XA50 Camcorder used for "Sports"....

[TSN]

I've been streaming sports since 2006. We have recently upgraded to the professional XA50. It's a great piece of work. 

1) I need to get someone who does sports streaming professionally. I need the camcorder settings for shooting through the fence "netting" behind home plate and down the 1st and 3rd base lines. I've solved the issue of focusing...as you zoom to the "outfield" through the "net" I get the player focused, but the net still is more visible than I would like. I noticed on TV the net is really whipped from shot. How do they set the camcorder up?

Thanks!

[mikew124]

You need to reduce the depth of field to achieve this. Try setting the XA50 to aperture priority mode (AV under top left screen button) and then setting the aperture (under bottom left screen button) somewhere near wide open. Where it ends up will depend on zoom level and what depth of focus you need. The density of the net and how close you are to it (closer the better) will also be a factor.

[TSN]

Thanks so much for the info. We are in the press box and around 20 feet from the net behind home plate. I have set the XA50 to manual and use focus ring to adjust it. I usually focus on outfield wall and any player in the outfield during warm ups. It has worked pretty well, but ill use your adjustment next game. Thanks again!

[rs-eos]

There will always be some effect of the obstruction in video (and images as this affects photography as well).   About the only thing you can do is use the widest-possibe aperture for shallowest depth of field.

While the XA50 has a larger sensor than most camcorders (leading to shallower DOF possibilities), I have noticed that the "1-inch type" sensor cams typically use a variable-aperture lens with f/2.8 to f/4.5.  So if you're zoomed in, the aperture won't really be wide.

[TSN]

Thanks so much for the info. We are in the press box and around 20 feet from the net behind home plate. I have set the XA50 to manual and use focus ring to adjust it. I usually focus on outfield wall and any player in the outfield during warm ups. It has worked pretty well, but ill use your adjustment next game. Thanks again!