Basketball Shots, I need some help

Forums

2 replies [Last post]

Submitted By: troyxc7

Joined: Mar 4 2006

Posts:

Basketball Shots, I need some help

Posted: March 4, 2006 - 11:27am

I would imagine this question has been asked to death here so thanks in advance for helping me!

I have a Nikon D50 and the lens that comes with it. I will be taking pictures with it from underneath the basketball hoop at some state tournament games for a newspaper (action shots). The only flash I have at the moment is the built-in flash.

My question(s) is What would anyone suggest for the settings on the camera? Would I be better just using "auto" or using some other manual settings? When using "auto" in an earlier game I was getting blur.

I appreciate any suggestions. Thanks all!

Submitted By: Larry Berman

Location: Pittsburgh

Joined: Mar 7 2005

Posts:

Re: Basketball Shots, I need some help

Posted: March 4, 2006 - 11:44am

My advice from years of experience shooting basketball using using film cameras is to not use a flash. Set your camera on a high enough ISO that you can shoot at 1/250 second with the lens wide open. You may have a problem if you're using a slow zoom. When I shot basketball, I used a 50 f1.4 and 85 f1.8 and used to shoot at 1/250 second at f2.0 to 2.8 depending on the available light. If you don't already have one, I suggest purchasing a 35 f2.0 for a normal lens or a 20 f2.8 for a wide angle. You're going to need the fast single focal length lenses for indoor sports.

Submitted By: Hippo

Location: VA

Joined: Mar 7 2006

Posts:

Re: Basketball Shots, I need some help

Posted: March 7, 2006 - 6:44pm

I definetly agree with choosing a wide angle lens for this. As for your flash, an off camera may help, but you shouldnt need it if your going to shoot on a high ISO.