Shooting indoor sports with a 60D

~SektorHP Jun 15, 2012

Tomorrow I will be attending the National Gymnastics Championships to play with my Canon 60D.
I only recently switched to DSLR so I'm still inexperienced and I was wondering if anyone out there could advice me on what settings I should use?
I'll be shooting with a 70-300mm IS lens and I don't want to use the flash.

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~Plage-Photo Jun 15, 2012 Photographer

I shoot a lot of sports, including gymnastics.

I assume, when you say attending, you are part of the crowd and do not have a photo pass...

Gymnastics is a challenge to shoot, even with the right gear (I usually shoot with either an 80-200/2.8 or 135/2 depending on the light and my access to the event) keep in mind, when I shoot, I'm typically less than 30 feet from the competitors - occasionally I'm 50ft, but rarely more than that.

With a lens that is 300mm on the long side, and I assume f/5.6 (or worse), and a distance that is likely to be 100-150ft+ from the competitors, you will find it challenging to get great photos.

Suggestions - use a high ISO - I'm not familiar with Canon, but you should be able to use ISO 1600 comfortably and 3200 in a pinch. Personally, I think 1/200s is too slow for gymnastics - especially hand holding a 300mm lens - I'd look to see if you can get it above 1/320 at the lowest (I'd prefer 1/400 or 1/500).

My biggest suggestion? Take some photos, but don't forget to enjoy the event.

~SektorHP Jun 15, 2012

Wow... I hope this is going to work out: I tried the settings you mentioned in my room, and it's really hard to get anything decent with at 1/200s. I can get f/4.0 if I don't zoom, but you guessed right - I'm in the crowd so I'll be far away (that's why I opted for the 70-300mm in the first place).

Thanks for the advice and I'll definitely keep the last tip in mind as well!

~Plage-Photo Jun 15, 2012 Photographer

Well,

1) Odds are there is more light in the arena than in your room.

2) You need to adjust your shutter speed and ISO in order to get the right exposure (assuming you leave the aperture wide open).

~EdgarBerg Jun 15, 2012 Student Photographer

Faster shutter will cause the images all to be black^^ He only has the 70-300 which will be crap at 300.. But I agree with all you've said

~Plage-Photo Jun 15, 2012 Photographer

A shutter speed, does not by itself, cause images to be "black". Only under exposure does.

Without knowing the EV of the venue it is impossible to give advice on specific settings. However, using basic equivalent exposures, by boosting ISO there should be a point where you can get a shutter speed faster than 1/200.

I regularly shoot in very dark high school gyms. It isn't unusual to have an exposure of 1/320, f/2, ISO1600. Division 3 colleges often have 1 stop of more light. Division 1 colleges often go a stop above that (or more if there are regional or national TV lights).

So, assuming the normal light of a Div1 college, exposure could be in the neighborhood of 1/320, f/5.6, ISO3200. If he has a stop more light (possible for a national championship) he could choose to either boost shutter speed or drop ISO (or a little of both). If he has less light than my hypothetical example, then the choice is to boost to ISO6400 (which I'm not sure about with that camera) or drop shutter speed. The risk with 1/200s shutter speed is that everything will come out with motion blur. When I shoot, I'd rather have an sharp image with noise than a blurry image without noise.

~EdgarBerg Jun 15, 2012 Student Photographer

Make sure you use fast shuttersettings (at least 1/200 depending on how fast the movements are). Also make sure to have the burstmode enabled, so that you can take an image sequence. Other than that it is important to know if there is enough light. Is it inside? Outside? The 70-300 doesn't have a good aperture for inside shots. The 85mm 1.8 e.g. is a pretty good lens to shoot with, while being inside a building with low light conditions. But you can also push up the ISO to around 800 and still get images without much noise.

Hope that helps a bit

~SektorHP Jun 15, 2012

It does indeed, thanks.
I'm in the audience, so I'll probably be too far away to make anything decent with an 85mm, so that's why I opted for the 70-300.

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