EOS Rebel T5 Settings for night baseball games

[jburch921]

Hello I'm new to this forum.  I have been using my Canon EOS T-5 for several years now and have literally taken 1,000's of pictures for travel baseball for years.  Most of these games have been during the day time and I would use the TV mode and for the most part, these pictures came out awesome.

Now my son is playing college ball and most of his games are at night.  I took some pictures using the same mode and some were ok, but just not great.  I have been reading some of the comments on your forum for settings. 

Can someone please give me easy settings to take actions shots? (my son is a pitcher, so fast moving action) on top of stadium lighting. 

Would "AV" be my best option or "P" for an action shot in the dim lighting?

Also what setting should I use for people in the stands in the dark.  Again I'm new to the night time picture taking, so any advice would be very much appreciated. 

[wq9nsc]

Thanks for the info Waddizzle.  Although it would be useful to fine tune the shutter speed in 1/3 stop steps to optimize for sport type/behavior and lighting, full shutter speed stops aren't a huge performance penalty.

Probably a choice made by Canon to simplify the user interface for the primary target market for that body.

Rodger

[ebiggs1]

Here is my main reasoning for usually recommending Av mode. The top is, a new photographer. Usually totally new to photography.  Second is, the gear  that beginners have is usually the relatively slow kit lenses.  This means the camera is basically in M anyway because the lens will be wide open all the time. But the advantage of auto SS selection by the camera.

If you fix the SS as in M or Tv you lose that and it forces the lens wide open.

When you teach beginners to use, usually new unfamiliar gear, you need to think about the person you are teaching. Not very often you find a new person using 1 series cameras and big "L" primes lenses. 

IMHO, I see 1/3 stpo adjustment at this point a non-issue. Better to have them learn Raw and post edting from the get go. That's an easy fix there.

[ebiggs1]

Now for some settings I would use.  Of course Av mode. ISO fixed at 800 but be ready to change it if need be. Up or down as baseball night games are usually pretty well lighted as someone mentioned. Using Av set your lens to its most open aperture which I suspect in your case is f5.6.  This is pretty slow for action sports but its all you have. The Av is going to automatically set the T5 to its fastest SS it can. Use One shot do not use Ai-servo and just the center focus point.

Now there are two more very important things. One is location. Where are you are shooting from?  On the field is best but most, all, high schools and colleges will not allow you to do that. So, bleaches it is but you will not get the best shots there with any camera combo. Secondly, and mandatory, is shoot Raw format not jpg. Never jpg! Get a good post editor. Canon offers the free to d/l DPP4 but there are others. I prefer Photoshop and Lightroom. Like I said if you want the best or good sports photos post editing is mandatory.  All professional sports photos you see and love are post edited. All 100%.

With DPP4 the Raw conversion is automatic when you u/l to your computer so no input from you is required but the ability to alter and edit the photo is by far better. I have moved exposure 3+ stops before with Raw for example.

[smniia]

Using the widest aperture your lens offers, which in your case is f/5.6, is a smart choice for shooting sports events. It may not be the fastest option, but it's something you'll have to work with. As for the focus mode, using One Shot and the center focus point is a reasonable approach. You need relaxing with new games try it for yourself, you don't even have to have a lot of personal funds, I recently found Grand Rush casino no deposit bonus it makes it much easier to play)

As for the shooting location, shooting from the field would be ideal, but I understand that this is often not possible due to restrictions. Therefore, shooting from the stands is a common alternative, although it may not provide the best footage. It is important to make the most of the available vantage point.

I completely agree with shooting in RAW format instead of JPEG. RAW provides more flexibility in post-processing and is the preferred choice for professional sports photography. There are various post-processing software options, such as Canon's DPP4 or Photoshop and Lightroom. Using a good post editor can greatly improve your sports photos.