p.1 #1 · Football(Soccer) Remote Camera behind the goal - focal length
Hi All,
For anyone that has set up a remote camera behind a goal what focal length would be recommended? I don't want to use a something as wide as a fisheye. Would 20mm be wide enough or would I need to be more in the 16-18mm range?
p.1 #2 · Football(Soccer) Remote Camera behind the goal - focal length
Carl -
Great question. I'm usually in the 18-20 or even 24 range. There's a balance you're going to have to reach where at one end you have make sure it's wide enough to get everything that might happen in front of the goal and the other end being if you're too wide, you'll get everything but it's going to be small and proportioned wrong. Think of your remote as an extra vs something you're depending on to get a shot of a big goal or big save.
Something else. I've seen people place remotes right in the center of the goal, but I'm not a big fan of that. You're almost guaranteed to get something usable but there's a good chance it will be something safe and not very interesting... a grade "C"
Put it to one side and get maybe half of the goal and you might miss the shot of they score at the other side of the goal, but if they come your way, you nail it! Kind of like 50 yard line seats at a football game. I'll never understand the obsession with them as they are going to be near ZERO scoring plays. 15 yard line seats might be 85 yards away, but they also might be right in front of the big action.
Kind of gets down to whether you want something safe or something great.
I have one from our Nashville SC 2020 MLS season opener vs Atlanta United. We wanted to get something with a remote for the first goal in our MLS era and Walker Zimmerman put one in and I got it. Used a Nikon D500 with 12-24 f/4 lens. I think it was at the wider range of the lens so 12-14 on a crop sensor like the D500 would be 18-20 on a full frame. I'd switched over from Nikon to Sony but still had a D500 sitting around so that's what I used for the day and it worked great.
I can't figure out how to attach an image but you're welcome to PM me and I'll send you one of what I'm talking about.
p.1 #4 · Football(Soccer) Remote Camera behind the goal - focal length
jfw3 wrote:
Carl -
Great question. I'm usually in the 18-20 or even 24 range. There's a balance you're going to have to reach where at one end you have make sure it's wide enough to get everything that might happen in front of the goal and the other end being if you're too wide, you'll get everything but it's going to be small and proportioned wrong. Think of your remote as an extra vs something you're depending on to get a shot of a big goal or big save.
Something else. I've seen people place remotes right in the center of the goal, but I'm not a big fan of that. You're almost guaranteed to get something usable but there's a good chance it will be something safe and not very interesting... a grade "C"
Put it to one side and get maybe half of the goal and you might miss the shot of they score at the other side of the goal, but if they come your way, you nail it! Kind of like 50 yard line seats at a football game. I'll never understand the obsession with them as they are going to be near ZERO scoring plays. 15 yard line seats might be 85 yards away, but they also might be right in front of the big action.
Kind of gets down to whether you want something safe or something great.
I have one from our Nashville SC 2020 MLS season opener vs Atlanta United. We wanted to get something with a remote for the first goal in our MLS era and Walker Zimmerman put one in and I got it. Used a Nikon D500 with 12-24 f/4 lens. I think it was at the wider range of the lens so 12-14 on a crop sensor like the D500 would be 18-20 on a full frame. I'd switched over from Nikon to Sony but still had a D500 sitting around so that's what I used for the day and it worked great.
I can't figure out how to attach an image but you're welcome to PM me and I'll send you one of what I'm talking about.
Thanks! I think I would be using my Nikon D4 for the body so I am thinking of either the 16-35 f/4 or a 18-35. I was also considering a 20mm AF-D prime lens but I think the zoom will give me more flexibility.
That Zimmerman picture would be cool to see!
-Carl
p.1 #5 · Football(Soccer) Remote Camera behind the goal - focal length
It depends on how much of the gate you want to photograph. And where the camera is located. In Germany, there are guidelines for this in the first and second Bundesliga. Almost directly behind the goal and not higher than 40cm. So I use a 11mm fixed focal length with an EOS 1Mark IV to get the whole goal including the corners on it. And then the finished picture is cropped if needed.
p.1 #6 · Football(Soccer) Remote Camera behind the goal - focal length
I’ve tried a few setups behind the goal and found 16‑18 mm gives a nice field of view without the fisheye stretch. If the camera sits right on the line, that range covers the penalty box and a bit of the wings; farther back you can bump to 20 mm. I keep tabs on matches with RubiScore, https://rubiscore.com/football/league/premier-league-66, and it’s solid for live updates.
p.1 #7 · Football(Soccer) Remote Camera behind the goal - focal length
SerjantIV wrote:
I’ve tried a few setups behind the goal and found 16‑18 mm gives a nice field of view without the fisheye stretch. If the camera sits right on the line, that range covers the penalty box and a bit of the wings; farther back you can bump to 20 mm. I keep tabs on matches with RubiScore, https://rubiscore.com/football/league/premier-league-66, and it’s solid for live updates.
Wow this is a super old post. I have been using a 14-24 on my old D5 and triggering it with a pocket wizard. I usually run it at around 5.6 or higher depending if its a night or day match. I manually focus and set the shutter speed to 1/1000. I use auto ISO and usually +0.3 exposure comp.
seems to work for me.
