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Please help me with baseball pics! ack!
(Sorry if this should be in "Technique", if so, please feel free to move it.)
Can someone please look at the first 10 pics on my photostream on my flickr account. (I am too embarrassed to post the pics on my smugmug!)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kixxphotography/
Going down the left side of the page is the original shot, beside each is the (semi)edited shot.
The shots were taken at dusk, and all the EXIF data is available on the pics.
If there is anybody who could assist me, I would appreciate it muchly!
I basically would like to know...
1. Are there settings I can use with my current equipment that would allow me to get better shots at dusk (and under the lights)?
2. On pic "201arrows" there is a line running down the left hand side of the pics, is my camera broken? Or, is that "noise" that I've heard about?
3. If I took advantage of the current (still ongoing, I think) BestBuy sale that has D200s for $599, would that help me in this situation, or, is this more of an 'operator issue'?
Thanks in advance!
Can someone please look at the first 10 pics on my photostream on my flickr account. (I am too embarrassed to post the pics on my smugmug!)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kixxphotography/
Going down the left side of the page is the original shot, beside each is the (semi)edited shot.
The shots were taken at dusk, and all the EXIF data is available on the pics.
If there is anybody who could assist me, I would appreciate it muchly!
I basically would like to know...
1. Are there settings I can use with my current equipment that would allow me to get better shots at dusk (and under the lights)?
2. On pic "201arrows" there is a line running down the left hand side of the pics, is my camera broken? Or, is that "noise" that I've heard about?
3. If I took advantage of the current (still ongoing, I think) BestBuy sale that has D200s for $599, would that help me in this situation, or, is this more of an 'operator issue'?
Thanks in advance!
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Comments
What you really need is ISO 3200 and an f2.8 lens. Your current lens is only capable of f5.6. Your first shot was 1/30 at ISO 400 and 3 stops underexposed. The one thing you can do is set your ISO to it's max value (I cant remember if its 1600 or 3200 on the d40).
Still, it's an exercise in frustration. My advice is to concentrate on taking shots when lighting is good. Even with the best equipment, shooting baseball under the lights can be frustrating because the fields just aren't lit as well as say football.
To answer your question about the line on the left side of your photo it is not noise. Noise will show up in your photo all over not in just one spot.
An example of noise is kinda like what you see if you have taken shots when it was raining or snowing. You will see spots all over the photo and it will not have a sharp focus spot anywhere.
Low light shots are the hardest to take with any camera.
Photo #82 on your flicker site looks like it has noise but since flicker does not let you the show large or original files it is hard to tell.
When you will see noise in a photo the worst if you view the orginal large file. The larger the file the more detail you will see so, if it is not a sharp focus you will see it easy when you view the large file.
As far as I could tell your photos on flicker look good for low light shots.
Take Care,
Charles
Good Luck,
Charles
Aperture Focus Photography
http://aperturefocus.com
I'd go as far as ISO 1600 and use noise reduction software to combat that problem. There are some excellent options from free to $30. You'll need a faster lens. Your first step should probably be a 70-200 f2.8. If the price tag is too steep, look at an 80-200 f2.8 (non VR from Nikon)
www.seanmartinphoto.com
__________________________________________________
it's not the size of the lens that matters... It's how you focus it.
aaaaa.... who am I kidding!
whoever dies with the biggest coolest piece of glass, wins!
I've just started shooting softball and the biggest difference maker for me is the lens. I drool over The 70-200 f2.8 but could not justify the $$$ for it. I ended up buying a used 80-200 f2.8 that I love. This can be had for $800-900 (non AFS) used if you shop well. There are a lot of variants of the non AFS (push-pull, two-ring). My research said that the push-pull versions were slower focusing so I got a two-ring version.
As others have said, they are underexposed and when you try fix this in post, you just bring out all of the noise.
Comments and constructive criticism always welcome.
www.mikejulianaphotography.com
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I'll be looking for a D300 soon
Thank you all sooooo much for all the info!
I think I'll wait until after I shoot a few day games to get dejected!