Just what I needed. My daughter plays high school basketball. I don’t have the 90, but do have the 50-140 and X-T3. Now to just get a game scheduled. First game of state playoffs have been canceled 2x due to the weather. Now we have snow on the ground. Something I am sure you are used to, but I am in Texas :)
Brian, snow in Texas, uggh. The 50-140 is great and focuses just as fast as the 90. I did not mention, I use the battery grip with the xt3. I love back button focus but it’s so wonky on the xt3 I don’t use it. So I have to constantly press the shutter button to keep up with play to keep the focus close. Then when I want an image I press the shutter all the way
@@KirkWilliamsonphotography Yep, compared to former home state of Minnesota a mere dusting, but it’s a every 4-5 year event here in Texas and Texans are tough, it will be back in the 60s by the weekend.
@@KirkWilliamsonphotography Not great at the moment. ERCOT(The board that oversees the power suppliers here) dropped the ball big time, with 3.5 million Texan shivering. This has definitely given Texas a black-eye.
Mike, he actually does it in three steps so he was not called for gravelly on that account but he did not handle the ball cleanly he pulls it up along his body which is traveling I believe. Yes they wear masks for all the sports. They are going to have football for March and April won’t that be fun.
It would be a super short video. Auto is a great start because it’s usually pretty good. Doing a manual WB is pretty easy. When I get a chance I’ll do a short on it.
@@KirkWilliamsonphotography Have you tried the X-S10? I picked on up and wondering what your thoughts are bout a good sports lens? Should shoot like the X-T4. I would be shooting girls indoor much like this video.
Scott I’m not sure what the lighting is in this gym. I thought it was fluorescent but it might very well be LED to save on power costs. Oh ya film days we pushed the heck out of TX in Diafine then P3200 in the same juice up to 6400 just to get 1/500 at 2.8. Man those were the days.
Dear Kirk!!! Right ON! Following your suggestions and after the firmware update I really feel comfortable with the XT3 indoor. Having the chance of the 90mmF2...Oh! My!!! Same settings over here and loved that picture with the score board! I love these videos from the practical stand point from a truly experienced sports photographer! Cheers
@@KirkWilliamsonphotography and thank you for the great tips and ideas about sports photography! So far as I can remember, I'm on this for about a year... not too bad, trying to be a good apprentice! Cheers
Great video Kirk! I just stumbled across your channel. I was wondering if you recall which focusing point did you use? Single point vs Zone vs tracking? Thank you :)
I use single point at its largest in the center. This winter I started experimenting with zone and I think I like it better. The AF custom setting is more important as it determines the speed at which the lens and camera acquires the subject and how fast it lets go of it.
Good vid Kirk, but I find that the Fuji system just isn't there yet for sports; especially fast action, low light situations. My go to cameras still are the Nikon D5 or D500 and fast glass. Don't get me wrong, I love my Fuji X cameras. I just don't think they are ready for prime time sports action.
I switched from Canon 2 years ago and do miss my 70-200 2.8 on the 7d mk2 and the 300 2.8 on it as well but I’m slowly getting used to how th3 Fuji focusing system works so I’m now comfortable with the smaller, lighter, and much less expensive gear.
Nice vid! Could you share some settings from your JPEG. So NR, clarity, sharpness? I expect to shoot at ISO 6400 in this conditions. Would you recommend the 90mm over the 50-140? I guess, the 90mm is much compact and if you wont do sport that much, the zoom lens is too big. Otherwise, its way more versatile...
For the jpg my NR and sharpness are set to 0. I use the 90 exclusively for basketball and hockey. My reasoning is the fast f2 aperture and it focuses faster than the 50-140 and is much smaller and lighter. Now that being said I also own the 50-140 so I have the best of both worlds.
