Drove my wife to her badminton tourney earlier today and, armed with a newer camera (D200 vs D70), I gave this super fast-action sport another attempt. Although better, it's still a far cry from what the pros are producing.

Shot at Hi-1 (ISO 3200 equivalence), f/2.8, 1/500 with The Beast (aka 28-70/2.8). Underexposed by abouts 2/3 stop. An unhealthy dose of PP.

I guess my lens isn't fast enough (1.4 needed?) or the lights on this court simply not bright enough? HELP! What are your usual lighting conditions?




http://www.jerry.ph/JUT_2378.600x900.jpg

http://www.jerry.ph/JUT_2383.600x900.jpg

http://www.jerry.ph/JUT_2380.900x600.jpg


And this guy sure is FAST! 1/500 of a sec and I still get blurred hands!

The last one is a great capture! :)

I really think that the place is dark.

Bro, the captures were great actually, i think this is more of a hardware setting issue... 2nd and 3rd ones were nice

i dont want to start a brand war, but its either nikon's NR is not capable of producing clean/usable hi ISO images or the badminton court is not that well lit. :)

my 2 cents. :)

edit: but nice captures though.. :D especially the 2nd and 3rd one. :)

great shots jerry. badminton is really a hard sport to shoot since its a fast game and played indoors where you have no control of light. you did all the right things. fast shutter and a very fast lens with a fast camera of course, under exposed it and shot at a high iso. and you have a nice vantage point. as for the lens you cant go any faster than 2.8 for a zoom or else you have to settle for a fixed lens. i think that the court was not well lit and this guy looks really fast. someone to dive like that has to be fit and fast. maybe a dose of noise reduction software and a few adjustments in PS will do the job. but its a great capture jerry

These are great captures! Great job, Jerry! I liked the 2nd and the third shots! MOst, if not all badminton courts here are not well lit, especially in clubs around Metro Manila. A prime lens would have indeed given you better results.

With your kind indulgence, I would like to share some which I took a year ago at the Yonex courts in Shaw Blvd. There were additional lights, (2 HMIs to be exact) because it was being covered for TV. Oh and yes, these were my preD80 days. :) (20D, 24-70, 70-200 2.8 non IS)

The album is at http://alneri.multiply.com/photos/album/9

A 50/85 1.4 would have been sweet!

these are great captures, jerry. unfortunately, courts here are generally too dim for "clean" images to be shot. my observation on badminton courts at iso 1600, f/1.8 (as i make it a point to almost always bring my d70s + 50mm f/1.8 with me when i play)

olympic (now closed) = 1/160
yonex = 1/200++ (can be faster)
club650 = 1/200
west drive = 1/160
centro atletico = 1/200++ (can be faster)
araneta = 1/500++ (can be faster)

now i'm wishing for a camera with clean iso3200 to come out hehehe

@ jerry

you got a solid one on the 3rd. good work. i never shot at 3200. so i admire you guys who can still capture the action at this iso setting. :)

@ chewy

wow! i guys you've been around all the courts in the metro!
thanks for the info man.:)

@levi - i used to play 3-4x a week in different venues pa! hahaha. but that was before photography.

other notable courts:

the zone (in makati) 1/200
platinum badminton (libis) - 1/200
taracourt (cubao) - very dim
sheridan (pasig) - very dim
metro (pasig) - 1/200 with all lights on
BCMI (makati) - 1/200++

and the list goes on...

that's why i'm interested in the sigma 30mm f/1.4 HSM.... it's fast + focuses fast, and if you can get close to the sidelines, why not? :D

i agree with chewy! primes :) fast primes :D faster primes ;)

Correction, images were 1-1/3 underexposed with high-ISO NR turned off. That plus the fact that Hi-1 is not ISO 3200 but but more of an ISO equivalance brought about by highly-amplified A/D output signal processing with all sorts of luminance, chrominance noise, I'm surprised that I got 'usable' images.

Next time, I'll look for a tad 'slower' player and shoot at ISO 1600 with a 1.4 lens - nasaan na ba ang 85/1.4 when I needed one? :D

Thanks for commenting guys and thanks to Chewy for all that lighting measurements. Would ceiling-mounted strobes like those use in the NBA be distracting to players kaya?

Thanks for commenting guys and thanks to Chewy for all that lighting measurements. Would ceiling-mounted strobes like those use in the NBA be distracting to players kaya?

At first they probably might get distracted since its new, but I doubt it will be destructive to their game.

Next time, I'll look for a tad 'slower' player and shoot at ISO 1600 with a 1.4 lens - nasaan na ba ang 85/1.4 when I needed one? :D


The problem with the 85 f/1.4 is that since it's an old screwdrive lens(not AFS), it's too slow to focus for sports.

Shallow depth of field + slow focus = burry images (at least in my experience)

You're right Zandy, I was actually thinking of the cheaper 85/1.8 instead. Although it doesn't have AF-S, the rear focusing (RF) technology allows for a shorter throw and might actually do the trick.

Other than that, what other lens option do we have?

the 85mm f/1.8 is a gem for indoor sports! i can shoot it underexposed by a stop and still come up with bright images. my D50 couldn't drive it to focus well enough, but my D70s can easily :)

You're right Zandy, I was actually thinking of the cheaper 85/1.8 instead. Although it doesn't have AF-S, the rear focusing (RF) technology allows for a shorter throw and might actually do the trick.

Other than that, what other lens option do we have?

SHORTER THROW??? what's this jerry? sorry my first time to hear this

explanation will be very much appreciated

i have no problem with some amount of blurr in a fast-paced sport :) i think it adds a lot to the drama of the competition...

SHORTER THROW???

Hi Mart, it simply means that the focusing ring turns as little of an arc as possible from the nearest focusing distance to infinity.

The last picture is super awesome. He's flying!