Second try at soccer - Still not coming out great

[theantiquetiger]

Last week, I shot my daughter's soccer game. I did some research and with some help here, I re-shot her game yesterday. Thy came out a lot better but still lacking.

I put the camera is AI Servo, set speed to 1000, ISO 800. The thing that was not working was my AF points. No point would select. I think I there is something I am missing on my camera

Here are the shots from last week I need some sports shot help (http://www.photography.ca/Forums/showthread.php?t=20959&p=146764#post146764)

Here is this weeks

(For some reason, the EXIF info didn't load to Flickr, except the basic info, ISO, F-stop, etc)
I just went back and looked at the AF point, all the points were lit up.

Settings: 1/1000 ƒ/8 ISO 800 177 mm
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2873/9771514692_8b46185d39_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/theantiquetiger/9771514692/)
avery n courtney2 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/theantiquetiger/9771514692/) by Theantiquetiger (http://www.flickr.com/people/theantiquetiger/), on Flickr

Settings: 1/1000 ƒ/7.1 ISO 800 70 mm
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7334/9771704606_f4e1c7d69e_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/theantiquetiger/9771704606/)
maddy 9-15b (http://www.flickr.com/photos/theantiquetiger/9771704606/) by Theantiquetiger (http://www.flickr.com/people/theantiquetiger/), on Flickr

Settings: 1/1000 ƒ/10 ISO 800 200 mm
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3765/9771693355_7ff64ea924_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/theantiquetiger/9771693355/)
avery courtney (http://www.flickr.com/photos/theantiquetiger/9771693355/) by Theantiquetiger (http://www.flickr.com/people/theantiquetiger/), on Flickr

[Marko]

I'm gonna let the Canon boys aid you on this one as i shoot Nikon with back button autofocusing which adds another variable into the mix.
But you should let us know what you wanted sharp in each shot - eyes, soccer ball?
For me, shot 2 passes the test and is sharp enough.
The Ai servo is likely good but your focus points should change as what you are tracking changes.
You may need to change your focusing mode from single point, to multipoint in order to get that to happen..this may be the part you need - check the manual for focus points and how to change them and what the choices are...Or I'm sure the Canon boys/gals around here will know.
This set is better overall - get the focus thing down and you'll be rockin'

[Iguanasan]

Canon shooter here and I use back button focus as well but I don't think that's the issue. You are relying on that lovely grid of focus points and hoping the camera will pick up the right thing to focus on. Maybe it's because I'm only using a T3i but I ALWAYS shoot single point focus (usually the centre point). Remind me what camera you are using again?

When I do shoot sports I tend to do use a lot of focus traps. I can generally anticipate where the action will be and then I pre-focus on the ground where the players will show up with a reasonable depth of field. When they hit the mark, I shoot. I do this by focusing with back button focus so I can take two, three or more shots without having to re-focus each time since I just leave the focus button alone.

There's not enough EXIF to know what's going on here in terms of shutter, ISO, aperture, etc. Can you edit the post and add those details in for each shot. ISO 800 / speed 1/1000 but what was the aperture?

That last one looks a bit weird. The fellow on the far left looks to be in focus but the players in front of him are not. Strange. Are you trying to follow the action from left to right as well? (ie. panning)

[theantiquetiger]

Canon shooter here and I use back button focus as well but I don't think that's the issue. You are relying on that lovely grid of focus points and hoping the camera will pick up the right thing to focus on. Maybe it's because I'm only using a T3i but I ALWAYS shoot single point focus (usually the centre point). Remind me what camera you are using again?

When I do shoot sports I tend to do use a lot of focus traps. I can generally anticipate where the action will be and then I pre-focus on the ground where the players will show up with a reasonable depth of field. When they hit the mark, I shoot. I do this by focusing with back button focus so I can take two, three or more shots without having to re-focus each time since I just leave the focus button alone.

There's not enough EXIF to know what's going on here in terms of shutter, ISO, aperture, etc. Can you edit the post and add those details in for each shot. ISO 800 / speed 1/1000 but what was the aperture?

