# Cameras at volleyball games **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 30, 2008, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cameras-at-volleyball-games/465939 "2008-09-30T23:32:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2008, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cameras-at-volleyball-games/465939/41 "2008-10-01T19:13:01Z")
> [@Some\_FNG](#): > > I am a professional news photographer and I find myself shooting high school girls volleyball quite often(among all of the other HS sports). I sit in the stands because of two reasons- it’s an elevated view of the action at the net and most importantly, I can sit down. I use an 80-200mm f/2.8 lens- it’s big and menacing. My camera, a D2x, can’t be confused with anything other than a high-end camera. I’ve used a 300mm f/2.8, but’s really too much lens for the average HS gym… anyone using one in this scenario is overachieving IMO. That’s all well and good **S FNG** , but what I really want to know is whether you put out extra slave strobes in the gym beforehand and what shutter speed you think is best? ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2008, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cameras-at-volleyball-games/465939/42 "2008-10-01T19:21:47Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > This all started by me saying that ‘getting vibes’ off people is BS, remember? The book was touted as a ‘cite for vibes’. You shouldn’t judge it without reading the book. The book itself is partly a screed against all that stupid alarmism - you’re a lot more likely to die of a heart attack from eating too much food and not exercising enough than you are to die of whatever the news is so excited about. The point of the book is NOT to be afraid of all that stupid crap, but to listen to your brain when it’s telling you there’s something to be afraid of. I was reading it when we had a seriously creepy character at the library I worked at who eventually tried to follow a coworker home, and the lists in it helped me articulate exactly what set off my mental alarms about him. I knew I didn’t like him, but I couldn’t explain why to you exactly until I read the book. The point was - be worried about _that_ guy, who makes everything into “we” when there is no we, comes in half an hour before closing and leaves with us when we close the doors, does not seem to be affiliated with the university where the library is, only talks to the women, etc. Don’t be worried about the guy who lives in your apartment building who nods at you in the elevator just because “he looks creepy”. ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2008, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cameras-at-volleyball-games/465939/43 "2008-10-01T19:22:20Z")
> [@UncleRojelio](#): > > That’s all well and good **S FNG** , but what I really want to know is whether you put out extra slave strobes in the gym beforehand and what shutter speed you think is best? I would expect using any strobes at all at a volleyball game would be frowned on. I believe sports shooters are generally aiming for 1/500 shutter speeds, which in a poorly lit highschool gym would likely have him shooting wide open with the ISO cranked up higher than he’d really like. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2008, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cameras-at-volleyball-games/465939/44 "2008-10-01T19:28:47Z")
> [@Gorsnak](#): > > I would expect using any strobes at all at a volleyball game would be frowned on. I believe sports shooters are generally aiming for 1/500 shutter speeds, which in a poorly lit highschool gym would likely have him shooting wide open with the ISO cranked up higher than he’d really like. Yeah, there lies the rub, I start to get noise even with a full-frame Canon 5D. Now if I could afford one of [these](http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/542292-REG/Canon_2297B002_Telephoto_EF_200mm_f_2L.html) it’d be a different story. ---
**Author:** ![Some\_FNG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/48db29/32.png) [@Some\_FNG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Some_FNG)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2008, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cameras-at-volleyball-games/465939/45 "2008-10-01T19:36:45Z")
FWIW, setting up strobes in gyms is generally too much hassle for the small return. Some teams don’t mind them, but there’s always a ref with a 'tude who thinks that they know from enough light…:rolleyes: Gods save me from officials. I loves me some available light anyhow, so I use what I’ve got to work with. Since digital cameras have a tonal sensitivity most like slide film, I shoot for the highlights and let everything else fall where it may. 1/500 is a nice thought, but 1/320 is a dream in a typical HS gym. If conditions are really murky, then yeah, the 50mm f/1.4 gets used or I intentionally start doing slow shutter speed blurs. I take it has a point of pride that I get great photos using available light when others have resorted to using their flashs. ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2008, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cameras-at-volleyball-games/465939/46 "2008-10-01T19:38:27Z")