Really nice work here, Kirk. Interesting going with the 90 and vertical for the entire shoot. I haven't tried HS basketball on APSC yet. Last year I used full-frame and my 50 and 85 1.8 primes switching between horizontal and vertical depending on subject distance. This year they only allowed family in the gym so I didn't make any yearbook photos for them. Had I been able to shoot this year, I was going to try APSC and go with 35 and 50mm 1.8 primes shooting horizontal. You certainly proved that APSC with a 90 shooting vertical can be done. The buzzer-beater sequence was fantastic. I like the shot with the clock at 4:02 except the ball is cut off and will be even more cut off after straightening. Maybe the 56 1.2 would have been better. Either way, great work. Really impressive keeping them framed with that much focal length.
Thanks Phil! The reason I shoot with the 90 vertically is because it isolates the action. Horizontally you can’t do that with short lenses unless you are right under the basket. Now that being said when I was shooting full frame I used the 70-200 but still vertically from the same area. When I shot the Celtics I used the 100 f2 and the 300 2.8 both vertically Larry Bird does not fit horizontally, lol. Everyone shot vertically from under the basket to the corner of the baseline and around the corner of the court. The PC cord for the lights was on the side. The only horizontal shots were with a 24 under the basket remotely. It’s just the way I was trained. It’s a vertical sport after all. Try using your 85 1.8 vertically from the corner. I would have used the 56 but it is abhorrently slow focusing. The 90 and the 50-140 are the fastest except for the 200. I do shoot horizontally with the 50-140 and the 90 from half court to the key sometimes.
Tom - After 45 years of shooting basketball I settled on verticals because it’s a vertical game. If I was doing more pro work I would shoot more horizontals since I could sit under the basket or just off to the side. With high school I would get run over and the refs would chase me out of there. The 50-140 is to big and bulky and an f stop too slow. The 90 is perfect for what I do.
It really depends on the light. I’m going for a shutter speed of 1/1000s so usually 3200-6400 ISO. F stop on the 90 mm wide open at f2 or on the 50-140 f2.8. Continuous focus AF-C setting on #3 and single point 3x3. It’s not like shooting with a Canon or Sony. You have to tap the shutter continuously to keep the focus close to the action then when the play you want comes hammer the shutter to make the shot.
For me doing this twice a week during the winter for basketball and hockey I usually average about 300-400 depending on the action. When I did this using film I tried to keep it to two rolls. Imagine only 72 images to go through with a loupe.
I have used the the X-T30 & 90 combo for the last couple seasons. Worked great. Some gyms were just too dark (I always tried keeping my ISO around 800) but for the most part it was successful. I'm not a pro though, just a dad following his kids around lol. FYI the Q button is awesome for back button focus.
Kirk, very nice photos, I am not familiar with the Fuji. I use a Nikon D7100 with a Tamron 2.8 70-210 lens. For sure going to try the custom white balance but what about ISO? I have set the ISO as high as 2000-4000, F2.8, and shutter at 600-100. Thanks
You will need to do a little experimenting with your 7100 and see how the noise is with jpg's and raw at high ISO's. The Fuji does an excellent job of noise reduction in the jpg's up to about 6400. Most cameras do some kind of auto noise reduction on the jpg's.
@@KirkWilliamsonphotography I think I was in the darkest sports facility ever. I shot my granddaughters basketball team, 7th grade, in Ames Iowa, we live in La Crosse, Wisconsin. The Tamron lens never moved off of 70mm. I had the ISO at 5000 and shutter at 500th. I think the photos turned out well for such terrible lighting conditions. I am going to try to find a 1.8 lens, 50-90mm, that will work with my camera. Sam
Thanks for the tips Kirk, but this type of photography is something that I would never do, I find that photographing alligators is much easier, they don’t move as fast and they don’t jump very high. Haha.
Oh the war stories we film shooters could tell, dimly lit Gyms, shooting MF, (2 years before AF SLRs made their debut), tyrannical picture editors. To this day, I am amazed by the number of usable shots that I managed with 2x F1s, and keep my job, now that was work.
Oh ya I used to shoot bball with two Canon F1’s and those huge MF handle drives with an 85 1.8 and the 200 2.8 when it came out, I was so excited when that lens came out. Back then we could shoot hockey over the boards, lol. Or over short glass standing on staging. What a different world it was back then with manual focus. I used to focus on the basket and wait for them to come in. When I had enough of that I would do some follow focus. I think my success rate was better back then. Hahaha 🤣
Thanks for this. Side note, it absolutely pisses me off seeing these kids wear masks. It’s ludicrous, unnecessary and dangerous. I can hardly breathe walking around in these things, I couldn’t imagine playing sports in them.