That last one looks a bit weird. The fellow on the far left looks to be in focus but the players in front of him are not. Strange. Are you trying to follow the action from left to right as well? (ie. panning)

I went back and edited the first post, put the EXIF info above each image

[Jim Scrimger]

I rarely shoot sports, but do shoot fast moving stuff. Basically I shoot as Iguanasan describes. Always use single point focus - and sometimes MF with a predetermined focus point. Also follow past age film camera ways - set the aperture a stop or two below max F-stop and go for the highest shutter speed possible. I also use the back focus button. I don't think one can rely on even today's DSLR's to zero in on one person in a scrum in all cases. However todays DSLR's are fantastic in letting one crank up the ISO and still get very printable results. Hope this is of some help.

[Runmonty]

Just wondering AT -

How many focus points were selected?
Have these been cropped very much? - if so what sort of %?
I am guessing the vignetting was put in during post processing? (it is a little heavy for me but thta is personal opinion)
I note that the sharpest image is at the shortest focal length. Wonder if this if the lens is softer at longer focal lengths or does it indicate blurring due to camera movement.

Unlike Jim & Iggy, I find that when shooting multiple players in action, a single point focus will result in lots of lost shots unless you are tracking just one player. I use a few focus points around the centre. Also most cameras will try to re focus on the closest point. This causes problems when someone runs in front of the action you are recording. Some camera have a function (seperate to the AI servo) that prevents this and it may be worth reading the manual to see if your can disable this function for sports.

[theantiquetiger]

Just wondering AT -

How many focus points were selected?
Have these been cropped very much? - if so what sort of %?
I am guessing the vignetting was put in during post processing? (it is a little heavy for me but thta is personal opinion)
I note that the sharpest image is at the shortest focal length. Wonder if this if the lens is softer at longer focal lengths or does it indicate blurring due to camera movement.

Unlike Jim & Iggy, I find that when shooting multiple players in action, a single point focus will result in lots of lost shots unless you are tracking just one player. I use a few focus points around the centre. Also most cameras will try to re focus on the closest point. This causes problems when someone runs in front of the action you are recording. Some camera have a function (seperate to the AI servo) that prevents this and it may be worth reading the manual to see if your can disable this function for sports.

I selected all AF points. This maybe my problem. I think I was supposed to select just one (center most likely)

These images have been cropped (little to a lot) due to the quick action. The vignette was added because of the bright sunlight. I was trying to rid some of the bright spots in the BG.

I was trying to track just one player (my daughter in #2 with arm extended and illegal high kick :D) or one of the two girls in white jerseys in #1 & #3 (daughters of friends).

There is something I am missing when setting the camera. I selected AI Servo, set camera in TV priority (1/1000). I think I am not setting the AF points correctly. I will go back and re-study.

[Runmonty]

I suspect the camera will have trouble locking on a focus point when all selected. You can try 1 point as suggested by Jim & Iggy. As I said that doesn't work for me, and if you have problems you may wish to try just few around the centre.

In the last shot you appear to be shooting from the opposite side of the pitch and maybe the crop is just too great for sharp images.

I think the 2nd shot is quite good and sharp and you should be happy with that.

As an aside yesterday I listened to the most recent podcast from Big Lens Fast Shutter. Even the pro sports shooters take a while to adjust to a sport again when the season recommences. If you go out each week and try different things (even if it means missing some shots sometimes) you will find develop and find out what works for you as the season goes on. I often feel I am just getting into the swing of things just as the football season is finishing. I can see a huge difference in my shots from the start to the end of the season.

[theantiquetiger]

Luckily, we have soccer practice tonight and tomorrow night, which means camera practice for me. I will be back in a few hours with today's practice shots. I am putting the camera in single point AF

[Runmonty]

I just had a (very quick) look at the 60D manual. I am not sure that you can select just a few points like I suggested. It appears it may be all or one. Perhaps ignore my suggestion of a few points around the centre. Sorry for the confusion.

[asnow]

A couple of thoughts.
1. Perhaps your lens doesn't focus fast so it doesn't keep up the the fast moving action in AI Servo
2. I haven't done these type of pictures, however if it was me I would try using the centre point and just keep it on the subject (your daughter) with the back button focus pressed, and do a burst of shots when the action is right.. Have a little less zoom and crop as required in post.

[Hillbillygirl]

If it were myself, as everyone and yourself have already figured, use single point focus.
Now I see you are using apertures down to f7.1 in second one, BUT also see that the girl 20ft or so back is still in focus. Use an aperture down around 4.0-5.6 and up the shutter a bit to 1250-1500 to get the action just that much sharper with the freeze-frame capability, along with separating the action from the background more.