How to photograph Volleyball

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Topic: How to photograph Volleyball (Read 10574 times)

bike janitor

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Posts: 2

How to photograph Volleyball

« on: August 30, 2008, 10:15:17 AM »

I've been asked to photograph (first time) some high school volleyball games in a gymnasium under what I assume will be tungsten lights.

I would appreciate any insiight, i.e. camera settings (I'm assuming flashes are not allowed) and positioning at courtside. I have been told I will be able to sit closely to the court....5 to 10 feet.

My camera body is the 40D and the lenses in my kit are not fast enough, so I'm looking at renting: Canon 135 2.0 L or the 70-200 2.8 IS.

My indecision concerning the 135 is it's a prime and will it give me sufficient (216) range or will it be too tight and is the 70-200 fast enough for the gymnasiums?

Any help concerning this matter will be appreciated.

Thanks
Bill


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bike janitor

Newbie

Posts: 2

Re: How to photograph Volleyball

« Reply #1 on: November 26, 2008, 10:08:41 AM »

This is in response to my question asked a few months ago concerning shooting indoor volleyball.

I was unsure about what lens (prime or zoom)to use for the match, but I knew I wanted to rent a faster lens.

I was shut out on the lenses I was thinking to rent, so I ended up using my 17-85 IS 4.0-5.6. Though this lens is a little slow for the gym lighting, the 17-85 zoom was just about perfect (IMO). I'm now glad I didn't rent a prime.

I arrived early and shot a few pics w/various WB settings (i.e. tungsten, florescent and AWB); I settled on AWB. I had to set my 40D ISO to H (3200) to get my shutter speeds quick enough to stop the action and give me the flexibility of slowing the shutter speed down to capture player and ball movement.

I was pleasantly surprised by my results, especially at ISO 3200 (first time shooting all my shots in this setting) and the low impact of graininess. Here's a link to some of my shots; http://s233.photobucket.com/albums/ee23/bikejanitor/NR%20vs%20Frontier%2011-13/

In conclusion, in the future I will use a faster lens; 2.8, either the EFS 17-55 2.8 IS or the 24-70 L 2.8 and positively stick w/a zoom.

I hope this helps somebody down the road w/the same question.

Regards
Bill


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