Advice and Critique corner

[sworks]

Originally Posted by coolcat

I'm a member of Photography on the Net which is a Canon only forum and Talk Photography which is a non camera specific forum.

Both of these forums have critique sections as well

I enjoy using these forums but not in the same way as on here, the community's don't seem to have the same closeness as we do. Maybe Togs are more of an independent lot

Another Talk Photography user here, although like Jeff says not very often. There are many professionals on there with some stunning work which can help with ideas

[sworks]

Like Jeff says Rob, try the equivalent to aperture priority as I think Nikon call it something else ( just had a quick search and I think it's A mode ) set the 'f' number to its lowest setting which I'm guessing will be about 4 and turn the ISO up. I'm not sure how well your camera will handle ISO but maybe start at 1000 and see what the results are like? My camera isn't one that will go up thousands and thousands but at 1000 it works really well and I do indoor wheelchair basketball which is quite fast moving. The biggest difference would be if you know somebody local with an f2.8 lens, although very expensive to buy that's the way forward for indoor stuff with no flash.another point worth making is can your camera shoot in Raw mode? If so try that. What basically happens with JPEG is that not all pixels are real and some are filled in and so you have a smallish file. With Raw you capture all the data. You need a certain programme to turn the data into the finished photo but when editing you can do so much more with darker photos, you can even change the White Ballance after the shot. Hope I haven't made it sound confusing and more exciting

[Gate Keeper]

Originally Posted by trebor

My grandson ( 14 ) has taken up boxing, has had a few fights so far and is proving to be a prospect to watch.

I attend the fights which so far have been in a local a club with a ring erected for the event.

I have become his photographer if you like, but am having some difficulty in taking good pictures whilst he is in the ring, one issue is the light, although there are spotlights above the ring it is not always possible to get very close and flashes are not allowed in case they affect the boxers, consequently a lot of the pictures I take are dark and not sure there is anything I can do to make things a lot better.

At his last fight I did manage to get closer to the ring and the pictures are better

The other issue is the movement of the boxers, I have tried continuous mode but most of the pictures where they are moving come out blurred.

I am a keen amateur picture taker with a Nikon D60, I usually use an 18-55 but have not yet learned the techniques to move the dial from auto so any advice on what settings I should be using would be welcome

I know this post is useless without pics so I will add some later

As promised Rob, I have sent you a PM with a link to the boxing photos on the photographers forum. The thread is called:

"Seconds Out"

[trebor]

Many thanks for the advice guys and for the pmd link Phil, I will take what you say on board and give it a go next time.

I also have a Nikon D5100 which i bought as it has video capability, whether that would be any better for stills in the boxing situation not sure. I had then intended to sell the D60 but then changed my mind as i love it and it has produced some decent pictures in other situations.

[coolcat]

Originally Posted by trebor

Many thanks for the advice guys and for the pmd link Phil, I will take what you say on board and give it a go next time.

I also have a Nikon D5100 which i bought as it has video capability, whether that would be any better for stills in the boxing situation not sure. I had then intended to sell the D60 but then changed my mind as i love it and it has produced some decent pictures in other situations.

The good thing about it is not having the cost of film and developing , you can shoot and experiment with the settings without ongoing cost.......Although, what Mark says about buying a constant aperture fast lens would seriously help with your low light photos.

Have a look at what Sigma and Tamron offer as they will be cheaper than the Nikon alternatives and still make some nice glass

Look forward to seeing your next photos and hope some of the advice helps get the shots your looking for

[Gate Keeper]

Originally Posted by trebor

Many thanks for the advice guys and for the pmd link Phil, I will take what you say on board and give it a go next time.

I also have a Nikon D5100 which i bought as it has video capability, whether that would be any better for stills in the boxing situation not sure. I had then intended to sell the D60 but then changed my mind as i love it and it has produced some decent pictures in other situations.

The Nikon D5100 is a nice camera Rob. I bought the Nikon D5000 in August 2010 at Jessops and 2 months later it was discontinued by Nikon.

You will see that in the link I sent, the photographer used the following settings with his new 17mm-50mm lens

f2.8
1/60 - 1/80
ISO 3200

He remarks that above 800 ISO, the noise cuts in and he has to use Adobe Lightroom to take it down.

Have fun Rob, (if your going) see you at the POL

[Rocket]

Originally Posted by Gate Keeper

The Nikon D5100 is a nice camera Rob. I bought the Nikon D5000 in August 2010 at Jessops and 2 months later it was discontinued by Nikon.

You will see that in the link I sent, the photographer used the following settings with his new 17mm-50mm lens

f2.8
1/60 - 1/80
ISO 3200

He remarks that above 800 ISO, the noise cuts in and he has to use Adobe Lightroom to take it down.

Have fun Rob, (if your going) see you at the POL

Sounds good advice Phil.

Lens wide open to let in most light..
Shutter around as slow as you can with camera hand held but still fast enough to freeze most of the action. Again getting in light a priority.

ISO at 3200 - This will cause noise in many cameras but is your only option to get a correctly exposed image.


On my camera I can set the camera to auto ISO. This can be useful for indoor shooting. I set the aperture and shutter manually and the ISO sorts it's self out.

I wonder if in the future the noise levels at high ISO can be vastly improved. It would be a great help in low light conditions a most likely cheaper than fast lenses.

[trebor]

Thanks for the advice Paul and yes Phil i will be at POL and look forward to meeting Indiana Jones again !

[coolcat]

Just to keep this thread active I've posted this

Taken yesterday at the BTCC Brands Hatch.



Anything you may have done differently ?

[sworks]

Did you shoot JPEG or RAW Jeff? I would maybe try it a bit brighter?