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|| SportsShooter.com: Member Message Board
Anyone shooting with a Canon Digital Rebel XT Professionally
Daniel Plassmann, Photographer
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York | SC | United States | Posted: 11:50 PM on 02.14.06 |
| ->> I am still in High School but I been working for a few papers. My fist camera is the Canon Digital Rebel XT, I have a 70-200 F2.8 Sigma lens for it and a 580EX Speedlight for it but recently have been having problems Focusing during basketball games this past week, if anyone know what I can do to fix it I be happy to hear. |
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Seh Suan Ngoh, Photographer
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Singapore | SG | Singapore | Posted: 1:26 AM on 02.15.06 |
| ->> Hmm. Try using ONLY the center AF point. Should help loads. |
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Julian Jenkins, Photographer
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Meridian | ID | USA | Posted: 1:48 AM on 02.15.06 |
->> I concur. That seems to help with the canon that have just a few focus points. My Canon D60 had 3. That was fun.
Julian |
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Rick Rowell, Photographer
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Canoga Park | CA | Usa | Posted: 3:57 AM on 02.15.06 |
->> As you may already know, the Rebel XT is not a professional camera. By this I mean it is not suited to shooting fast moving action, I don't care what the Canon advertisments say. If the Rebel could get the photos that they show in their ads consistantly, then believe me I and alot of other pros would be using them. Who does'nt want to save some money? Also the Sigma lens is not helping much either. You will get the sharp image every once in awhile, but overall it will be difficult to get any consistantly sharp images of fast moving objects in low light. Using the center focus point may help. But what will help you more in the long run is to get that part time job after school and save up those nickels and dimes. Sell the Rebel and Sigma lens and buy a good used Canon 1D and Canon 70-200mm f2.8, and it doesn't have to be the IS lens to get the focus speed you need. Keep the 580EX that's the only usefull piece of equipment you have and will be of great value to you later. Sorry, their is no easy way out on this one.
For now, a few recomendations when using the Rebel XT. Pick and choose your shots carefully and shoot at the peak of action. Pretend that you are using and older manual winding camera with manual focus. It also may help with shooting basketball to pre-select your focus area and let the action come to you. Focus at a point in the middle of the key between the foul line and out of bounds or a point right under the basket. The idea being that you will limit the lens to refocusing a shorter distance when moving the camera onto a new subject. Try to restict this distance either closer or further away to no more that 5 to 8 feet. There's alot of action to capture right under the bucket. Use 70mm for the most part and try not to zoom in to much as this will decrease your depth of field and make it harder for the lens to focus quickly. Also try shooting from the side of the court looking down from the stands at 200mm. The lens will not have to work to hard to refocus if you shoot the players when they have the ball on your side of the court. A steady hand and some patience will get you some better results. You won't get as many shots, but more of them should be in focus. Good luck! |
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Paul Alesse, Photographer
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Centereach | NY | USA | Posted: 6:43 AM on 02.15.06 |
->> Good advice by Rick. The XT is not a pro camera. The 20D is not a pro camera either, but some will argue that. For me, once the file number includes a unique camera code, it becomes a pro camera.
The 1D's are so affordable right now... as low as $1,000 and other than it's digital noise at higher ISO and AWB issues, it's a great camera and built like a tank. Sigma lenses are okay, but they aren't Canon sorry to say. Even my Sigma 120-300, which gets high marks, gives me problems with focusing and CA every now and then.
I do use the XT and 20D as a second body, but it's used mostly for sideline or in-game portraiture. It's not designed for tracking fast moving subjects. Like Rick says, it's able to get a sharp shot every now and then, but it's not going to be nearly as consistent as a 1D body. |
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Jason Orth, Photographer
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Lincoln | NE | USA | Posted: 8:52 AM on 02.15.06 |
->> Turn off the AF and manually zone focus. Pick your shots and be patient.
Trust me, I love the the XT's size, price, how it handles and the files it produces. It's great for general photography and it's my favorite "street" camera.
But, it cannot do what you're asking it to do with basketball. Not many cameras can. |
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Juliann Tallino, Photographer
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Los Angeles | CA | usa | Posted: 12:56 PM on 02.15.06 |
->> I still have my digital rebel(first generation model) and used it for the first year I shot sports for a living while working on a small daily. It worked pretty well for me and I didn't have focus issues. I shot quite a few HS Bball games in a gym that we called the giant yellow cave.
Try the one focus point and see if that helps. Make sure you are in AI servo. Remember it's not the gear that makes good images, so don't get sucked into the "I need better gear to make good images" mentality. Using the Rebel will improve your timing too, you have to anticipate the action and know when to push that shutter button. Before you dump money into a used 1D, try a different lens. It could be the sigma/canon combo. The Canon 50mm 1.8 is an inexpensive lens and works well for Bball. With the 1.6 crop it's an 80mm.
Also Bball season is almost over and you will be outside shooting baseball soon and want to use those pennies to buy a longer lens. :) |
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Devin Bruce, Photographer
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Sacramento | CA | USA | Posted: 1:07 PM on 02.15.06 |
| ->> I'm currently using an XT for all of my shooting and... it's... OK. Sports is so hard to shoot (thanks to the Camera's 3-frame burst) but in other aspects it does at least an adaquate job. Do like me, though, and save up for a more expensive camera. Better in the long run. |
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Carl Auer, Photographer
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Eagle River | AK | USA | Posted: 1:26 PM on 02.15.06 |
->> I have a Xt as a back up to my 1D and it is actually a pretty nice piece of gear. Sure, the AF is not up to 1 series cameras, but if you know your camera, and know what it's limitations are, then you should be fine.
