Indoor Table Tennis

[kongping]

Hi all

Assuming ISO 400, no flash and a "school-hall" type lighting system (those big lamps hanging overhead, white light - dunno quite how to describe it), will f2.8 be fast enough to stop action? (player only)...

[londonray]

maybe you can try to PM actionman... he's quite into Ping Pong, may be able to help you out.

[Henessy]

Dun think iso 400 with f2.8 lens is fast enough to capture actions. I have just taken a Table Tennis finals a few months back, using iso 1600 with f2.8 lens.
I find that anything less than that will result in motion blur

[kongping]

Thanks fellas. That's a real speedy response.

I don't have anything faster than f2.8, so I guess I'll have to bump up the ISO then.

For discussion sake, I suppose an 85mm f1.8 or a 100mm f2.0 would be much better options? They should have sufficient reach right...

[Henessy]

But the depth of field will be shallow

[kongping]

Hmm... yea, haven't thought about shallow DOF.

Erm... so the only solution is to bump up the ISO?

Or assuming you shoot wide open at f/1.8 or f2.0, can you still get sharp pictures of the player's face / body? Is there a spot where you should focus on?

[moriahphotos]

Focus on the player's face if possible... You see those sports pictures? They always capture the player's emotion. Settings wise try not to have shutter speed slower than 1/125. Even at that fast speed you may still get motion blur. Follow the advice of those posted here and play around with your settings. One full day of taking pictures of ping-pong tournament should help you better understand which settings to use next time!

[+evenstar]

if u can't get tack sharp images, go for blurred images...artistically blurred i mean..

[westwest1]

Originally Posted by moriahphotos Focus on the player's face if possible... You see those sports pictures? They always capture the player's emotion. Settings wise try not to have shutter speed slower than 1/125. Even at that fast speed you may still get motion blur. Follow the advice of those posted here and play around with your settings. One full day of taking pictures of ping-pong tournament should help you better understand which settings to use next time!

1/125 is still not fast enough...at least might need 1/500....

[westwest1]

Originally Posted by kongping Thanks fellas. That's a real speedy response. I don't have anything faster than f2.8, so I guess I'll have to bump up the ISO then. For discussion sake, I suppose an 85mm f1.8 or a 100mm f2.0 would be much better options? They should have sufficient reach right...

These are not long enough unless u are just next to the court...

[kongping]

well, actually it's a semi-casual competition (inter-cpa games) so i'm less than 10 metres from the table. Focal length about 110-130mm.

anyway, as someone mentioned i had to take the pictures at ISO 1600 to keep the shutter speed about 1/100s.

most of the non-blury pics are of the players in rather static poses, i.e. just about to serve, etc.

[sehsuan]

Something of interest, courtesy of a fellow Sportsshooter.com member:
http://www.sportsshooter.com/guyrhodes/wbtests/

[JediForce4ever]

Originally Posted by westwest1 1/125 is still not fast enough...at least might need 1/500....

IMO, 1/250 or 1/320 should be adequate.

[actionman]

Originally Posted by kongping well, actually it's a semi-casual competition (inter-cpa games) so i'm less than 10 metres from the table. Focal length about 110-130mm. anyway, as someone mentioned i had to take the pictures at ISO 1600 to keep the shutter speed about 1/100s. most of the non-blury pics are of the players in rather static poses, i.e. just about to serve, etc.

hi based on the lighting condition that u've mentioned, u may not be able to get 1/320 secs without underexposing by at least 1 stop. in the recently concluded Volkswagon Open, STTA installed additional rows of flood light in Toa Payoh Sports Hall and i still underexposed by 1/3 of a stop. 130mm is long enough to get u the action with cropping.