First Ice Hockey Attempt

JBHotShots · November 20, 2015

Moving from San Antonio, TX to West Point has given me opportunities to try my hand at some new stuff to shoot; getting a new 7DII is also a plus.

I work with a guy that plays in a local adult hockey league and I asked him if I could go shoot. He said it wouldn't be a problem so last night I went. There was a little snafu with the schedule he had and the official schedule and I didn't get to shoot him. Luckily there was another game and I was able to shoot that one.

First things first. I used this informative forum to see if I could get the basics on how to shoot hockey and stumble across this thread with akte's thread that had a lot of helpful information in it.

While I didn't do great, I don't think I did horrible for a first timer in a poorly lit facility. Biggest lesson learned, use custom WB!!! Next biggest, make sure to check your settings. LOL

All of them were shot with 7DII and 70-200 ISO 1600 at 2.8 1/400 (as fast as I could get it) and through the glass.

1. I set my balance, ISO and shutter speed but forgot to set to Servo and this was the result. Check, check again and recheck that check is all I have to say.

2. Action, faces (soft focused) and puck. Technically not sound but practice can make it better.

3. I think the focus is a little better.

4. I feel like I got a lot better shooting as the night went along.

5. One of my last shots of the night and I think I was in the groove.

I think I did pretty good for my first outing but there is a lot of room for improvement that a lot of practice will probably help with.

jmphotocraft · November 20, 2015

Good exposure, but shutter speed is too slow. Go 1/800, f/2.8, ISO 3200. 7D2 can do it. Shoot RAW and adjust in post. Ask if you can shoot from the bench, without the plexiglass in front of you.

JBHotShots · November 20, 2015

jmphotocraft wrote: »

Good exposure, but shutter speed is too slow. Go 1/800, f/2.8, ISO 3200. 7D2 can do it. Shoot RAW and adjust in post. Ask if you can shoot from the bench, without the plexiglass in front of you.

Thanks a lot for the input.

I only shoot raw and I use your 7DII pictures as a baseline. It struggled at 1/400 last night but I'll make an effort to shot ISO 3200 + higher shutter next as a point of reference.

I believe most of my issues came from bad technique and lack of experience. If I could find a way to bump up my SS without sacrificing light with the same gear it would be wonderful.

JBHotShots · November 21, 2015

What are some of you camera settings ei picture style, focus points ect...?

I would like to try and compare apples to apples plus the 7DII is a huge jump from the 50D that I have been using for the past 6 years.

Sent from my LGLS990 using Tapatalk

jmphotocraft · November 21, 2015

Yeah, 1/400 isn't going to cut it. You were at 1/400, f/2.8, ISO 1600. If you go to ISO 3200, you can go to 1/800 at f/2.8, and that should be ok. Looks like you might even be able to get away with 1/1000. I usually use a single AF point with 8 point expansion, and AF case 4. Standard picture style, auto white balance. Flicker detection works, but it also slows your FPS, so it depends on the quality of the rink lights whether you should use it or not. The stadium where I was shooting HS football has great lights, so I turned it off.

JBHotShots · November 21, 2015

Lighting here sucked, like royally. I will work with these to see what I can come up with.

Thanks a lot for sharing.

Jamie

Mitchell · November 24, 2015

A wise man (Jack, I believe) once told me that it's better to have a sharp photo with some noise than a blurry photo at lower ISO. Listen to his advice and get your shutterspeed up to at least 1/800.

JBHotShots · November 24, 2015

Definitely going to take his advice. I also think part of my issue was not focusing on the face, I was shooting center mass (see what I did there).

I get another chance next weekend so hopefully there will be an improvement.

Jamie

JBHotShots · November 24, 2015

jmphotocraft wrote: »

...I usually use a single AF point with 8 point expansion...

What is the setting for that? I use single point but the manual doesn't word it like you do.

Jamie

jmphotocraft · November 24, 2015

JBHotShots wrote: »

What is the setting for that? I use single point but the manual doesn't word it like you do.

Jamie

Put your single AF point in the center. Then toggle through the AF pattern choices until you see the one with 9 points lit up. The point in the center of the 9 (the nipple) takes priority, and the 8 surrounding points (the aereola) serve as backup. You can then move the whole schmear around, but if you choose a nipple point on the edge, obviously fewer than 9 will be active. I don't think the manual words it like this either.

JBHotShots · November 24, 2015

jmphotocraft wrote: »

Put your single AF point in the center. Then toggle through the AF pattern choices until you see the one with 9 points lit up. The point in the center of the 9 (the nipple) takes priority, and the 8 surrounding points (the aereola) serve as backup. You can then move the whole schmear around, but if you choose a nipple point on the edge, obviously fewer than 9 will be active. I don't think the manual words it like this either.

Thanks for the reply. I should have just Googled before I replied to you. I tried bowling today, a work outing, so I will see how it worked out.

