Casey Field.....................

[Grumpy John]

................... is a large sporting complex not far from where I live. It has playing fields for AFL/VFL, rugby, cricket, netball, tennis, athletics track and a criterion track.
Today, being the first Saturday for weeks when it didn't look like raining I took the Siggy 150-600 over there to see what I could capture.

AFL. While these pictures aren't brilliant examples of sports photography, I'm very happy with the sharpness of the images.
Any CC or suggestions re cropping is more than welcome.

#1 And he's off.


#2 Outnumbered 3 to 1.


#3


#4



Netball.
The 150-600 was way too long for the netball court, I could have used the 70-200 easily.
Once again, not great sports images, but happy with the sharpness.

#5 I missed everything, the ball, the players feet and half a hand.


#6 I really like the expression on the blue/yellow GA. Not sure if she's waiting to catch the ball, or has just thrown it.


#7


#8 She shoots, she scores (from memory).

[Toddyh]

All look sharp John. Most are a bit busy. Too many subjects. Maybe opening up the aperture would isolate the focus on the intended subject a bit more.

[Grumpy John]

Thanks Toddy, the images are not good examples of sports shots, I have a lot to learn. Loving the 150-600 though.

[Isac]

Agree with Todd, just a wider aperture to focus on the main players. The overall sharpness is very good. What are the settings?

[Grumpy John]

Agree with Todd, just a wider aperture to focus on the main players. The overall sharpness is very good. What are the settings?

The strategy for the day was to concentrate on the action and not to be fiddling with camera settings. My opinion, right or wrong, of sport photography is that you only get one chance at the winning shot. If you spend all your time looking and analysing the image you just took, you're probably going to miss something better.

With that in mind I set the camera as follows:
Camera Model Canon EOS 7D Mark II
Shooting Mode Manual Exposure
Tv(Shutter Speed) 1/1250
Av(Aperture Value) 8.0
Metering Mode Evaluative Metering
Exposure Compensation 0
ISO Speed Varied
Auto ISO Speed ON
Lens Sigma 150-600mm F5-6.3 DG OS HSM | Contemporary 015
Focal Length Varied
Image Quality RAW
Flash Off
FE lock OFF
White Balance Mode Auto
AF Mode AI Servo AF
AF Configuration Tool Case 2
Tracking sensitivity -1
Accel./decel. tracking 0
AF point auto switching 0
AF area select mode Zone AF
AF Microadjustment 0
Color Space sRGB
Drive Mode High-speed continuous shooting

In hindsight I probably should have gone for a wide open shutter (f5.6), this may, or may not have blurred the background enough to make the subject stand out a bit more.
I'm still learning and enjoying it. Gotta love digital, instant results and no processing expenses.

[Isac]

Thanks for that John. What did you use to get the EXIF data?

[Grumpy John]

Info from DPP 4, edited to show only relevant information.
I added the word varied as the data showed a value for each shot.