Pictures from Valley Forge

[StevenPWaldon]

Great shots! I'm curious about a few things, since it seems like the lighting may have been tough to work with:

-What was the:
ISO
f-stop, @ what zoom
shutter speed

Great pics. Great camera! Oh, if I had a dSLR!

 

[Rich R.]

Hi Rich,
Did you use a tripod/monopod? What camera do you use, if you dont me asking?
I really like the pictures.
Thank you once again.
Regards,
Richard

Richard, I always have a monopod with me, but most of the time it stays in my room. Most of the pictures, in the pro arena, are taken from the front row of seats, hand held.
I use a Canon 10D. A couple of years ago, it was top notch, but, buy current standards, it is a little obsolete. The cameras are changing at a fast and furious rate.

Thank you for the kind words. You don't do so bad yourself.

 

[Rich R.]

Hi Rich,
Did you use a tripod/monopod? What camera do you use, if you dont me asking?
I really like the pictures.
Thank you once again.
Regards,
Richard

Richard, I always have a monopod with me, but most of the time it stays in my room, especially at Valley Forge. Most of the pictures, in the pro arena, are taken from the front row of seats, hand held.
I use a Canon 10D. A couple of years ago, it was top notch, but, buy current standards, it is a little obsolete. The cameras are changing at a fast and furious rate.

Thank you for the kind words. You don't do so bad yourself.

 

[Rich R.]

Great shots! I'm curious about a few things, since it seems like the lighting may have been tough to work with:
Lighting is always tough at pool tournaments and, of course, flash is not allowed.

-What was the:
ISO 1600
f-stop, @ what zoom 2.8, with a 70-200 zoom.
shutter speed Shutter speed was left to the camera, using an aperature priority automatic setting.

Great pics. Great camera! Oh, if I had a dSLR!
The prices have been coming down. Save your pennies and you won't be sorry. However, I wouldn't go for the package deals, as they usually include cheap glass. Buy they body and go for the good glass.

Good luck with your shopping.

 

[X Breaker]

Hi Rich,

Thank you for your answer. I find it hard to hold the camera still with the heavy lens. The focus is very sharp in your pictures, very nice.

I have a Canon Rebel XTi, but I am thinking about moving to the 30D, because that would give be 3200 ISO and 5 frames per second.

I can only go 1600 ISO and 3 frames per sec now with mine.

Seeing how you can take such awesome pictures with 1600ISO, I think I will hold off on the purchase, and work on my technique first.

Once again, alway a delight admiring your pictures.

I have some of my pictures in www.xtremebilliard.smugmug.com

Regards,
Richard

 

[Rich R.]

Hi Rich,

Thank you for your answer. I find it hard to hold the camera still with the heavy lens. The focus is very sharp in your pictures, very nice.

I have a Canon Rebel XTi, but I am thinking about moving to the 30D, because that would give be 3200 ISO and 5 frames per second.

I can only go 1600 ISO and 3 frames per sec now with mine.

Seeing how you can take such awesome pictures with 1600ISO, I think I will hold off on the purchase, and work on my technique first.

Richard, IMHO, I don't think you would want to go to the ISO 3200. Similar to film cameras, the images get a little grainy at the higher ISO.
Work on your technique and use a monopod. I'm sure you can make it work. If anything, put your money into the best and fastest lenses possible. If your not using an f2.8 or faster lens, you should be.
Also, IMHO, the difference between a 5 frame per second camera and a 3 frame per second camera is inmaterial. I rarely just crank out pictures as fast as the camera will go. In fact, the vibration of the sequential exposures may be causing you some problems. I highly recommend you look for good, single, shots. That is the way I work and it may work for you.

 

[X Breaker]

Hi, Rich,

Thank you so much for the tips.

I have a lens that can go down to f1.8. It is a 52mm. I also have a 75-300mm but that is a bit slower. The 52mm will not work well if I have to zoom from a distance.

I sometimes try to lock the focus, or use MF, so the camera does not need to auto focus every shot. Do you do that?

I am trying to work on taking some break shot pictures, and it is quite challenging with little light. I am going to Dr. Cue in Seattle tonight for a tournament, and I will try to take some pictures there, if it is possible.

Thank you once again for sharing. It is nice to see pictures of Josh, Matt, CC, and all the players that I know.

Take care,
Richard

 

[Rich R.]

I have a lens that can go down to f1.8. It is a 52mm. I also have a 75-300mm but that is a bit slower. The 52mm will not work well if I have to zoom from a distance.

I sometimes try to lock the focus, or use MF, so the camera does not need to auto focus every shot. Do you do that?

I am trying to work on taking some break shot pictures, and it is quite challenging with little light. I am going to Dr. Cue in Seattle tonight for a tournament, and I will try to take some pictures there, if it is possible.

Thank you once again for sharing. It is nice to see pictures of Josh, Matt, CC, and all the players that I know.

Richard, in my experience, short lenses, like your 52mm, are almost worthless at pool tournaments. You just can't get close enough to the action for them to work. The 75-300 is a great length, but it has to be a fast lens, because of the lack of light.

Since going digital, with auto-focus lenses, I never us the manual focus. I will focus on one area, lock the focus, then move the camera to compose a good picture. However, that is on a shot to shot basis, depending what I see though the camera.

Good luck with the break shot pictures. I have found them to be the most difficult to capture, because of the player movement involved and the player doesn't always stay in the good light. They are definitely a huge challenge.

 

[Rich R.]

I have a lens that can go down to f1.8. It is a 52mm. I also have a 75-300mm but that is a bit slower. The 52mm will not work well if I have to zoom from a distance.

I sometimes try to lock the focus, or use MF, so the camera does not need to auto focus every shot. Do you do that?

I am trying to work on taking some break shot pictures, and it is quite challenging with little light. I am going to Dr. Cue in Seattle tonight for a tournament, and I will try to take some pictures there, if it is possible.

Thank you once again for sharing. It is nice to see pictures of Josh, Matt, CC, and all the players that I know.

Richard, in my experience, short lenses, like your 52mm, are almost worthless at pool tournaments. You just can't get close enough to the action for them to work. The 75-300 is a great length, but it has to be a fast lens, because of the lack of light.

Since going digital, with auto-focus lenses, I never us the manual focus. I will focus on one area, lock the focus, then move the camera to compose a good picture. However, that is on a shot to shot basis, depending what I see though the camera.

Good luck with the break shot pictures. I have found them to be the most difficult to capture, because of the player movement involved and the player doesn't always stay in the good light. They are definitely a huge challenge.
If you want good break shot pictures, for your product promotion, I would recommend you convince a player to give you some of his time and do a private session, in a private room. Use a flash, or multiple flashes. The flash will not only provide the necessary light, it will freeze the action.

 

[Shadow]

Great pics , Rich. I love it!