Was covering the Battle of the Courts badminton Tourney last Saturday at Market Market. My gear consisted of 70-200 f2.8L USM and a 135 f2.0L using a 30D. Lighting condition was bad as I could not bring up the Shutterspeed to 500 to stop the motion even at a highest ISO level with the lens above.

Would sure like to get some tips from your sports photographers.

Best,
RC

You were shooting in the Mall itself? It rarely gets that bright inside.
be on full manual, set it on f2.8 and try to get an exposure of at least 1/320
if that wont work, play with the shutter speed, you might get some interesting results. remember the rule of thumb that dont have a shutter speed less than the focal length value. eg: 135mm you should have at least 1/160s to eliminate camera shake.

Thanks aaron for your input. Tried it at 320 to no avail. It was that dark inside the mall. The organizers put the lights way up. Thanks for the rule of thumb. Will keep that in mind.

BTW, will an 85mm f1.2 (mother of all lenses) be any better?

RC

at 1.2, yes. but remember that you don't necessarily have to increase your shutter too speed to high. as aaron mentioned, play around with it and you can get some interesting results, even with lower than 1/320

this may sound wrong... but would it be crazy to try to follow the motion of the players while pressing the shutter? like a short pan.... except its so hard to predict the direction of the players.

try to play with your ISO also. 400-800 will be fine. :)

Konrad, thats what we do..

Try to position yourself as close to the court as possible

hmm... even with lights on full blast, market market would be a bit too dark for "real" indoor badminton action shots. higher leveled players would require 1/300 and faster, and i found out the hard way trying to shoot during the MVP cup last july.

we were lucky to have the lights of araneta, but sometimes we've had to force the issue (under expose by a full stop at iso 1600) just to freeze them in mid-smash.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/chewychua/sets/72157594205211981/

btw, how far will you be from the action?

For indoor sports with less than ideal lighting, you may have to live with ISO 1600.

hmm... even with lights on full blast, market market would be a bit too dark for "real" indoor badminton action shots. higher leveled players would require 1/300 and faster, and i found out the hard way trying to shoot during the MVP cup last july.

we were lucky to have the lights of araneta, but sometimes we've had to force the issue (under expose by a full stop at iso 1600) just to freeze them in mid-smash.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/chewychua/sets/72157594205211981/

btw, how far will you be from the action?

Hi Chewychua,
Great pictures especially the Lin Dan Smash. It is a photo I am hankering to get soon!

I really appreciate the suggestion to under expose by a full stop at iso 1600 just to freeze them in mid-smash (then work it out PP). Will try that. Salamat!

RC

I agree with Chewy. Tried shooting a badminton game once using a 50 f/1.8. Had to underexpose by one stop just to get some freezing on the action, and all that at ISO 1600. Also, try shooting in burst mode. :)

Hi Chewychua,
Great pictures especially the Lin Dan Smash. It is a photo I am hankering to get soon!

I really appreciate the suggestion to under expose by a full stop at iso 1600 just to freeze them in mid-smash (then work it out PP). Will try that. Salamat!

RC

glad to be of help, rc! regards to gary :)

btw, has anyone tried the sigma 30mm f/1.4 hsm for sports? :)

too wide for sports chewy, and you'll just gain a half stop (if from 1.8). so you'll end up with a half-stopped underexposed iso 1600 from your previous shoot.

maybe the 85mm 1.4? :) or Canon's 85mm 1.2L

glad to be of help, rc! regards to gary :)

btw, has anyone tried the sigma 30mm f/1.4 hsm for sports? :)

Will tell Gary boy. They just finished with the Battle Of The Courts.