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Archive 2012 · Friday Night Football Questions

  
 
tlong
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Friday Night Football Questions


Hi guys! I have had the pleasure of shooting daytime football for the last 5+ years. Now, I'm heading back to the gridiron after dark I am teaching at a high school and am excited to have the opportunity to shoot the games this year. The only problem is, I don't even own a Nikon brand flash any more. I have a few Vivitar 285's I can work with, though. I have a D700, a 70-200 and a 400 2.8 to work with. I am guessing it will be fairly dark, but they have forked out some serious cash on a turf field. My guys will be wearing all black, unfortunately.

I used to put a flash on a bracket low on my monopod. It looks like I will have to use PW II's this year. I am afraid that with the all black in dim light I won't be able to shoot just ambient. I have shot with the 285's like this before, but I remember being very frustrated with it. Any suggestions?
THanks in advance!
Tracey



Sep 18, 2012 at 07:22 PM
rddayton
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Friday Night Football Questions


Morning Tracy,

You might be surprised at how well the gear you have will handle the conditions. My experience suggests the D700 can shoot at ISO 6400 (and higher) for Friday night games. Try it on in Aperature Priority with either of your lenses at 2.8 and see what you think. Some people like the AUTO ISO feature for when things get a bit dark in the corners -- and remember that when you use AUTO ISO you can tell the camera what the lowest SS you will accept. Give it a whirl and post a few for us to see. Think you will be pleasantly surprised.



Sep 19, 2012 at 05:59 AM
DennisC
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Friday Night Football Questions


You'll be shooting manual flash and it's really not as bad or difficult as it might seem. I shot manual flash last weekend and was pleasantly surprised. Every time I changed positions, or if I was shooting closer or further from the action, I'd take a test shot and adjust the flash EC accordingly.

The field had pretty good light and I was able to shoot at 1/4 to 1/8 power. The good thing about that is I could rip off 2-3 shot sequences.

Give it a try and report back with pictures!



Sep 19, 2012 at 08:48 AM
Grantland
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Friday Night Football Questions


hi tracy,

shooting football under the lights without a flash i find anything other than manual mode sporadic at best. and i tried auto iso but it drove me crazy in these conditions. when shooting in a gym i love auto iso but not night time outdoor sports.

example, if i am shooting from . . . let's say the 25 yard line towards the end zone the iso would jump to it's highest setting because behind our end zone it is pitch black. this would over expose the subject. and then if i shot (same location) towards the 50 yard line it often did a much better job. at times it might under expose the subject due to the lights. manual everything for me all the way. i do up the iso (manually) when shooting towards the end zone or when needed due to how the lighting covers the field. i hope this makes sense?

i agree with rick in that you might be pleasantly surprised how the D700 holds up in your situation.

have fun and post some of your shots.

grant



Sep 19, 2012 at 09:01 AM
mdalby
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Friday Night Football Questions


Tracey it would sure be nice to have Nikon strobes so you don't have to shoot manual flash.

Get a SC-29 cable and it would be a nice difference so you have correct flash output.



Sep 19, 2012 at 09:43 AM
Scott Sewell
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Friday Night Football Questions


I'm with Grant on the "auto" vs "manual" options. Under (mostly) consistent lights dial in your exposure manually and adjust as needed for dead spots on the field. I don't have bodies with an auto ISO feature, but I just can't imagine it's going to be better in the long run than being very adept at using manual mode.

Good luck!!



Sep 19, 2012 at 11:04 AM
Jon Uhler
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Friday Night Football Questions


tlong....back in the saddle....can't wait to see the shot!

Congratz to the new digs!



Sep 19, 2012 at 01:07 PM
Jon Uhler
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Friday Night Football Questions


tlong....back in the saddle....can't wait to see the shots!

Congratz to the new digs!

Edited on Sep 20, 2012 at 04:11 PM · View previous versions



Sep 19, 2012 at 01:07 PM
tlong
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Friday Night Football Questions


Hi guys! Thanks for all f the great advice! I'll experiment a little and see what I can come up with I'm looking at three games in three days! I could not be more excited!

Thanks, Jon!...I'm loving it! I love all of your pics of Addie...she's a cutie and she has a talented Dad!



Sep 19, 2012 at 07:45 PM





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