White balance setting and RAW. Also flash sync speed.

[Quasimodo]

I was thinking about the Ezybox by Lastolite, but in Norway it is quite stiff in price.

I have a pair of the 24" Ezyboxes, they're quite sturdy and easy to set up.  I expect the quality of light is no different from the cheap ones, but the build quality and durability of the Lastolites are very good.

Thanks Neuro. I also went to their website and looked at an instructional video, and it seems quick to set up. The one I found in England (ebay) is 54cm, so a little bit smaller than yours? but by the looks of it a great size for outdoor portrait. For indoor I have umbrellas.

Have you also tested the grid that you can buy as an accessorie?

G.

[jdramirez]

For what it's worth, I managed to make a flash diffuser and I'm pretty pleased with the results.  At an ISO of 800, and an aperture of f/2.5 on my 50mm f/1.4, I'm getting shutterspeeds of 1/1600 of a second. 

Here's what sucks... I cannot get any solid shots My 100mm and 50mm lenses are better in lower light, but are too "close" to take full body shots of action, but my 24-105 requires way too much iso and a reduction in shutterspeed.  It's a freaking challenge. 

[neuroanatomist]

I have a pair of the 24" Ezyboxes, they're quite sturdy and easy to set up.  I expect the quality of light is no different from the cheap ones, but the build quality and durability of the Lastolites are very good.

Thanks Neuro. I also went to their website and looked at an instructional video, and it seems quick to set up. The one I found in England (ebay) is 54cm, so a little bit smaller than yours? but by the looks of it a great size for outdoor portrait. For indoor I have umbrellas.

Have you also tested the grid that you can buy as an accessorie?

I haven't tried the grid for the Ezybox, although I have one for my 48" octabox and it delivers very nice results when you want to control spill.

[Quasimodo]

 

[bycostello]

a well lit gym, you won't need flash

[davidbellissima]

I was thinking about the Ezybox by Lastolite, but in Norway it is quite stiff in price.

I have a pair of the 24" Ezyboxes, they're quite sturdy and easy to set up.  I expect the quality of light is no different from the cheap ones, but the build quality and durability of the Lastolites are very good.

I think I disagree. I purchased a 54cm Ezybox and the build quality is very poor. I returned it for a full refund after the first use. The speedring and and all the other bits are made of plastic. The speedring was such a loose fit into the softbox that it kept falling off all on its own. Pretty embarrassing on a wedding shoot when the wind is blowing and you assistant has to run after the softbox as it falls off and rolls across the grass, and collect it multiple times. I was very disappointed. They told me mine is faulty but I don't really see how that is possible as the speedring is just way too small for the softbox and some friends have experienced the same thing so I wouldn't recommend that brand based on my personal experience.

So instead, I went onto Ebay and purchased a much cheaper and almost identical version of the Ezybox (same size and double diffusion layers).

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160589932118&ssPageName=ADME:L:OC:GB:3160

It only costs £37 and for once, the cheaper Ebay special version is MUCH better build quality. The fittings are all metal and the speedring fits very snugly into the softbox. Way better that my copy of the Ezybox and I would highly recommend this as a very cheap, high quality softbox for OCF work.

Back to flashguns... The moment HSS kicks in you lose around 1-2 stops of power. Another very important consideration is that when in HSS, shutter speed also affects your flash exposure. This means when you're up at 1/2000th or 1/4000th of a second, you speedlight must be very close to your subject as the maximum output power is minimal. Forget bouncing light in HSS.

As for bouncing light, if you are in a large venue (within reason) remember you can pump up your ISO to help ease the workload on your flash, or to get more range with the flash at full power. Zooming the flash head to its maximum will further improve range but just remember the angle of incidence equals angle of reflection, so aim your flashgun at the right spot so that the bounced light falls where you want it to.

[jdramirez]

a well lit gym, you won't need flash

Is there such a thing?  A well lit gym just seems like an oxymoron. 

[bdunbar79]

Get the 5D Mark II and you won't need a flash.  My personal opinion is that using flash during sports is rude.  I'm a professional sports photog and I never use flash.  I played sports in high school and college, and if someone had fired a flash while I was playing and I saw it, the camera would have been busted into a thousand pieces on the floor.  Besides, I haven't ever shot in a venue where flash was even allowed. 

Get the 5D Mark II, try 1/500s, f/2.8, ISO 5000, works well in most gyms.  If the gym is a bit better lit, try 1/500s, f/2.8, ISO 3200, and then if you need to, brighten a bit in post.  If you use your 50 f/1.4, shoot at f/2 or f/2.2 and have the ISO as low as possible, such that you are about +2/3 to +1.  If you're just going to the web directly, just overexpose by +2/3 and it's good enough. 

