Badminton Photography

[Pecheur]

Cost of a 2GB CompactFlash Card: US$ 450+
Cost of a 4GB Creative MuVo² MP3 Player: US$ 250
Dismantling the MuVo2 and using its 4GB drive as a CF Card: Priceless!

“We took a Lexar Media CompactFlash card to compare this Hitachi drive to and its identical in size, except it’s a little thicker. To make sure that the card would fit in CF slots, we used the Shuttle built-in card reader on their XPC and we had a perfect match.”

Actually this is no longer valid, they've modified the drive in the MuVo so that it can't be used as a CF card, damn corporate types ruining all the fun in this world I tell you :P

[Johansen]

There are a lot of good pictures on this site, but what do I need to take photos in a good quality.
Does it have to be a SLR-camera or? What iso are they taken by?
Can anyone give som technical informations?

Johansen

[bluejeff]

I am not sure about this, but since Badminton is a very fast and speedy sports, you will need a camera with fast speed lens at least

[Syaoran_Style]

Maybe we can ask Raphale Sachetat to give us a lesson .. Cuz me too i really want to know how to take great pix ... and maybe one day i'll be able to build my own Badminton pix website ... i wish, i wish LoL

[taneepak]

There are two key conditions that affect indoor badminton photography. One is lighting, which, although bright, is no where near as bright as daylight. The other is movement of the players.
Using fast lenses and fast films are a pre-requsite for superlative pictures. An f2 lens is 100% faster than an f2.8 lens, and will therefore allow 100% more light to strike the film. Likewise, an f2.8 lens is 100% faster than an f4 lens. All these f numbers are rough approximations which you can actually calculate. Lets take an example, say three lenses, all three with 100mm focal length, one lens has a max. aperture of f1.4, the second f2 and the third f2.8. The area of the aperture of an 100 mm focal length with f1.4 is [(100 / 1.4) X 1/2] squared X 22/7 = 4009 sq mm. The same lens with an f2 will be [(100 /2) X 1/2] squared X 22/7 = 1964 sq mm. You will see that an f1.4 100mm lens will allow the lens aperture to open up an area of 4009 sq mm; an f2 100mm lens only about half with 1964 sq mm.
If you do not have fast lenses, because fast lenses are expensive and heavy, you can use fast films with fast speeds of 400 or 800 ASA, and if necessary pushed even higher when you develop the films. But the faster the film the grainier the pictures. An ASA 400 film is an ideal compromise.
With fast lenses (large aperture lenses are called fast lenses) and fast films, you now have the best tools for taking great badminton pictures. But wait a minute. Don't forget the tripod. Also, if you have a rangefinder Leica M3 camera and a fast f2 90mm Leitz Summicron lens, you will be able to take even greater pictures. The almost vibration-free shuttle of the M3 is worth at least one speed or lens stop of a single lens reflex camera.
Lastly, use the appropriate shuttle speed, which will mostly be 200, 500 or even 1000.

[Johansen]

Hi

Thanks for all your very good answers. I don't wan't to go for the actions-shoots at first. I know these are very difficult.
First of all I need to buy the right camera, and offcourse I have a limited budget.
I'm thinking about some model - all digitals.
1. Canon EOS 300D SLR can go up to iso 1600 - with a Sigma 28-200(300)mm f.3.5.
2. Fuji Finepix s5000 with 10xopt. zoom (37-370mm) f. 3.2, can go up to iso 800
or the new one s5500 - but only up to iso 400.

The second choice is very cheaper than the first one - under half price.
I'm sure that the Canon is the best, but can both of the cameras do the job?

What do you think.

Rgs
Johansen

[taneepak]

Please bear in mind that lens speed (f stops) of zoom lenses are not constant over various focal lengths of the zoom. The max. f stop of say f3.5 of a zoom lens is only good for focusing, the actual light that passes through the masses of the zoom lens elements is probably half to one stop slower. The best would be to use your brains and seat yourself as near the court as possible, and choose one appropriate wide-angle lens and one tele lens, i.e. a 28mm lens and a 90mm lens as a pair, or a 35mm lens with a 120mm lens as a pair. Wide-angle lenses can come in slightly slower lens speed, say f2.8 or f3.5. A tele is best at f1.4 (it costs a fortune) or f2, but never slower than f2.8 (it also costs plenty of bucks).
Zoom lenses are a severe compromise. You don't use them if fixed focal length lenses can be used. Better you go near the court with a 50mm lens than staying far from the court and then trying to use your zoom 35-300mm lenses to bring the object nearer. Play smart.
If you must have zoom lenses, don't be greedy and get one that covers wide-angle, med. tele and long tele, because such wide zooms do not take great pictures. Better to have separate zooms for wide-to normal focal lengths, normal-to med. tele focal lengths, and then the med.-to long tele focal lengths.
A heavy tripod is a must. Don't skim on this.