Just what I needed. My daughter plays high school basketball. I don’t have the 90, but do have the 50-140 and X-T3. Now to just get a game scheduled. First game of state playoffs have been canceled 2x due to the weather. Now we have snow on the ground. Something I am sure you are used to, but I am in Texas :)
Brian, snow in Texas, uggh. The 50-140 is great and focuses just as fast as the 90. I did not mention, I use the battery grip with the xt3. I love back button focus but it’s so wonky on the xt3 I don’t use it. So I have to constantly press the shutter button to keep up with play to keep the focus close. Then when I want an image I press the shutter all the way
I do have the 50140 and makes a wonderful job!
@@KirkWilliamsonphotography Yep, compared to former home state of Minnesota a mere dusting, but it’s a every 4-5 year event here in Texas and Texans are tough, it will be back in the 60s by the weekend.
Hang in down there! My cousin’s kid lives in Austin and her husband works in the power industry I wonder how that’s going?
@@KirkWilliamsonphotography Not great at the moment. ERCOT(The board that oversees the power suppliers here) dropped the ball big time, with 3.5 million Texan shivering. This has definitely given Texas a black-eye.
He should have been called for traveling! Great shot with the clock in the background!
Mike, he actually does it in three steps so he was not called for gravelly on that account but he did not handle the ball cleanly he pulls it up along his body which is traveling I believe. Yes they wear masks for all the sports. They are going to have football for March and April won’t that be fun.
@@KirkWilliamsonphotography I thought he was traveling too! :) Great shots.
Could do a setup video on setting up white balance before you start shooting. I struggle with white balance and I typically shoot in auto.
It would be a super short video. Auto is a great start because it’s usually pretty good. Doing a manual WB is pretty easy. When I get a chance I’ll do a short on it.
Great Video. This helps a lot. Thank you!
Im glad this helps!
Awesome video! Thanks for the masterclass on sports with Fuji!
I'm still getting better with the system. Since the autofocus is not as good as Canon and Sony you have to do other things to get great results.
@@KirkWilliamsonphotography Have you tried the X-S10? I picked on up and wondering what your thoughts are bout a good sports lens? Should shoot like the X-T4. I would be shooting girls indoor much like this video.
LED lighting is a definite plus for inside sports photography. Back in the film days we had to push the film to its limits. Thanks for the change up.
Scott I’m not sure what the lighting is in this gym. I thought it was fluorescent but it might very well be LED to save on power costs. Oh ya film days we pushed the heck out of TX in Diafine then P3200 in the same juice up to 6400 just to get 1/500 at 2.8. Man those were the days.
Thanks - i will shoot my first basketball game this autumn
Good luck. Fuji is great with sports as long as the lenses are fast enough for inside use.
Well done Kirk, nice series of sport photos !!
Thanks Alain, my world twice a week on deadline for two daily papers.
Nice video with some great advice!
Thanks JF! Hope it helps.
Dear Kirk!!! Right ON! Following your suggestions and after the firmware update I really feel comfortable with the XT3 indoor. Having the chance of the 90mmF2...Oh! My!!! Same settings over here and loved that picture with the score board!
I love these videos from the practical stand point from a truly experienced sports photographer! Cheers
Thanks Carlos! The 90 f2 is a beautiful lens works great for this type of thing.
@@KirkWilliamsonphotography and thank you for the great tips and ideas about sports photography! So far as I can remember, I'm on this for about a year... not too bad, trying to be a good apprentice! Cheers
Great video Kirk! I just stumbled across your channel. I was wondering if you recall which focusing point did you use? Single point vs Zone vs tracking? Thank you :)
I use single point at its largest in the center. This winter I started experimenting with zone and I think I like it better. The AF custom setting is more important as it determines the speed at which the lens and camera acquires the subject and how fast it lets go of it.
