EOS Rebel T8i Settings for wrestling

mmwellsfarm
Contributor

I'm renting an 18-135mm IS USM lens for my Canon T8i and was wondering what the best settings would be to get great photos of wrestling this weekend. I haven't had much luck figuring out the best ones for other lens as some gyms having different lighting at different areas or I have to improvise and use a larger lens and then forget to change my settings again so all my pictures are too dark to edit without them pixelating. It's very limited time to figure it all out before the sessions begin each time before I just have to go with what I have it set at. Any help is appreciated for low light and plenty of light as I don't know what the lighting will be like this weekend.

9 REPLIES 9

shadowsports
Legend
Legend

Greetings,

I think an EF70-200 f2.8 would be a better choice at an indoor gymnasium.  The fast aperture and increased reach will be more forgiving and helpful.  

 

~Rick
Bay Area - CA


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I'll be right beside the mat so won't work. I tried that already.

Waddizzle
Legend
Legend

Use a wider aperture lens, f/2.8 or wider.  I recommend a focal length >= 50mm.  

Most gymnasiums have poor lighting conditions for photography.  If you’re on a tight budget, EF 50mm f/1.8 STM could work, but you would need to be fairly close to the mat.  

An EF 85mm f/1.8 USM gets you a little “closer”. Tthe lens is not very fast to focus, but it may be a good match for the max fps of your camera.

A 70-200mm f/2.8 would work best.  Those are a bit costly, but users are very pleased with the results.   Again, you need a wider aperture lens. 

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"The right mouse button is your friend."

I'll be right by the mat. I have a coaches badge to get me beside them as they wrestle.

mmwellsfarm,

Since time is of the essence, and you are so close to the mat, you might think about a standard run-of-the-mill 50mm f/1.8 prime. They run about $125 and can be found in local electroics stores or local camera shops.

Steve Thomas

 

I'm not able to buy a lens right now. I just need to know what the best settings to use. Also, 50mm is something too close. They get right up on me sometimes and sometimes they are farther away. I need to be able to adjust when needed. I run around about 8-10+ mats. I'm right in the mix of chaos. I'm trying to avoid graining pictures as much as possible. I'm just still learning how to set everything manually. I used to just use the action setting which I'm trying to not do.

mmwellsfarm,

Well, to me at least, with varied lighting, and action happening fast, it sounds like you would be better off using the TV, or shutter priority mode and Auto ISO.

With Tv Mode, you pick the shutter speed to freeze the action, and the camera will set the aperture and ISO for you to give you a proper exposure based on the lighting conditions at the time.

If you are moving from mat to mat in the midst of chaos, you will probably not have the luxury of time to manually adjust your settings on the go. With TV Mode, you only have to adjust one setting.

Steve Thomas

 

Allowing the camera to control more than one leg of the exposure triangle is usually a recipe for occasional shots that are under or over exposed.  

The lighting conditions will not change because you’re indoors. You should be able to use the same exposure settings all day, with little need to change them.  

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"The right mouse button is your friend."

If they get too close, then move away from them.  You will be in a struggle for sufficient light with your current lenses. 

As for camera settings, you will have to be the final judge on that.  You need to be familiar with the Exposure Triangle.  You also need to be familiar with the highest ISO settings you can use before noise levels are too high for your tastes.

The aperture setting should be easy, wide open, except your lenses have variable apertures.  Your aperture will change as you zoom in and out, which will require you to adjust on the fly.  The EF 50mm f/1.8 STM will not change the aperture until you change it. 

The challenge is going to be striking a balance between SS and ISO, so that you can freeze the action while minimizing noise from high ISO levels.  The wider your aperture, the easier finding a balance becomes.

You will want to shoot most of your shots with the same exposure settings.  The best way to achieve this is to use M mode.  Using the other modes allows the camera to adjust exposure levels and you may wind up with exposures changing because one athlete wore a dark jersey in one shot, which will look different from a shot of an athlete in a light jersey.  

On that note, you need to find a good set of exposure settings based on ambient lighting conditions, not your subjects.  I usually do this by taking a few test shots of the room in M mode and ISO set to Auto.  Adjust your aperture to its maximum.  Adjust your shutter speed to at least 1/400.  Setting it to at least 1/800 or faster would be ideal.  

Find the fastest shutter speed that doesn’t cause the ISO to exceed your preferred maximum.  Find a shutter speed that causes ISO to rise to half that value. 💯

Change ISO from Auto to the value you just found.  You should have a set of exposure settings to use for the entire session. Good Luck!

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"The right mouse button is your friend."
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