Today's Lacrosse Game

BlueHoseJacket

Here are a couple I took this am during my daughters game. I am not real pleased with the results, but these are two of my better action shots. I just can't seem to get a crisp picture.





2007-03-24 13:18:02Date Taken2007-03-24 09:43:03CameraCanon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XTExposure Time0.0006s (1/1600)Aperturef/6.3ISO400Focal Length105mm (168mm in 35mm)Photo Dimensions925 x 1077File NameIMG_5218b copy.jpgFile Size283.54 KB






Date Modified2007-03-24 14:00:05Date Taken2007-03-24 10:19:40CameraCanon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XTExposure Time0.0062s (1/160)Aperturef/7.1ISO400Focal Length73mm (116.8mm in 35mm)Photo Dimensions1986 x 1648File NameIMG_5305 copy.jpgFile Size612.89 KB

gus

G'day bluehosejacket...can you post some exif info so we can see what you might be doing wrong ? Plenty of good shooters in here that will very quickly put you on the right track to sharper shots.

BlueHoseJacket

Gus,

I have added the exif for the two shots above. Any advice is GREATLY appreciated

Thanks

gus

BlueHoseJacket wrote:

Gus,

I have added the exif for the two shots above. Any advice is GREATLY appreciated

Thanks

The second shot is 1/160..thats just too slow for that length lens. Open the aperture up more to help speed it up more, you can see its not only the subjects movement but yours as well as the net is OOF.

The first shot im not sure about...wait a min & i will get ziggy off the lounge & get him to look.

ziggy53

The second image is just as Gus says, way too slow a shutter speed. For a day game, stay in the 1/500th to 1/1000th, the faster the better. A support (monopod or tripod) or IS system is also helpful.

Both images are also a bit overexposed.

The first image has promise, so let's dive in there.

Looking at the Levels for the first image:



See the right side of the chart. It shows a definite spike. Those are highlights that are "clipped" and unrecoverable. Fortunately, most of the damage is in areas that aren't important to the "story" of the image, but they affect our perception of sharpness.

Partly because of the blown highlights, there is less detail overall, so the first thing to do is protect what we can regarding the remaining highlight detail.

The quick and dirty method.

I "reduced" the Contrast by 15 and I reduced the brightness by 6. This is done because the next step, USM, actually increases contrast and would cause even more highlight detail to disappear.

Now I apply USM in two stages, USM 20, 50, 0 and USM 200, .5, 0. These settings apply global and then localized sharpening, which is often required for best edge definition.




For even better results, go to the tutorial here:

http://ziggy53.smugmug.com/photos/138466927-O.jpg

If you must shoot JPG in these conditions of extreme light ratios and large dynamic range, it is best to sacrifice a bit more in the shadows than the highlights, since humans are more sensitive to loss of highlight detail. Also use the lowest JPG compression available to retain the best tonality. These images seem to have fairly high compression.

Best,

BlueHoseJacket

Did you hear that????
that was a huge WHOOOOOOSSSSSSHHHHHHH going right over my head. Ziggy, I am just so many steps below most of you guys. Anybody want to buy some camera equipment???

topher04r1

BlueHoseJacket wrote:

that was a huge WHOOOOOOSSSSSSHHHHHHH going right over my head. Ziggy, I am just so many steps below most of you guys. Anybody want to buy some camera equipment???

by the looks of it you probbly could have just lowered your ASA/ISO to 200 or even 100 (if your camera goes that low) and shot at a slower shutter speed..... lax is a GREAT game to shoot and one of the things i've found out is that you need about 1/800th to capture good running action but anything over 1/1000 is just a waste ..... here is what i do ...

i shoot ISO 100 F5.6 (or sometimes f4) shutter speed about 1/800 - 1/1250 depending on how bright it is ....

allways shoot RAW and really take time to look at your shots and if you dont like whats going on take a look at the exif and find out what went wrong.... this will help you learn each time you step out on to the field !!

one last suggestion .... and its a big one..... Unless your trying to shoot the middies or the defenders move further to the corner of the field.... even vanture to the back side (off to the left or right side of the net ) and shoot players comming at you. If you want to take it even one step further.... SIT DOWN and take your pictures.......it changes your perspective and makes for much better pictures !!

if you ever need help or suggestions feel free to send me an e-mail through my webpage or an IM

Best of luck !

slapshot

Are these pictures cropped? I am going to guess that they are based on the pixel dimensions. There is approximately 1MP in resolution in the first photo, and 3MP in the second. The lack of sharpness may be a function of the resolution versus the size you are displaying.

If you did crop these photos, what software did you use and with what settings? This could drastically effect the quality of the resulting image.