> [@UncleRojelio](#): > > Yeah, there lies the rub, I start to get noise even with a full-frame Canon 5D. Now if I could afford one of [these](http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/542292-REG/Canon_2297B002_Telephoto_EF_200mm_f_2L.html) it’d be a different story. Well, your 5D is going to be doing better noise-wise than **Some FNG** ’s D2x. (He really needs to convince the paper to buy some D3’s :p) Course, if you convert to black and white and resize for a typical newspaper photo, you can get away with a pretty noisy shot. What about using an 85mm f/1.8 and getting down onto the sidelines? That shouldn’t break the bank. Or is 85mm too short with that big honkin’ sensor? I’m kinda used to the APS crop factor, myself. ---
**Author:** ![Hockey\_Monkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a183cd/32.png) [@Hockey\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hockey_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2008, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cameras-at-volleyball-games/465939/47 "2008-10-01T19:49:50Z")
You don’t want people taking pictures of your daughter in a skimpy volleyball outfit. Either petition the school to change the uniform or don’t let your daughter play. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2008, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cameras-at-volleyball-games/465939/48 "2008-10-01T19:50:45Z")
> [@Gorsnak](#): > > What about using an 85mm f/1.8 and getting down onto the sidelines? That shouldn’t break the bank. Or is 85mm too short with that big honkin’ sensor? I’m kinda used to the APS crop factor, myself. Yeah, I just switched from a crop body and it has taken some getting used to. I’ve just started to appreciate the quality of a good prime and the 85mm is on my short list to rent. [QUOTE=Some FNG] 1/500 is a nice thought, but 1/320 is a dream in a typical HS gym. If conditions are really murky, then yeah, the 50mm f/1.4 gets used or I intentionally start doing slow shutter speed blurs. I take it has a point of pride that I get great photos using available light when others have resorted to using their flashs. [/QUOTE] And the problem gets even worse in an outdoor football stadium, yet I always see photographers working the sidelines with the 80-200 f/2.8 sans flash and I just have to wonder what kind of shots they are getting. ---
**Author:** ![Some\_FNG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/48db29/32.png) [@Some\_FNG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Some_FNG)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2008, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cameras-at-volleyball-games/465939/49 "2008-10-01T20:08:41Z")
> [@UncleRojelio](#): > > And the problem gets even worse in an outdoor football stadium, yet I always see photographers working the sidelines with the 80-200 f/2.8 sans flash and I just have to wonder what kind of shots they are getting. In my case, awesome ones.😛 Except I do use the 300mm f/2.8 for night football, not the 80-200! Like I mentioned earlier- it’s all in the highlights. If this lousy work network would allow me to, I’d post links to my stuff just to show what one can get out of crap light… it might be a bit too grainy for some people’s tastes, but that’s an aesthetic issue. If you guys lived nearby, I’d get you to sign up for my sports photography class on October 11.😉 And yeah, we’re working on getting some D3’s but with the economy in the toilet and cost cutting everywhere I think these D2’s are going to soldier on until they die an unfortunate death. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/47e85d/32.png) [@Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Lance_Murdoch)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2008, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cameras-at-volleyball-games/465939/50 "2008-10-01T20:09:12Z")
Those uniforms are attractive, but they are nowhere near obscene in my opinion. We’re talking about [this](http://www.localreplay.com/includes/getS3Image.php?id=127631&photo=assets/photos/127631.jpg) after all. I don’t think this is anything to get worked up over. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2008, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cameras-at-volleyball-games/465939/51 "2008-10-01T20:19:06Z")
> [@Some\_FNG](#): > > If you guys lived nearby, I’d get you to sign up for my sports photography class on October 11.😉 That’s what I really need; someone to tell me exactly what the hell I’m doing wrong sometimes. Oh, well, seeing as how I will have kids playing sports for the next 7 years I guess I’ll have plenty more time to practice. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2008, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cameras-at-volleyball-games/465939/52 "2008-10-01T20:19:29Z")
This is why the Saudis don’t let women play sports. Be grateful for your freedoms. BTW how old is \*\*kmsteiner’s \*\*daughter? 10? 18? ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2008, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cameras-at-volleyball-games/465939/53 "2008-10-01T20:23:16Z")
