Specifications for hall lights for badminton

Discussion in 'Badminton Photography' started by Cheung, Apr 27, 2013.

  1. Cheung

    Cheung Moderator

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    After flooring, there are lights in sports halls.

    What sort of lights do we need in sportshalls for badminton photos?

    We have the ideal lights versus practical lights for day to day usage.

    The facility I have in mind is 8 courts and the lights will need changing at some point.
     
  2. visor

    visor Regular Member

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    Are you asking as a player or as a photographer?
     
  3. kwun

    kwun Administrator

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    for long term energy efficiency, T2 fluorescent tubes are well tested in a few gyms here. cool temperature, bright, and don't flicker.
     
  4. kwun

    kwun Administrator

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  5. kwun

    kwun Administrator

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    positioning would be interesting. i guess the only choice is ceiling mount. hung down mounting would not work as the location is shared with basketball?
     
  6. Cheung

    Cheung Moderator

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    Both :)


    But not bright enough, right? You have frequently mentioned you need to go to ISO6400 in gyms in US.

    Yes, Shared with basketball and netball but the ceiling would be too high for a basketball. Basketball isn't a major use of the hall. The hall also gets rented out for events (read 'big parties') but I don't think this is a major issue.

    The badminton courts are arranged in 4 x 2 formation.

    With lights that go into the ceiling, the shuttle is harder to see. The higher the ceiling, the worse it becomes. I noticed this in Singapore where I saw one place with a really high ceiling and lights (higher than the halls we get in HK).


    With lights that hang down the sides of the court (I have seen a couple), the lighting is very nice. Even those very large arenas where the court lights are very high, the lights are good. I think it's because of the light differential. Lights that hang down have a darker ceiling. The existing lights do hang down but the ceiling is a little low due to some air conditioning system. So perhaps if the ceiling was raised, coloured darker and the lights kept at the same height, that would help a lot.
     
    #6 Cheung, Apr 27, 2013
    Last edited: Apr 27, 2013
  7. visor

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    I find something like this at Vancouver Racquet Club is the best lighting for players. Two rows of fluorescent lights hanging about 25 ft off the ground right in between the courts. Lights up the courts nicely without any glare to the players on court. How well it works for photographers , I don't know. :p ....... For better photos, you'll need to get a prime lens with a large aperture. Like 50mm/1.8, or 85mm/1.4. Not zooms which don't let in enough light. And it's ok to use high iso's if you're just putting it on the web. As long as there is no movement artifact, there are lots of post processing software that can smoothen out the graininess of high iso's very nicely.[​IMG]
     
    #7 visor, Apr 27, 2013
    Last edited: Apr 27, 2013
  8. Cheung

    Cheung Moderator

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    Something like that works well for badminton. You have the court, players and shuttle lit. Not good for basketball.
     
  9. Cheung

    Cheung Moderator

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    I managed to dig a bit deeper and found this

    http://www.sportengland.org/facilities__planning/design_and_cost_guidance/idoc.ashx?docid=d60d4119-6fdd-47e6-9b65-4df834ef86e3&version=-1

    It's a pdf doc. It lays out specifications for sportshall design and talks about badminton specific issues on pages 16 and 17.

    Average international events recommend average lux of 1000 for badminton and club use 500 lux.

    How does that translate to photo taking? i.e. at 1000 lux, can I reach shutterspeeds of 1/640th at f2.8 at ISO3200?
     
    #9 Cheung, May 7, 2013
    Last edited: May 7, 2013
  10. visor

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  11. Cheung

    Cheung Moderator

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    *Slap hand on forehead*

    BWF have some requirements on their website

    "The minimum recommended lighting level is 1000 Lux to provide even light over the court area.
    [Note, TV will advise on their lighting requirements and the optimal conditions for still
    photographers are 1800 - 2000 Lux].


    And Badminton England have the whole thing here

    http://www.badmintonengland.co.uk/core/core_picker/download.asp?id=12058.
     
    #11 Cheung, May 7, 2013
    Last edited: May 7, 2013
  12. angelk8

    angelk8 Regular Member

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    battle of rackets_6.jpg

    Hi. This is Winners Badminton Court.
    I think they have enough light to cover for the whole area. Also the ventilation and the place is spacious for all the players.
    They have 12 courts in total.
    This was taken last Battle of the Rackets tourney.

    Thanks..:)
     

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