How To Take The Sharpest Surfing Photography Photos Canon 7d Markii

I finally upgraded from my T2i to a 7d mark ii. I’ve been on a DSLR photograph hiatus. Actually shooting and editing tons of video with my GoPros and other POV devices. I was shooting my son’s basketball for years, but at present he is in drum and bugle corps globe and didn’t actually have the camera or lens to become the kind of photos I desire. I’m also surfing more than and have been wanting to take pictures of a bunch of my buddies.

Later a lot of research reviews and reviews I bought a new Sigma 100 – 400 mm 5.6. I figured with my ingather the 150 – 600 mm equivalent I’d accept the reach I needed. Well-nigh of the photos I’ll be taking are in daylight so the 5.6 would be fine. I actually know how to dial in the T2i from years of shooting in poorly lit gyms, so my start shots with the 100-400 mm on my T2i were pretty practiced. SOME were good… but getting the single focal point locked in at 400 mm was a little tricky. Plus the fps was ho-hum. The subject surfer would change management and I wouldn’t get the transition. Big gaps on the continuous fast activeness.

I found a 7d marking ii in good shape, well cared for, and about one-half shutter life for a off-white price. Okay… this is a seriously better camera than I’thou used to. A piddling intimidated, merely not totally lost in shooting manual. My T2i didn’t accept 6 tracking sensitivity modes and and then many AF options.

Questions:
Shooting surfing volition be more often than not at 400 mm because it’s a reef intermission that’southward way out. I use a mono pod. With this prepare what would be the best AF settings? ISO? Shutter Speed? Should I get a 1.4x or two.0x teleconverter? Do I really need a tripod?

Hither are a few sample shots. 1 at 100 mm and one a 400 mm.

I recall a zoom lens that goes upwardly to 600 mm would serve your needs better. Go along the shutter speed fast, meaning 1/640 of a 2d or faster, and whatever ISO y’all are comfortable with.

I liked the 100 -400 mm range with an choice of a teleconverter, I’ll probably get one. At some betoken I’ll get a 70 – 200 mm ii.8. I wanted a little more than reach and didn’t need that fast of a lens. I was looking at the 150 – 600 mm too, but felt the range was really too far out on a crop for my needs. I recollect figuring which of the AF options is my first step.

If you desire a 1.4 X teleconverter on your 100 to 400 millimeter lens y’all would really probably exist amend off with no teleconverter and the 150 to 600 mm Zoom. The telephoto converter will cost you one F stop in low-cal Gathering Power and will no doubt degrade your images somewhat although for surfing where your principal field of study is fairly small and is usually well away from the corners at that place might non exist much downside to the sharpness lost to the teleconverter.

I’d use this as a starting indicate and tweek if needed:
It’ll accept a while to get dialed in the mode you like it. The 150-600 is a great focal range, especially with surfers.

Yeah, for this sort of photography y’all need a long lens, 600mm would be fine…….

I have a Panasonic G9 which has a micro 4/three sensor and take a Panasonic 100-300 lens which equates to 200-600 in full frame terms. I set the photographic camera in shutter priority with everything thing else motorcar. Attempt to shoot at 1/one thousand sec or faster if possible. I set the focus to machine focus continuous and shoot burst style with the 225 car focus points pick. Also shoot in RAW. There is likewise an selection in the G9 to shoot in 4k/6k and choose an image/south from a series of images. Simply in jpeg though.

I must do more surf photography as I am at the beach most of the time anyway.

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On the 7D mk 2 focusing. Per Professional Sports Photographer, Peter Read Miller, typically cases 1 and 4 are the ones to use.

Honestly for settings, since surfing is a daylight sport, I would use a shutter speed of over i/1000 and use wide open apertures if possible with the ISO completing the exposure triangle.

600mm effective on that lens should be pretty expert every bit it is. I wouldn’t get a 2x TC because the 2 stops of light you loose could very well cause bug with the car focus. Now the ane.4x TC might be something to look at since it volition then exist a 1200mm f/8 lens. Simply honestly, I’d try it at 600 to see what that does for yous for a while before paying the $300-400 for the TC.

One more annotation to that, if you get, be sure to get only the Catechism ane.4x TC version 3. The others aren’t that good. (In all fairness, I don’t know nearly the Sigma TC’s)

don’t knock the 150-600 until y’all effort it.

I would really focus on learning to use the adjustment brush feature in Lightroom. It is quite astonishing. Once you get a experience for how large a brush and how much Border Feathering you should prepare, you lot volition be amazed at the ability of the automobile masking feature to differentiate your subject from the background and you will exist extremely pleased with your ability to pigment on any Corrections you lot need. Lightroom is amazing, just of course you lot exercise need to learn how to use information technology. Canon DPP software is quite simple by comparison and is a A-okay for doing basic Global edits and basic adjustments, simply the adjustment brush feature that Lightroom has combined with automatic masking makes it a really useful tool. much easier and more intuitive than Photoshop once yous get the basic thought down.

don’t knock the 150-600 until y’all endeavor information technology.

A pro photographer I know who has taken surfing pic’due south of me (I paid for them) has the 150 -600 on a 7D marking ii. I accept lots of examples of how skillful it is, and he likes it. He shoots motocross with it mostly. I almost bought a 70 – 200 2.8. It’s a not bad lens merely it didn’t quite take the reach I wanted. This 100 – 400 is a good range and I paid $7oo new. It’south lite enough to comfortably shoot handheld. The Sigma 150 – 600 is most $850 used and you actually demand a tripod with it.

Tripod? why not just get a expert Monopod (it’s cheaper and easier to carry effectually the beach.)?

Most 150-600s are light enough to paw hold, though a lilliputian stabilisation tin can brand things a flake easyier