For a high school student, the Xt and a Sigma is a great combo. I have found that in low light situation it is not the best focusing camera. You say you have the 580ex. Are you using it to light your basketball shots? If not, set it up to not fire the flash, but to use the flash to assist with AF. That might help a little. Also, make sure you have the AF set to AI Servo and not AI Focus. I have actually played a little with the AF points, and found that setting the camera to all points works better than the center point only, which is fine for my shooting because I will either have a 70-200 or a 300 on it for basketball, which will get limited use during a high school game, but it is nice to have a long lens for those times I need it.
The reason I got my Xt was I knew I was getting a 1D soon and would not be able to keep my 20D. I am mentoring a local high school kid, and they own some film EOS bodies, but there are times when I will loan her my Xt to shoot with, and I feel much better handing her my Xt than my 1D. The Xt will also work for me as a remote camera for some sports and for a vacation walk around camera, it is small and light. |
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Lane Hickenbottom, Photographer
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Grand Island | NE | usa | Posted: 1:33 PM on 02.15.06 |
->> And for what it's worth, pros with several years in the biz shooting with top-of-the line equipment end up with their fair share of out-of-focus shots when shooting sports in underlit gyms.
Reguardless of your gear, you'll get better with practice. |
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Roddy MacLeod, Photographer
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Bensheim | Hessen | Germany | Posted: 7:01 AM on 02.16.06 |
| ->> Everything on my member page and personal website (http://www.roddymacleod.com) was shot with a 300D. Nice little camera and you can basically do anything you want with it - except frame bursts over 3 or 4 shots. |
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Johnny Vy, Photographer, Student/Intern
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San Gabriel | CA | USA | Posted: 3:33 PM on 02.16.06 |
| ->> Hey Daniel, I agree with Juliann when he says "don't get sucked into the "I need better gear to make good images" mentality. On a student's budget, you make the best of what you've got, and learning to master your timing with your XT will only make you a better shooter. I shoot with a 20D, and occasionally use an XT as my backup (i'm on a budget as well). Like everybody else has said, I find it most effective when you select the center focus point, and use AI Servo to track the subject. Plane focusing can work, but with basketball, you've really gotta anticipate the action. With other sports, I would go into "custom funcitons #4" and use the back button to focus (setting 3: AE/AF, no AE Lock), but for basketball, I find it a lot more helpful when I use the default setting 0: AF/AE Lock. That way, just hold down the shutter and follow the subject. I find that it's easier to hit the shutter and freeze action than to use the back focusing button. This is just what has worked for me. Hope these suggestions help. That 580ex will make it easier to freeze action too. Good luck! |
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Tom Dahlin, Photographer
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St. Louis Park | MN | USA | Posted: 6:10 PM on 02.16.06 |
->> Daniel,
One thing that hasn't been mentioned is to use a 'normal' 50mm f/1.8 or f/1.4 lens. You don't have to shoot it wide open, but the extra brightness will greatly help the AF system.
Try it, you'll like it.
Tom |
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Mark Smith, Photographer
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Elk City | OK | USA | Posted: 6:50 PM on 02.16.06 |
| ->> Am I the only one who noticed that Daniel has left the room? |
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Lane Hickenbottom, Photographer
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Grand Island | NE | usa | Posted: 11:05 PM on 02.16.06 |
| ->> Hmmmm.....interesting |
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Gary Vasquez, Photographer
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Covina | CA | USA | Posted: 11:13 PM on 02.16.06 |
| ->> Yea where'd he go? |
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Lane Hickenbottom, Photographer
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Grand Island | NE | usa | Posted: 11:32 AM on 02.17.06 |
->> I just got an email from Daniel. He wanted everybody to know that he didn't leave, that he was deactivated because he is in high school.
His email was not an upset rant. I think he gets that it is probably better for our community as a whole if a threshold is set. I told him we look forward to him rejoining us after he graduates (he's a senior).
So if you are watching Daniel, SEE YOU SOON! |
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Mark Smith, Photographer
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Elk City | OK | USA | Posted: 12:36 PM on 02.17.06 |
->> Good luck, Daniel! Keep shooting.
See you next year. |
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Mike Pittman, Photographer
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Cary | NC | USA | Posted: 1:35 PM on 02.17.06 |
->> Daniel: Manual Focus.... it's the best way to learn. If you can use a MF lens, you can use an AF lens. Not the other way around. That being said, work with what you have, you'll be better off. The XT & Sigma lenses aren't great. But, look back in the past at all the photographers with MF cameras that didn't even have motor drive! They got good shots, so you can work with it if you have the desire.
Everyone else: I've been in and out over the last several months, and apparently missed something. No HS shooters? |
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Daniel Plassmann, Photographer
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York | SC | United States | Posted: 4:30 PM on 02.17.06 |
->> Thanks for all you comants and i will try to work on it all my pictures on my member paper are shoot with the XT.
Thanks ALL |
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Daniel Plassmann, Photographer
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York | SC | United States | Posted: 5:36 PM on 02.17.06 |
->> Sorry for my miss spelled words and grammar, I was just so happy that they activated my accounted that I try so fast I just hit enter and there it was. So let me say it again Thanks for all the tips and I do not know if they with deactivate me again so THANKS TO ALL that answers and I will work on getting it right by state finals in a week.
Daniel |
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Gary Vasquez, Photographer
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Covina | CA | USA | Posted: 9:02 PM on 02.17.06 |
| ->> Good to see you back Daniel. I too got your email message. |
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Mike Pittman, Photographer
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Cary | NC | USA | Posted: 10:12 PM on 02.17.06 |
| ->> welcome back! |
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