Indoor sports


pauliggy

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Nov 11, 2009
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Hi all, would appreciate your help. Am a newbie with a Pentax k5, lenses prime 40 f2.4 and 50-200 f4-5.6
I am planning to shoot at a BJJ (a form of martial arts, like judo and grappling) competition this weekend. This will be held indoors at a local gym.
I will be shooting without flash, and I can be quite close to the action, maybe 10-20 feet away.
Given the above scenario, would the prime lens suffice?
Would appreciate any help, with regards to ISO (1600 sufficient?)
. I prefer to shoot in manual mode, or is it better to go aperture priority mode?
Thank you all....
 

If you are comfortable with manual, best to stick with it. If the competitors are wearing their gi (martial arts uniform) then the whiteness might confuse the camera's auto exposure. Use manual and you will be assured of getting the desired exposure.

I believe that with the K-5, you should even be able to use ISO3200 and get satisfactory results. In the end, I guess it depends how much light you will have in the gym. However, you might want to bring the 50-200 too to give yourself some room to play with in terms of composition, e.g. zooming in on faces
 

If you are comfortable with manual, best to stick with it. If the competitors are wearing their gi (martial arts uniform) then the whiteness might confuse the camera's auto exposure. Use manual and you will be assured of getting the desired exposure.

I believe that with the K-5, you should even be able to use ISO3200 and get satisfactory results. In the end, I guess it depends how much light you will have in the gym. However, you might want to bring the 50-200 too to give yourself some room to play with in terms of composition, e.g. zooming in on faces

Thank you rocaway. Appreciate it!
 

Get a faster lens, something like a 50/1.4 or 50/1.8. You'll need all the speed you want to get good indoor action shots.
 

hi fengwei, that's on the shopping list but for this weekend, guess I'll make do with what I have at the moment :) time to experiment and learn by shooting more! thks fengwei!
 

Enjoy yourself at Impakt.
The lightings there is quite bright so even with ISO 1600 at F2.4 should be enough for fast shutter :)
 

Enjoy yourself at Impakt.
The lightings there is quite bright so even with ISO 1600 at F2.4 should be enough for fast shutter :)

Getz, looks like you are familiar with the BBJ scene :)
 

Been into MMA for 2 years but very seldom roll :p More to stand up.

Properly u will be at the end of the mat. Using APSC cam, might have to go for wider lens. Should be quite crowded looking at the list of matches so movement space really limited.
 

f2.8 should get you by.
I suspect the zoom won't cut it on the long end, however, no harm to bring.

MHO,

1. Use Tv mode or TAv mode.
2. You need 1/320 and even better if its 1/500 (higher if its still not enough). Typically 1/320 should stop most movement except for the very rapid ones (eg. a reel from a punch). So 1/500 is a safe bet.
3. Be prepared that ISO will go very high up. Personally, I think ISO3200-6400
4. Customize the WB before the matches start
5. Set your intended settings before the matches to roughly check that its ok, since the lighting won't change (Eg. 1/500; f2.8; what is the ISO? )
6. More DOF can be a good thing (esp. longer lenses). It will make up for focus errors and/or rapid shifts of the combatants.
So don't keep thinking of f2.8, if you can afford it, try f4, f5.6, and see how you like it. All the while keeping in mind ISO and shutter speed of course (TAV helps here)


Thats all from me.
Enjoy you match. :)
 

Thank you very much for all the advice and feedback! Much appreciated.
 

Actually for indoor sports if the lighting in the venue is consistent you can shoot in M mode all day long. One problem you may face is the flickering of fluorescent lights once you go past 1/250th or so. You may get uneven lighting or green and purple color casts.. So just shoot raw and correct later. You may find it useful to program AF operation to the back button rather than the shutter button as well.
 

Thank you all for the input... I am confused with all types of memory cards available. What types of memory cards do you recommend if I am shooting sports, like muay Thai boxing? Does the type of memory cards play a significant difference? Thanks you all!
 

Thank you all for the input... I am confused with all types of memory cards available. What types of memory cards do you recommend if I am shooting sports, like muay Thai boxing? Does the type of memory cards play a significant difference? Thanks you all!

Speed of memory card is important but you have to consider camera system interface eg. builtin buffer memory,and read/write speed.
read K5 user manual,it should give you an idea of what is is capable of like continous frame rate at what picture resolution.But if you are experimenting ,no harm to use what cards you have on hand. Good luck.Not forgetting fast auto focus or instinctual hand and eye cordination
if you do manual.
 

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