A Common Question I get

One thing I get asked a lot is, "Why are my indoor sports images blurry?"  When I take a look at their camera settings, they are usually using Sports or Action setting.  When checking the ISO often it is low, like 200 or 400.  When I shoot basketball I am at 1/500 second shutter speed, Auto ISO (Usually the ISO falls between 1600-4000) TV mode (On Canon, S Mode on Nikon).  This usually means the lens is at f 2.8 - 4.  Focus is AI Servo (Servo on Nikon) Drive on continuous High (up to 10 frames a second on the 7d MK2.  I use the central block of focus points and Evaluative metering.
I actually shoot JPEG for sports, because I can run longer bursts, than shooting RAW.

Usually the issue causing the unsharp images is the kit lens that came with the camera.  It is not that the lens is a bad lens, it is just not the right tool for indoor action images.  These lenses are usually f 4-5.6 variable, mean as you zoom to longer focal lengths the f stop gets smaller, which means the shutter speed slows down slow enough to cause subject movement to show in the images.  The solution to this is to use "fast" glass.  This means to use a f1.8 or 2.8 non variable f stop lens.  The issue with these lenses is that they are expensive, generally $1000 and up, which makes them impractical for casual photographers.  

There are some reasonably price options, the 85mm 1.8 is around $400-$500 new, and is a great short telephoto for basketball and other indoor sports, if you are in one of the lower rows near the basket.  A 24-70 f2.8 is a great lens, if you are close to the basket.

I use a 28-70 f2.8, a 85mm  f1.8, and a 120-300 f2.8 for most of my sports images.  If the court has space I do use the 12-300 for basketball, which allows me to get images under the far basket, and those images, like the one above, of the players coming down the back court.