p.2 #1 · Help me get sharp baseball shot- photos posted for C&C
While this looks much better,It still looks off to me (on second look, it could be my imagination)...
The fingers and the hair look blurred together or something? Could it be that some of your softness is coming from your post processing? Are you running excessive noise reduction or saving at such a low quality that it is making your images look more soft? At 1/1250th of a second, there shouldn't be much motion blur from a child running.
p.2 #2 · Help me get sharp baseball shot- photos posted for C&C
Post processing could be the problem. I do my best at photoshop but I am self taught and still have a long way to go. My questions on post processing will be saved for another thread.
The last photo above was cropped, levels adjusted and sharpened. Maybe too much processing. I think the crop is mainly what is causing the softness.
I will get another chance at soccer tomorrow and baseball on Sunday. Wish me luck.
p.2 #4 · Help me get sharp baseball shot- photos posted for C&C
I'm no expert on baseball, but here are my thoughts anyway. I think it's all covered well in the baseball primer in the sports corner resources - been a while since I read it...
#1
- seems sharp enough to me, and the eyes/ball/peak action/pose are ok
- it's backlit fairly strongly, not sure if +1/3 ec is enough for that
- the background kinda sucks, but may have been the best available.
- can you crop the spectator legs out a bit more?
- camera height seems higher than #2 & #3. I prefer the lower angles personally
#2
- seems sharp enough, best background
- not sure if this is the favourite part of the pitching cycle that people (parents) want to see. Always wondered about that.
- I think you could crop out the misc. elbow & foot, and re-centre the pitcher
#3
- looks a little soft for 1/2000. Perhaps it's backfocused. Take a close look at the dirt in you full res version to decide. The 30D isn't perfect at AI Servo focusing. I usually takes similar shots in bursts of 2 to improve chances of nailing the focus.
- don't post you shots without straightening them first (even if the fence is leaning, I would make it look vertical) otherwise people will be noticing that instead of other things...
- background is spoiled by the vehicle to some degree.
lol - I was just thinking to myself looking at your shots, how I kinda missed shooting ball this year, the warm days, and the sounds of the game....but then I thought of the dust!
p.2 #5 · Help me get sharp baseball shot- photos posted for C&C
pvhphoto- thanks for your reply and insight. I know some of the backgrounds suck (spectator's legs, autos, dugout and fence, etc.) but that is just something I have to deal with at most of our local fields. This particular field does offer a nice tree lined background from certain angles.
#3 is probably the heavies crop so it does appear soft. It actually appears a little sharper on my screen so maybe the conversion into photobucket softened it a little more.
A couple of final questions then I'll let this thread die down and continue to practice.
1. Can I reasonably expect to get razor sharp shots across the infield with my 70-200 F4 L lense? The players are approximately 80 feet away.
2. How do I assure that the camera/lense is focusing on my subject. I often get shots (like #3 above) in which another subject in the photo appears to be in sharper focus?
Thanks to all for your replies and suggestions. This site is an invaluable resource to a learning hobbyist!
p.2 #7 · Help me get sharp baseball shot- photos posted for C&C
marino420td wrote:
2. How do I assure that the camera/lense is focusing on my subject. I often get shots (like #3 above) in which another subject in the photo appears to be in sharper focus?
I assume you're shooting with the center point on AI Servo? Always try to focus on something with contrast in the image, a logo or lettering, not just a clean jersey, so that the AF locks on to something better.
I hope nobody else said this as I didn't have time to read the whole post.
As for being 80 feet away, that should be a problem, just be at 200mm and be prepared to crop. Also, have you considered purchasing a 1.4x telextender?
p.2 #8 · Help me get sharp baseball shot- photos posted for C&C
Looks like you are working your way through the challenges quite well
A couple of comments
The soccer pic seems oversharpened - and doesn't look like it needs to be
Look at the feet and the grass for this one
ISO 400 - with shooting at f4 - 4.5 now and daylight games, can you drop the ISO as well?
It seems you have 'hard coded' it there for some reason - try out 200 if possible
p.2 #9 · Help me get sharp baseball shot- photos posted for C&C
marinonotasmanytdsasfavre :
I don't know how well the 200 end of your zoom fills the frame with a player across the infield, but I'm sure you know. If you can fill it and you're using good shutter speed and technique, then I think that you can expect images as sharp as your camera can produce 'em. Maybe not as often as a 1d shooter will, but you should get plenty. You never posted the original of the catcher in the first series, but that was very sharp and I assume the original was not much different from the posted crop (meaning you filled the frame with it). The second photo of the catcher is cut-your-finger sharp, so if that meets your standard (it sure would meet mine), then it really seems as though your answer is in having enough length to fill the frame with the pitcher / infielder.
2. How do I assure that the camera/lense is focusing on my subject. I often get shots (like #3 above) in which another subject in the photo appears to be in sharper focus?
The focus does appear to be slightly behind the player in #3 (looking at the dirt), but if you are in AI Servo, the first shot fires regardless of focus while the subsequent shots in a burst are all focus priority. So, you really can't assure, all you can do is just up your odds by shooting a short burst as opposed to single shots in AI Servo mode or by pre-focusing on your subject before you squeeze the trigger on the initial shot. Or buy a 1d body ...
