Starter settings for Australian Rules Football

hutchy

Hi all, I just purchased a 60D complete with a Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM lens. The main purpose at this stage will be to photograph my sons AFL (Australian Rules Football games) which are played outdoors in both bright and overcast conditions depending on the weather.

I was hoping for some action shots and would greatly appreciate a basic starting point to set the camera up for this purpose. I'm hoping to utilize the cameras continuous shooting (burst) feature. Thanks in advance! - Hutchy

Auston

@Hutchy -- Welcome to the site. Sounds great, I also take photos of my children's games, American football, baseball, track and basketball (yeah we are a active family).

If you look through the forum you will find several threads on the subject that you are looking to venture into. If you can't find an answer posted then just ask and we all will gang up on it and sort it out. Cheers, Auston

hutchy

Thanks @Auston will do.

Moose

Howdy @hutchy - Welcome to the forum! It's a shame we (USA) don't get full coverage of the AFL. It's an exciting sport and a ton of fun to watch.

As for settings, here's what I would start with...
1. Enable Shutter priority (Tv on the mode dial) and set your shutter speed between 1/500 and 1/1000
2. Set your ISO to Auto
3. Set your AF mode to AI Servo (refer to page 77 of the manual)
4. Make sure all nine focus points are being used (refer to page 78 of the manual)
5. Make sure metering is set to Evaluative
6. Set your Drive mode to High-speed continuous shooting (refer to page 81 of the manual)

With these settings in place, half press the shutter button to focus continuously on your son. When you're ready to take the shot, fully press the shutter and hold it down. The 60D will fire off a burst of images in quick succession.

The key ingredients with the above mentioned setup are a shutter speed above 1/500 and utilizing Auto ISO under conditions that can fluctuate (cloud passing by, sun poking through dense clouds, etc...).

Best of luck and happy shooting! :)

hutchy

Thanks heaps @Moose. Sorry to here you don't get full coverage of AFL. Keep an eye out for the mighty "Westcoast Eagles" if you get the chance!