Today I shot a volleyball game with just available light. I was pleasantly surprised at how nice the quality of the images were for shooting under sodium vapor lights.
The Nikon D4 is something I wish I had back in the 1980s. During those years I was shooting sports every week for the daily newspaper that I worked back then. Now I only occasionally shoot sports.
While the Nikon D4 has the high ISO capabilities the new technology of vibration reduction also contributes to the photos being sharper than I can remember.
White Balance Setting
To insure I got the best skin tones possible, I used the ExpoDisc. I put the ExpoDisc over the lens and pointed it towards the lights in the gym. I also slowed the shutter speed to 1/100 to be sure I was not catching the lights during a cycle. After doing this for both of the Nikon D4 cameras, I cranked the shutter speed preference in the Auto ISO settings to 1/2000.
Nikon D4 Exposure Settings
- Aperture Priority
- Auto ISO
- Lowest ISO 100
- Highest ISO 12,800
- Shutter Preference 1/2000
I also was using the Vibration Reduction on the lens to help improve sharpness due to handholding the lens.
With the Nikon D4 you also have auto focus setting as well to choose from.
Auto Focus Setting for the Nikon D4
- Continuous Auto Focus
- 21 Grouping
- Kept it centered and locked it
- Focus Tracking on Long
- Shutter on C-H 10fps
This is my favorite angle for shooting volleyball. However, the one thing I would have loved even more was to shoot from a slightly higher angle. The reason for this would help me keep the net from trying to refocus my lens.
Why I like this angle is I can show the team I am covering. You can see their face expressions and while I cannot see the other teams faces, I can see the competition in the body language.
The good thing in shooting up a the players is it gives them this Greek gods feel. I like athlete looking like they are bigger than life. Shooting up at them helps to create this feel.
There you have it, my settings and secret weapon, the Nikon D4.