Soccer with E-M1 Mark II + 75-300mm II , I'm impressed

I recently tried to photograph a football game of my nephew. Because the point I was standing was far enough I decided to use the 75-300. The settings i put on was Shutter Priority, 10 fps, Auto Iso, C-AF +2. The result was impressive for this combo and the truth is I did not expect it. The C-AFf system worked extremely well and almost all the photos were focused properly. All photos are SOOC jpeg's, resized for posting.

Τhe first batch was under cloudy weather.

Ιn the second batch the sun just appeared.

John, these look good, specially considering that this is a (relatively) cheap lens. Well done.

I bought one recently on a bit of a sale (AUD$399, about US$290, normally AUD$499 MSRP).

Sitting in a chair with arms tucked in, I can get sharp shots at 300mm @ 1/15th with subject distance of 3.5-4.0m. Sharp enough to read the fine print on a dress making pattern, and the print is very cleanly defined.

With my E-M1 MkII, I find that standing up without any support, I need to keep the shutter speed well up to have any hope of getting sharp results at 300mm with a subject distance of around 12-15-25m. The lens itself is quite sharp enough when used supported, just that I am wobbly ...

From your EXIF, I see that you have kept the ISO up with resultant high SS. I think that this is the secret of getting sharp images with this lens, and other similar lenses. Either that, or have the simply superb technique that some here routinely exhibit. I'm not as good as that ... .

Maybe there is sample variation with this lens, but I suspect that many do not realise just how good your technique has to be, and how steady the lens must be, to get sharp results from these long FL lenses at any distance. The slightest movement, and the results are very soft.

Skeeterbytes wrote:

The combination is working well for you.

Cheers,

Rick

Indeed,

Thank you Rick.

Great shot of the player in white committing those fouls

JaKing wrote:

John, these look good, specially considering that this is a (relatively) cheap lens. Well done.

I bought one recently on a bit of a sale (AUD$399, about US$290, normally AUD$499 MSRP).

Sitting in a chair with arms tucked in, I can get sharp shots at 300mm @ 1/15th with subject distance of 3.5-4.0m. Sharp enough to read the fine print on a dress making pattern, and the print is very cleanly defined.

With my E-M1 MkII, I find that standing up without any support, I need to keep the shutter speed well up to have any hope of getting sharp results at 300mm with a subject distance of around 12-15-25m. The lens itself is quite sharp enough when used supported, just that I am wobbly ...

From your EXIF, I see that you have kept the ISO up with resultant high SS. I think that this is the secret of getting sharp images with this lens, and other similar lenses. Either that, or have the simply superb technique that some here routinely exhibit. I'm not as good as that ... .

Maybe there is sample variation with this lens, but I suspect that many do not realise just how good your technique has to be, and how steady the lens must be, to get sharp results from these long FL lenses at any distance. The slightest movement, and the results are very soft.

Hi John,

All the shots was handheld and for sure the technique helps but as you say high shutter speed are the factor. Apart from these all photos from this lens are very sharp even at 300mm,i am very happy owner.

greetings

Impressive but the light shirted guy in the first few shots should have been penalized

macsesso wrote:

Great shot of the player in white committing those fouls

Thanks

Bassam Guy wrote:

Impressive but the light shirted guy in the first few shots should have been penalized

the referee did not even give a foul 

Greetings

Very nice shots. One suggestion is to get lower, especially with the young kids. I purchased a very small, sturdy, foldable stool to sit on.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B073RZTXSQ/ref=od_aui_detailpages00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It is very small and light weight. Too short for normal use but for photos, I find that my elbows rest right on my knees when I use it.

rsmithgi wrote:

Very nice shots. One suggestion is to get lower, especially with the young kids. I purchased a very small, sturdy, foldable stool to sit on.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B073RZTXSQ/ref=od_aui_detailpages00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It is very small and light weight. Too short for normal use but for photos, I find that my elbows rest right on my knees when I use it.

Thanks for the suggestion. I will consider next time.

John

Another game today. Both teams played for the victory, but the yellow team was superior and they had an very good girl goalkeeper.

The success rate also in the C-AF was very good. Few photos were blurry and probably due to my own mistakes.

John

One of the sequences to test the AF.

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JohnGR wrote:

Another game today. Both teams played for the victory, but the yellow team was superior and they had an very good girl goalkeeper.

The success rate also in the C-AF was very good. Few photos were blurry and probably due to my own mistakes.

John

I especially like this one. As if standing right next to them. Look at the determination on their faces...

Three years later, the same setup in very difficult lighting condition. My nephew also three year older.