Hello everyone,

I am sorry for not visiting lately, but I have been very busy,
I need help with pictures taking...
I tried to take basketball pictures in a gym last night and I had my camera on
aperature, then switched to shutter, but nothing I tried worked...everyone of the photos were very dark.
I am trying to take without a flash...Is this possible and if so what would I set my
camera on...I havea Nikon D-80
I would appreciate any help!!!!


thanks
blemaire

I just did the same thing the other day and our gym has great lighting so I will give you my settings. I did play with the settings on AV and TV. I have a Canon but the setting would be the same.

ALL DONE WITHOUT A FLASH

f: 2.2, ISO 1600, 1/640 I will search for a few more and post some with different settings.

Alcoa-Pass.jpg (37.7 KiB) Viewed 973 times

Here is another one that is showing up darker with the higher f-stop

f: 3.5, ISO 1600, 1/640

AlcoaBball.jpg (49.87 KiB) Viewed 968 times

All of the others are on the same settings but a slight variation in f-stop. Basically, you need at minimum 2.8 for indoor basketball or even 1.8 depending on lighting. Each gym is different. Hope this helps and is what your looking for. I will post more if I have different settings.

Basically what you need for indoor basketball is this:

Low f-stop
high ISO (1600-3200)
high shutter to stop action min of 1/500, I like the 1/640 so far.

Thanks jenclark very much for the help, I would appreciate anything else you would suggest,
I have a minimum of 3.5 - 5.6 f-stop, I will try the settings you have suggested, your
pictures are nice.

Would you please tell me what AV and TV is, I am just learning ...
Thanks again

blemaire

AV (Aperture Priority) this is where you set your sharpness or how much of the image is in focus. The camera will select the shutter speed on this setting.

TV (Shutter Priority) TV stands for Time Value.....this is the one I used because I wanted a particular shutter speed to stop action. Here the camera will select the f/stop for you.

I have a canon and I'm not sure what the letters are for the same settings on your Nikon. I'm sure someone with a Nikon will come along and answer that.

I'm learning all of this too and most of it is trial an error.

Next time your in the gym try these settings but if you can afford it, get a lens that is at min a 2.8. The lens I use for basketball is 85mm, 1.8 and I LOVE it.

Thanks again jen for the advice and for answering my questions.
I will try to get a different lens or use different settings, and thanks for clearing up the
AV and TV,

Thanks again
blemaire

In the one dark photo you posted it looks like your cameras meter read the bright alcoa sign. This could have been the problem.To avoid this problem set your camera to manual and then set your exposure to a part of the action that doesn't include bright objects. Generally speaking when shooting in a gym with average lighting photographers use lenses with a minimum aperture of f 2.8. A popular lens for basketball is the Canon 85mm f 1.8. Other camera manufacturers have equivilent lenses. If the gym is darker then average you are out of luck

Belemarie,

On your D80 the settings (little wheel on top) are A (aperture) and S (shutter). I think the key is to change your ISO - take it off of "auto" and push it up to no less than 800 and probably 1600 will be required. 1600 is as far as I can go with my D50; don't know if your D80 will go higher than that.

I would also shoot in RAW -- that gives you more options to tweak underexposed shots (even at 1600 you are probably going to have a pretty flat image).

Looking forward to seeing some of your shots. Post them -- lot of smart people here will comment w/advice.

Rusty

In the one dark photo you posted it looks like your cameras meter read the bright alcoa sign. This could have been the problem.To avoid this problem set your camera to manual and then set your exposure to a part of the action that doesn't include bright objects. Generally speaking when shooting in a gym with average lighting photographers use lenses with a minimum aperture of f 2.8. A popular lens for basketball is the Canon 85mm f 1.8. Other camera manufacturers have equivilent lenses. If the gym is darker then average you are out of luck

Thanks for the info lowbone, I was using that lens, 85mm 1.8. You're right about the sign, I didn't realize that until you said that. I have not used M much so maybe next time we are in the gym I will give it a try to see if it was that sign. We are on the lucky side, our gym has fantastic lighting. I know some of the away games are played in gyms you would mistake for a cave and the lighting is just that cave lit by candles. LOL Never the less, I love this lens and will use it for most indoor things, it's fast and sharp. If the photos aren't sharp, I know it's me!!!!