Fast action shots HS10

Hi all,

Football season is fast approaching... and I've been give the wonderful task of posting action shots on our web site, http://www.aspleyfootballclub.com.au . So... I'd like some guidance on the best way to take high speed action shots using an HS10, I've seen Lloydys blog and have taken a lot of advice from it. Worst thing about this is that a lot of the games are played at night under lights.

Any feedback much appreciated, and I promise to post some images.

Beery Goodness said:

Hi all,

Football season is fast approaching... and I've been give the wonderful task of posting action shots on our web site, http://www.aspleyfootballclub.com.au . So... I'd like some guidance on the best way to take high speed action shots using an HS10, I've seen Lloydys blog and have taken a lot of advice from it. Worst thing about this is that a lot of the games are played at night under lights.

Any feedback much appreciated, and I promise to post some images.

Click to expand...

HS10 + high speed action + low light = recipe for disaster.

You simply have the wrong camera for the task. Fuji's lenses focus very poorly in low light, even on stationary objects. I hope your artificial lighting is very bright with no dead spots. Crank the ISO to maximize shutter speed and then learn how to post process noise out of your images.

--

http://fujifilmimages.aminus3.com/

I think you will struggle with your request.

Use a tripod
Prefocus
Shoot in bursts and RAW
Be prepared to wait

Unfortunately you will struggle following general play unless it is quite close (

No images of general play because you had to anticipate. Game moved quick, shooting lag meant I had to hoot a fraction before. Therefore I suggest you accept the time penalty, set up in a paretcular area and wait for the action to come to you.

















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Apologies if my lack of photographic knowledge is catching.

Thanks for that. I had a feeling that was the case. Then again, there are a lot of games played in daylight

Thanks for the advice, what about using the focus tracking feature?

... Lucky you.

Sounds challenging and as I've never tried shooting a football game under lights, I don't know what to suggest other than some basics :

• Use a monopod. This will give you a lot of movement flexibility whilst still retaing a stable base.
• Try using ISO 800 (Auto). If not fast enough, use 1600 (Auto). This will give you a lot of flexibility and the good news is the camera will always opt for the lower ISO.
• Set to AF Tracking and turn on High Speed Shooting. You only need half-press to use the AF Tracking.

You can also use aperture or shutter priority if you wish to have specific aperture or shutter settings. Using these though will not allow you to use the ISO xxx (Auto) function.

Good luck with it all.

Cheers.
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Rgds, Dave.
Have fun - take lotsa pix.

http://eyemindsoul.blogspot.com/
http://www.panoramio.com/user/4243198
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pixplanet/sets/72157625885285093/

Thanks for that, great suggestions. I will do that this Saturday.

I should also mention that the shots don't necessarily have to be top quality, just enough to massage the egos of some parents/kids. But they also have to provide repeat traffic to the site to encourage/maintain sponsors.

And I'm brand spanking new to this photography thing...

Always good to try things, I did shoot a few times in low light stage play.

I had the camera in landscape mode (forgot to change to P mode but it turned out quiet ok) also you may want to use manual focus to pre-focus on a certain distance.

For sure get it ready in burst mode (I would stay away from raw takes far too long to get ready again but you get more out of it in PP).

Thanks all, like I said, I'll try all of the suggestions and post any (decent, in my opinion) results.

Don't use aperture mode as suggested by Dave because you won't have enough light and I am guessing you will try and shoot at the longer end alot. Stay out of auto mode and P mode and go with his other suggestions, in particular shutter speed mode. Set to 1/200 minimum or 1/120 if you are supersteady and go from there. Dave believes tracking is faster so use that but it won't help to much with tracking players as they change direction quickly/often.

You will need lots of practice and pateince. Keeper rate will be very low at the start and may not improve much so shoots lots and delete later. You may have to try multiple times (ie: multiple games) before you increase your keeper rate.

Share your results - most of us will try and be constructive.

--
Apologies if my lack of photographic knowledge is catching.

Hi Berry,

most of good advices are given already. If the pics will appear only on the website in small size only, ISO 1600 could work.

You better make some test shots of moving objects the night(s) before under similar conditions. Try to follow moving objects (cars?) steadily while shooting. With some exercise, the objects are sharp before the "moved" background. Could be a nice effect.

The writing times of 5fps are loooong. It is a bit shorter if you shoot them in jpg only (no raws).

Regards
Nic

Hi Beery

The one thing I would suggest with the HS10 is make sure you use burst mode and I would also set white balance to incandescent as you will be under lights.

Though write times are longer for burst mode if you choose you timing right you can get very good results. Its amazing how much an object or person can move in 7 frames. You will need to make sure you have firmware 1.03 for this as it allows seven frames in jpeg mode.
While it was reasonably bright this is an example of what I mean.

http://akiwiretrospective.blogspot.com/2011/02/burst-mode-and-fuji-hs10.html

There are more images in the Kiteboarding section of which I have used just the single frame for the post from a series of shots.

Love dat Fuji
http://akiwiretrospective.blogspot.com/
Fuji HS10,Pentax K1000, Pentax sf7, Pentax zx-50

I've (attempted) to shoot night time HS football one time without much success using a Sony A100 with a 50mm F/1.8 lens (no flash). I had same side line access as the coaches.

