Question on taking sheltered basketball shots

[airnosaj]

Hi all...I was taking some shots of my friends at a sheltered basketball court (not indoor) and my images that came out seemed rather blurry. The motion of the players are blurry actually but the surrounding (e.g. rim, board, spectator seats) turned out clear. I would love to increase my shuttle speed to 1/250 (or so) and turn on my external flash but it would distract the players. And if I increase my shuttle speed without using flash, all I get is a very dark image. I am currently using a Dimage Z1 and was wondering if there is anyway I can actually succeed in taking such clear shots like those in the NBA, etc. Thanks for your help all...

 

[zaxh81]

you might want to try upping ur ISO level to compensate for the lost in shutter speed.

 

[airnosaj]

you might want to try upping ur ISO level to compensate for the lost in shutter speed.

Woah!! Hey!! thanks for your reply...really really fast...
Is ISO at 100 enough? My cam can only go up to 400 but very noisy already... but I understand that I can do some photoshop on it
But does that mean that if I up my ISO, I can get clearer 'still' and brighter images while upping my shutter speed and not using flash?

 

[AReality]

U may have accidentally focused at the background, i.e. the rims. chairs. Thus the blury foreground(people).

 

[airnosaj]

U may have accidentally focused at the background, i.e. the rims. chairs. Thus the blury foreground(people).

Hmmm...now that you have mentioned it...maybe...thanks for your advise tho will take note of it and practice more...need to jot all of these down

 

[coke21]

Hmmm...now that you have mentioned it...maybe...thanks for your advise tho will take note of it and practice more...need to jot all of these down

Does your cam have continuous auto focus? If it does might be a good idea to use that mode. So that when u track the players, they are still in focus.

 

[airnosaj]

Hmmm...just wondering ya? If I want to capture all ten players on court, how do I focus? Do I focus on one person or do I have to set something to my cam to get a bigger focusing range? Is there such a thing/term?

 

[Wryer]

Hmmm...just wondering ya? If I want to capture all ten players on court, how do I focus? Do I focus on one person or do I have to set something to my cam to get a bigger focusing range? Is there such a thing/term?

My guess is that you are looking for a greater depth of field. That would 'keep more people in focus' as the depth of field is greater. For greater depth of field, you would need a smaller aperture (aka larger f/number, eg f/11).

However, the trade off is that you get slower shutter speed. Not too ideal for sports i guess.

I think using a flash would be the best idea, but im not sure if you are allowed to do so.

Solution for your problems
1) Flash (Freeze motion)
2) Use Continuos mode
3) Pump up the ISO (at the risk of grain and image quality)
4) Use Manual mode to set desired shutter spd (a little underexposure should be able to corrected by PS)

Thats all i can help ya. Its a just a summary of what others may have suggested and some of my opinions.

Good luck man!