Out of focus

[Joel Bookhammer]

Last night I shot my first high school basketball game. It seemed like I was getting alot of out of focus shots. So my question is, is what focusing mode would you suggest to shoot in for this type of situation? The setup I am using is a 40D w/ a 70-200 2.8 IS. I switched between all of the auto focusing modes as well as manual focus, alsoI switched between using just the center focusing point and or all. It seemed I got the best results using on shot focus using the center AF point. I donot believe the out of focus images were do to movement of either the camera or the player because either the player closer to me was sharper or the background was sharper then the intended point of focus, and the shutter speed I was using was around 1/320.


My favorite shot below is actually when I used a slower shutter speed to blur the background but still keep the player alittle crisp.


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1/60th of a second at 2.8 focal length was 75 one shot auto focus using center AF point.

[rdavis]

Set your AF mode to Al Servo instead of one shot. In Al Servo the camera will continuously focus on a moving subject. The person with the ball may be in focus more than the other players because you might have been panning (moving the camera to follow the ball handler). A slow shutter speed will give you this effect if you can keep on target with the subject. If you want everyone in focus, use a faster shutter speed, and don't pan. (Although at a fast enough shutter speed everyone will be in focus even if you do pan.)

[rdavis]

And, if you want the other players and background to be more out of focus, use a slower shutter speed. Try 1/20 or 1/15. But then you must stay right on target with the main subject.

[Joel Bookhammer]

I believe rdavis that you miss understood the question. The image that was posted was purposly shot that way. Yes I did pan with the ball handler to purposelly blur the background and the surronding players, and yes a slower shutter speed would render the background more blurred as well as the surrounding players. The question that I would like an answer to is what do other photographers prefer in this situation, al servo seemed to create the most out of focus shots. This camera and lens setup I have used for many other shots including outdoor sports with sufficient light with excellent results, using al servo mode, but is there a reason that it seemed to "hunt" more in this situation.


thanks,


joel

[MVers]

The 70-200/2.8IS has been known to hunt a bit in low light situations--specifically with moving subjects. So thats what seems to be your problem. Perhaps an 85/1.8 or 135/2 would solve your AF issues, that is if you can take a loss in the versatility department--both are quicker than the 70-200 in low light.