@@KirkWilliamsonphotography thank you for your reply! I will give it a go. Great content also. I'm subbing to your channel 🙂
Good vid Kirk, but I find that the Fuji system just isn't there yet for sports; especially fast action, low light situations. My go to cameras still are the Nikon D5 or D500 and fast glass. Don't get me wrong, I love my Fuji X cameras. I just don't think they are ready for prime time sports action.
I switched from Canon 2 years ago and do miss my 70-200 2.8 on the 7d mk2 and the 300 2.8 on it as well but I’m slowly getting used to how th3 Fuji focusing system works so I’m now comfortable with the smaller, lighter, and much less expensive gear.
Nice vid! Could you share some settings from your JPEG. So NR, clarity, sharpness? I expect to shoot at ISO 6400 in this conditions.
Would you recommend the 90mm over the 50-140? I guess, the 90mm is much compact and if you wont do sport that much, the zoom lens is too big. Otherwise, its way more versatile...
For the jpg my NR and sharpness are set to 0. I use the 90 exclusively for basketball and hockey. My reasoning is the fast f2 aperture and it focuses faster than the 50-140 and is much smaller and lighter. Now that being said I also own the 50-140 so I have the best of both worlds.
Thanks for this informative video! I don't do a lot of basketball-we get hired for volleyball mainly
Good luck! Volleyball is much harder so you should have a much easier time of it.
Really nice work here, Kirk. Interesting going with the 90 and vertical for the entire shoot. I haven't tried HS basketball on APSC yet. Last year I used full-frame and my 50 and 85 1.8 primes switching between horizontal and vertical depending on subject distance. This year they only allowed family in the gym so I didn't make any yearbook photos for them. Had I been able to shoot this year, I was going to try APSC and go with 35 and 50mm 1.8 primes shooting horizontal. You certainly proved that APSC with a 90 shooting vertical can be done. The buzzer-beater sequence was fantastic. I like the shot with the clock at 4:02 except the ball is cut off and will be even more cut off after straightening. Maybe the 56 1.2 would have been better. Either way, great work. Really impressive keeping them framed with that much focal length.
Thanks Phil! The reason I shoot with the 90 vertically is because it isolates the action. Horizontally you can’t do that with short lenses unless you are right under the basket. Now that being said when I was shooting full frame I used the 70-200 but still vertically from the same area. When I shot the Celtics I used the 100 f2 and the 300 2.8 both vertically Larry Bird does not fit horizontally, lol. Everyone shot vertically from under the basket to the corner of the baseline and around the corner of the court. The PC cord for the lights was on the side. The only horizontal shots were with a 24 under the basket remotely. It’s just the way I was trained. It’s a vertical sport after all. Try using your 85 1.8 vertically from the corner. I would have used the 56 but it is abhorrently slow focusing. The 90 and the 50-140 are the fastest except for the 200. I do shoot horizontally with the 50-140 and the 90 from half court to the key sometimes.
@@KirkWilliamsonphotography “It’s a vertical sport” that’s so true. Thanks, Kirk.
Super foto🔥🔥🔥
Many thanks!
thanks. What makes you choose to shoot vertical ? and why the 90mm over the 50-140?
Tom - After 45 years of shooting basketball I settled on verticals because it’s a vertical game. If I was doing more pro work I would shoot more horizontals since I could sit under the basket or just off to the side. With high school I would get run over and the refs would chase me out of there. The 50-140 is to big and bulky and an f stop too slow. The 90 is perfect for what I do.
What are your setting usually when shooting basketball?
Thanks
Nice vid.
It really depends on the light. I’m going for a shutter speed of 1/1000s so usually 3200-6400 ISO. F stop on the 90 mm wide open at f2 or on the 50-140 f2.8. Continuous focus AF-C setting on #3 and single point 3x3. It’s not like shooting with a Canon or Sony. You have to tap the shutter continuously to keep the focus close to the action then when the play you want comes hammer the shutter to make the shot.
Thanks for the tips--great video!
