5DIII + 100-400 IS f/4.5-5.6 and 7DII + 70-200 IS II f/2.8 Shooting Scenario Question

[scottv69]

Hey guys, I am new to this site but not new to photography.


Last night I had an assignment to shoot a football (soccer) goalkeeper in action specifically focused on his use of a pair of gloves in stopping shots on goal. I used a 5D Mark III paired with the first version of the 100-400 IS lens as well as a 7D Mark II paired with the 70-200 IS II f/2.8 lens


I had both cameras set to RAW, AI-Servo, High Speed Shooting and in Manual mode. I set the shutter speed to 1/1250 and aperture to wide open for both lenses. i.e. f/5.6 on the 5DIII and f/2.8 (f/4.0 equivalent) on the 7DII. ISO was set to Auto with a max of 12,800 on the 5DIII and 6,400 on the 7DII.


So on the 5DIII I had a max reach of 400mm and max aperture of f/5.6 with a max ISO of 12,800.


On the 7DII I had an equivalent reach of 320mm and max aperture of f/4.0 with a max ISO of 6,400.


I got to the field a little early to take some test shots before the game started to make sure my exposure was OK. I was positioned on the sideline right at the corner post shooting across the field to the goalkeeper.


My first observation was that both cameras with these settings were underexposed based off the lighting provided. I also realised the 400mm on the 5DIII was enough reach to fill the frame with the goalkeeper, but the 320mm equivalent on the 7DII was not quite enough. Somewhere around 350-375mm would have been perfect.


I also realised the max ISO settings was not enough for either setup. Knowing the 5DIII would go higher cleaner I pushed it up to 25,600 but it still wasn't enough at f/5.6 for a correct exposure.


So I switched back to the 7DII and found 6,400 ISO was not enough at f/4.0 equivalent, so I pushed it up to 12,800 ISO. I didn't feel I could go any higher based off the sample shots I had seen online. I then took some test shots and found this still wasn't quite enough, but I decided to shoot anyway and hope I can rescue then in Lightroom.


I did drop the shutter speed on the 7D once I had taken some shots down to 1/1000 and took some more shots, then dropped it again to 1/800 but didn't want to go any lower than that as I didn't want motion blur.


So my question is, what should I have done differently?


With the combination of equipment I had, was there a better solution to my problem?


I am hoping to learn from this experience and maybe go back next Saturday night and have another crack at it, so please suggest what I can do differently.