Putting the sharp image issue aside, you did manage to capture some great expressions, which will make for some wonderful shots when you get the image sharpness issue resolved.
p.2 #11 · Help me get sharp baseball shot- photos posted for C&C
Gary, first of all- the Favre comment was below the belt
Honestly I don't know how well it fills the frame. For some strange reason I seem to unconsciously back off the zoom because I'm afraid of cutting some of the player out of the frame during an action sequence. I'll try to find some shots at 200mm for reference.
On the focus issue, center point focus was used on all shots. I didn't know the fact you pointed out about the first shot. Maybe that is one problem because I normally don't fire a sequence. After reading so many tutorials, I thought I should be able to nail the shot with one click but obviously that is not happening. I'll try a few bursts to see how they turn out.
p.2 #12 · Help me get sharp baseball shot- photos posted for C&C
marino420td wrote:
Honestly I don't know how well it fills the frame. For some strange reason I seem to unconsciously back off the zoom because I'm afraid of cutting some of the player out of the frame during an action sequence. I'll try to find some shots at 200mm for reference.
I do the same thing and it leads to missed shots for me all the time. It can be partially solved by cropping, but you can't fix everything in post.
marino420td wrote:
On the focus issue, center point focus was used on all shots. I didn't know the fact you pointed out about the first shot. Maybe that is one problem because I normally don't fire a sequence. After reading so many tutorials, I thought I should be able to nail the shot with one click but obviously that is not happening. I'll try a few bursts to see how they turn out.
One thing I do is start focusing before I'm ready to shoot. I use back button focus (I don't have time to explain it, but others will be able to), and hold down the * button to focus and then wait for the right action (peak or key are words used a lot to describe the best frame you can get from a given series of events) before pressing the shutter button. At any rate, it's something to try if you want too. I also fire burst, especially with action coming toward me.
p.2 #13 · Help me get sharp baseball shot- photos posted for C&C
Honestly I don't know how well it fills the frame. For some strange reason I seem to unconsciously back off the zoom because I'm afraid of cutting some of the player out of the frame during an action sequence. I'll try to find some shots at 200mm for reference.
danthemanfan: I know exactly what you mean. I used to shoot the same way and I still have to fight the urge to want space around my subject. It is much more challenging (especially in soccer) to zoom in tight, but the rewards are substantial. It's something hobby shooters like you and I have to work on everytime out. I'm getting a much higher percentage of my shots filling the frame, but I still have work to do. Just remember that taking a 'loose' shot isn't giving you the results you want anyway, you might as well zoom in and take your chances. If you pull off framing the shot correctly, then you'll have yourself something. It'll make you appreciate every good action shot you see from now on.
On the focus issue, center point focus was used on all shots. I didn't know the fact you pointed out about the first shot. Maybe that is one problem because I normally don't fire a sequence. After reading so many tutorials, I thought I should be able to nail the shot with one click but obviously that is not happening. I'll try a few bursts to see how they turn out.
You can still nail the first shot if you pre-focus and are shooting a player whose focal plane is not changing in relation to you (pitcher, catcher, infielders, etc.). That last photo of the runner coming at you, however, would likely be more successful in a burst. I find that any photos of a player running are best shot in a burst (focus benefits aside) since it gives you several chances to catch the player in a good action pose. It also allows you to concentrate on framing the shot without worrying so much about the timing. Here are two sequences from bursts I shot at a HS football game last Friday night. The first one of each is ok, but the next frame in each sequence is a much better action shot. There is no way I can time those with my meager skills, so it's spray and pray for me. It's almost as much fun downloading to see what I actually got as it is taking the shot.
p.2 #14 · Help me get sharp baseball shot- photos posted for C&C
A quick way to rule out glass is find a nice high contrast subject in cotrolled lighting. If it repeatedly comes out less than sharp it could just be that the copy of glass you got isnt up to the challange. I did see a few OOF shots but even those dont have the results you would expect at the perceived point of focus.
What are your other camera settings like sharpness, WB, Contrast, Saturation etc.
I have never tried an F4 but my 70-200 2.8 IS is Very Sharp, a little short, but very sharp. Most of the time I am using a 100-400L for situations such as this.
p.2 #15 · Help me get sharp baseball shot- photos posted for C&C
marino420td wrote:
2. How do I assure that the camera/lense is focusing on my subject. I often get shots (like #3 above) in which another subject in the photo appears to be in sharper focus?
You really should be using the * on the back of the camera and the center focus point to focus. Also make sure that you HOLD the * as you you track the action and continue to hold the * as you press the shutter.
It is also very easy to move the focus point off of the target for a second and screw up your focus tracking. Shooting even a short burst sequence helps.
One other suggestion... Can you find a different position to shoot from? I'm not a big fan of shooting thru the fence. Maybe shooting from a higher angle will help with some of the backgrounds. You might not have the reach to shoot from the stands with your 70-200 but it is worth a try. Move around, even to the other side of the field and see what you get.
:
