Taking Photos of Ice Hockey - Technical Stuff
- Thread starter Mark666
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Re: ENL Devils Vs The Bristol Pitbulls 30th October - 7pm
I am still exploring the ISO but for me 1600 seems to be the best trade-off. Looking at other togs pictures a few go lower to 800 and it's not unusual to see 3200 or even 6400. It will depend on your kit, how well it handles noise and what you are willing to accept.
F-Stop, the faster the better nearly always F2.8 for me.
Shutter, 1/180th of a second as a minimum, typically I shoot around 1/250th. Will push up to 1/500th of a second.
Shooting through the plexi, yes it will have an affect your shots. Even if its clean. But that does not mean it's the wrong (or right thing to do). I really like the 'on the ice' feel of photos taken through the glass. Just remember it is a compromise of smears, reflections, more loss of light and colour cast. Some times you will get away with it, some times the shots can be fixed off camera, but some times shots will be lost because of it.
Biggest thing I would say is don't trust your cameras meter, it will under expose the shot by 2 to 3 stops because of the amount of white in the frame. Check the histogram and get it all the way over to the right, and then some.
I am still exploring the ISO but for me 1600 seems to be the best trade-off. Looking at other togs pictures a few go lower to 800 and it's not unusual to see 3200 or even 6400. It will depend on your kit, how well it handles noise and what you are willing to accept.
F-Stop, the faster the better nearly always F2.8 for me.
Shutter, 1/180th of a second as a minimum, typically I shoot around 1/250th. Will push up to 1/500th of a second.
Shooting through the plexi, yes it will have an affect your shots. Even if its clean. But that does not mean it's the wrong (or right thing to do). I really like the 'on the ice' feel of photos taken through the glass. Just remember it is a compromise of smears, reflections, more loss of light and colour cast. Some times you will get away with it, some times the shots can be fixed off camera, but some times shots will be lost because of it.
Biggest thing I would say is don't trust your cameras meter, it will under expose the shot by 2 to 3 stops because of the amount of white in the frame. Check the histogram and get it all the way over to the right, and then some.
Re: ENL Devils Vs The Bristol Pitbulls 30th October - 7pm
As Toy Car suggests it's a trade off as you are always shooting up against the limits of your kit
For me the set up is usually around iso 2500, f2.8, 1/500th sec but this can vary a little as shooting down onto the ice puts more white into the image than shooting through the glass.
Because the light is fairly uniform I shoot in manual mode so that I get consistent results. I take a few test shots and check the histogram, making sure that it is across to the right - this means that the ice will be white not a dull grey. If you allow the camera to do the metering it will dramatically under expose so you need to go manual or dial in at least one, and more likely two or three stops of over exposure.
Most dslrs are capable of taking reasonable shots so if you want to improve your images the best place to spend your pennies is on the lens. A constant aperture zoom is the order of the day, preferably f2.8. The main problem with the lenses supplied with dslrs is the fact that they have variable maximum apertures depending on the focal length i.e. the more you zoom in the smaller the maximum aperture becomes and this means less light hitting the sensor.
If you want to have a chat at the game this weekend please come over and say hello - I'm always happy to help if I can.
Tim
As Toy Car suggests it's a trade off as you are always shooting up against the limits of your kit
For me the set up is usually around iso 2500, f2.8, 1/500th sec but this can vary a little as shooting down onto the ice puts more white into the image than shooting through the glass.
Because the light is fairly uniform I shoot in manual mode so that I get consistent results. I take a few test shots and check the histogram, making sure that it is across to the right - this means that the ice will be white not a dull grey. If you allow the camera to do the metering it will dramatically under expose so you need to go manual or dial in at least one, and more likely two or three stops of over exposure.
Most dslrs are capable of taking reasonable shots so if you want to improve your images the best place to spend your pennies is on the lens. A constant aperture zoom is the order of the day, preferably f2.8. The main problem with the lenses supplied with dslrs is the fact that they have variable maximum apertures depending on the focal length i.e. the more you zoom in the smaller the maximum aperture becomes and this means less light hitting the sensor.
If you want to have a chat at the game this weekend please come over and say hello - I'm always happy to help if I can.
Tim
Re: ENL Devils Vs The Bristol Pitbulls 30th October - 7pm
Goal highlights and after game interviews now on line:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1QJrRnNMhc
Goal highlights and after game interviews now on line:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1QJrRnNMhc
Re: ENL Devils Vs The Bristol Pitbulls 30th October - 7pm
Toy_car_uk ........I'm glad to see that you are still shooting away! You have some nice shots on your Flickr account.
Seeing your shots through the plexi has made me want to try some ice level shots at the weekend - all I need now is a clear spot!
If people are interested in shooting games perhaps a mod could move some of the posts to a new thread?
Toy_car_uk ........I'm glad to see that you are still shooting away! You have some nice shots on your Flickr account.
Seeing your shots through the plexi has made me want to try some ice level shots at the weekend - all I need now is a clear spot!
If people are interested in shooting games perhaps a mod could move some of the posts to a new thread?
Re: ENL Devils Vs The Bristol Pitbulls 30th October - 7pm
Thanks for the kind words Tim, very much appreciated. I am still learning week by week.
I have wondered if it would be worth setting up a photo club (not just hockey) for Devils Fans I have noticed quite a few SLR / Bridge cameras over the weeks.
I also wonder if the Mods would be interested in a Flickr pool like the KotG have embedded at the bottom left of the front page?
Any takers?
Thanks for the kind words Tim, very much appreciated. I am still learning week by week.
I have wondered if it would be worth setting up a photo club (not just hockey) for Devils Fans I have noticed quite a few SLR / Bridge cameras over the weeks.
I also wonder if the Mods would be interested in a Flickr pool like the KotG have embedded at the bottom left of the front page?
Any takers?
Why don't you get yourself over to one of the (many) rec games that go on?
Easier to try shots from many locations and angles and try different things out without worrying that you're getting in someone's way.
Just be prepared to offer the pics to the teams in question (only fair!) if you do.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Easier to try shots from many locations and angles and try different things out without worrying that you're getting in someone's way.
Just be prepared to offer the pics to the teams in question (only fair!) if you do.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Re: Re: ENL Devils Vs The Bristol Pitbulls 30th October - 7p
well a pool now exists, http://www.flickr.com/groups/cardiff_ice_hockey/
I have invited a few contacts to post to it, and any one here is welcome to add to it also.
If the inferno would like to embed the pool, the offer still stands.
skippy said:
That sounds like a jolly good idea indeed. I will have a chat with the guys and see what we can get sorted 
well a pool now exists, http://www.flickr.com/groups/cardiff_ice_hockey/
I have invited a few contacts to post to it, and any one here is welcome to add to it also.
If the inferno would like to embed the pool, the offer still stands.
My wife just bought a fujifilm s2950 bridge camera, thinking of taking pictures during games. I have put it on manual mode to set the shutter speed, but the manual supplied doesn't show you how to set it up which is a bit crap. Would i get better results setting the shutter speed or just say set it on a scene position like sports setting? any help appreciated.
Try HERE setting the shutter speed is on P29
To be honest I have no idea on the abilities of the camera but as a rule you need a shutter speed of at least 1/250s and the largest aperture you can set (smallest F number) and as high an iso that you can get.
You will need to over expose by a couple of stops to brighten up the ice.
Given that its maximum aperture varies according to the zoom setting I don't know how full manual settings really work - I guess that as you zoom in the camera will reduce the aperture whatever you have set!
Hope this helps
To be honest I have no idea on the abilities of the camera but as a rule you need a shutter speed of at least 1/250s and the largest aperture you can set (smallest F number) and as high an iso that you can get.
You will need to over expose by a couple of stops to brighten up the ice.
Given that its maximum aperture varies according to the zoom setting I don't know how full manual settings really work - I guess that as you zoom in the camera will reduce the aperture whatever you have set!
Hope this helps