So it had to happen. I may have found my limit for gear stress.
Turning up to a local soccer match, state league, but at an older ground, I found out just how low the light can get and the game still go on. Please keep in mind, the images I have uploaded are significantly lighter than actual field on the night.
ISO 6400 is ok and ISO 12,800 is possible for the odd shot, but really needs ON1 for every file. 300mm eq F2.8 is also ok, especially for a smaller soccer pitch, but 1/500th is a little slow and even then I was a tad under exposing (I lost a few potentially good ones). My 75 f1.8 would have been fine, but a little short when pressed for time.
I got away with it, but only just. To be honest I was surprised how low it was. The players seemed fully adjusted, but I wonder if is possible there is worse to come? The hockey ground is also poor, but I think the artificial pitch bounces more light back up.
A blurry ball is a guarantee, but with timing, subject movement can be tolerable, even cool.
To be honest, the tight, mono noise was not a big deal to me and the files are sharp, but I am getting touchy about my images, even for the paper.
Interestingly, the files printed on news print brilliantly.