Best settings for photographing rugby with the Z6iii

[bugman2024]

What would you recommend as the best settings - Autofocus, etc for photographing high school rugby.
I typically shoot manual but there so many autofocus choices - where to start?

 

[EricBowles]

In general I'd be thinking about a relatively small AF area with subject recognition. That means Wide Small or Wide Custom are probably the best choices. These AF area choices will focus on the head or eye of the subject if the AF area box is on the head or upper body. The larger AF area choices are likely to pick up other participants rather than the one you want and the lack of control will be hard to handle.

In terms of other settings, I'd use AF-C for focus. Exposure would be 1/800 if possible, wide open aperture, and the appropriate ISO for a proper exposure. If it is very sunny I would shoot with a Neutral or Custom Picture Control that minimizes contrast and brightens shadows. Consider Active D-Lighting Low if it's sunny - higher levels change your exposure. In overcast conditions I'd use Standard Picture Control.

Beyond that it's adjusting to conditions. I'd like to use a longer zoom lens to fill the frame, but if you are close to the action a wide lens captures the coach talking with players, team interaction, etc. With a wide lens, shoot at f/8. For wide shots, consider using the rear LCD for composition and holding the camera above your head for a different perspective.

For longer focal lengths, pay close attention to the light direction and background in deciding where to stand.

 

[flashpixx]

I've shot some rugby with the Z9.
You may find chasing the little yellow box in subject detection extremely frustrating - well worth a try but if you are missing shots I use almost always dynamic, either medium or large. The action will likely be front and centre so you wont be wanting to shoot through players.
Good luck, and enjoy!

 

[MartyD]

Shooting field sports during the day I generally use manual with auto ISO, night full manual. You might try configuring the C1 and C2 Wide Areas and use subject detection, they have worked pretty well for me. If you haven't purchased Steve's book on the Z6iii it is well worth the money, shooting action is shooting action!

The one feature I hope they add to the Z6iii is the ability to assign a button to "cycle af area modes." I get around that by using back button focus and then assign a button to AF Area + AF On to switch to a different focus mode.

 

[EricBowles]

If you want Cycle AF added to the Z6iii, be sure you contact Nikon Support and voice that request. I know Steve and others have made that request, but volume of requests in writing does make a difference. And that's a simple function found already on the Z8.

 

[bugman2024]

Wow, thank you so much for your responses. I'm headed out tomorrow afternoon to shoot his game. It's rugby 7s so the game is only about 20 minutes.
Not much time to try different things so I'll probably stick with one.
Thanks again. Alan

 

[beano]

Wow, thank you so much for your responses. I'm headed out tomorrow afternoon to shoot his game. It's rugby 7s so the game is only about 20 minutes.
Not much time to try different things so I'll probably stick with one.
Thanks again. Alan

Ha, I used to play that decades ago as a young fella, ridiculously fast, lots of fitness required.

Anyway, which lens are you taking? 70-200 2.8, or? A good, fast lens will help heaps with subject tracking, see if you can configure a narrow vertical custom area, generally helps with isolating individuals on the field.

 

[MartyD]

see if you can configure a narrow vertical custom area, generally helps with isolating individuals on the field.

Exactly!

 

[bugman2024]

Sorry, I realized I'd forgotten that after I hit enter. I'll be using the 70-300mm AF-P 4.5. Wish I could afford the faster lens but this one is pretty good. I sometimes use my 200-500mm when he plays 15s. Alan

 

[Johan Schmidt]

What would you recommend as the best settings - Autofocus, etc for photographing high school rugby.
I typically shoot manual but there so many autofocus choices - where to start?

Get down low (sit on ground or low camping chair), shoot with sun coming over a shoulder, check for clean backgrounds and shoot the action close to you- Hard to do as it's natural to follow the action, but recording a try on the opposite side of the field where the player and spectators blend into one is never a keeper.
Find a sweet spot sector and shoot into that - shoot from a corner so you're shooting into the field.

Camera settings: AF-C, 10-20 fps, use C1 with people subject detection and make a narrow vertical zone (1x7) to isolate players. Shoot as wide open as your lens allows and min 1/1600s - don't worry about high ISO which can be fixed afterwards, but a blurry photo due to slow shutter speed cannot.

Have you purchased Steve's autofocus secrets book - it's a must have for a new camera!

 

[beano]

Sorry, I realized I'd forgotten that after I hit enter. I'll be using the 70-300mm AF-P 4.5. Wish I could afford the faster lens but this one is pretty good. I sometimes use my 200-500mm when he plays 15s. Alan

That’s perfectly fine for the job, especially seeing you’re going to stop down between 5.6 and 8.0 anyway, and that lens is good in that range. Plus, it gives you more reach, which might be handy, depending on where you’re sitting.

But great advice by the experts above, enjoy the shoot! And share some pix after

 

[dabhand16]

What would you recommend as the best settings - Autofocus, etc for photographing high school rugby.
I typically shoot manual but there so many autofocus choices - where to start?

I have been shooting the home games at my local rugby club for years. I started with my Nikon D810, then a D850. First used an 80-200 f2.8 which was not long enough. Better with a 1.4x TC. but still not long enough and lots of cropping. Got a Sigma 150-600 sport that was not bad at all but much more difficult to use, especially at longer focal lengths using a monopod. Got more keepers with a 300mm f4. I used the fasted frame rates that I could and tried to keep the shutter speed as high as I could, eventually using shutter priority.

Then I started using my Fuji XT-2 with a Nikon-Fuji X mount converter and my 80-200 with a 12.4x TC. This was better still, and the Fuji could do up to 11 FPS. I stuck with this for some time eventually using a Fuji XT-4.

Settings now were: shutter priority, aiming at 1/1000 - 1/2000, lens would be wide open, auto ISO. the Fujis have 3 auto ISO banks, so 1 is 160-800, 2 800-3200, 3 1600-12800. In the Winter by 4 o/c the light is very low and I usually have to drop to 1/500 for the last 20-30 mins of the game. I use 7-8fps for the game and go to 15 fps for the spot kicks. The Fujis allow me to use a large single spot which I favour. Sometimes a medium size dynamic box. Never used any subject detection for rugby as I think the often crowded frame will not give you what you want.

When Fuji brought out their 70-300mm lens I got one and I've never looked back. Although is is not as fast, It is a lot lighter and gives me equivalent of 105 - 450mm which I find is perfect, so if you have a 100-400 I'd use that.

Now swapped one of my XT-4s for an XH-2s TBH, the results are not any better, but the camera does focus faster so my keepers have gone up.

Favoured images are running with the ball, ball in the air and the tries.

A few from this year. Spot the one called "is this a foul, ref?"