Jamie

jmp2204 · November 29, 2015

here is what you get with good lighting , (shot from second row behind glass) yes I[URL="[url=https://flic.kr/p/qoYUez][img]https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7554/16012627331_22de2f8d2f_b.jpg[/img][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/qoYUez]kingsIMG_2085img_2085[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/jmp2204/]kevin[/url], on Flickr"][/url]

kingsIMG_2085img_2085 by kevin, on Flickr smuggled my gear in

jmp2204 · November 29, 2015

more here http://dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=251241

jmp2204 · November 29, 2015

here is another link from a couple years ago with shots in varies amateur rinks Looking back and having a couple years more experience under my belt with PP i can certainly see how i can improve

http://dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=243882

JBHotShots · November 29, 2015

I have some work to do!

Jamie

JBHotShots · December 1, 2015

I got to shoot my second game tonight and let's just say it's nothing to write home about. This rink, same facility just different rink, has way worse lighting than the other one. I'll start a new thread tomorrow evening for some points of reference.

jhefti · December 8, 2015

You have some very nice compositions in these shots, which is much more difficult than getting the right settings on the camera.

As others have said, 1/400 is waaaay too slow! When I shoot hockey (OK, it's at the NHL level and the lighting is much better) I shoot at 1/2000, wide open and ISO 2500. Extrapolating from your numbers, you could shoot at 1/800 at ISO 3200 (assuming 0 EV in these shots); or even better, push the ISO until you can get faster than 1/1000, which would be fine for amateur hockey. Since you shoot RAW you have some headroom to de-noise in the post.

A few other tips:

1. Shooting through the plexiglass causes a number of issues, including messing with the AF and reflections.

2. Regarding WB and exposure, I use the ice as a way to see how I'm doing. While shooting, I make sure that the ice is just below blown via the highlight alert function on the camera. Occasionally I'll let bits of it blow, since I can recover in the post (and anyway, it's white so a blown region isn't horrible). And while editing (LR6) I check the ice to make sure that R=G=B in each of the color channels, and that each is about 95%. This insures good WB and proper exposure. It's easy and fast.

Hope this helps!

JBHotShots · December 8, 2015

jhefti wrote: »

You have some very nice compositions in these shots, which is much more difficult than getting the right settings on the camera.

As others have said, 1/400 is waaaay too slow! When I shoot hockey (OK, it's at the NHL level and the lighting is much better) I shoot at 1/2000, wide open and ISO 2500. Extrapolating from your numbers, you could shoot at 1/800 at ISO 3200 (assuming 0 EV in these shots); or even better, push the ISO until you can get faster than 1/1000, which would be fine for amateur hockey. Since you shoot RAW you have some headroom to de-noise in the post.

A few other tips:

1. Shooting through the plexiglass causes a number of issues, including messing with the AF and reflections.

2. Regarding WB and exposure, I use the ice as a way to see how I'm doing. While shooting, I make sure that the ice is just below blown via the highlight alert function on the camera. Occasionally I'll let bits of it blow, since I can recover in the post (and anyway, it's white so a blown region isn't horrible). And while editing (LR6) I check the ice to make sure that R=G=B in each of the color channels, and that each is about 95%. This insures good WB and proper exposure. It's easy and fast.

Hope this helps!

So after shooting a second time, where I completely dropped the ball (too ashamed to post), I did a lot of research on shooting hockey tips, to supplement what I have learned here; and reading my manual for the camera. What I came up with is...shooting through the glass in that environment is a no-no because the lighting is so poor.

I have a little while before I will go back and shoot there, and I will since I refuse to let it beat me.

Thanks to all that have chimed in to help me out; taking your time to help me says a lot about your character and I appreciate it so much!!!

jhefti · December 8, 2015

JBHotShots wrote: »

I have a little while before I will go back and shoot there, and I will since I refuse to let it beat me.

!

You won't be beat, Jamie. As I said above, composition is the most difficult part and you're doing well in this category. All the rest is just camera settings and editing.

JBHotShots · December 8, 2015

jhefti wrote: »

You won't be beat, Jamie. As I said above, composition is the most difficult part and you're doing well in this category. All the rest is just camera settings and editing.

Thanks a bunch, this is a huge boost for my confidence!

Jamie

JonaBeth Russell · December 13, 2015

I'll pour a little gas on the fire here...

Shots are sound in composition, camera settings were off. I know from experience that a 7D I can handle well-lit action at ISO 3200, so I'm quite certain the 7D II can do it. As was already stated, you need at LEAST 1/600 shutter speed with fast action hockey stuff.

Great setup, by the way. Can't wait to see more of what you crank out with it!

JBHotShots · December 13, 2015

JonaBeth Russell wrote: »

I'll pour a little gas on the fire here...

Shots are sound in composition, camera settings were off. I know from experience that a 7D I can handle well-lit action at ISO 3200, so I'm quite certain the 7D II can do it. As was already stated, you need at LEAST 1/600 shutter speed with fast action hockey stuff.

Great setup, by the way. Can't wait to see more of what you crank out with it!

Taken with my cellphone.

I can't wait to try again because I really botched my second attempt. I'm not sure when that will be but I will make sure to post, with hopes of showing progress.

Jamie

First Ice Hockey Attempt

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