Help on camera settings

I agree with the camera settings. The shutter speed should be faster. Looks like people are saying to use 1/400. Try that Also, I believe the F-stop(aperture) on the 18-55 kit len is 3.5-5.6. So you could of tried using a lower F-stop and see if that helps. Using ISO 1600 was a good choice. The noise level in your picture is acceptable in my opinion. Maybe with some post-processing, you can clean it up a bit. Keep on experimenting but it looks like it your equipments has reached it's limit.

 

Yes, that's totally correct. As u had found out some info of the picture.
Lens: 18-55mm F/3.5-5.6
Focal length: 41 mm
Aperture value: f/5.6
Shutter speed value : 1/50 s
ISO speed ratings ISO 1600
Indeed, the aperture had already been opened completely. Because with that kit lens set at 41mm, the actual maximum aperture would be F/5.6 rather than F/3.5.

 

For indoor sports photography with a dslr a lens with a max. apereture of a true f/2.8, or if a rangefinder digital camera a max. aperture of a true f/4, is desirable. Of course an f/2 lens will even be better. The humble tripod, even those that you use on your shoulder, can be of great help.

 

Sealman, it wasn't a calculation. According to zasboy and your information. A 18-55mm F/3.5-5.6 zoom lens was used to take that shot. The meaning of F3.5-5.6 is that. At 18mm, the maximum aperture value of your zoom lens is F/3.5. But if u zoom from 18mm to 55mm. Due to the design of that lens. The actual aperture value will decrease from F/3.5 to F/5.6.
And u were using Aperture priority right? With aperture set at F/5.6 (maximum). In order to obtain a proper exposed picture. The computer inside your camera had decided to set the shutter speed to 1/50 sec. That means, with maximum aperture of F/5.6. The fastest possible shutter speed in that situation will be 1/50 sec. That's the best that u and your gear can do at that time.

I would recommend u to go through the owner's manual first. After that, u will have a basic concept of the relationship between aperture and shutter speed. moreover, u will also know more about the shooting mode, af mode and other functions of your camera.

 

Sealman,

One of my favourite website is wwww.dpreview.com, check it out.

 

You can try to use a faster lens with aperture value i.e. F2.8 or faster in order to shoot at a higher shutter speed. But I kinda like your picture cos it shows the action/motion pretty well.

 

Based on the provided exposure data:
Focal length: 41 mm
Aperture value: f/5.6
Shutter speed value : 1/50 s
ISO speed ratings ISO 1600


Getting a f/2.8 lens will not help you take action shots at TPSH because the shutter speed will only be 1/200, which is not fast enough to capture action. An f/2 lens will bring the speed up to 1/400, and canon has a reasonably priced 135mm f/2 (lucky you bought a Canon )

 

Yep a pro would be using a better quality lens than that bundled with a 350d, something like an EF85mm L f/1.2 would be ideal but then your talking big bucks for the lens on its own.

http://www.photonhead.com/beginners/ a guide to photography, bear in mind you can always learn new tricks even if you have been using a camera for years and years.

 

Sealman
Nikon is fine too, just that the option of a 135mm f/2 is not available. Just read the resources on the internet and self-critique your own photos.

Morewood
i don't think that the 85 f/1.2 is particularly suited for badminton photography, but then again, it depends on what you want to photograph. a 135 f/2 and 50 f/1.4 would certainly be better and cost less.

If you have to talk about 'best lens' for badminton photography, the 200 f/1.8 is my subjective choice for the type of shots i like to take.

 

yes, I was very impressed to Storkbill's Sigit Kung Fu master photo taken by 200 f/1.8. The photo freezed Sigit well in the air with camera setting f/1.8 1/1250 ISO 1250. Pls refer details from #24 http://www.badmintoncentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=36721&page=2

Storkbill, do you need monopod for the lens? In fact, I am thinking to buy primes for badminton photo, can you share some photos taking by 135 f/2 & 50 f/1.4 to me. I suppose the quality is much better than 70-200 f/2.8 IS USM. Will you take Singapore Open 2007?

 

AChan, I hope to take Singapore Open, but too early to know. Yes, i use monopod for the lens. It can be handheld for brief periods but monopod is better. To see diff between zoom and prime, you need to view the full resolution samples which are several Mb in size... there are some websites that have such samples... prime is of course better.

 

All depends how close you can get to the action, 85mm gives you plenty of scope with a digital SLR (crop factor) both to get the sharp close ups and the more general wide view depending on how far from the action you get. Obviously a zoom lens would be ideal, but for high speed glass you tend to find better primes.