[swizzle]

Originally Posted by Naga Royal Guard

I second that. Getting color temps, and ISO set right on a dSLR is a big part of the game. My 5D does great on Program or even *gasp* full automatic. Let the camera calculate and you focus on composure.

And is that NOT brilliance achieved?

[Naga Royal Guard]

I am not sure. I just had an entire set ruined by excessive humidity causing ghostly blur. Not feeling so brilliant.

Shooting manual is still a necessity I think, especially in static situations which I think is what Mucus is doing.

[boston]

My biggest challenge is HS soccer photography.
Long ago realized that full auto was no good.
Even standard sports setting wasn't good enough.
Customized it to a certain extent. Even adjusting ASA for late fall and floodlit games.

Have come to realize that I have to chose a better lens or two. Using a Canon 60D camera.

Thoughts?

[swizzle]

Originally Posted by boston

My biggest challenge is HS soccer photography.
Long ago realized that full auto was no good.
Even standard sports setting wasn't good enough.
Customized it to a certain extent. Even adjusting ASA for late fall and floodlit games.

Have come to realize that I have to chose a better lens or two. Using a Canon 60D camera.

Thoughts?

If you're shooting action at night, step 1 would be to have an IS lens for the 60D.

[boston]

Originally Posted by swizzle

If you're shooting action at night, step 1 would be to have an IS lens for the 60D.

Got that. My 75-300 Canon has that. Thinking about the Sigma 70-200 F2.8 lens.
That's a full frame lens so if I read stuff correctly, it will be about 1.6 times those FL on my APSC camera.
I know I'll give up some of that 2.8 if I add a 1.4 or x2 teleconverter, but that price may well be worth it at a far more affordable price than the Canon edition.

[Niko Bellic]

I've got a HTC One X+ 64GB for quick shots, a Sony Cyber-Shot (16MP, pretty good little camera) compact camera as my first camera, Now i use a 1975 Pentax Spotmatic for professional photography, a 1974 Pentax Electric Spotmatic which needs to be repaired because the shutter doesn't work properly, and a 1998 Pentax MZ-50 for night shots because it comes with a flash as a standard, and i've got an even more powerful flash with it. Also, the MZ-50 uses AA batteries, which is way handier than the old camera's, which uses batteries about the size of a small peppermint.

[Matski]

Originally Posted by boston

My biggest challenge is HS soccer photography.
Long ago realized that full auto was no good.
Even standard sports setting wasn't good enough.
Customized it to a certain extent. Even adjusting ASA for late fall and floodlit games.

Have come to realize that I have to chose a better lens or two. Using a Canon 60D camera.

Thoughts?

Can you try it with something like the cheap f1.8 50mm prime? Obviously it's not long enough to get the shots you actually want, but it will give you an idea of how fast you'd need to set the camera to get the desired results.

What problem are you actually finding with your photos?

edit:
I use an EOS-60D, with a variety of cheaper lenses (no L series yet ). Canon EF-S 50mm Prime, EF-S 18-55mm, Tamron 10-24mm, Sigma 70-300mm, Sigma 170mm-500mm

[swizzle]

It can also depend on where you're shooting from. In you're in bleachers it will be less successful than on the field. A lit field is easier to shoot on the field because there is less blackness that can mess with exposure. Also the angle of the shot makes a difference. A panning shot in low light is more difficult than a dead on action shot sometimes.

[Naga Royal Guard]

Originally Posted by boston

My biggest challenge is HS soccer photography.
Long ago realized that full auto was no good.
Even standard sports setting wasn't good enough.
Customized it to a certain extent. Even adjusting ASA for late fall and floodlit games.

Have come to realize that I have to chose a better lens or two. Using a Canon 60D camera.

Thoughts?

I shot awesome photos with the kit lens on my nikon D90 (and birds with my 300mm F4 prime). If it says Canon, its good and capable of great. Done.

If you are shooting action. Here are my thoughts: Full manual. Keep the aperture as low as possible, ISO as high as possible without going grainy and then shutter speed as fast as possible without it turning too dark. Set the focus to the middle (not the entire thing, or it will get confused). Consider using a monopod to stabilize your shots a bit. Up the saturation a bit too.

I don't know much about your zoom lens, but I really believe that Nikon and Canon do not make junk. After crop that 300mm would be great magnification.

[swizzle]

Originally Posted by Naga Royal Guard

...Full manual...Set the focus to the middle (not the entire thing, or it will get confused). Consider using a monopod to stabilize your shots a bit. Up the saturation a bit too...

Agreed and then correct in Photoshop.

As an old timer who shoots with Mamiyas, I still have an exposure meter that does "averaging" and "spot" metering. If I were shooting a night game, I'd forego autoexposure by doing an average reading and skewing it toward the spotmeter says for the intended subject I'm after and the shutter speed I need.

Another possibility is aperture priority exposure to shoot the lens wide open and let the shutter speed do it's thing.

I have found on the Rebels, that taking exposure calculation out of the mix "improves" autofocus/trap focus and I suspect it is because the processor has less to process.

I hesitate to give up autofocus, but understand its foibles in low light when it hunts and hesitates. Sometimes the human eye is faster. I really hate to give up the trap focus feature. Canon DSLRs can calculate the speed of an approaching target and can compensate during exposure of the approach speed of the subject. They introduced this probably 15 year ago and it is quite wonderful.

Last night, I gave up autofocus for autoexposure at my daughter's choir/band concert. Once I took control of the focus, the exposure improved. Is the processor being taxed too much in "extreme" situations?

I think so.

That said, I would never "upgrade" to a non Rebel because I would not get enough out of a 60D to justify the price...for what I do. Conversely, I know the inevitable Rebel T6i will be my next camera.