I am photographing a High School Volleyball Tournament this week and wanted to get any suggestions for lens selection. I currently shoot with a Canon 7D with 70-200mm f2.8 and 17-55mm f2.8. I want to get great photos of the celebration and trophy presentation but not sure which lens to go with here. Since I only have one camera I want to avoid switching lenses during the celebration.

Originally Posted by photodad1 I am photographing a High School Volleyball Tournament this week and wanted to get any suggestions for lens selection. I currently shoot with a Canon 7D with 70-200mm f2.8 and 17-55mm f2.8. I want to get great photos of the celebration and trophy presentation but not sure which lens to go with here. Since I only have one camera I want to avoid switching lenses during the celebration.

Are you planning to shoot the game as well as the trophy presentation? If so, I'd recommend switching lenses. If this is totally out of the question, I would go with the 70-200. You're just going to have to stand further away from the celebration.

Originally Posted by mike_k Are you planning to shoot the game as well as the trophy presentation? If so, I'd recommend switching lenses. If this is totally out of the question, I would go with the 70-200. You're just going to have to stand further away from the celebration.

I plan on shooting the game as well as the trophy presentation.

70-200 is a decent lens to shoot for volleyball. Assuming you have enough light in th pe gym. Absolutely switch lenses for the trophy presentation. If you can, switch for the celebration. You'll likely not have the room spot stand back enough with the 70-200 attached.

I have used a lot of lenses shooting volleyball. But this year I will narrow it to 3. The 70-200, 300, and the 24-70.

Originally Posted by perroneford 70-200 is a decent lens to shoot for volleyball. Assuming you have enough light in th pe gym. Absolutely switch lenses for the trophy presentation. If you can, switch for the celebration. You'll likely not have the room spot stand back enough with the 70-200 attached. I have used a lot of lenses shooting volleyball. But this year I will narrow it to 3. The 70-200, 300, and the 24-70.

Where are the recommended court locations to take action photos?

Originally Posted by photodad1 Where are the recommended court locations to take action photos?

Go have a look: http://www.ptfphotoarchive.com/FSUAthletics/Volleyball

Shame how few people are there to watch, but I guess it gives you a lot of freedom to move around. How far off the court are you staying in general? You look to be about 5' or so off the line in some of these.

I shoot everywhere from courtside (literally as close as the linespeople will allow) to up in the crowsnest. Don't fret about the number of people. It's usually packed out. And with my school making the final 4 last year, it's going to be capacity crowds most of the year. The tough thing about women's volleyball is you have to understand the level and the team. In HS and below, most of the girls aren't getting their head above the net. So you need a much higher position if you want to shoot facing the net. It's often more effective to shoot younger players from at the net so that isn't an obstruction. At the collegiate or pro level, you get very effective shots of net play if you can get your lens about 8-9ft off the floor. I shoot from that position a lot, but often somewhat higher so I can get the setters cleanly too. And you need to be quite high to get the server cleanly. And you're going to need a 300-400mm lens to reach out that far.

Lighting tends to be an issue as well, so you want fast glass. I'll be on my 85-1.4 for non-motion stuff this year. But the rest is just 70-200/2.8 and 300/2.8 If I am covering from the net I'll be on the 24-70. I'll have to see what I am going to do about remotes.

Small-school (i.e., all-play) MS has the extra fun that the ball rarely goes where you'd expect it...
I generally shoot from under the ref's ladder so I get more faces and no net.

The tele is your only real choice for the matches, and can be used for the presentations if you can separate yourself without anything getting in your way....but you should have plenty of time to switch lenses for the presentations. I too started out shooting with only the 70-200 and the 17-55. I lesson I learned very early is you MUST have more than one body. It's really not an option, but more of a necessity.
Since starting out I now have 3 bodies. One body is the main tele, the other with a wide angle, with the 3rd having a 3rd optional lens. This year I'm considering using the 3rd body as a remote. Extra bodies are well worth the expense in convenience and safety. Keep in mind that you can buy a lower model of camera, or a used unit to save money at first.
I would also highly recommend a battery grip if you don't already have one. When shooting such events as tournaments when you have one match after another without any kind of "recharge time", it too becomes a necessity rather than an optional accessory.

I totally agree with about another camera body. I am a freelance photographer for the local paper and I have deadlines to meet and can not afford for something to wrong with my camera body shooting a game without a backup. The question I have, should I buy another Canon 7D or a full frame Canon 5D Mark II?

Originally Posted by photodad1 I totally agree with about another camera body. I am a freelance photographer for the local paper and I have deadlines to meet and can not afford for something to wrong with my camera body shooting a game without a backup. The question I have, should I buy another Canon 7D or a full frame Canon 5D Mark II?

