# Best setting for Basketball Game Photos



## Jasonrph (Dec 22, 2010)

Hi,

I'm new to photography and to this forum.  I have a quick question.  My camera is a Canon PowerShot SX30 IS.  I would like to be able to get sharper pictures of my children playing basketball.  When shooting from the stands, I have been unable to find a setting that does not appear blurry.  Both the "auto" and "sports" settings produce poor pictures.  When I use the Tv mode and increase the shudder speed the images tend to be dark, even with the flash.  

Of couse all of this is the camera's fault.  

Just kidding.

But seriously, I just don't have a clue what to do.  Any tips?

Cordially,

Jason


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## ann (Dec 22, 2010)

set you camera on tv mode with a speed of 250, then keep boosting the ISO until you get a better lite image; however, be prepared for serious noise.


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## Destin (Dec 22, 2010)

^ What ann said. With that camera you are going to have a very hard time getting good photos.

If you do get proper exposure, and no motion blur it is going to be VERY noisy (grainy).

Even using a dslr with a fast zoom lens I have to use 2 off camera flash units to get good photos of high school basketball. Gym's tend to have terrible lighting.


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## Jasonrph (Dec 22, 2010)

Thank you both for the information.

Would there be a better camera for such uses in the $300-$400 price range?  Unfortunately that is as high as I can go right now.  It seemed to get decent reviews.  I just bought it a couple weeks ago, so I could probably still exchange it.

I'll try these suggestions.  

Jason


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## Destin (Dec 22, 2010)

getting good lighting in high school gyms is going to be very tough for $300-400, honestly. 

I think the best camera you can get on that budget id the Nikon P7000 right now. It's going for $419 on BHphotovideo.com. 

I honestly don't know that it would make your basketball photos any better though. You really need a dslr, with at least an external flash unit for that. Shooting in gyms is a tough task. Heck I have a hard time with it, and I'm using 2 flash units and a fast lens.


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## Jasonrph (Dec 22, 2010)

Destin - your basketball photos are amazing.  But I guess I'm just going to have to make due with what I have for now.  

Some day I'll be able to invest in a good dslr...

I really appreciate all the helpful information.  Merry Christmas!


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## Destin (Dec 22, 2010)

Jasonrph said:


> Destin - your basketball photos are amazing.  But I guess I'm just going to have to make due with what I have for now.
> 
> Some day I'll be able to invest in a good dslr...
> 
> I really appreciate all the helpful information.  Merry Christmas!



Thanks, and your welcome man, merry Christmas to you to!! Hope you are able to get some decent photos at least. M

Maybe a photographer from the local paper will come cover a game or two, and you can buy a photo or two off of him so you have a good one of your kid playing!

I personally dont shoot for a paper, I just take the photos to sell to the parents. And it brings in a decent amount of money.


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## flea77 (Dec 22, 2010)

With the right camera and lens, you can usually pull it off without flash as well. As for budgets, the lens alone used for this shot is almost $400 and it is considered very inexpensive. Note no harsh shadows from the flash.







Allan


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## ann (Dec 22, 2010)

Understand your situation. Do the best you can right now, you can also think about using a good noise reduction software program that can help in controling the noise.

Just keep our expectations reasonably with what you have , have fun and enjoy your children and their events. They probably won't even notice. Only "us fools" get so out of joint with noise


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## Destin (Dec 22, 2010)

flea77 said:


> With the right camera and lens, you can usually pull it off without flash as well. As for budgets, the lens alone used for this shot is almost $400 and it is considered very inexpensive. Note no harsh shadows from the flash.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



That's also not in a high school gym with terrible lighting. 

To shoot without flash in the gym's around here, I would be at f1.8, and iso 3200 to even pull 1/320th of a second. Note I'm using a D80 and 3200 is unusable. The highest iso I'll use is 1600, and that get's me a shutter speed that can't come anywhere near freezing action. Flash is a must for the light ing 99% of high school gyms, unless you have a camera that allows you to shoot at 6400 or so.


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## flea77 (Dec 23, 2010)

Destin said:


> That's also not in a high school gym with terrible lighting.
> 
> To shoot without flash in the gym's around here, I would be at f1.8, and iso 3200 to even pull 1/320th of a second. Note I'm using a D80 and 3200 is unusable. The highest iso I'll use is 1600, and that get's me a shutter speed that can't come anywhere near freezing action. Flash is a must for the light ing 99% of high school gyms, unless you have a camera that allows you to shoot at 6400 or so.


 
No, this is in a college gym with terrible lighting. So bad in fact, the local high school is actually better! Even the college sports department makes fun of the lighting in there. It was built in 1976 and almost half of the lights no longer work at all. 