> [@Some\_FNG](#): > > Oh, whenever I get the parent that decides to check my credentials to see if I’m on the up and up, they get told that thanks to their mistrustful attitude that their team/child will not be featured in the next day’s sports section. I have enough crap to deal with during the day, I don’t need some self-appointed guardian getting in my face. 😕 Really? A parent asking for your credentials is enough to make you spitefully refuse to feature the team in the paper the next day? I thought you identified yourself as a professional- that’s pretty amateurish (and douchebaggish) behavior. ---
**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2008, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cameras-at-volleyball-games/465939/54 "2008-10-01T20:45:04Z")
Could be worse… she could be in gymnastics or swimming. ---
**Author:** ![Some\_FNG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/48db29/32.png) [@Some\_FNG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Some_FNG)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2008, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cameras-at-volleyball-games/465939/55 "2008-10-01T23:06:55Z")
> [@corkboard](#): > > 😕 Really? A parent asking for your credentials is enough to make you spitefully refuse to feature the team in the paper the next day? I thought you identified yourself as a professional- that’s pretty amateurish (and douchebaggish) behavior. I wear my credentials around my neck, on a lanyard. One is issued by the newspaper that I work for and the other is from the state police and both feature a photo of myself. If they have to ask to see something that is in plain sight, then yeah I’m the douchebag. I don’t have to provide my credentials to parents at the game, only to the gate keepers or those overseeing the event. Parents at a game do not have any right (as is defined by law or by regulatory board overseeing prep sports) to question my presence. Out on the street, that’s another matter entirely. Nice rush to judgement, **Corkboard**. Do it often?:rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2008, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cameras-at-volleyball-games/465939/56 "2008-10-01T23:09:35Z")
It’s threads like this that makes me scared to take my camera to the park. But it’s better than people wondering if I’m a perv solely because I have a camera and a dick. ---
**Author:** ![A\_shameful\_cracka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ebca7d/32.png) [@A\_shameful\_cracka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A_shameful_cracka)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2008, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cameras-at-volleyball-games/465939/57 "2008-10-01T23:21:54Z")
This thread made me google image search volleyball shorts, and I think I’ll stick to lurking around the swim meets instead. ---
**Author:** ![Some\_FNG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/48db29/32.png) [@Some\_FNG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Some_FNG)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2008, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cameras-at-volleyball-games/465939/58 "2008-10-01T23:31:40Z")
> [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](#): > > It’s threads like this that makes me scared to take my camera to the park. But it’s better than people wondering if I’m a perv solely because I have a camera and a dick. I hear you. These days of terror watch lists and a perv behind every tree makes it an extremely uncomfortable time to be a photographer. But, keep on keeping on and always be prepared to defend your rights as a citizen. it’s a shame that a few dirty old men with cameras had to give us all a bad name. And on topic more or less… volleyball shorts are shamefully form fitting these days.:eek: Still, an improvement over the ill-fitting sports shorts of the 70’s and 80’s. ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2008, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cameras-at-volleyball-games/465939/59 "2008-10-01T23:52:41Z")
> [@Some\_FNG](#): > > it’s a shame that a few dirty old men with cameras had to give us all a bad name. That many? I wonder what the market is for 12 year olds playing volleyball. ---
**Author:** ![Key\_Lime\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/48db29/32.png) [@Key\_Lime\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Key_Lime_Guy)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2008, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cameras-at-volleyball-games/465939/60 "2008-10-01T23:58:50Z")
No offense to anyone who’s posted in this thread, but it seems to me that ‘perv’ and ‘legitimate photographer of high schools girls’ sporting events’ must be FAR from mutually exclusive categories. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cameras-at-volleyball-games/465939.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cameras-at-volleyball-games/465939.md?page=4)