Nikon Digital Slr Camera Best Review

6 Responses to “I Have A Nikon D40 Slr And Want To Get Better Pictures Of My Kids Playing Basketball?”

1. Anonymous Says:
   December 18th, 2009 at 8:46 pm

   Your pictures are blurry because your shutter speed is not fast enough to freeze action. In order to freeze action you need a shutter speed of 1/250 of a second or faster. The faster the better. Since most basketball games are inside with relatively crappy lighting you will need to use the largest aperture you lens has (F5.6) when zoomed out. You will also need to crank up your ISO to about 1600. If you can get away with less great but I doubt it. Chances are you still wont get a fast enough shutter speed. In this case you will need a new lens. I suggest you look at a fast prime lens. They wont zoom but are much cheaper than a large aperture zoom lens will be.
   Which lens will depend on the size of the gym you are in. My son who is 6 plays in a small elementary school gym and I usually use either a 50mm F1.4 lens ($400) or a 24-70mm F2.8 ($1,300). On the most part the 50mm lens is better in this situation. It is better in low light. His gym is small so the focal length is o.k.
   Now if I am doing a high school game the gym is much bigger and generally slightly better lit. In this case I will use either a 70-200mm F2.8 ($1,700) or the 24-70mm F2.8. It depends on how close I am to the court.
   As you can see large aperture zoom lenses are very expensive. I suggest you figure out what focal length you use most often and buy a prime lens that is closest to that focal length. Here are a few with approximate prices.
   50mm F1.4 $400
   85mm F1.8 $450
   105mm F2.8 micro $900
   180mm F2.8 $879

2. Anonymous Says:
   December 18th, 2009 at 8:46 pm

   Expanding on Zanthus’ answer, you need a fast shutter speed, but you also have to have enough light to get a picture with that fast shutter speed.
   The pop-up flash on your D40 is not going to do anything for you from the bleachers. All that flash will do is drain your battery, trying to put out enough light to cover a basketball court and never being able to do it. It just doesn’t have the power for this type of stuff.
   There are several options here. Some cost more than others.
   The first thing to do is turn up the ISO to 400, maybe even 800 if that isn’t too grainy for you. This makes the camera sensor more sensitive to light, which will give you a higher shutter speed right off the bat. Get the camera off green box full auto, put it on P (program shift) instead. That way you can control all the settings yourself, but the camera will still work pretty much as a point and shoot.
   The next thing to do is get something to help you hold the camera steady. You probably can’t use a tripod in the bleachers, and it’s hard to track something like basketball off a tripod anyway. Get a monopod. It’ll help, and shouldn’t be a problem to use in the bleachers.
   A better lens is always a good thing, but to really get a better lens, you are looking at a 70-200 f/2.8 type from Sigma or Tamron or Tokina at $700-$800, or the Nikon with VR at $1,900.
   You could also add a flash for your hotshoe, but you’ll find that even something like an SB-800/900 isn’t of much use from the stands. You’re just too far away for the flash to have any effect.

3. Anonymous Says:
   December 18th, 2009 at 8:46 pm

   A Nikon SLR and you not satisfied. can’t believe. What is happening is the settings are too slow to shoot action. By default and most of the photographers use 1/60 of a sec as the shutter speed, which is synchronus with flash photography (flash also operates at 1/60). But for shooting something like sports - you have to increase the shutter speed. I would sugest a minimum of 1/250 or if the light is bright enough 1/500. You will get crystal sharp pictures.
   The blurriness you are getting presently is because, while the camera shutter is open, the subject moves, causing a blur.
   Shutter speed setting you will find on the top, right of the camera.
   Happy Shooting

4. Anonymous Says:
   December 18th, 2009 at 8:46 pm

   well the kids are moving around right…..so that means you need a fairly fast shutter speed, or flash, or both to freeze the action….
   Using AUTO mode, the camera picks whatever it wants….it doens’t know you want to freeze the action….
   SO look for the S, called shutter priority on you camera’s dial….. Read the manual on how to select the shutter speed in this mode….and set the shutter at about 250. At 1/250th of a second, the motion should be frozen in its tracks….the kids aren’t moving THAT fast.
   Using a FLASH, even in daylight will freeze the motion of the subjects as well.
   maybe as well as a few natural shots, you can set up a staged shot just for your photo….plan the shot carefully…..eg frame the basketball net, get it all focused and so forth, then have one kid trying to shoot a basket and another kid jumping to try and block the shot.
   I’m thinking you mean that you are trying to take pictures in the driveway, of your kids shooting hoops……outdoors, or something like that. Outdoors, you should be fine using just ISO 100….If you’re indoors, yes, you might want to increase your ISO to about 800 so you can use faster shutter speeds.
   Right, if you are sitting far away, your flash will be pretty much useless.

5. Anonymous Says:
   December 18th, 2009 at 8:46 pm

   Listen while a good camera is important, the picture is only as good as the photographer in getting the right shot. Make sure you have the right focus, speed on the shutter, and that you are using the appropriate speed of your film

6. Rocket Spanish awards Says:
   December 18th, 2009 at 8:46 pm

   If you don’tt know whatyou’ree doing then you are probably better off sticking the camera in Sports Mode for fast moving objects you’ree hands will be shaking no matter how much you try to stop it, and so will children)