You might want to ask for permission to use a hot shoe camera flash. If allowed, some one in the Sony forum suggested a device called "BETTER BEAMER" (I thought he was kidding -- but just goggle it) -- evidently this $40 device is used by many outdoor wildlife photographers as fill flash, and may even work at an evening sporting event.

Just as a reference.. one local newspaper photographer uses a camera flash with her high end Nikon D700 and matching $$ lens at HS games. She got good results except for the occasional "RED" eyes.

With your equipment, don't expect miracles -- if you happen to get a decent shot -- enjoy it, be proud of it, and leave it at that.

Here, fans are not allowed to bring in DSLR cameras to college games. Here is one plic that took at an afternoon game from the stairway near the 20 yard line looking to the opposite 20 yard line. Good enough for a Fuji S700.

So it is still possible to get some lucky shots in the night in burst mode with ISO cranked up as others have said. The closer to your action, the better your results will be.

Beery Goodness said:

Hi all,

Football season is fast approaching... and I've been give the wonderful task of posting action shots on our web site, http://www.aspleyfootballclub.com.au . So... I'd like some guidance on the best way to take high speed action shots using an HS10, I've seen Lloydys blog and have taken a lot of advice from it. Worst thing about this is that a lot of the games are played at night under lights.

Any feedback much appreciated, and I promise to post some images.

Click to expand...

Take a look at this series. I shot these indoors at a Cowboys game last year using the Sports mode in conjunction with a Top 7 burst. I was sitting pretty high-up and got some decent results for a first timer at the game.

https://picasaweb.google.com/nidwannaya/CowboysGame#

You can see the EXIF info in the right column when you click an image.

Good luck!
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Just a Pixelpusher, currently shooting Fujifilm Finepix HS10

P.S. Forgot to mention, these were taken hand-held, mostly at full or near full-zoom with the HS10. The key to capturing the action was the use of burst mode. I shot these in JPEG not RAW.
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Just a Pixelpusher, currently shooting Fujifilm Finepix HS10

Probably goes unsaid, but if using the Better Beamer I'd say OP should practice first to get to know its limitations.

They're inexpensive enough to take a fly at one.

I have one which I've used with my 7D and a friend's 70-200 f4 L IS and a 430 (IIRC) EX II flash.

After boosting flash strength I could not see any difference when shooting Kites (small white birds of prey) on tree tops in our neighborhood.

Probably operator error, as almost anything tried for the first time doesn't yield great results, and I won't suggest the OP will make the same mistake I did, if in fact I made one. The range I was shooting was not unlike some of the ranges one would shoot from the sidelines of a football game if the players are on the opposite hash mark as well as commonly closer, nearly overhead just above two-story rooftop level, when in flight and battling the Crows for roosting territory.

I had first heard of the Better Beamer for safari use where flash was permitted. I thought it if it was a good application there it should be a good application for shooting birds in neighborhood trees...I haven't followed up on researching this problem. It would be GREAT if I could operate this effectively within its bounds.

It has been a while since I shot football but when I did it I used a manual focus camera ISO 400 film and 400mm f/5.6 lens and did OK. I also had to set shutter speed and aperture. I though an camera with auto exposure was a a wonderful step up.

Now we have DSLRS that only require you to point them in the general direction and hold down the button for from the snapto the whistle and then pick the winners. THE HS10 won't do that.

I suggest you set up a burst and manually focus. Use a monopod. This provides added stability and people tend not to jostle someone with a monopod. Either they think yuo are a pro or are simply afraid of retaliation.

Pick where you think something will happen and try to time your shot. You know one team and the players and may get to recognize situations as they develop. No one is going to get every play but if you use burst, prefocus, and stick to your plan for each sequence you should get some nice shots with the HS 10.

Some suggested sequences are:

1) Follow your quarterback and shoot a sequence as he is setting up to throw.

2) Follow the opposing quarterback as deenders get near him looking for the sack or blocked pass

3) On kick offs try to get the receiver fielding the ball You may also get a tackle but that is a bonus.
4) On field goals focus on the holder and try to get the kick sequence

5) Pick a line player and guess where he will end up, prefocus there and shoot as he moves through the area.

6) Guess where a runner will carry the ball and follow the play shooting as he goes through the pre focus area.

Your location will limit what you can shoot, so anticiipate what king of plays you can shoot from where you are and set up for them guessing what will happen. You only have to guess right about 2 to 10 times in the whole game. Pros may do better but then they get to throw out more.

Not football but, I got some lovely shots of my grand daughter in subdued light this way.

Good photographers learn how to use their equipment in the situation. A lot of great photographs were shot by people who would have sold their souls for the capability of the HS10.

There is much better gear out there but the HS10 will give you the capability to get some great shots and the satisfaction that your knowledge planning and skill did it.

Thanks for that, will certainly try your suggestions.

The game I'm shooting is a tad quicker than American Football, but I'll give it my best shot

Thanks for that.

Below is an example of the type of scene I'll be shooting without the action, won't quite have the same kind of light...