Issues with the 50mm f/1.4?

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Originally Posted by Sean Setters

You might want to consider gelling your flash with a 1/2 (or full) CTO gel when you do this next time. The lights in the gym are very warm, and your flash is daylight balanced (and this cooler). If you gelled the flash, you could balance the color of the flash with the ambient and then easily adjust the white balance globally if desired.


Just an idea. :-)
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I also do a lot of terribly light indoor sports shots with the 50 and some flashes and the gel sound like a great idea. thanks.





I also like the dreamy soft look of the 50 1.4 wide open. Here are 3 examples:


http://img248.imageshack.us/img248/3...yharbison1.jpg



http://img248.imageshack.us/img248/7...yharbison2.jpg

http://img196.imageshack.us/img196/4...yharbison3.jpg

I tried the Gellin idea but color was never close because of fluctuations in the lamps so I decided I could live with it. I read Jerry Lodriguss' page on it but I'm a doof.


http://www.astropix.com/SPORTSPIX/NSC/TIPS09.HTM

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Originally Posted by RonG

I tried the Gellin idea but color was never close because of fluctuations in the lamps so I decided I could live with it.
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"I don't recommend setting a custom color balance with a gray card because then you won't know which gel filtration to apply to the strobe to match the color."


I'm no pro at this trick, but it normally leads me in the right direction. I pull out my gray card (actually it's a white/gray/black card, which kinda helps, such as the ones from PhotoVisionVideo) and shoot it, then view the histogram. I adjust color temp via the manual mode (i.e. setting the temp in degrees K), trying to get the red component directly above (i.e. the same brightness) the blue component. Adjusting the K to lower numbers moves the red component lower ("left"). Once I get them close, I then tweak the green component using the WB Shift option to get the green in line with red/blue. When I'm done, I have a pretty good idea of the color temp and green shift of the ambient lighting, and that guides me towards the gel that I want. Tedious (at first), quicker with practice, but without a shot of a gray card pulled into Lightroom or some other tool that'll tell you color temp and shift, it's the method available at my disposal on-site. :)

I forgot to mention:


The 50 mm f/1.4 is pretty fagile, not as bad as the 1.8 but its not exactly built like an L. There are numerous stories of very short drops damaging the interal AF; its happened to me luckly while still under warrenty. So just be careful with it; its a great lens.

Nice little white balance tutorial there peety!!


Thanks...


Yeah, gyms can be a real pain in the !$$%. Sodium vapor plus halogen plus incandescent plus flourescent plus sometimes daylight. Depending on where the player is he could be 4-5 different shades. Shoot raw, white balance in post. I do agree with Sean. a simple 1/4-1/2 CTO gel from Rosco would have turned that already excellent photo into an extraordinary photo. Warming gels do work wonders.