Hey Nill, These look great to me. I'm wondering though, are you cropping a lot especially on the smaller (4x6?) shots? I can never tell how wide a shot should be by knowing the focal length of a lens. If you are cropping a lot, do you think the shots are better than what you could get with the standard 85/1.8 (since you are shooting at f/2 anyway)? I understand you may be working with the new 50/1.2 to better understand its capabilities. - Tom
Actually 50mm is my favorite focal length for right under the basket in this very small gym, which is why I've been looking forward to the new lens with such anticipation. I never hesitate to crop aggressively, of course, but these vary quite a bit. 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 9, 10 and 11 are all close to full frame, at least to the extent that they could not have been shot this way with the 85. 4, 6 and 7 are more extensive crops and could have been had, perhaps better, with the 85. I mostly switch between those two lenses on one body for near court and shoot the other end of the court with a 200 f/1.8 on another body.
Thanks for the info, Nill. I never would have guessed it. I've been looking at these and your previous post. That's some lens, but I wish I had your timing. ;-) Tom
Nice shots Nill. I think #2 is excellent. That length is perfect for under the basket in highschool gyms. Gotta got to the corners with the 85. At least I do. Nice timing on the action. Congrats.
croasdail wrote:
How did you find the focus speed with the lens - say compared to the 85?
Mark, my purely subjective impression after shooting these two games is that the new 50 is actually a bit better than the 85 in this respect... maybe even as much better than the 85 as the 85 is better than the 50 f/1.4.
Now mind you there's probably some serious cognitive dissonance involved in that judgment, having coughed up 1500 clams for the darn thing, but be that as it may, so far I have to say I'm very happy with it. It was specifically in hopes of better low-light AF speed and precision that I bought it, and at least on initial impression, I'm not disappointed.
JDSA wrote:
Other than the abiltiy to shoot at f/2 how much faster does the 50 f/1.2 focus than a 24-70 f/2.8 (assuming you've tried both)?
Jack I really couldn't say as I never used the 24-70 that way. Can't remember if I ever shot sports with it, really, other than the very occasional church-league game with daylight streaming in the windows — like this shot, which I call "Praying for a Rebound:" ;-)
http://www.toulme.net/glenn/basketball/29420.jpg
BTW, it always looks like every basketball gym photographed has more light in the key than the ones I shoot in!
Not ours! Like I said, I really should have been shooting ISO 3200 down in there, and will henceforth. I had to goose the exposure pretty hard on those in the RAW conversion (which is exactly the sort of bonehead thing I'm constantly doing — a large part of why I shoot RAW).
Good news also then on the f1.2 lens. I like my 50 f1.4, but am not in love with it. This might be a better solution. I will put it in the "someday" queue.
Ok I don't know about anyone else, but they look plenty bright enough to me. Am I missing something? Why would you want to shoot at ISO3200 and incur MORE noise?
Because at 1600 they were underexposed at least a stop and I had to push them in the RAW processing, which at least arguably introduces more noise than shooting them at 3200 in the first place (although some would argue that it amounts to pretty much the same thing).
Like I said, that's part of why I shoot RAW. If I'd been shooting jpg they'd have been a mess.
These are great! thanks for posting.
I will be shooting girl's basketball tomorrow and I'll give my 50mm F1.8 a try. I'll remember to stay under the hoop while I use it. Any other tips?
Nill Toulme wrote:
Be ready to duck and cover on the breakaways. ;-)
I will
BTW, you'll need a 35mm to get an equivalent FOV to these on your 1.6x crop body.
Nill
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www.toulme.net
Can you explain that for me ooh wait, you mean I'll need a 35mm lens to get the Field of View like you did due to my Canon 20D's 1.6x crop. I got it! thanks! well I don't have a 35mm lens
Well try the 50 anyway. I think you'll like it. Just try to lead the AF as much as possible to give it a chance to catch up. CF4 and the * button work well for this purpose.
Yes, I brought the 50mm lens and will be giving it a try.
I've never actually use the * for focusing, I've tried but I guess I have to get use ot it to get good result.
Are you saying that you prefocus your lens in that area of the court and leave it there? Or you just using the * to AF all the time?
The latter... press and hold * to activate AF, track the player, fire the shutter as the spirit moves you. It does take a little getting used to, but I think a majority of Canon sports shooters do it that way. More discussion of that in my Sports Basics tips here.
Can you explain that for me