sport mode/capturing moving objects....

so did my photos in the indoor tonight - surprisingly the light has turned out ok.....

the pictures however, didnt.

I have realised as pathetic as it is i do not have the strength to hold my camera for long periods of time.... so now need a tripod.
I realised after my pics kept bluring.....(they are all garbage imo)...and my back was killing (bad back anyhow i should have known better)!

so any tips on sport mode greatly appreciated but for the time being im investing ina tripod as i realyl cant hold the camera still enough to take action shots for over 30 mins :/

First thing to realise is that the closer the subject the faster it moves in comparison to distance. For example if you hold up you hand and wave it just infront of your eyes it is blurred. Now if you hold it at arms length and do the same the hand is in focus or at least your eyes have time to focus better
on it.

Thats what I mean by relative speed versus distance. Therefore there is a limit to distance/time which a camera can focus at in regards to movement. This is more than likely the problem.
Ok increasing shutter speed can fix this to a certain extent but then you start running into other problems like needing higher ISO which if over done can cause yet more problems like pixalisation "graining" . Also the aperture will need altering which in turn can affect the ISO and shutter speed.
Using a flashgun you may think will help, or even the built in flash, however they generally only work to a max shutter speed of 1/125 sec beyond that the shutter wouldn't correspond in time with the flash.

So take into consideration distance- speed of moving subject - shutter speed- ISO - aperture then you will find your nearly there

As your talking about indoor shots the above will apply to fixed or panning shots tripods won't help for what you are having problems with as regards blurring but will help with the holding aspect.

Tip take a photo note the camera settings and keep doing the same again until you are happy with the shot , then make a write it down in a record book
Bazza

thanks bazza


other issue i had was the shutter speed - i hadnt read up (no time),, so that was very slow and hadnt a clue how to change it as then this would (imo) have made a big difference

im looking for a tripod now and hope this helps..... cause i had to also use my 70-300mm lense and then realised just how heavy it was!

Suze

What will help is if you gave more details about your problem, for example say indoors doesn't really convey much, it could mean indoors in an arena or the front room, or even a shot of you in the bath trying to sink a yellow plastic duck.

What lens you are using and at what distance as the lens also plays a very important part , the 70-300mm lens is around f4.5-5.6 which is quite slow. Also what you are trying to take a picture of.

For say front room shots something like a 50mm f1.4 would be better as it is a "faster" lens allows more light onto the sensor. The lower the f number the "faster" the lens ( higher shutter speeds can be used) which is why they are more expensive and generally not on zoom lenses. Thats apart from glass quality.

With all the questions you have with all due respect I think you are trying to rush it too much.
Photography and getting used to a camera takes time and practise. It took me nearly 2 years to get to grips with how to use a camera and I still get it wrong. Slow down would be my advise, learn each setting in turn, master it ,then move on the the next setting. Its really the only way
to find out what its all about
Bazza

sorry indoor arena.....

horse thing.......

im guessing that the less light the slowed the shutter.... the shutter speed was awful.... the lense was from 70 right upto 300mm..... even on 70 i was taking action shots - no good.....

bviously my hand wasnt still and i need a tripod.....so that didnt help

glad i went though -again learning curve

As I said Suze

practise practise practise, learn about how a camera settings works in relation to each other, master each setting in turn, take into consideration what you are going to shoot, the lighting conditions etc. Unfortunately the more you learn the more there is to learn as your knowledge increases.
Have a look at monopods as well, might suit that type of photography better

Bazza

thank you

shooting the horses was easier the other week1! they turned out better lol dogs are so much faster sadly - especially snapping collies - my god they fly

Suze

Post some of the pics that you think are terrible and if you can.....tell us what you did..

I would advise against a tripod for the type of work you were doing last night. Too restrictive in use and you would find it difficult to follow the action unless you decided to pre-focus on one spot and activate the shutter as the subject entered the zone you have focused on.

My suggestion would be a monopod. Far more mobile and a firm favourite of many professional sports photographers.

Steve

Suze

here's a short advert for monopods that demonstrates how useful they are. Mine goes most places with me. I have had my Manfrotto monopod for 15 years and it is still going strong



Steve