If the white curtain wasn't there, what's your preferred method of setting your white balance? White balance card?
I usually have rosters from the site AD I can use to do white balance
@@KirkWilliamsonphotography Hm! Not familiar with the site AD. How does it work?
Great video kirk
Thanks Steve, kind of a last minute idea.
@@KirkWilliamsonphotography thank you very helpful tips
Not easy to shoot sports I’ve tried it. End of the night probably thousands of photos to look over. Thanks for the video
For me doing this twice a week during the winter for basketball and hockey I usually average about 300-400 depending on the action. When I did this using film I tried to keep it to two rolls. Imagine only 72 images to go through with a loupe.
Is there a reason why you used classic chrome or is that just preference? Great photos!
Hi Michael, To me it has a more natural look after I have added +2 color.
Great shots! Would the the X-T30 work was good?
Bob I’m not sure if the X-T30 will work as good although the AF is supposed to be pretty fast. I’ve never used it for sports.
I have used the the X-T30 & 90 combo for the last couple seasons. Worked great. Some gyms were just too dark (I always tried keeping my ISO around 800) but for the most part it was successful. I'm not a pro though, just a dad following his kids around lol. FYI the Q button is awesome for back button focus.
Kirk, very nice photos, I am not familiar with the Fuji. I use a Nikon D7100 with a Tamron 2.8 70-210 lens. For sure going to try the custom white balance but what about ISO? I have set the ISO as high as 2000-4000, F2.8, and shutter at 600-100. Thanks
You will need to do a little experimenting with your 7100 and see how the noise is with jpg's and raw at high ISO's. The Fuji does an excellent job of noise reduction in the jpg's up to about 6400. Most cameras do some kind of auto noise reduction on the jpg's.
@@KirkWilliamsonphotography I think I was in the darkest sports facility ever. I shot my granddaughters basketball team, 7th grade, in Ames Iowa, we live in La Crosse, Wisconsin. The Tamron lens never moved off of 70mm. I had the ISO at 5000 and shutter at 500th. I think the photos turned out well for such terrible lighting conditions. I am going to try to find a 1.8 lens, 50-90mm, that will work with my camera. Sam
Sam look for a prime 85 1.8 used to use for basketball.
@@KirkWilliamsonphotography Just got my Nikon lens delivered yesterday - will be testing soon. My first prime lens. Thanks
Are you on shutter priority?
I always shoot manual for indoor sports
Thanks for the tips Kirk, but this type of photography is something that I would never do, I find that photographing alligators is much easier, they don’t move as fast and they don’t jump very high. Haha.
They can travel though haha!
Sir, I was wondering what is your camera settings? ISO, fstop, etc. thanks
ISO 3200, 1/1000 sec, f2
@@KirkWilliamsonphotography i appreciate it sir
@@KirkWilliamsonphotography I have the X-T4 since last week, I'm going to try to take photos of my kids playing volleyball and basketball
What was your ISO?
I’m thinking it was either 3200 or 6400.
Oh the war stories we film shooters could tell, dimly lit Gyms, shooting MF, (2 years before AF SLRs made their debut), tyrannical picture editors. To this day, I am amazed by the number of usable shots that I managed with 2x F1s, and keep my job, now that was work.
Oh ya I used to shoot bball with two Canon F1’s and those huge MF handle drives with an 85 1.8 and the 200 2.8 when it came out, I was so excited when that lens came out. Back then we could shoot hockey over the boards, lol. Or over short glass standing on staging. What a different world it was back then with manual focus. I used to focus on the basket and wait for them to come in. When I had enough of that I would do some follow focus. I think my success rate was better back then. Hahaha 🤣
My hats off to the kids playing in masks. Here in Georgia they let them play without masks
hmm white wall hahaha why not just use the inside of those paper mask?
Umm not a bad idea.
Thanks for this. Side note, it absolutely pisses me off seeing these kids wear masks. It’s ludicrous, unnecessary and dangerous. I can hardly breathe walking around in these things, I couldn’t imagine playing sports in them.
Well the good news is all the sports I've shot in the last month have been without masks. So they are more back to normal.