Upgrade of equipment help request

[AndyMulhearn]

Re: Upgrade of equipment help request

I can't zoom into that shot but it looks good to me. Are you seeing noise at 100% or smaller magnifications? If it's at 100%, stop pixel peeping

But seriously, a lot of us look at our shots and see a good shot with noise where others see a good shot.

[Paulstw]

Re: Upgrade of equipment help request

Noise isn't anywhere near a tack sharp subject, it's always in the out of focus areas. Shooting wide open on telephoto lenses isn't going to help pixel peepers and one should just accept that it's the way it is. Enjoy your pics, enjoy everything about them and just totally disregard looking at them in anyway other than the same way others do.

[paul linton]

Re: Upgrade of equipment help request

After i experimented with Lightroom here is a better result.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]12665[/ATTACH]
But still with some noise in the picture :-(

Looks better also uploading direct you lose some image IQ, you'll notice most on here use flickr/photobucket to upload you get much sharper results that way.

Have fun with your hired gear a give it a real good workout.
Make sure you have a fast memory card if you want to get anywhere near 6fps.

The link will send you to some ice hockey i did sometime ago shooting through the perspex using a 5D mkIII +135mmf2 settings were for the most iso3200 apart from 2nd to last which was set at iso8000 (you might be able to see an info button at the bottom of each image, click that for full info)

http://paullinton.smugmug.com/Hull-Stingrays-/Hull-Stingrays-v-Sheffield-Ste/

Paul

[mackone]

Re: Upgrade of equipment help request

That's exactly what I mean those pictures of you look crisp even through Perspex!

What makes the difference camera or lens or both?

[paul linton]

Re: Upgrade of equipment help request

That's exactly what I mean those pictures of you look crisp even through Perspex!

What makes the difference camera or lens or both?

Think they both have a bearing,Using the 5D helps with shooting clean shots at the higher iso levels and f2 or f2.8 helps keep the shutter speed up to a decent level for the fast action.

Just a note i did put these images through (Machinery Hdr software) to give them a boost the downside to that is it intensifies the noise levels, so you'll see quite a bit of noise in the background a lot more than you probably should.

Paul

[the black fox]

Re: Upgrade of equipment help request

the other way of doing it is basically what we do in the birding world ,get a good de-noise plug in (i use imageonic) then if processing from RAW in photoshop or elements ,layer your subjects ,then apply noise reduction to the background layer only ,then sharpen your subjects (the players) .this should ensure a better overall effect .
far to many peeps think that owning the biggest and fastest camera and the biggest and fastest lens is what they need ,when in fact its learning decent p/p thats the real problem. i know a few in my area who own gear that i would die for that turn out total crap pics due to that fact ,and funnily enough that are not bothered by it either ,suppose its something along the lines of penis envy .

[mackone]

Re: Upgrade of equipment help request

Hey black fox,
I totally agree with you the greatest equipment in the world is worth nothing if you can't use it right. But post producing like 100 pics every other weekend would kill my time schedule. I try to get it right in camera. So that I do as little as possible in post.
If you happen to know any tips or tricks in Lightroom I'd really appreciate your input. I use PS only for compositions. I like to edit without destroying the original or to have doubles on my hdd.

[Tigger]

Re: Upgrade of equipment help request

Hey black fox,
I totally agree with you the greatest equipment in the world is worth nothing if you can't use it right. But post producing like 100 pics every other weekend would kill my time schedule. I try to get it right in camera. So that I do as little as possible in post.
If you happen to know any tips or tricks in Lightroom I'd really appreciate your input. I use PS only for compositions. I like to edit without destroying the original or to have doubles on my hdd.

you know the answer then - batch process, the advantage with your photos is once you've edited the first image and made corrections the others should follow on, or at least be very similar - As for tips watch Anthony Morganti youtube channel ( https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkH...DSqjfIG_XHlYIg ) he's got about 50 videos online - also all editing in LR is non destructive

[paul linton]

Re: Upgrade of equipment help request

Just an update with a bit more info that might help,
I shot some hockey last night (Sunday)using a 5DmkIII+ 200mm prime f2.8,

Lets say my results were poor-The reasons, i shot at to high iso levels started high at 8000 but there was too much noise for my liking which killed any real sharpness and clarity, dropped down to 6400 obviously a little better but not really the IQ i was after.I finally went down to 3200 and at last the images started to become clean and sharp but as you'll know we now have a problem with shutter speeds I managed to maintain 3200iso/ f2.8/and varied between 800 to 1000sec shutter speeds which is about as slow as i dare go as the skaters move very quickly.

As for the lens i used 200mm f2.8 prime which is not the best thing for a hockey game, A zoom is a must as the action is near and far all the time so i was a little limited using a prime (though the last time i took hockey images i used a 135 f2 which would be my preferred lens over the 200mm).

It was quite busy last night and i didn't get into a good spot and had a little problem with reflection from the perspex and the security kept me well away from the edge about 3 to 4 feet (not that you'll have that problem).
So not a good night and disappointed in what i managed to capture, the only advice i can give is shoot at iso 3200/use a zoom 70-200/ and shoot at f2.8 to keep those shutter speeds up(you might be able to get away with 1/1250 depending on the lighting at where you'll shoot! and also if your at 70 or the 200mm end of your zoom will have an effect on the shutter range) a bit long winded but hope this gives you some more info that might come in helpful.

Paul

[goochian3]

Re: Upgrade of equipment help request

Ice rinks are never that well lit for reasonable results I would advise a 70-200mm zoom f2.8 shoot wide open with a shutter speed of at least 800ths of a second to 1000th to freeze the action. put ISO on auto. A fast lens is a must I do not know how long you have been involved in ice hockey but it always pays to know the sport you are shooting. unless the games you are shooting it is doubtful that the rink will have the lights up fully unless it is being filmed for tv. I have been shooting in ice rinks for over 40 years and they have not improved that much.

[Fozzy4]

Re: Upgrade of equipment help request

For what it's worth this is my take on Ice Hockey photography, firstly this is only my opinion, I'm no expert, there are far more qualified and experienced photographers on this forum. Secondly I'm pretty poor at editing and even if i wasn't i don't want or have the time to spend hours tweaking in post so all the images here are cropped a little straightened and adjusted in LR for levels ect. Anyway here goes, I always set a custom wb using an expo disc or meter of the ice after warm up but before the ice cut, always shoot in manual and would prefer to shoot at f4 to get a little more dof focus than f2.8 offers (not very often possible) shutter speed as high as possible but no lower than 1/640 and never feel the need to shoot higher than 1/1250 and most importantly for me try to represent what the eye is seeing i.e. if its a darker rink then the images will be darker and brighter if its a bright rink, too many times you see almost see through shirts and ice so bright it hurts your eyes to look at.

1. NIHL S1 game 1/640 f4 iso8000 @75mm
Stars-0308.jpg by fozzyimages, on Flickr

2.EIHL game 1/800 f4.5 iso5000 @155mm
20141122_0120_0113.jpg by fozzyimages, on Flickr

3.EIHL game 1/800 f4 iso5000 @180mm
20141122_0296_0275.jpg by fozzyimages, on Flickr

4.EPL game 1/1000 f4 iso3200 @150mm
EPL-0014.jpg by fozzyimages, on Flickr

5.EPL game 1/1250 f4 iso3200 @105mm
EPL-0138.jpg by fozzyimages, on Flickr

6.EPL game 1/1000 f4 iso3200 @70mm
Swindon Wildcats Vs Guildford Flames-0081.jpg by fozzyimages, on Flickr

All shot with Canon 1DX with 70-200 2.8ii