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Photography Question 

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How can I reduce the blur in action shots?


 
 
I am using a Canon (EOS Digital)Rebel XT to shoot action shots for my husbands high school football team. I love the camera and the still shots are great, but even on the action shot setting, my pictures are very blurred and distorted. Sometimes the kids are a literal blur. The zoom lens that I'm using is the Canon EF 75-300mm 1:4-5.6 III (1.5m/4.9ft) I've read the manuals, but since I really don't know anything about photography, I'm finding it difficult to understand exactly what I should be trying to do. The ISO speed is set at 1600 and I have several settings on the camera like: P Tv AV M and A-DEP. The camera also has several other settings, including the sports setting. I'm not using a flash, other than the built in flash sometimes. I would really appreciate any help that you could give me. We are one game away from the state championship game, and I'd really like to have some great pictures for the kids.


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November 20, 2005

 

Samuel Smith 		  welcome amy,
i have the same problem with my tamron 70-300 f4-f5.6 .as long as there is plenty of light,afternoon,i get great action shots.but as soon as the light starts to fade,early evening,i'm done.it is just not a fast enough lens even at 1600.
a nice 200 f2.8 is still out of my price range,even though I know I need at least that.last time I checked on a used 300 f2.8 ,it was still over 1700 bucks.a local camera store may rent you one for a modest price.
hth,sam


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November 20, 2005

 
- Darren J. Gilcher

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Darren J. Gilcher's Gallery 		  Hi Amy, I'm a relative amatuer but maybe you need a faster shutterspeed. ISO 1600 is very high so it may be like Sam said about the lenses max. aperture. Are the games at night? If they are during the day and light is good enough you could be moving the camera too much. I went to some drag races once and the guy next to me tried to tell me that the pictures would be a blur bacause the cars were going 250 mph at the finish line where we were sitting. I told him since I was using a shutterspeed of 1000/sec and I was following the cars with the camera that they would come out fine. They did. The cars were clear and the background showed a little motion. Also, the built in flash would be too weak. Hope I helped. It's the weekend and there's not so much talk here by some of the regulars. Maybe they will be on later


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November 20, 2005

 
- Ken Smith

BetterPhoto Member
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Ken Smith's Gallery 		  Try using the sports mode, as it's configured to do fast shutter speeds. That's the key; get the shutter speed high enough to freeze the action. If you're shooting at 300mm (full zoom on your lens), then you should strive for a shutter speed of 300. Also, try using a tripod, although that's not as practical.
I also have a Rebel. If you're not doing so already, switch to the continuous drive mode. That will allow you to snap off several images back to back to back. This is very handy.
Finally, are you always using ISO 1600 for general picture taking? That's really high and will lead to more grain in your images. I try to keep ISO at < 400 for that reason.


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November 20, 2005

 

John T. Chambers 		  Amy
Unfortunately, that lens will not work well for nighttime sports shots unless you have a strong flash and are on the sidelines. Even then, you will still battle the that particular lens. I have the same lens and it simply will not shoot at night. I know you don't want to hear this but you will need at least a f2.8(continuous) if not a 2.4 for what you want to shoot.


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November 21, 2005

 

Jason M. Sipe 		  Amy, if you have Photoshop, you can do this; it might salvage some decent pics.

First off:
--move as close to the action as possible (so you don't have to zoom in all the way).
--set the iso to 1600 (assuming it's low-light levels).
--set your shutter speed to about 250-300 (or sports setting)
--open your shots with Photoshop and manually lighten them with your adjustment settings (use the contrast and brightness settings--both at about +20-30).
You will get considerable graininess, so download this piece of software, http://www.imagenomic.com/download.php

This will take out all of the noise and give you some amazing results.


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November 21, 2005

 

IAN J. TENNANT 		 
 
 
Are you shooting at night or during the day ? If it's nighttime your lens will semi cut it for sideline shooting with ISO of 1600 depending on the lighting situattion, but if have to use a flash you will be limited 250 shutter speed (flash sync). For daytime shooting you should be semi OK, take yout ISO down to 800 and experiment with different high shutter speeds. I have attached acouple of shots of night games (sideline shooting) using the 20d, 70-200mm f2.8 Iso 800 and shutter speed of 250.

Hope this helps and good luck.

Ian


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November 21, 2005

 

IAN J. TENNANT 		 
 
  down he goes
down he goes

IAN J. TENNANT

  
  can he get it
can he get it

IAN J. TENNANT

  
 
sorry


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November 21, 2005

 
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