That photo was shot at f1.8, 2880iso at 1/800th. You could gain some more speed by not shooting with a zoom. I shoot all my basketball with an 85mm 1.8 lens, it has a faster aperture and doesn't lose as much light as a zoom. No one who shoots in the gym in my posted picture shoots with a zoom, we all use 85s or 50s, the college paper uses a 50, the SID uses a 50, the city paper uses an 85, the college propper uses an 85. Try one sometime and see if it helps.

I stated that "with the right camera and lens" you could do it without flash, my point being to the OP that getting shots like this will more than likely cost significantly more than the $300-$400 they wanted to spend (hence my giving the price for the lens). They can get closer (their built in flash will help more then), buy prints from a pro, or buy expensive equipment.

Allan


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## Destin (Dec 23, 2010)

flea77 said:


> Destin said:
> 
> 
> > That's also not in a high school gym with terrible lighting.
> ...



And I just stated that I was using a 50mm 1.8, at 1.8. Read through something before you respond to it. 

I use my 70-200 2.8 sometimes too, but I'm already using flash with the 50mm, so thats irrelevant


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## flea77 (Dec 23, 2010)

Destin said:


> And I just stated that I was using a 50mm 1.8, at 1.8. Read through something before you respond to it.
> 
> I use my 70-200 2.8 sometimes too, but I'm already using flash with the 50mm, so thats irrelevant


 
I apologize, but even now when I go back through the thread I see where you say:



			
				Destin said:
			
		

> Even using a dslr with a fast zoom lens I have to use 2 off camera flash units to get good photos of high school basketball.


 
which tells me you use a zoom, but I do not see where you mention a 50mm at all. In another post you say:



			
				Destin said:
			
		

> To shoot without flash in the gym's around here, I would be at f1.8, and iso 3200 to even pull 1/320th of a second.


 
But since you never specify a lens I assumed this was just a calculation.

Again, I apologize if I upset you but I did read the posts and was just trying to help.

Allan


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## Robin Usagani (Dec 23, 2010)

Destin, dont be afraid to go to 3200.  As long as you dont underexpose it, it will look as good as 1600 especially with NR.


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## Destin (Dec 23, 2010)

Schwettylens said:


> Destin, dont be afraid to go to 3200.  As long as you dont underexpose it, it will look as good as 1600 especially with NR.



Haha not on a D80. 3200 isn't a native iso setting. 

ISO 1600





ISO 3200 (Hi 1)


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## Destin (Dec 23, 2010)

flea77 said:


> Destin said:
> 
> 
> > And I just stated that I was using a 50mm 1.8, at 1.8. Read through something before you respond to it.
> ...



You didn't upset me, I was just stating the fact. I do shoot with fast zooms, but it's because I can't get good enough exposure with my 50 1.8, so I need flash either way.


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## flea77 (Dec 23, 2010)

Destin, 

How is this?







Took your ISO 3200 image and ran it through a little processing, not too bad eh? Don't know how well it would do on your basketball images though.

Allan


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## Robin Usagani (Dec 23, 2010)

it looks zoomed in.  Is that zoomed in with your lens or you cropped it?


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## Destin (Dec 23, 2010)

Schwettylens said:


> it looks zoomed in.  Is that zoomed in with your lens or you cropped it?



It was shot with a 50 1.8, so no zooming. But I didn't take time to set up my tripod, so I moved a bit after changing the iso I guess.


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## Destin (Dec 23, 2010)

flea77 said:


> Destin,
> 
> Took your ISO 3200 image and ran it through a little processing, not too bad eh? Don't know how well it would do on your basketball images though.
> 
> Allan



That looks awesome. I don't know how that would look on my basketball photos either but I'd love to find out. Mind letting me in on exactly how you did that?


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## ann (Dec 24, 2010)

You need to download some free trials of noise reduction programs. NeatImage, Dnoise, Dfine, or others .

Just open the photo in that program and they will have a variety of slides, etc. You just start tweaking them until you like what you see. Everyone has their favorite so just take the leap and be playful and see what happens.


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## flea77 (Dec 24, 2010)

Destin,

While I have not tried them all, I have tried quite a few. I use Topaz Denoise5. It is not the fastest, but it does the best job with the least amount of "tweaking" of any of the programs I tried. Give it a shot and see what it can do for you.

Allan


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## Destin (Dec 24, 2010)

flea77 said:


> Destin,
> 
> While I have not tried them all, I have tried quite a few. I use Topaz Denoise5. It is not the fastest, but it does the best job with the least amount of "tweaking" of any of the programs I tried. Give it a shot and see what it can do for you.
> 
> Allan



Thanks man I'll check it out! Does it have the ability to o batch editing? Just curious?


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## ann (Dec 24, 2010)

Topaz products are one of my favorites including dnoise, never noticed if they allow batch processing.


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