Best Nikon D90 settings for indoor water polo without flash
Asked 9/5/2019
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2 answers
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I’m shooting indoor water polo with a Nikon D90 in poor pool lighting, and flash isn’t allowed. I need to freeze fast action and avoid blur, but I know that means using higher ISO. What camera settings and lens choices give me the best chance of getting clear action shots?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
6y ago
2 Answers
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That is a really difficult situation. The best option would be to improve the lighting itself, but you are not allowed to use a flash or even place lights.
- The shutter time needs to be fairly short to freeze the motion of the player and the water, as well as to avoid camera shake visible as blur.
- You can use your lens aperture wide open, at the cost of depth of field
The easiest option is sensitivity. Crank the ISO up to a level that doesn't give more noise than acceptable for you. For the Nikon D90 that might be 1600 or 3200.
If you have a fast (and expensive) tele lens, you can get your framing from far away. A monopod (or tripod) is advisable for longer lenses (let's say beyond 100 mm) to minimize camera shake.
- If you can get really close to the pool, you can chose a standard lens or wide lens. That gives you wider apertures, less risk of visible camera shake, plus interesting perspectives.
It is not possible to give you a list of good settings, because it depends too much on the scenery and the amount of light available. If possible, please upload an example image for review, discussion and advice.
Finally you should consider if your beloved D90 is the right camera for this purpose. Cameras and their useful range of ISO have been improved a lot in the past 10 years. You might want to lend or rent a recent full frame DSLR and see what it can do in low light situations.
Originally by user48887. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user48887
6y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Indoor water polo is a tough low-light action scenario, so your main goal is to keep shutter speed high enough to freeze players and splashing water. Use the lens wide open (largest aperture available) to let in as much light as possible, understanding that depth of field will be shallow.
Then raise ISO as much as you can tolerate for noise. On a Nikon D90, ISO 1600 to 3200 is a practical range if you need the shutter speed for action.
A fast lens helps a lot. If you must shoot from farther away, a fast telephoto is useful; if you can get close to the pool, a normal or shorter lens can work and may be easier in low light. With longer lenses, a monopod can help reduce camera shake, though it won’t freeze subject motion.
In short: prioritize a fast shutter speed, shoot at maximum aperture, and increase ISO until the image quality is still acceptable to you.
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