Shooting tip for indoor vollelball games?

Question

I have a canon Digital rebel.

And I used a few different modes the last game.I was unimpressed with the color and quality.What did I do wrong?

What mode should I be in,and so forth.NO FLASH allowed.

Thanks to all you who lend advice.

Answer 1

Shooting sports indoors really requires a fast lens - f2, f2.8 and a higher ISO setting. A constant aperture zoom would be your best choice since a variable aperture zoom changes the widest aperture as you zoom in. Ex.: A 70-200mm f4/5.6 zoom will lose one stop of exposure as you zoom from 70 to 200. In other words, if you're shooting at f4 @ 1/125 sec. at 70mm and zoom to 200mm your shutter speed will drop to 1/60 sec. Neither of these shutter speeds will stop fast action.

Now I'll refer to my trusty FotoSharp (http://www.fotosharp.com) Day & Night Exposure Guide, Scene # 8: Indoor sports, circus - floodlit

ISO 800

f2.8 @ 1/125

f4 @ 1/60

ISO 1600

f2.8 @ 1/250

f4 @ 1/125

f5.6 @ 1/60

ISO 3200

f2.8 @ 1/500

f4 @ 1/250

f5.6 @ 1/125

f8 @ 1/60

At ISO 1600 and 3200 you can expect a lot more digital noise. Use the in-camera noise reduction or try a program like Noise Ninja. Don't expect to make large prints though.

You can also try shooting only at peak moments such as a block at the net or when a player is serving or diving for the ball. Sometimes a little blur will enhance the sense of action.

Answer 2

Stay as far zoomed out as you can...set your exposure comp up roughly ~.3 if your little Canon can do that (I shoot Nikon) and set you ISO as high as it can go.  Also, try do your shooting near (if possible) windows.

Answer 3

Is always tricky taking action photographs indoors. You have to make compromises.

1.Set your camera to the highest ISO rating- The picture will be grainy, but you will have no blurring

2. Try not to use the zoom- the more zooming in you do, the more demand you put on the camera for light and will cause the camera to compensate by reducing the shutter speed and therefore creating blurr.

I hope this helps