Your big problem will be noise with the 60D.  The 60D and 7D are great for outdoor sports, but very poor performers in gyms and if you travel to other venues, they will likely not allow flash (and shouldn't).

I am not trying to be rude at all, I am just trying to help you in the future, so that you can expand your sports shooting because there aren't many out there doing it, and it's nice to see somone beginning!

[jdramirez]

Get the 5D Mark II and you won't need a flash.  My personal opinion is that using flash during sports is rude.  I'm a professional sports photog and I never use flash.  I played sports in high school and college, and if someone had fired a flash while I was playing and I saw it, the camera would have been busted into a thousand pieces on the floor.  Besides, I haven't ever shot in a venue where flash was even allowed. 

Get the 5D Mark II, try 1/500s, f/2.8, ISO 5000, works well in most gyms.  If the gym is a bit better lit, try 1/500s, f/2.8, ISO 3200, and then if you need to, brighten a bit in post.  If you use your 50 f/1.4, shoot at f/2 or f/2.2 and have the ISO as low as possible, such that you are about +2/3 to +1.  If you're just going to the web directly, just overexpose by +2/3 and it's good enough. 

Your big problem will be noise with the 60D.  The 60D and 7D are great for outdoor sports, but very poor performers in gyms and if you travel to other venues, they will likely not allow flash (and shouldn't).

I am not trying to be rude at all, I am just trying to help you in the future, so that you can expand your sports shooting because there aren't many out there doing it, and it's nice to see somone beginning!

I'm in the market for a 5d mkiii.  I was seriously going to take the plunge on a mkii, but I've heard so many negative things about the AF system that I just couldn't bring myself to do it. 

First things first... I generally don't like to use flash, but the gym isn't well lit.  It is virtually dark even with an aperture wide open and the iso kicked up to 6400... 1/2 second exposures won't do me much good because even though we are talking about slowish 9 year olds... they don't stand perfectly still.

And if you saw a flash and smashed their camera, I am 100% confident your coach would have sat you on the bench, suspended you off the team, and your parents would make you flip burgers until you were able to make sufficient recompense.  So back off the crazy train a little bit. 

As for being allowed... we are talking elementary school... so there isn't a hard and fast set of rules that we are expected to adhere to. 

As for what I'm going to do... I'm not all that pleased with the results so far.  I wind up being in a position where the girls are shooting with their back to the camera and that doesn't equate to very good photos.  And they aren't athletic enough to elevate over the girls in the foreground... so I am really at a loss for where to position myself.  I'd like to be out of bounds underneath the basket, but the gym doesn't really accommodate the space to do so.  It's really quite perplexing... with flash or without flash.

[risc32]

From my exp, nearly every gym is pretty dark. I shot tens of thousands of frames a few years ago in a gym with a 30d- at 3200, 100mmf2- af f2, and i don't hold me to it, but i think i was in the area of 1/500, or a bit slower. Technically they would now be considered a mess, but at the time they were pretty good, and a far cry from what the people in the stands could do with point and shoots.
    Like most things, it all depends on what you are required/want to do, and how much you have to spend. Good looking high iso cameras are fantastic, but if you can use a flash of some sort, it'll be even better. For basketball, i would look into 1 or 2 alienbees monolights, battery packs, triggers, and some sort of clamping system or maybe stands. just be very careful with you're placement, and i don't mean just for lighting. you really don't want anyone getting hurt due to your equipment. 
   On second thought, what you really need to do is buy a large speedotron pack with whatever heads you need to get you to the flash duration you want. Then you just need a scissor at the gym to lift it all up in the rafters, with everything triggered wirelessly. just like they do at NBA games!  just make sure EVERYTHING, is VERY well secured. if a "head" was to land on someone, it would be a trip to the hospital at least, a falling powerpack would render someone dead on the spot. (powerpack = a large car battery)

[jdramirez]

So yesterday I opted to use no flash.  I was surprised at the relative quality of the shots I got.  Yes they were grainy at 1250 iso, but useable.  And I was able to use the spray and pray technique... So I'm not sure how I want to proceed.

[Marsu42]

if someone had fired a flash while I was playing and I saw it, the camera would have been busted into a thousand pieces on the floor.

Sounds like a high-testosterone sport - professional wrestling, ice hockey, american football :-> ? But that's probably also the game-winning attitude for photojournalism when fighting through a crowd of fellow photogs...