EOS Rebel T5 shooting at night

[Greggersam]

HELP!  what is the OPTIMUM setting for shooting stop action sports at night under the lights?  (think High School football)!   I have the Rebel T5 and a normal and zoom lens that all came together when I bought the kit.

[RobertTheFat]

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@ebiggs1 wrote:

Bobby, my goodness,

" If the camera thinks it knows what the correct white balance is (either by its own determination or because you told it),  ..."

You really do know WB has no effect on the RAW file? RAW is almost always the way to shoot and it is in this case, too.

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It's not really my field, so I'll have to take your word for how it works. But it certainly should apply the WB correction before (or while) metering the scene. And it evidently can do so, since that must be what it does when shooting JPEGs. Otherwise, many JPEGs would be erroneously exposed with no effective recourse.

And it's hardly necessary to lecture me about the benefits of shooting RAW. The only JPEGs I've shot since the spring of 2007 were on a couple of occasions when I was using a camera just back from Jamesburg and forgot that they always do a reset to factory settings. (Why, on a 7D or a 5D3, is the default not RAW? You tell me.)

[ebiggs1]

Bob
Boston, Massachusetts USA

"But it certainly should apply the WB correction before (or while) metering the scene."

Whether it should or should not isn't a reason for how it actually works.  WB does not effect RAW as most other settings do not.  It is simply the dots and dashes in other words the raw data.  It is sensor output data.  The rest is added when conversion takes place so it can be viewed. Things like DR, sharpness, contrast, style, etc. do not alter the raw file so they can be ignored.

And B from B said,

"... it's hardly necessary to lecture me about the benefits of shooting RAW."

Not trying to lecture there Robert, just a clarification, teaching moment. 

[Waddizzle]

"A SS of 1/500 will probably stop any football action. Most of it anyway. In Av let the T5 determine this.  An ISO of 1600 is warranted and I also prefer to fix it in favor of using the Auto setting."

Not unless there is a great lighting system, you're not getting anywhere close to that shutter speed with that camera/lens combination at night.  The only way to begin getting near that shutter speed will be to intentionally underexpose by 1-2 stops, and then bump up the exposure in post. 

I agree with Av mode to get a constant aperture, which means one less variable to complicate things.  I like the idea of specifying an ISO for the same reason.  So, why not do the above in manual mode and use exposure compensation?

You might even have to bump the ISO up as high as 3200 if lighting isn't that great, and turning on high ISO noise reduction.  Of course, very steady hands, or some form of camera support, will be a must in low light conditions.

[EDIT]  Greggersam, learn to use your camera.  Notice there are multiple videos at the one link I posted.  More importantly, learn to read the viewfinder information.

[ebiggs1]

"A SS of 1/500 will probably stop any football action. Most of it anyway."

OK, I am curious!  What made you conclude I said the OP was going to get 1/500?  1/500 was mentioned because someone said 1/1000.  I would say that even 1/250 will get 'most' football action.  Is it what I would prefer if I could use whatever SS, I wanted?  Probably not.

Using Av he will get the fastest SS the lens can provide, that's all. In this case his lens is a handicap and the weakest link if it is the one I mentioned.

[Waddizzle]

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@ebiggs1 wrote:

"A SS of 1/500 will probably stop any football action. Most of it anyway."

OK, I am curious!  What made you conclude I said the OP was going to get 1/500?  1/500 was mentioned because someone said 1/1000.  I would say that even 1/250 will get 'most' football action.  Is it what I would prefer if I could use whatever SS, I wanted?  Probably not.

Using Av he will get the fastest SS the lens can provide, that's all. In this case his lens is a handicap and the weakest link if it is the one I mentioned.

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Wrong question.  Why should someone NOT reach that conclusion?  You provided detailed step-by-step instructions.

"I assume you have this lens the EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III Lens?  Set your Av to f4 but realize you are essentially working with a f5.6 lens.  Once moved off of 75mm the lens is no longer an f4. The T5 will know this automatically.

A SS of 1/500 will probably stop any football action. Most of it anyway. In Av let the T5 determine this.  An ISO of 1600 is warranted and I also prefer to fix it in favor of using the Auto setting.

Next use One Shot and use 'only' the center focus point.  Turn all the others off.  Later you might try AI-Servo but not until you are truly familiar with the T5.  Most of the time AI-Servo will disappoint you.

Shoot RAW and post process it yourself.  This lets you forget about WB, white balance, as you will correct it as you like in post. RAW also allows for several stops of exposure correction.  Blurry or OOF, out of focus, shots are not correctable.

Bottom line is either Tv and/or my choice of Av is the way to go. Try each one and see what works best.  Remember, location, location and location is king.  If you are only permitted to shoot from the bleachers, goof luck!"

[diverhank]

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@Waddizzle wrote:

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@ebiggs1 wrote:

"A SS of 1/500 will probably stop any football action. Most of it anyway."

OK, I am curious!  What made you conclude I said the OP was going to get 1/500?  1/500 was mentioned because someone said 1/1000.  I would say that even 1/250 will get 'most' football action.  Is it what I would prefer if I could use whatever SS, I wanted?  Probably not.

Using Av he will get the fastest SS the lens can provide, that's all. In this case his lens is a handicap and the weakest link if it is the one I mentioned.

Bottom line is either Tv and/or my choice of Av is the way to go. Try each one and see what works best.  Remember, location, location and location is king.  If you are only permitted to shoot from the bleachers, goof luck!"

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I think it's bad advice for beginners to use Av for action. You guys know what's going on but not for someone who just starts out.  Makes no sense...irresponsible, really.

[ebiggs1]

"Makes no sense...irresponsible, really."

It may make no sense but irresponsible?  Hardly, this isn't the game of life here.  There is really little difference in this situation between using Tv or Av.  As I succinctly pointed out, Tv would work.  However, the lens in question can only open so far. When the light fails, the T5 will not fire.  Using Av at least there is more than likely going to be a picture.  Whether it is good or even usable might be a problem. I grant.

This is a case where the lens is the weak link not the T5.  It is best advice to give the lens the best opportunity to do what it can. All camera and phoyo gear have a limit on what they can do.  This will test what the OP had for sure.

Irresponsible?  Hmm, strange really strange!

[ebiggs1]

"Why should someone Waddizzle NOT reach that conclusion?"

Thank you, I understand.

[Waddizzle]

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@ebiggs1 wrote:

"Why should someone Waddizzle NOT reach that conclusion?"

Thank you, I understand.

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Good, then we agree.  Your instructions were pretty exact.

"I assume you have this lens the EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III Lens?  Set your Av to f4 but realize you are essentially working with a f5.6 lens.  Once moved off of 75mm the lens is no longer an f4. The T5 will know this automatically.

A SS of 1/500 will probably stop any football action. Most of it anyway. In Av let the T5 determine this.  An ISO of 1600 is warranted and I also prefer to fix it in favor of using the Auto setting.

Next use One Shot and use 'only' the center focus point.  Turn all the others off.  Later you might try AI-Servo but not until you are truly familiar with the T5.  Most of the time AI-Servo will disappoint you."

Set the camera to Av mode.  Set the ISO to 1600, not Auto.  Use a shutter speed of 1/500.  Use One Shot  mode with just the center AF point active, and rest of the AF points disabled.

[ebiggs1]

Against my better judgement but, I see a teaching moment here.

Av means "Aperture Priority".  That locks the aperture and lets the camera select the SS, shutter speed.  If you set the camera to Av you can not set the SS to 1/500. 

If you want to set both aperture and shutter, you need to use manual mode.  If you read your manual you will find this.