Covering a Rugby match during the day in direct sunlight require some specific settings on your camera. Yesterday I covered the Griquas vs Western Province match in Kimberley on a lovely sunny day and want to share my setup that I used. Firstly I used two cameras namely a Nikon D3 and a Nikon D700. On the D3 I used a Nikon 400mm F2.8 with a 1.4 converter which make it a 560mm F4. On the D700 I used a 300mm F2.8
My settings on the two cameras were more or less the same;
Mode: Aperture Priority
F-Stop: D3 on F5 and the the D700 on F3.5
Exposure compensation on -1/3 of a stop
White balance: Auto
Picture Control: Vivid with the saturation -1 and the Contrast -1.
ISO: Auto ISO from 200 – 3200 ISO and the minimum shutter on 1/1250
When shooting sport during the day I normally will shoot on Aperture Priority and with the Auto ISO on. This give me the advantage of a 4 – stop range on my ISO which comes in very handy specially when the playing field is partly shadowed. Luckily in Kimberley this wasn’t a problem because the stand isn’t that high and for thus doesn’t easily throw a shadow over the playing field. More about this in a previous post that I had on Superimage’s Blog.
Normally the spot that I chose during such a match will be behind the dead ball line somewhere near the 15 m line. From here I will rove according the flow of the match. Sometimes I will be even right on the other side of the field depending how the match is swinging in the favor from the one side to the other. Reading the game correctly is crucial to not miss the key moments of a match.
The Aperture on the lenses I’m using were nearly wide open. The reason for this are two fold. Firstly to throw the Background out of focus so that the players will stand out from the background and second to keep the shutter above 1/1250 sec. to freeze the action.
Why two different focal lengths? The 400mm lens I use for normal action in the midfield and try’s scored in the far corner. The 300mm I’m using for action closer to me and try’s scored in front of me.
Changing from the long lens to the shorter one when the game get closer to you is always something that one must get spot on. I always want to stay as long as possible on my long lens but want to change in time to the short lens so not to miss the try’s. Here a diagram to show you where I normally using the lenses. The 840 mm is when I’m using the crop factor on the camera which multiply the 560mm by 1.5 to make it a 840mm.
More images of the Griquas vs Western Province match on www.superimage.co.za
HALLO, I just started out with photography. Really enjoy the challenges it gives.
Well I just want to say that I really admire your work.
I know you probably hear this every day, but your ideas, and your work is absolutely amazing
I think it is every photographers dream to be on your level
Thanks for being such an inspiration.
Thanks for sharing these settings Gerhard
If you are shooting AV at say F4 with auto ISO how are you able to keep your SS at 1/1250 and faster without changing the F stop??…..is this possible only with Nikon that you can fix the F stop and SS in AV???….or are you saying that by shooting AV at F4 and auto ISO your ss should automatically always stay above 1/1250……I am a Canon shooter and struggle with the shadows
Regards
Stan
Hi Stan
The Nikon system got a Auto ISO setting where you can chose the minimum and Maximum ISO (200-3200). Then you can also chose the minimum shutter(1/1250) If the light get to low for the 1/1250 sec shutter the ISO goes up and keep the shutter at 1/1250 sec. Hope this make sense. As far as i know the Canon system doesn’t have this setting.
Gerhard
Thanks for your comment Liz. I really appreciate it.
Gerhard
Gerhard!
Baie goeie tips, baie dankie! Hoop nie jy gee om as ek die link versprei nie?
Sterkte daar in Bloem!
Groete
Mickey
Thanks Gerhard….you had me stumped….perhaps another reason to look seriously at the “dark side” :-))
Dankie Mickey….ja ja…stuur link asb…!!!
Yes Stan…. maybe not a bad idea… no joking…nothing wrong with the Canon system but must admit the auto ISO make one’s life a lot easier..!!!!
Hallo Gerhard
Great website, I really enjoy it! Lots to learn!
Regards
Igno
Thanks for the great advice. I have been shooting shutter priority and haven’t been real happy with the pictures.