Cameras at the footy.

[CrowHop]

I’ve just got my hands on a Canon EOS 450D and it is a really cool toy. Next year I’ll be looking at taking it to some Crows games to try get some really good photos.

Questions for the camera enthusiasts:

What camera body do you have?
What camera lens kit do you have?
Do you get awesome photos with it?
What particular settings do you use (sports)?


I’ll be looking to take it to the cricket this year aswell, so can’t wait. If anyone has any neat camera ‘tricks’ to taking great photos then if you could post them here, that’d be awesome. I also love looking at fantastic photos, so if you want to post any great pics that you've taken - feel free!


Thanks in advance for any information!

 

[weneverland]

Congratulations, I am sure you will have a lot of fun with your camera. I look forward to seeing some of your shots on the board in the future.

I have a Nikon D80 and usually use it with 18-200 (27-300 35mm equivalent) zoom lens. I found with this set up I can capture a pack of players at 50 meters with reasonable sharpness on a bright day. Although I haven't tried it, I think you would need quite a bright lens for night game photos. Those big lenses that the professional photographers use are that big because even at long focal lengths they can still take photos at F2 or there abouts.

 

[birdmanptr]

I’ve just got my hands on a Canon EOS 450D and it is a really cool toy. Next year I’ll be looking at taking it to some Crows games to try get some really good photos.

Questions for the camera enthusiasts:

What camera body do you have?
What camera lens kit do you have?
Do you get awesome photos with it?
What particular settings do you use (sports)?


I’ll be looking to take it to the cricket this year aswell, so can’t wait. If anyone has any neat camera ‘tricks’ to taking great photos then if you could post them here, that’d be awesome. I also love looking at fantastic photos, so if you want to post any great pics that you've taken - feel free!


Thanks in advance for any information!

Congrats i to dabble in it a bit ill send my settings tomorrow about to head out now

 

[Campbell's Chunky]

I have teh same camera and took it into a few games.

They sussed it out and said as long as you dont have a lens with a focal length greater than 200mm, you'll be fine.

I have a 300mm lens, but security would never know the difference.

 

[Crows #1]

I've taken my SLR to the footy and haven't had any problems getting it in.

I'd suggest using the Av or P settings and using a small an aperture as you can, especially for night games, else your shutter will be open a long time (relatively) and it will cause the photo's to blur. You can get some good pictures doing this though. Also set the auto focus to be the center point as most of the time you'll be putting the player in the middle of the frame.

For night games, if the shutter isn't fast enough, change the ISO setting. This will reduce the shutter time, but introduces noise into the photo so try to leave the ISO as low as you can and change it back after the game. You shouldn't have to do this for day games though. Have a go at changing the white balance for night games as well, but remember to change it back when you finish up.

The WEA do a good Digital SLR course. I did it a couple of years ago and learnt a lot. I'd recommend it to anyone who has an SLR. Goes for a few weeks or you can do it on a weekend in a day or two.

Have fun, hope you get some nice pictures.

 

[jamesclean]

i generally rock a 5d mk II / 24-70 2.8L / 580ex II

shutter priority is a good place to start

 

[taylor_walker_13]

Canon 400D 18-55mm and 75-300mm lens footy shots are a great challange and I enjoy doing them, nice camera you have there the 450D, Im looking at upgrading my lens to a 100-400mm canon telephoto lens maybe later next year, look forward to seeing your picture, suggestion for setting try manual or AV mode ISO 200 and shutter speed 8.0

 

[CrowHop]

Cheers for the responses guys. I'm keen to get down to some training sessions and try it out.

I have teh same camera and took it into a few games.

They sussed it out and said as long as you dont have a lens with a focal length greater than 200mm, you'll be fine.

I have a 300mm lens, but security would never know the difference.

You serious ? There are restricitions on this stuff for the footy going public ?

 

[Vader]

It's not surprising really. The AFL jealously guards its rights, which is why the accredited media organisations all pay so much to gain the right to publish images of AFL action.

The AFL are happy for people to take amateur photographs, but once you start venturing into the higher end equipment you become capable of taking professional level photos which could then be sold for money. This is why the AFL have limits on what the average punter is allowed to take into the ground.

Then there's the issue of how much a bulky 300-400mm lens would inconvenience those around you in the stands...

 

[CrowHop]

It's not surprising really. The AFL jealously guards its rights, which is why the accredited media organisations all pay so much to gain the right to publish images of AFL action.

The AFL are happy for people to take amateur photographs, but once you start venturing into the higher end equipment you become capable of taking professional level photos which could then be sold for money. This is why the AFL have limits on what the average punter is allowed to take into the ground.

Then there's the issue of how much a bulky 300-400mm lens would inconvenience those around you in the stands...

Makes perfect sense really. Just a pity for fans who pay their good money to get through the gate and want to take photos.

 

[jamesclean]

stop deleting my sh*t

learn2forum

 

[por_please_ya]

Last year I used my sister's camera, a Canon PowerShot SX110 IS, 10x optical zoom, 9 megapixels, 36-360mm zoom lens. I just used the "Landscape" setting because I'm not a REAL photographer haha and it still took some fairly good pictures, as long as the light was good.

But I am getting a new camera for my b'day coming up: Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ35, 18x optical zoom, 12.1 megapixels, 27-486mm zoom lens.

So, I guess they'll be confiscating my camera when I go next year ;D I'll have to hide it in my handbag It's not like my photos will be that great because I don't muck around with the shutter speed and all those settings but I'll be able to zoom in a great deal more up the ground.

 

[toddflanders]

Last year I used my sister's camera, a Canon PowerShot SX110 IS, 10x optical zoom, 9 megapixels, 36-360mm zoom lens. I just used the "Landscape" setting because I'm not a REAL photographer haha and it still took some fairly good pictures, as long as the light was good.

But I am getting a new camera for my b'day coming up: Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ35, 18x optical zoom, 12.1 megapixels, 27-486mm zoom lens.

So, I guess they'll be confiscating my camera when I go next year ;D I'll have to hide it in my handbag It's not like my photos will be that great because I don't muck around with the shutter speed and all those settings but I'll be able to zoom in a great deal more up the ground.

make sure u dont hit any of the players wen ur all the way zooomed in...

 

[Campbell's Chunky]

Last year I used my sister's camera, a Canon PowerShot SX110 IS, 10x optical zoom, 9 megapixels, 36-360mm zoom lens. I just used the "Landscape" setting because I'm not a REAL photographer haha and it still took some fairly good pictures, as long as the light was good.

But I am getting a new camera for my b'day coming up: Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ35, 18x optical zoom, 12.1 megapixels, 27-486mm zoom lens.

So, I guess they'll be confiscating my camera when I go next year ;D I'll have to hide it in my handbag It's not like my photos will be that great because I don't muck around with the shutter speed and all those settings but I'll be able to zoom in a great deal more up the ground.

No offence or anything like that, but just wondering why you were using the landscape setting?? Landscape setting is designed for shots with quite a distance between camera and object, a large depth of field and a generally longer exposure (which can leave the action blurred).

You should try using sports mode (or whatever its called on your model), which has an emphasis on a quick shutter speed.

 

[por_please_ya]

Lol, no offence taken! I'm really not into the whole being perfect at photography - I just experiment with different settings and see which ones look better.

No idea if there was a sports mode on it. I'll see if there's one on my new camera. Thanks for the advice, though.