topic Re: EOS Rebel T3 in EOS DSLR & Mirrorless Cameras

EOS Rebel T3

dsans — Fri, 24 Mar 2017 15:14:52 GMT

I am a youth hockey mom and my son plays goalie. I've started taking pictures of his team and am stuck in the AF mode because I'm not sure what settings I should be using to get great actions shots. I only have the standard lense and and a 70-300 mm that i use mostly. Can anyone recommend settings i should try to get great shots. I seem to not be able to caputre the shot i wanted, I never catch the puck off the pads, or the shot coming in on him. I wish I could afford to get a 70-200mm F/2.8, but as I stated my son plays travel hockey and is the goalie.....

Thanks in advance.

Re: EOS Rebel T3

kvbarkley — Fri, 24 Mar 2017 15:35:42 GMT

I think you have set yourself for one of the hardest jobs.

Here is something to try:

https://learn.usa.canon.com/resources/blogs/2017/20170323-stoner-action-shots-blog.shtml

Luckily, you can keep focus on your son and he stays there. When the action gets close push the shutter button half way to set focus so the camera is ready to respond instantly. Then you have to learn to anticipate when the puck is coming and press the button just *before* it gets to him. And resign your self to the fact that you will miss the puck many times.

Re: EOS Rebel T3

ebiggs1 — Fri, 24 Mar 2017 21:06:46 GMT

dsans,

Most likely cause it insufficient light. Any of the kit lenses of which you have two are way too slow to catch much action in a poorly lighted arena.

Let's see if I can help. The first and formost thing is location, location and location. Well I know that was three things but it is that important. If you are stuck up in the stands or bleachers somewhere you are handicapping your self even more. Rink side is best of course. Do what you can with that issue.

Now you do seem to know that a constant aperture f2.8 lens would be a great benefit. You are right, it would. The Canon ef 70-200mm f2.8L is the best there is. It is very expensive but there are alternatives if you go for a used lens. This lens is tough as nails so a used one can be a good buy. Plus it will sell better later on if you have no further need of it. Another choice is one of the third party offering from Tamron or Sigma. Both are very good and very close to the Canon except for build. They are about half the cost. Be careful if you go used on one of them as they are not built to the same level as the Canon L.

Another possibility is a fast prime. Not as versatile as the zooms but perhaps if you solve the location issue a prime could work. The ef 50mm f1.8 STM version is very reasonable at $125 bucks. Does a great job and is as fast as you can reasonably want. There is a ef 85mm f1.8, too. It would work if you can't get very close to the action. It is a little more expensive but not much.

You are need to resolve the lens issue or your are never going to, "...get great shots."

But there is some settings that may help plus the addition of a post editor. Post editing can work wonders for your shots. It is actually where, "great shots" are made.

For now set your T3 for single AF point. The center one. Shoot in jpg. Try a smaller jpg but you will most likely need to use the largest one. This is because you need the T3 in multi shot mode. Not single. This will shoot several frames per second. The smaller jpg will file faster. Set the ISO to a fixed 1600. I would use Tv first. Set it to the largest aperture your lens has.

It would be nice if you could go to the rink before the game and try different settings. What I have suggested may need to be tweaked so beware of that. If you could post a sample of what you got.