Any help or surgestions on capturing sport at night

[hame]

I was wondering if its possible to capture sport at night under lights.
My kids and i all play hockey and one of my boys plays A grade hockey and are in the g/f next week.

I wouldn't mind knowing if its possible to improve on last friday night's pics which looked rather dark although with picture project came up a lot better after just clicking the auto enhance..(i have the 18 -70 nikon lense)

Multi-Pattern 1/60 sec - F/4.5 ,iso 200 , white balance auto 70 mm focal length are some of the settings i can read that some of the pics were taken at (got no idear how to post a pic to give an example or if i am alowed and at what size e.t.c )

thanks again for any replys and help hamish

[gstark]

Hamish,

Bump your ISO to 800, shoot manual, set your shutter to 1/30 - 1/60, take a meter reading to set your aperture, but I'd be expecting around 5.6. Use flash for closer action, set your FEC to somewhere between -0.7 and -1.3, set the camera for rear curtain sync, and use those settings as a starting point.

[hame]

Thanks gstark. have printed the settings and cant wait to try try them out at tonight's training under our lights which are not as bright as were we having the g/ final played in 9 days time
Hamish

[gstark]

Hamish,

Just remember that what I've given you is only a guide, and just a starting point.

Play and experiment, and look at your EXIF data afterwards to see and understand what works and what doesn't.

Also, shoot in raw, and use capture or PS to play with the images later; it'll give you the greatest flexibility for post processing

[Click]

gstark, iam VERY new to the whole D70 aswell as the whole DSLR experience... Just a dumb question, how do you:

set your FEC to somewhere between -0.7 and -1.3, set the camera for rear curtain sync

Thanks in advance!

[gstark]

Easy.

FEC is your flash exposure compensation, and the D70 lets you dial in how much flash you want to use.

1: Turn the camera on.

2: Turn the flash on by pressing the flash button (on the LH side of the pentamirror housing, from behind the camera).

3: While holding down the flash button, turn the front command dial to dial the relative flash power up or down.

4: Use the same method, but the rear command dial, to change the flash sync type. You'll want rear curtain sync for night sports activities.

Play with the settings, and see what effects you like.

What you'll find is that a slower shutter speed plus wider lens aperture will let in more of the available light. In that situation, you can dial down the amount of flash used for a more natural (ambient lighting) appearance, but be aware that a slower shutter speed will also allow some subject movement into the image. This may not be what you want.

Or it may be exactly what you want: the choice is your's.

I will often use this technique when shooting musicians on stage. The slow shutter speed lets me capture movement in detail areasa such as drumsticks, but overall, the image remains acceptably sharp.

The key is to experiment and play however, and to see what works for yo, and what you like.