That depends on several things...
If you shoot sports and only sports, a 5D would NOT be a good choice. Also, the 17-55 is an EF-S lens and will NOT work on the 5D. You could consider another 7D or something like a 60D, depending on your available funds and future plans.
Keep in mind that while a 2nd camera can be considered a "backup", my suggestion is it to be a second primary camera for use with a 2nd lens when shooting, thus becoming a 2nd "tool", not just a spare. Without the 2nd body/17-55 to have instant access to a wide angle lens, you will miss many "sideline" shots simply because you don't have the equipment to capture them. Don't get drawn into the thinking that you need the "latest-greatest" equipment, especially when getting started.
My personal avenue of growth was to invest in lenses and other gear, while keeping a stable of 3ea 30D's. I like the fact that I can jump from one camera to another without any kind of interface adjustment on my part. Since all 3 cameras are the same, everything is in the same place and there is no stumbling when jumping from one body to another. An added benefit is all my accessories (battery grips, eye pieces, batteries, etc) are the same for all cameras. I'm now at a level that I'm happy with my current lens collection and am planning to upgrade bodies, but would prefer to do so by replacing at least 2 of the 30D's with 7D's at the same time.
With that said, you may want to invest into a 2nd 7D, or maybe buy a couple of used 60D's, etc, to expand your capabilities quickly. (The 7D and 60D use the same batteries, etc) Again, do what works for you.

I looked at the Canon 60D and it was a little different in getting around in the menu. Plus the 60D and 7D use different battery grips. I agree, I think having another 7D will be a great second tool.

Originally Posted by photodad1 I am photographing a High School Volleyball Tournament this week and wanted to get any suggestions for lens selection. I currently shoot with a Canon 7D with 70-200mm f2.8 and 17-55mm f2.8. I want to get great photos of the celebration and trophy presentation but not sure which lens to go with here. Since I only have one camera I want to avoid switching lenses during the celebration.

I have been covering high school sports "part time" for about 10 years now. Although I made it to only 3 matches last year, this is what I use for volleyball :
Canon 7D with an 85mm f1.8 prime set wide open aperature, ISO about 640, shutter speed at 1,000/sec, my Canon 580EX mounted on the camera set in manual and dialed down to about 1/32 power. Nothing real fancy or expensive.

I sit about 3 or 4 rows up, just to one side of the pole. When the ball is served to the team on my side of the net I will have my camera in the "horizontal" position in anticipation of the backcourt team making a "dig". After that I try to anticipate any "kill" attempts and try to capture it in the "verticle" postition. Most of the time I have the camera in the right postiion, sometimes not. One note . . . a battery gripe makes this a lot easier.

Results are here :
http://73rocks.smugmug.com/High-School-Sports/2011-High-School-Volleyball/18315730_BMHc5f#!i=1503145330&k=hc6zX7K

Hope this gives you some help.

Originally Posted by 73Rocks I have been covering high school sports "part time" for about 10 years now. Although I made it to only 3 matches last year, this is what I use for volleyball : Canon 7D with an 85mm f1.8 prime set wide open aperature, ISO about 640, shutter speed at 1,000/sec, my Canon 580EX mounted on the camera set in manual and dialed down to about 1/32 power. Nothing real fancy or expensive. I sit about 3 or 4 rows up, just to one side of the pole. When the ball is served to the team on my side of the net I will have my camera in the "horizontal" position in anticipation of the backcourt team making a "dig". After that I try to anticipate any "kill" attempts and try to capture it in the "verticle" postition. Most of the time I have the camera in the right postiion, sometimes not. One note . . . a battery gripe makes this a lot easier. Results are here : http://73rocks.smugmug.com/High-School-Sports/2011-High-School-Volleyball/18315730_BMHc5f#!i=1503145330&k=hc6zX7K Hope this gives you some help.

Ooooo.... Using flash at a volleyball match? That'll get you kicked out here.

Originally Posted by xchangx Ooooo.... Using flash at a volleyball match? That'll get you kicked out here.

They are a little more tolerant around here (EXCEPT for gymnastics). I have been asked to turn my flash off a couple of times . . . just cranked up the ISO up a little more.

Chris - how did it go? Any good pics to show off? I checked your site, but you don't have dates or exif or anything showing so not sure if the volleyball shots on the site are recent or not. Hope it went well.

Hey Mike,

I haven't had a chance to post. I'll try posting soon.

I shoot anywhere/everywhere I can... just to get different angles.

If you look at http://regionsportsphotography.com/ and go to 2012 Volleyball, there is a game Munster @ Andrean. Most of the times I was in the stands near the center, but toward the end of set 3 (which I it was going to be a 3-0) shutout, I ended up going to the floor and the side of the visitors (winning team) and one of the last shots you'll see in the gallery is the winning point sealing the deal 3 sets to 0. This is the shot, match point:



I would suggest moving around. Volleyball is very fast paced and moving around helps to get different angles. And honestly I am NO expert, I shoot sports A TON but that was my first assignment for the paper. I went again tonight to the winning teams home game which is 5 minutes from my house just to play with various positions to shoot from.. That should be up later on the same site sometime tomorrow.

Jim, what camera body and lens do you shoot volleyball with?