On Tue, Feb 10, 2009 at 09:24:16PM -0500, Ed Keeney wrote:
# A lurker coming out...
Welcome.
Where are you located?
snippo
#
# My current equipment...
#
# Pentax K100D
# Pentax SMC-DA 18-55 3.5-4.6
# Pentax SMC-FA 28-80 3.5-4.6
# Pentax SMC-FA 70-200 4-5.6
# Pentax SMC-FA 100-300 4.5-5.6
# Vivitar 285HV Zoom Thyristor with vari-power
#
# I'm expecting that the lighting in the gym will be poor, especially
# during the matches. I've asked about using the flash and he's
# checking to see if it will be allowed or not (sometimes it is,
# sometimes it isn't).
#
snippo
#
# In my quest to get more light, I've purchased today a Pentax Normal
# SMCP-FA 50mm f/1.4 Autofocus Lens from B&H and should have it by
# Friday. This really was one of the few, if only, prime in my price
# range.
#
# My questions...
#
# Did I do right by getting the new lens? (at least in the terms I
# need it for, not in overall "yes, it's a great lens").
The FA 50 1.4 is the best value that you can get in a fast lens. You
can't get anything faster for less than one and a half times the
price, and it won't be auto focus.
50mm should be a good length too.
#
# Has anyone shot this type of event?
I shoot dances which have similar challenges.
#
# Any suggestions or comments?
If someone disagrees with my advice, chances are that they're right
and I'm wrong. You're probably best trying a lot of things so that
something turns out. Here are a lot of disorganized tips.
Look for Marc Sabetalla's advice on the dpreview pentax slr forum for
shooting musicians, again similar problems.
If you can get fast enough to use a flash, the more light you have,
the better. I've been known to do Rube Goldbergian inventions to shoot
with two flashes. But, I've found that using a flash is just as likely
to cause problems as to solve them.
In bad lighting situations, shoot in raw. You'd be amazed at what you
can recover from an underexposed raw file.
Before the wrestling starts, if you can, throw a grey card down on the
mat in several spots and get shots of it, so that you've got a white
balance reference for later on.
I've recently learned that the K100 circuitry doesn't do anything
different beyond iso 800, the computer in the camera just shifts the
values to the left.. There's no difference between shooting ISO
3200 and underexposing ISO 800 by two stops and pushing in post
processing.
Prepare your shots ahead of time, and wait for the shot. If you know
that someone is going to try a move, get your focus, and exposure set
up, then wait for the move. When I shoot dancers, I can tell when
there are going to be "interesting things in the music". I expect that
wrestlers will telegraph their moves and you'll see them prepping.
I have the OK button on my K-100 set to lock out the auto focus. I'll
use autofocus (AF-S) by half pressing the shutter to prefocus on a
scene. When I want to take a shot I push OK with my thumb and click
the shutter. That way I don't have shutter lag while the system tries
to focus.
Note that when people move, you have to refocus.
Note also, that the red dots in the viewfinder are focus point, not
locked focus, that's the little hexagon.
You'll probably want to dial your exposure in manually, chimping your
shots every so often, so that you can explicitly choose what you are
doing for depth of field, shutter speed etc. The light shouldn't
change much on a given mat.
Experiment with different apertures and shutter speeds, as well as
"correct" exposure and going as much as two stops under to get more
speed. If there's enough light, experiment with different ISOs.
Noisy shots often look better in black and white.
Try to shoot when the subjects aren't moving.
Use a monopod, for at least some of your shots.
Don't be afraid to crop in tight, a clear, tight shot of just a hold
can be more powerful than a shot that has everything, even what isn't
doing anything.
Have spare (hybrid) batteries and plenty of SD cards. I have little
plastic boxes I got from Fry's that hold four batteries. When they're
charged, I line them up all the same, when they're used I store them
in alternating polarity.
Likewise I have a tamrac camera strap with pockets for SD cards, I
keep emptyy ones on the left, full ones on the right.
Bring your spare lenses, and lock them someplace safe, but where you
can get to them. Chances are that you're best off with just the 50.
Blow the dust off your sensor (with a rocket blower) before you shoot,
rather than finding a big ugly dust spot at the end of the day on all
of your shots.
--
It's not the steps in the dance, it's the dance in the steps.
Larry Colen [email protected] http://www.red4est.com/lrc
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