HS Boys Varsity BB

Mongrel

Had a chance to shoot two very tough rival teams in the school district where I work. Still working on my B-ball technique (long way to go...).

All shot with a Canon 1D, custom wb, 1600 ISO, no flash, three different lenses.

#1 Canon 135 f/2.0L @ f/2



#2 135 f2.0L @ f/2



#3 85mm f/1.8 @ f/2



#4 85mm f/1.8 @ f/1.8



#5 50mm f/1.4 @ f/1.8



I left these at medium so you can view the whole shot. If anyone wants to see them at the 'large' setting you can see them and the others here:

http://mongrel.smugmug.com/gallery/393349

I'm a little surprised at how these look. The uploads don't look as good as the original files on my pc. Less noise and no artifacts. Oh well....

Thanks for taking a look...

Shakey

I like #2 alot . Good work, gym shots are tough with the horrid lighting #4 is also cool great emotion captured.
Thanks for sharing

Tim

Steve Cavigliano

Mongrel,

Looks like you caught some nice action. The pics look good. Especially since you had to deal with poor lighting

Looks like all 3 lenses worked well too. Did you notice any AF speed difference with the 50mm MKII versus the other 2 lenses? I'm thinking of picking this lens up so I can get a little wider from under the basket. But, I have heard it doesn't AF very fast and that has me concerned.

Thanks for sharing your pics and for any lens info you can provide,
Steve

Mongrel

Hey guys...
Thanks for your kind words, I appreciate it.

Steve, first of all I've been impressed with *your* bb pics, so thanks for taking the time to check these out.

About lenses...

After reading your post I sat here a moment and tried to remember if I even thought about AF speed while shooting. Honestly, during the game I was so focused on framing and getting the shot that I didn't notice any real difference in AF speed between the lenses. This was the first time I used the 135 and the 50mm f/1.4. Up till now I've been using the 85mm and 50mm f/1.8 almost exclusively (except for a brief time trying out a 70-200 f/2.8 Sigma).

Someone with more experience than me might notice a difference in AF speed but I really didn't. BUT-I had A LOT of OOF shots. I think I dumped around 100 out of 290 shots just because they were OOF or focused on the 'wrong' thing (back wall, crowd, etc.). Basketball is a VERY FAST moving game at close quarters. Trying to maintain focus on an individual player at less than 20' when they are running is tough-lol-but fun.

I'll try and report back as I use this lens (the 50mm f/1.4) a bit more. One thing is for sure, without addtional lighting I have no hope of using anything slower than f/2.0! I was VERY satisfied with the quality of pics from all three of these lenses especially wide-open or almost wide open. Very nice looking results, at least to my eyes.

The 85mm and 50mm combination was probably the best on the 1.3 crop factor 1D, the 135 I found to be just too long for what I was going for.

NOTE: None of these shots were cropped. All are straight from the camera with a little curves, levels, and USM in Paint Shop Pro 9.

Hope this helps...

Steve Cavigliano

Mongrel,

Thanks for the feedback. If the difference wasn't enough for you to notice, it's probably slight, at best. That's good news. I need something a bit wider. Because, as you mention, focusing in-tight is really a bear. Not to mention that at those wide open apertures, the DOF get's tiny.....lol

For me the biggest challenge was the wb shooting under extremely yellow lights. With help from folks here (and custom wb) I am happier with my shots now. As you said, your shots looked good to you and, IMO, that's always a good sign

Besides the very good results you got, it seems like you had a good time. To me, that's even more important than the pics I come back with. I get to enjoy myself again tonight, as a matter of fact

I look forward to your next B-Ball shots


Steve