Shot in manual 1/400th sec, f2.8. ISO equivalent to 2500. Used my 70-200 f2.8 Canon lens. The first pic is a crop of the picture in the White balance thread. I think this is a difficult gym. The light is very poor and the flourescent lights give off those wierd colour casts. Any comments
Hmm.. ..the cropped picture, 3rd pic, is quite sharp. Not much grainyness, considering you're using ISO 2500. Ah-ha, shot with your new 5D MkII? Notice the weird color casts, too. May i ask, were you using the One Shot mode or the Ai-Servo mode for the AF, for both examples (1st and 2nd pics)??..
^^Hmm, i looked at the (5D MkII) specs..^^ ..and i could only find these focusing options: Focusing Modes: Auto, One-Shot AF, Predictive AI Servo AF, AI Focus AF, Manual focusing (MF)
maybe u can playing around with iso (higher) and shutter speed (slightly lower?) to get sharper and brighter image. Since u're in public gym, why don't u consider using speedlight by bouncing it to the ceiling or wall as long as it not distracting other players.
In my opinion all the pictures lack contrast. Maybe a fast prime lens with a shorter focal length to throw the net at the foreground more out-of-focus, a slower shutter speed to give a sense of speed in a slightly blur shuttle would be better. A tripod, monopod, or pressing the camera against something solid could be useful.
Actually, I do agree with some of the comments. 1) Contrast is lacking. This probably is a function of the light which I have no control over. IN addition, the ISO is very high at 2500 so colours are not as good. However, a camera cannot compensate for the poor light. 2) Out of focus net - definitely agree. I didn't have time to take many photos but primes are something I want to try out. 3) Shutter speed - agree again. 1st photo does actually have some motion blur imparting a sense of movement. The 2nd picture has a very slow movement inherent of the player. Even 1/250th of a second could well be acceptable. The difference here is the player being a club player in a social game rather than international player in a competition. Slower shutter speeds may well be acceptable. 4) I shall try the tripod technique one day. I'd like to get my remote back first but I do think it will be very interesting to see the results.
Let's try some post processing. I was primarily looking at autofocus but let's see how the files look with some processing using Canon's DPP (free software) Basically, increased the exposure of the RAW file, added contrast and saturation. Not much at all.
Whn I go back to this gym, I'll try ISO3200 for better exposure or use one of my primes. What I was pleased about was the AF consistency - most of the pictures in this low light gym were in focus. Also a marked difference to my 30D was that the AF can track the subject without it needing to fill the frame as much. For the 30D, a slightly smaller subject may mean the focus goes on to the background many times.
cheung, the af of your 5d mk2 looks pretty accurate! i guess much better than my mk3! and chris, everyone has his/her own way to take photos. he can use whatever he want to achieve his goal. i repeat "his goal".
Cheung, then 5DmkII is a very capable camera for indoor sports. Just a little sluggish in the shutter release part. The AF consistency is excellent, just need to know how to use the Ai-Servo function properly, especially the tracking and triggering portion of the shot taking. As for your colour cast, its a matter of the shutter speed coinciding with the flickering rate of the lighting. You can't really get away from it. Unless you're shooting slower than its recycling rate. For the exposure and contrast part, the 70-200 f/2.8 IS isn't exactly the best at wide open aperture. Though good enough for closer up portraits. Part of the problem you see here is the shutter speed. Ideally for badminton, you're shooting at 1/600 and up to get "sharp" images. Though you may choose to slow it down to achieve the effect of motion. But you'll have to selectively track the area of interest at slower shutter speeds to make sure you keep those areas sharp, be it the shuttle or the players face. For your first few shots, try shooting at ISO 3200, shutter 1/500 instead. The 5Dmkii tends to under-expose a bit in most indoor situations. Would suggest you meter using AV and note the shutter / aperture you need, then notch it up 1/3 or 1/4 EV levels. Replicate the settings in Manual mode. The results are much better when it comes to noise control. If you want 'very sharp' shots, try gunning for higher shutter speeds.
The second picture gives a clue that the camera has a vertically travelling focal plane shutter. A horizontally travelling shutter would have that off-colour band in a vertical position. In short a focal plane shutter exposes light in slits of light over the "frame" either vertically or horizontally, and not simultaneously.
