Shooting an higher shutter speed for sports a good idea?
 

Wasn't sure which Forum to ask this question in, so thought this would be the best general one.

When shooting sports I'm thinking it'll be better to shoot an higher shutter speed rather then stick to the 180 degree rule? Am I right thinking this or will it look weird and 'strobey'

I'm only asking as I'm starting to shoot a local pro-wrestling companies shows for them and when I was quickly reviewing the footage I thought there might be too much motion blur and perhaps using a higher shutter would help in this scenario.

Re: Shooting an higher shutter speed for sports a good idea?
 

If you are shooting indoors you also need to consider the amount of light you need to shoot at higher shutter speeds, as well as any effects the cyclic rate that particular indoor facility lighting may have.

Re: Shooting an higher shutter speed for sports a good idea?
 

Depends a bit on your frame rate - 24/30p will definitely start to "strobe" if you go to higher shutter speeds - effectively you'll be taking a series of "sharp" stills (less motion in shorter shutter time), and there will at some point be a visible "jump" between each frame. 60p of course has more wiggle room as there would be more frames, so less movement between them.

You may want to fiddle a bit, test with different shutter speeds in shutter priority mode on your camera and see if the "effect" is what you want.

Re: Shooting an higher shutter speed for sports a good idea?
 

TV sports camera people regularly shoot high shutter speeds, sometimes very high shutter speeds, and yes, it often looks stroby, but you don't want motion blur to obscure critically whats happening, plus it's not cinematography, so who cares. Sports viewers may use alcohol to add their own motion blur.

You have a fair bit of leeway with the 180 degree "rule", usually very hard to see the difference at 120 degrees without intense pixel peeping. If you're concerned about needing 24-30fps 180 degree motion blur, a 360 degree shutter shot at twice the display frame rate is the same as a 180 degree shutter shot at the display rate.