Shooting at f1.4 is nice!

OK – let’s correct that a little, shooting at f1.4 is nice… but not always practical.

Sometimes when you have ‘an easy’ game to cover, and have a chance to put an f1.4 lens to your camera… the results can be nice.. even if I probably did end up also missing some shots due to the shallow depth of field..

And shooting at venues that do not always offer the packed stands (more like blank walls or puolapuut) – it is nice to blur the background,

Last night took few minutes to use my Sigma 105mm f1.4 lens – which I really love for basketball action. It is not too tight, as I often found the Canon 135mm to be.. and the Sony 85mm f1.4 is just too wide, although now that I said that, I might wanna give that a go in a game 🙂

Would I shoot a whole game with this DOF?? No

Do I like/love the images it provides when you nail the focus?? YES!!

Another things is that even with f2.8 lenses, you do often have to crank the ISO to 3200 or there about.. so to be able to shoot at f1.4 and have ISO at 800/1000 .. it’s just something you don’t get at indoor sports in Finland too much.

Here’s couple of images of Vilpas Vikings player Jalon Pipkins in a Korisliiga game in Helsinki on 3rd of January 2023.

What do you think – do these and of shallow depth of field images work for you?? Or do you prefer f2.8/f3.5 shooting with the backgrounds more clearly visible???