EOS 7D Indoor Sports Photography with No Flash

[forloines]

Brand NEW to any sort of Photography, let alone the Canon EOS 7D-Indoor Sports without flash issue.

Hello!

I'm new to photography.  Normally, I use 'Auto' everything when I take pictures of indoor sports for a HS cheerleading team, but someone got upset with the use of the flash.  

I have a Canon EOS 7D.  The only lens I have is:  EFS 18-200mm 0.45m/1.5ft.

I am vaguely aware that the f/ should be lower to allow more light in, I think the lowest it goes is 4.5.  Zooming in makes this worse.

What settings could I use to make this work without the flash.  With the flash, everything's great.

Any constructive help for a "photography dummy" would be great.  If I need a different lens, that would be 'ok', too.

Thank you!!

[ebiggs1]

Number 5 is the correct answer to the OP's question to, "What settings could I use to make this work without the flash." Whether you like it or not is not germane to the advice. Perhaps a focus on the topic and not me would be helpful.

[ebiggs1]

"With the flash, everything's great."

At any and all of the indoor sporting events I have shot in the past 40+ years, using a flash is going to get you an invite to leave and not come back.

[ebiggs1]

"If you shop from Amazon or Ebay you can't tell if the seller is selling you U.S. gear."

This is very true and very unknown by most people because most Amazon stuff isn't like photography gear purchases. Amazon is a fully authorized Canon USA retailer. Any Canon gear purchased directly from Amazon will be fine. The trick is you must read all the "fine print" on any web page you are considering because some or most of the Amazon Marketplace stores are not Canon USA dealers. Also good advice never, never buy a lens or camera that comes in a huge package or kit of junk.

As to ebay the same thing rings true but it is ever more difficult to tell if it is Canon USA or not. I know some top retail stores do sell on ebay and that would be fine. If you are not certain don't do it. Go to one of the recommended places which is not limited to list above as there are lots of good Canon USA resources. You may have a local camera shop or Best Buy or Costco, etc. Hands on is worth something! The key is making sure it is Canon USA authorized gear.

[Stephen]

We tell people when buying from Amazon to make sure it's very specifically marked as "sold and shipped by Amazon," otherwise, you're likely buying from a third party, which is not an Authorized Canon Dealer. 

You can find all of the Authorized Dealers on our site: https://www.usa.canon.com/contact-us/where-to-buy 

[deebatman316]

Thanks for the correction about Amazon @ebiggs1. It was always mentioned in the forum to avoid using Amazon. As for the Canon Authorized Dealers. I was just listing a few references for the OP. 

-Demetrius

EF 16-35mm F/2.8L III USM, EF 24-70mm F/2.8L II USM, EF 28-135mm F/3.5-5.6 IS USM (Retired), EF 50 F/1.8 STM, EF 85mm F/1.8 USM & EF 70-200mm F/2.8L IS III USM

EOS 40D (Retired) & 5D Mark IV

430EX III-RT, 470EX-AI & 600EX II-RT

[ebiggs1]

Demetrius, no thank you because you were the one that spotted it. I didn't. Amazon is such a loved and shopped store so most folks don't even consider where the stuff comes from. And in most cases it probably doesn't matter. In this case it does.

And further it isn't that Canon USA won't fix the gear even if the customer pays for the repair, they may not be able to fix it at all. They may not have the correct part or FW, etc. And if Canon USA can't give the repair a complete 100% guarantee they will decline to do it at all.

I have seen Canon USA bend over backwards to help even when they were not required to. But I would not count on their good nature to please customers, who are not theirs, just because it says Canon on the label.

[Waddizzle]

---

@forloines wrote:

Brand NEW to any sort of Photography, let alone the Canon EOS 7D-Indoor Sports without flash issue.

Hello!

I'm new to photography.  Normally, I use 'Auto' everything when I take pictures of indoor sports for a HS cheerleading team, but someone got upset with the use of the flash.  

I have a Canon EOS 7D.  The only lens I have is:  EFS 18-200mm 0.45m/1.5ft.

I am vaguely aware that the f/ should be lower to allow more light in, I think the lowest it goes is 4.5.  Zooming in makes this worse.

What settings could I use to make this work without the flash.  With the flash, everything's great.

Any constructive help for a "photography dummy" would be great.  If I need a different lens, that would be 'ok', too.

Thank you!!

---

Where do you expect to be when you are doing a shoot?  Your location should dictate what range of focal lengths would be most useful for any type of action photography.

Flashes and strobes are especially bad because they can temporarily blind the athlete, leading to an accidental injury.

[forloines]

I take the picture for the Varsity and JV Cheerleaders (my daughter is one of them) at the Basketball Games.  They have an upper deck in the gym, which is where I am most of the time.  The pictures don't have to be "Pro", but I'd like them to be nice. In the past, I simply used my Camera Phone, but the further away cheerleaders were "grainy", at best.

They won't ask me to leave, but I also (now) know they don't want me to use a flash, either - so I don't (anymore).  

[deebatman316]

What focal lengths do you use the most with your current 18-200mm lens. Before we recommend the 24-70mm F/2.8, 70-200mm F/2.8 or any other lenses. As @Waddizzle pointed out flash photography is usually prohibited at sporting events. That's why it was recommended that you look into a fast CONSTANT aperture lens with IMAGE STABILIZATION (IS).

-Demetrius

EF 16-35mm F/2.8L III USM, EF 24-70mm F/2.8L II USM, EF 28-135mm F/3.5-5.6 IS USM (Retired), EF 50 F/1.8 STM, EF 85mm F/1.8 USM & EF 70-200mm F/2.8L IS III USM

EOS 40D (Retired) & 5D Mark IV

430EX III-RT, 470EX-AI & 600EX II-RT

[forloines]

I am currently looking at obtaining the Canon DF 70-200mm f/2.8L is II USM Lens.

I don't always have to zoom all the way out to get the furthest cheerleaders, but with my current lens, and not zooming in at all - I get very dark pictures.