Sports in the dark

At the start of the second half of the handball season, I was able to fully exploit the high ISO capabilities of my Nikon D3 in two games. Both games were not played in the Color Line Arena, but in halls where "combat light" seems to be a foreign word. The first game of HSV Handball against VfB Bad Schwartau in the DHB Cup quarter-finals took place in the Hansehalle in Lübeck. The second game in the Champions League against the Norwegian representative Fyllingen - which somehow belongs to the more well-known city of Bergen - took place in the Alsterdorfer Sporthalle.

I had to turn the ISO screw in both halls. In Lübeck, I not only photographed almost entirely at ISO6400, but also opened the aperture a third of a stop wider than I would actually like. In the Alsterdorf sports hall it wasn't that bad and I was able to take photos with ISO4000. In both cases, however, I deliberately exposed something more richly than the camera offered me. The reason is simple: a D3 also produces noise at these ISO values, but this is only particularly visible when the exposure is too narrow - especially in the semi-dark shadow areas. I know this effect and have therefore taken action to counteract it.

By the way, taking photos in these lighting conditions is not that easy because the autofocus also has its difficulties. Normally something like this isn't noticeable, but in a fast-paced sport like handball it is. It's a good idea to use fast AF-S lenses. (Not to be misunderstood: there are also slow AF-S lenses such as the 50mm f/1.4G, but as a rule AF-S lenses with ultrasonic motors are faster than normal AF lenses with rod drive.) So while I'm in the While I was able to photograph Color Line Arena without any problems with my AF 85mm f/1.8, I quickly gave up trying in the dark halls.

So here is my high-ISO sports image gallery from the last two handball games. By the way, on Wednesday I'll be back in the Color Line Arena for HSV Handball's top game against the Rhein-Neckar-Löwen.