Shooting the Chick-fil-A Kickoff with Nikon D5: ISO 5600 to ISO 40000

by Stanley LearyNikon D5
Tennessee’s tight end (82) Ethan Wolf is pursued by Georgia Tech’s linebacker (51) Brant Mitchell, who drops the pass during the Chick-fil-A Kickoff at the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, GA. [Nikon D5, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8, TC-2001, ISO 18000, ƒ/5.6, 1/4000]

What did I learn from my first game in the Mercedes-Benz Stadium?

If I had taken the time before the game and pulled up the last game in the Georgia Dome in Adobe Lightroom, I would have had the exposure to compare.

In my last game in the Georgia Dome, I shot the Nikon D5 at 1/4000 shutter speed. I thought the lighting was darker in the Mercedes-Benz Stadium and shot at 1/2000 in the first game.

So this second game, I shot all the action at 1/4000. This would give me sharper images due to the athlete’s constant motion.

In this series of the tight end trying to catch the pass, I got a great series of sharp images due to the 1/4000 shutter speed.

Tennessee’s tight end (82) Ethan Wolf is pursued by Georgia Tech’s linebacker (51) Brant Mitchell, who drops the pass during the Chick-fil-A Kickoff at the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, GA. [Nikon D5, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8, TC-2001, ISO 18000, ƒ/5.6, 1/4000]

Every photo I took was razor sharp. There were somewhere the autofocus was not where I wanted it due to a player coming between me and the play, but those were sharp, just not the right spot.

Tennessee’s tight end (82) Ethan Wolf is pursued by Georgia Tech’s linebacker (51) Brant Mitchell, who drops the pass during the Chick-fil-A Kickoff at the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, GA. [Nikon D5, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8, TC-2001, ISO 18000, ƒ/5.6, 1/4000]

When you increase the shutter speed, you sacrifice the ISO. The reason I didn’t offer aperture is it was already wide open. This sacrifice did introduce a little more noise, but I felt like it was an acceptable amount of noise for the way the photos are used.

Georgia Tech’s quarterback (16) TaQuon Marshall dives for a touchdown during the Chick-fil-A Kickoff at the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, GA. [Nikon D5, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8, TC-2001, ISO 5600, ƒ/2.8, 1/4000]

The photos I liked technically the least were when the football player’s face was pointed toward the ground. This meant their face was like the shadow side of the moon. There is little or no detail on those faces. Now, if it were a full moon where the light was hitting the beginning, then it was just perfect.

[Nikon D5, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8, TC-2001, ISO 18000, ƒ/5.6, 1/4000]

Occasionally there was enough light bouncing off the field or another player to help brighten up those faces.

Tennessee’s running back (4) John Kelly dives for a touchdown against Georgia Tech during the Chick-fil-A Kickoff at the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, GA. [Nikon D5, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8, TC-2001, ISO 9000, ƒ/5.6, 1/4000]

If the team were in the red zone, I would take the 2x converter off and shoot the action at ƒ/2.8. The red site is the area of the field between the 20-yard line and the goal line.

Now, I would only take it off if the play started in the red zone. If they had a break-away space, I didn’t have time to take it off.

[Nikon D5, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8, TC-2001, ISO 25600, ƒ/5.6, 1/4000]

This photo of the Georgia Tech player going for a catch shot at ISO 25,600 is an excellent example of what my Nikon D5 can produce. The advantage here is that the player looks up towards the lights.

[Nikon D5, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8, TC-2001, ISO 32000, ƒ/5.6, 1/4000]

This photo is shot at ISO 32000 of the Tennessee players celebrating after a touchdown.

[Nikon D5, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8, TC-2001, ISO 40000, ƒ/5.6, 1/4000]

This was the highest ISO I shot of the action during the game. ISO 40,000 was more than usable for me.

Why different ISO settings? Well I am shooting in AUTO ISO.

I go to the Nikon D5 Shooting Menu and pick the ISO sensitivity settings.

I turn on the Auto ISO. Then as you see in the screen photo above, I set the LOW ISO to 100 and the HIGH ISO to 102400. I then put the minimum shutter speed to 1/4000. At no time during the game did I shoot above ISO 40000 for action shots on the field.

Tennessee Volunteers wide receiver Josh Palmer (5) is interfered with by Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets defensive back Step Durham (8) during the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets vs. Tennessee Volunteers college football game. [Nikon D5, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8, ISO 5600, ƒ/2.8, 1/4000]

While on this play, there was interference on another space; it was a touchdown for Tennessee.

Tennessee’s wide receiver (1) Marquez Callaway catches a pass over Georgia Tech’s defensive back (6) Lamont Simmons for a touchdown during the Chick-fil-A Kickoff game at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, GA, on September 4, 2017. [Nikon D5, Sigma 120-300mm Ä/2.8, ISO 5600, Ä/2.8, 1/4000]

Just compare the photos above. They go from ISO 5600 to ISO 40000. How you see them here is how most people will see pictures from the game–on their computers or smartphones.

[Nikon D5, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8, TC-2001, ISO 51200, ƒ/5.6, 1/4000]

One photo of the fans in the stands was shot at ISO 51200.

I loved the Nikon D5 for the performance it gave me to capture these images from the Chick-fil-A Kickoff game.