Canon 300d

[cavmad]

I have a digital slr canon 300d. We have our school swimming carnival tomorrow and I want to take some really excellent shots especially of the slpashing into the water etc ( they need to be really detailed for a foyer display). What do I set my camera to to get best results (indoor pool).

Thanks!

[DeltaCharlie]

I would be really careful if I were you. Have you got the permission from every parent to take photos? Cameras are not allowed at school swimming carnivals anymore. Im a teacher and have seen some parents actually removed from swimming carnivals for trying to take a photo of their own child (the pool people called security). It seems completely ridiculous but with some of the wierdos around these days you can never be too careful.

[cavmad]

I would be really careful if I were you. Have you got the permission from every parent to take photos? Cameras are not allowed at school swimming carnivals anymore. Im a teacher and have seen some parents actually removed from swimming carnivals for trying to take a photo of their own child (the pool people called security). It seems completely ridiculous but with some of the wierdos around these days you can never be too careful.

Yes, I am a teacher at the school. Every child attending the carnival has had a parental consent signed to say that photos will be taken of their child at numerous school sporting and other events throughout the year.

[Ripley]

Wrap a plastic bag around the lens and body and secure it with a rubber band, poke out a few holes for the viewfinder and control buttons. I had to do this in a rainforest recently after some heavy rain due to rain droplets falling on me from above trees. You might get splashed by the kids and one good splash of water could ruin your camera.

Indoor lighting might pose a problem with white balance. Will there be natural light from windows at all? I remember indoor pools when I was a kid had these huge floor to ceiling windows that let a lot of natural light in. Bump the ISO to 400.

Have you used the TV button at all on your Canon? I don't take action shots so am not the right person to advise. I know what I'd do, but it may not be the best advice you get here

[cavmad]

Wrap a plastic bag around the lens and body and secure it with a rubber band, poke out a few holes for the viewfinder and control buttons. I had to do this in a rainforest recently after some heavy rain due to rain droplets falling on me from above trees. You might get splashed by the kids and one good splash of water could ruin your camera.

Indoor lighting might pose a problem with white balance. Will there be natural light from windows at all? I remember indoor pools when I was a kid had these huge floor to ceiling windows that let a lot of natural light in. Bump the ISO to 400.

Have you used the TV button at all on your Canon? I don't take action shots so am not the right person to advise. I know what I'd do, but it may not be the best advice you get here

Thanks Ripley. I have used the TV button before and have had a go at experimenting with it this evening. (got some good practice shots of water splashing in the sink). I think I will go ahead and use the TV setting on a high number. Wasn't sure what ISO to use due to lighting. I don't think there will be much (or very good) lighting. I'll give 400 a go. Don't want to get too grainy. Just want some really good splashing shots. Will wrap in plastic. Thanks for the tip!

[DeltaCharlie]

I would be really careful if I were you. Have you got the permission from every parent to take photos? Cameras are not allowed at school swimming carnivals anymore. Im a teacher and have seen some parents actually removed from swimming carnivals for trying to take a photo of their own child (the pool people called security). It seems completely ridiculous but with some of the wierdos around these days you can never be too careful.

Yes, I am a teacher at the school. Every child attending the carnival has had a parental consent signed to say that photos will be taken of their child at numerous school sporting and other events throughout the year.

Just thought Id better check, not everybody is aware of it.

As for tips, Im not really going to be much help. Mine is a Nikon so not sure what functions are available on canon cameras.

[cavmad]

I would be really careful if I were you. Have you got the permission from every parent to take photos? Cameras are not allowed at school swimming carnivals anymore. Im a teacher and have seen some parents actually removed from swimming carnivals for trying to take a photo of their own child (the pool people called security). It seems completely ridiculous but with some of the wierdos around these days you can never be too careful.

Yes, I am a teacher at the school. Every child attending the carnival has had a parental consent signed to say that photos will be taken of their child at numerous school sporting and other events throughout the year.

Just thought Id better check, not everybody is aware of it.

As for tips, Im not really going to be much help. Mine is a Nikon so not sure what functions are available on canon cameras.

Thanks anyway. Yeah, the whole photo thing is very touchy. Thankfully we have this long form that all of the parents have to complete at the beginning of the year which has a section in it about their kids having their photo taken and it being used by the school. I just grabbed the swimming kids list and did a cross check and all had signed it...thank god. I can understand it from a parents point of view though, if they don't want their childs photo taken that's totally their right.

[Ripley]

If you leave your Canon on auto (I have a 350D and auto is the green button) in conditions where the light is on the low side, the shutter may slow to that light and set a slower speed and you might get blurry shots.

(The built in flash is pretty weak too I've found).

OK, what I'd do if it was me is have the ISO on 400 and increase the shutter speed and view your photos on the screen - use that zoom in button control - does the 300D have that? On my 350D the screen is small so I always zoom in on a shot to see if it's sharp enough - it's still hard on that damn small screen on those Canon models though! You could try doing that to make sure you have set a fast enough speed. Maybe try 1/500? You could start with 1/250 but that might not cut it, depending on the light. I found 800 ISO on my 350D introduces noise but 400 is fine.

As for white balance, maybe leave it on auto WB.

Hope this helps but I could be wrong.

edited to add, depending on the light, you could crank the ISO to 800.

Edited February 12, 2008 by Ripley

[rubiton]

Got to 800 ISO at least - 400 is something you use on sunny days outside (for sports pics). However the trick is to make sure the image is exposed correctly - you will get noise at 400ISO if you underexpose the image.

Not sure you will able to stop the droplets of water as that woudl take at least 1/1000th and it sounds that inside will be too dark for that. Put your focus on AI Servo (if it has that setting - the 350D does) as whatever you focus on it will adjust the focus to follow. Open the aperture setting as far as you can and see what the fastest speed is that you can take a pic of the pool & a kid (doesn't need to be a race - check what the pic looks like on the screen and if the colour looks the same as real life - Im assuming the screen is set to the right brightness).

Without a flash it makes it hard - pan with the kid you are taking a photo of too as that helps the subject stay in focus on teh slower shutter speeds(ie under 1/1000)