What is your favorite lens for indoor basketball? The team/school here I follow allows NO flash...; this last season my 50mm Summicron worked well; plus my ancient 85mm f2 Nikkor got a few decent shots also...For long shots my old Nikon-F and the damn sharp 180mm F2.8 ED Nikkor is used....My best people/crowd shots are with the Leica M3; easier to focus in the dim light than the Nikon F...Both the M3 and the F require one to remove the back or bottom; a Cheerleader said "Look he is still using a FILM CAMERA One game my Russian Lennigrad was used with my Summicron; the next game I used my M3...Another M3 nut wanted to know what the heck the LOUD motor drive camera I used the game before..His wife said " Oh no not another Leica Nut!".. Kelly

-- Kelly Flanigan (zorki3c@netscape.net), May 07, 2002

Answers

I find the all-metal construction of Leica lenses means they don't bounce as well as the plastic Canon lenses.

-- rob (rob@robertappleby.com), May 07, 2002.

Well, cheerleaders are just blond bimbo's and for sports, a Canon Eos 1 N/V or 3 or a Nikon F 5/100 with a 2,8 70-200 will probably do just fine.

Frank

-- Frank (frank_bunnik@hotmail.com), May 07, 2002.

Kelly,

Frankly speaking, a rangefinder camera, even with AE, is not the kind of body to use for sport photography...

It seems obvious a high grade motorized modern SLR with a very fast AF and a wide aperture tel-lens is what you need.

This is just the kind of subject they are optimized for.

Friendly

François P. WEILL

-- François P. WEILL (frpawe@wanadoo.fr), May 07, 2002.

Canon EOS-1v with a 70-200/2.8L Image Stabilizer lens on a mono-pod (if they'll let you use one). I'd also suggest a personal trainer to beef up your arms and back to carry that hummer. Or you could carry on the tradition of using the wrong camera for sporting events, and shoot with a 8X10 view camera.

-- Marc Williams (mwilliams111313MI@comcast.net), May 07, 2002.

I just did a shoot with the 90APO and it worked great!

-- Jack Flesher (jbflesher@msn.com), May 07, 2002.

It really depends on your access. Assuming you'll be on the floor at the goals, a 90 and 28 would probably be best (using 2 bodies). But really, this job is best handled by a modern AF rig with zooms lenses, IMHO.

As for film, with no flash allowed, and assuming the room has TV level lighting, then Fuji 800 pushed a stop to EI1600 will get you 1/500 at f2.8. You can work back from there, depending on lens focal length and speed. Also, you might estimate that the lighting is a stop or two dimmer than TV lighting, to be on the safe side.

-- Dan Brown (brpatent@swbell.net), May 07, 2002.

I will freely admit that I am not skillful enough to follow basketball action with a long lens. However, there is a simple way to get good shots. One of my sons was a college basketball coach for a number of years, and a player before that, so I have often photographed him and his teams. What works for me is to sit on the floor at one end of the court and focus on the net with a 28, 35, or 50mm lens. Since most of the action takes place around and under the basket, I can simply sit there and pop away without changing focus. The Leica is excellent for this. One thing to watch for, though, is the referee who works the baseline. Usually he will stand to one side of the basket, so you'll need to place yourself on the opposite side from him and be ready to move if he should cross to your side.

In most gym lighting, Fuji 800 Press will allow you to shoot at f2.8 with a shutter speed of at least 1/250th. This will stop most action, but sometimes allows just enough blur to enhance the flavor of the game.

-- Dave Jenkins (djphoto@vol.com), May 07, 2002.

Thanks for all the interesting answers. The light at this one private High School is rather poor.. Using asa 800 fuji and 1/250 @f2.8 yields fair photos; almost amateur grade....

The proper/correct exposure is about 1/125 @F2 to get proper shadow detail..This years events hurt the schools cash flow and not all the vapor bulbs were working..My best shots were with my LTM Nikkor 85mm F2 @ 1/125 while panning with the players..Yes I should be using the proper 80 to 200 mm true F2.0 autofocus SLR setup...The old Nikon F has a special sports screen with microprisms over the entire area; next year I will explore using it with my 85mm F1.4 Kelly

-- Kelly Flanigan (zorki3c@netscape.net), May 07, 2002.