EOS Figure Skating; Was:Re: another question :-)

[Henry Posner/B&H Photo-Video]

My child figure skates. The last set of boots & blades cost more than what 
you shelled out for your EOS arsenal. Practice is 5 hours/week, including 
7:30 sessions both weekend mornings. Sleeping late is a thing of the past.

At 10:29 PM 01/15/2001, you wrote:
>Here are my questions...
>Am I using the appropriate film??

         The faster the better.

>What lens (AF) would be better suited to figure skating photography?

         Depends on your vantage point. I shoot from the penalty box or the 
doorway where the skaters enter & exit the ice, so I am as close as can be 
and there's no obstructions from the barriers which keep the pucks away 
from the fans. Knowing the skater's routine is important as even the best 
AF system will be hard pressed to follow a skater as he/she zooms into a 
corner to execute a triple lutz, particularly under the kind of 
pseudo-drama lighting pro exhibitions use. A 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS EF (USM) 
might be my first choice, under the circumstances. I also find a mononpod 
VERY useful.

>I enjoy the shows (low lighting, with different coloured spotlights) as well
>as the competitions (lots of light to work with)??

         I am not sure I see a question here. There's always more 
illumination at a real competition when compared to either an exhibition or 
to the so-called pro competitions you see all too often.

>What setting would be appropriate for me to use on my camera (keeping in
>mind I cannot have the built in flash popping up or use a flash at all)??

         You need the fastest possible shutter speeds to freeze the 
skater's motion on the ice. Even with the best light, when the skater's in 
a scratch spin, you'll get a blur.

>Also what setting with respect to focusing points, shutter speed, ISO speed,
>meetering etc. should I be using??

         I shoot full manual ALL the time, so I am the wrong guy for this 
question.

>Now I also have pictures that were taken in rapid succession of one another,
>and frames that were taken within about 1 second of each other one is
>exposed properly and the other is way too dark...what could have caused this??

         I presume it's possible that you could be shooting faster than the 
system can respond to changing conditions, but offhand I don't know for sure.

>Now as for stopping motion, I can stop on part of the skaters body (when
>they are spinning on the spot) and it will be focused, but another part is
>not in focus...What would cause this??  Could it be due to focusing on the
>worng part of the subject??  Could it be the lens or shutter speed??  Would
>buying the optional servo battery pack be a good idea to help speed up
>things like focusing??

         It's strictly a shutter speed issue, and the only things you can 
do are either use a faster shutter speed or use flash. The flash duration 
is brief enough that it'll freeze motion no matter what the shutter speed. 
In fact, combining flash with slow shutter speeds can be a wonderful 
effect, combining blur with a sharp image.

>Also would a 600mm lens work for shots that are close up as well as far away
>(I want to be able to keep the whole subject in the frame??  Would a
>straight power aid me in focusing better on moving and spinning targets??

         Canon's 600mm lens is an f/4 costing more than 8000.00. I cannot 
imagine you're THAT much a fan. <s> The other 600mm option would be a "cat" 
or mirror lens, like SIgma's, which means shooting at f/8 only. That'd give 
you a shutter speed so slow your skater would be blurry in the "grin-n-cry" 
area.

Fast film, monopod, fast lenses and the fastest possible shutter speeds, 
plus flash if possible, are the keys, IMHO.

--
regards,
Henry Posner
Director of Sales and Training
B&H Photo-Video, and Pro-Audio Inc.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com

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