should be able to get lots of good, acceptable shots.
Hope this helps a little.........
http://www.sportsshooter.com/members.html?id=2850
Yes, you can get very fast (f1.4) lenses cheaply by going prime. I have three, 28mm, 50mm, 100mm. All very usefull and very clear. Depends on how good you are with foot work, and how "controlled" the situation is (where the action happens).
Be carefull too, if you buy a very fast lens, your depth of field goes down considerably, especially if the subject's closer to you.
Don't forget about testing your white balance, as shooting indors can make some situaions tricky, and using fill flash can complicate the situation if your ambient lighting is of a significantly different temperature.
In the end, try some stuff, see if it gets better. Then try some more stuff! Don't forget to have fun
Tamron AF18-200mm F3.5-6.3 XR Di II LD
Tamron SP AF17-50mm F/2.8 XR Di II LD Aspherical
Nikon 60mm f/2.8D AF Micro-Nikkor
Nikon SB-800 Speedlight
A standard zoom lens probably means f/5.6. Not fast enough. You want to be able to shoot from f/2.8 to f/4. Use that flash if the students will allow. You will be surprised -- a flash burst is so short in duration it can effectively increase your shutter speed. The other thing is you are probably indoors, right? This means funky lighting that oscillates at 60Hz and changes intensity and color cast.
Go full manual. Set aperture to f/3.2 or f/4. Set a shutter speed of 1/125 (this combats the cycling light problem). Put the flash on TTL. Select the ISO that gives you anything from a proper exposure to one stop under exposed (the flash will make up the difference for you).
This is how I shot martial arts and it worked very well. And the instructor liked the flash as he wants minor distractions to his students (smart instructor).
Do not waste your time with burst mode shooting. All you get is a ton of pictures that you have to sort through and delete. This is not a productive use of your time. Learn the sport, watch the viewfinder, anticipate the shot. Be deliberate with when you click that shutter. If you burst all you are doing is hoping and praying that you will luckily get that shot. Are you looking to get lucky or are you looking to get particular shots?
A former sports shooter
Follow me at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/bjurasz/
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http://www.sportsshooter.com/members.html?id=2850
A former sports shooter
Follow me at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/bjurasz/
My Etsy store: https://www.etsy.com/shop/mercphoto?ref=hdr_shop_menu
I'd like to suggest you at least give the Sports mode a try.. at least shoot a few shots with that mode, and take a look at how it set things (review the pic info on camera). then if you really can't stand allowing the camera to make all those decisions for you in milliseconds or want to be more creative (setting slower speed to get a little motion blur - sometimes it's a good thing), you can always switch over to those pro modes...
As for me, I'm an amatuer and I choose the Sports mode because I want to get the shot... And I just use ISO setting to compensate for whatever light is doing. The A mode is there for me when it's time to get more creative shots, but generally the Sports mode does it just how I want!
Other conditions may call for burst, e.g. rapidly changing light conditions... but I need not go off on a dissertation; I just wanted to make the point that circumstances determine the value of any of a camera's abilities for our thread starter.
... come along.
Nikkor 50 mm f1.8 - it's cheap ($100 or less). Absolutely sharp lens and useable at f1.8 (the lower the number is here, the "faster" the lens as the aperture can be very wide).
Sigma 30 mm f1.4 - a bit more expensive, and probably not what you need as it's a bit more wide angle.
Nikkor 85 mm f1.8 - around $300, but will allow you to get shots from a distance.
Nikkor 85 mm f1.4 - I think this is like $700, but this lens is considered the king for portraits. It's a pro lens that will get you unbelievable shots. It's expensive, but you mentioned you have an uber flash so maybe you like nice toys
I'd go to a local store, try some of these on your camera (to get a feel for distance etc.), and ask the people in the store to demonstrate how wide apertures work.
Two things I don't think anyone mentioned:
-- With a 'fast' lens like the ones mentioned above at large apertures, focusing becomes much much more critical. They will leave the backgrounds nicely blurred when used properly. When used improperly, they will leave your subjectblurred.
-- So you could use A mode and just put the f stop to the lowest number like someone said. BUT, the D70 also has a Speed priority mode no one mentioned (S on the dial). This may be better than 'sports' mode for you, as sports mode uses AF-C (continuous focusing, which means if you point away from the subject for composition, the camera will focus on something else). Using S mode, you can focus once, set the shutter speed ahead of time and let the camera worry about what aperture to use.
Note that by setting S mode and dialing in 500, you may not need a new lens, if your flash works well enough. I almost never use a flash, though, so you're on your own there. Good luck!
http://cusac.smugmug.com
Example below was shot at ISO 3200 and underexposed by -2/3 which enabled me to go from 1/150th sec to 1/250 sec to freeze the action a little.
Re working in photoshop gave me this finished image
Zippy might know this guy
Steamers Lane over in Santa Cruz. There's a guy there that machine guns
everything (with a 1dmkII). I once told him it would be better to learn
where the potential action would be and then snap the shutter. His reply
was that he wanted to be sure and catch the peak action. Just makes
more work for yourself was my reply.
And it's true. Why come home with 1000 images to sort through for one
or two good ones? That's not a very productive return on your investment.
To contribute to the answers. Exposure is a combination of f-stop, shutter
and "film" (ISO) speed. Combined, they can give you high shutter speed, great
depth of field or ability to capture an image in lower light.
If you desire high shutter speed (say 1/500 which is probably what you
need), then the two adjustments are ISO and f-stop. If you're wide open
at f/4.5, then the only adjustment is ISO and you'll have to tweak it until
you get the shutter speed you want. However, if adjustment of either
doesn't produce acceptable exposure, your choices are to lower the shutter
speed or add light and since shutter speed is important you'd ideally add
light (I say ideally because some events prohibit flash photographs).
The first thing I would suggest is to get a light meter and learn how to
use it. This will enable you to shoot in manual mode. If you can't do that,
you can use the camera's light meter to start and then adjust accordingly.
Good luck with your martial arts shots!
Ian
While I've done this in the past, I would highly recommend getting the
exposure correct in the camera. Not because under-exposing and post
do not work but because under-exposing makes more work in post.
Ian