[Altezza]

Hi

Thanks for all your very good answers. I don't wan't to go for the actions-shoots at first. I know these are very difficult.
First of all I need to buy the right camera, and offcourse I have a limited budget.
I'm thinking about some model - all digitals.
1. Canon EOS 300D SLR can go up to iso 1600 - with a Sigma 28-200(300)mm f.3.5.
2. Fuji Finepix s5000 with 10xopt. zoom (37-370mm) f. 3.2, can go up to iso 800
or the new one s5500 - but only up to iso 400.

The second choice is very cheaper than the first one - under half price.
I'm sure that the Canon is the best, but can both of the cameras do the job?

What do you think.

Rgs
Johansen

I have the Fuji S7000 and a Canon 1D. I wouldn't advise getting the Fuji if you are serious about shooting badminton - action or not. The slight shutter lag, low ISOs, etc are just very limiting. It's a very good general purpose travel camera that's easy to bring around but I wouldn't use it to shoot indoor sports.

Check out the Nikon D70, 300D, etc - there are also newer DSLRs to be announced in September at the Photokina show. Also check out www.dpreview.com for forums on lenses, bodies, etc - there were posts there on indoor shooting such as basketball, etc that should be helpful.

A constant aperture such as the Canon or Nikon 70-200 F/2.8 is ideal for me, and there are the more expensive VR/IS system lenses that help greatly in hand held situations. The Sigmas are not a bad choice to start with. But I find F2.8 the smallest I can live with using ISO800-1250 in most indoor lighting situations with shutter speeds at 1/500.

[Syaoran_Style]

HI guys,

Of course, now that I have switched to the EOS 1D MArk II from Canon, I am in heaven, but I know it is a very expensive cam for regular badminton fans (around 5000 US $ for the body only)


Raphael

Waouuu i never imagine that it would be so expansivve
i thought the highest price was about 1500 US $ ... but i guess equipment like that has a lifetime longer than others no??

[cooler]

Canon packs 16.7 megapixels into new digital SLR camera

By Wolfgang Gruener, Senior Editor

September 21, 2004 - 14:50 EST

Chicago (IL) - Canon followed Nikon and updated its top-end digital camera as well as two mainstream cameras. Canon's new flagship, the 16.7 megapixel EOS-1Ds Mark II SLR, is expected to be available in stores in November.

Canon's new EOS-1Ds, is not quite what the typical household needs in terms of filling the digital family picture album. However, the camera with an estimated street price of about $8000 represents a statement of current technology in digital photography.

[bluejeff]

I am still waiting for the Canon's new 20D coming out........I am in the hunt for a DSLR.

[ants]

I am still waiting for the Canon's new 20D coming out........I am in the hunt for a DSLR.

Oh man!! same here... why dont you get the Canon 300D Rebel?

[ants]

i have a Sony DSC-V1 digital cam. as well as a Nikon N70 (F70) regular SLR film camera. wish i have a DSLR, but they are way too expensive!

I actually wanted to get the Sony DSC V-1 , but its expensive and a little bit inconvenience for travelling and i heard that there is always a problem with the pop up flash.. anyway i opted for Canon Ixus400 instead for travelling..

[ants]

heard about Lexar Media cf card ants? it should be the fastest cf card at the moment.
it comes along with a cf card reader with data rescue feature.sound pretty cool isn't it.
it's not quite expensive. for a 256 mbs. it's just 600 something hong kong dollars. the sandisk ultra 256 is around hk $550. recently, the sandisk seems not to be as reliable as the old days. many many "dead " card's around and it happens to sandisk ultra as well!

I will try to get my hands on Lexar CF card.. dont know how much they will cost for 500mb and 1G compare to Sandisk.. i'm not sure weather its cheaper in Spore and Hong Kong..

[bluejeff]

Oh man!! same here... why dont you get the Canon 300D Rebel?

I am waiting for the 20D because from the specs, 20D is far better than 300D IF 20D can focus precisely.

Also, I am waiting for the Sony V3 coming out in November. I need two cameras because I want a small camera like V3 for traveling, and a major one like 20D for the rest of time.

[red00ecstrat]

I will try to get my hands on Lexar CF card.. dont know how much they will cost for 500mb and 1G compare to Sandisk.. i'm not sure weather its cheaper in Spore and Hong Kong..

ants, at this moment, i can't really tell whether lexar cf card is still the fastest or sandisc ulrta II. my post u'd read was old. at that time there wasn't any ultra II cf card.
one more thing. as i know, the data rescue feature of lexar card reader only works on lexar cf card not for other brands. that is something u should take into account b4 purchasing any lexar products.
o.k here is something about the new canon 20d dslr. my friend's just got one at the price of 11000 something hk dollars from canon hk. that is about 6-700 dollars less than the market price here, because he's a canon professional services member. hehe...there are always some special offers for us. like in august. canon hk sell us the 10d for $9000 something hk!
how much does a 20d costs in spore ant? if u really think that price is attractive, email me be4 u come to hk then i'll tell my friend to get one for u at that price.
regards
red00ecstrat

[kwun]

red00estrat, do you know the street price for the D70 by any chance?