Night time MLB or NFL games

[buffalobreath]

What sort of Exposure Values do photographers encounter at night time MLB or NFL games?  Thanks.

[Waddizzle]

Are you familiar with Ev Value Charts?  You can use different settings, for a given amount of light, and get near identical exposures.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exposure_value

According to that link, outdoor night sports with artifical lighting fall somewhere around 9 Ev. 

[buffalobreath]

For some crazy reason I overlooked that site.  Thanks.  

[ebiggs1]

What gear are you thinking about using?  Most pro sports places are pretty strict on what they will allow you to bring in.

[buffalobreath]

I don't shoot major league sports.  I shoot local high school sports including football in a small, poorly lit rural stadium.  My EV ratings are 6 to 7 in the center of the field.  The corners are about EV 4 to 5..  I was just curious what the pros contend with.  Their photos appear pristine.  I figure a lot of that has to do with the processing.  I do my own RAW files with Photoshop Elements 14.

My use a Canon EOS 1DX Mk 2 and a Canon 400mm f4.DO IS 2.  

Thanks.

[ebiggs1]

When I did fill in work I used two lenses mostly the Canon EF 400mm f/2.8L IS II USM and the Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM and occasionally the Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM or way back, version one of these.  Always on a 1 series, or F1n, camera.  If you do football you can use the big 600mm but it is usually too long for baseball. All but the 70-200 were rented BTW.  I didn't do it enough to warrant purchasing nearly twenty grand in lenses.

For you the best choice is the Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM and one of the offerings in the 150-600mm zooms.

[Waddizzle · Accepted solution]

---

@buffalobreath wrote:

I don't shoot major league sports.  I shoot local high school sports including football in a small, poorly lit rural stadium.  My EV ratings are 6 to 7 in the center of the field.  The corners are about EV 4 to 5..  I was just curious what the pros contend with.  Their photos appear pristine.  I figure a lot of that has to do with the processing.  I do my own RAW files with Photoshop Elements 14.

My use a Canon EOS 1DX Mk 2 and a Canon 400mm f4.DO IS 2.  

Thanks.

---

I would think that you should be able to get away underexposing by 1-2 EV, to up the shutter speed, with that gear. 

Also, while that link may have said that night sports are about 9 EV, if the event is televised, which most professional events like football are, then the venue is lit up just a bit more than 9 EV. 

[buffalobreath]

The 70-200mm f2.8 is my primary lens for indoor volleyball and basketball. I've used the 400mm with both 1.4x and 2x III extenders with incrediable sharpness.  I should have bought the lens long ago.