Lens for equine photography, tips

[aponi06]

Since my main focus is on equine photography, what lens out there (Canon) for someone with a budget? I own a T1i, 75-300 and 18-55.

What about ISO, white balance, etc settings? I plan to go to local shows held outdoor to practice and get pictures for friends.

[jakefreese]

If your on the budget 85 mm 1.8 I use that when I don't have enough light for my 70-200 l is 2.8. What equine events?

[aponi06]

Jumping, flat classes, games, western.

If your on the budget 85 mm 1.8 I use that when I don't have enough light for my 70-200 l is 2.8. What equine events?

[jakefreese]

The 85mm works well, and it is faster so if your in covered or indoor arenas it still does well. It is not as versatile as the 70-200 2.8 but for the $$ it does very well.

[DC Fan]

Since my main focus is on equine photography, what lens out there (Canon) for someone with a budget? I own a T1i, 75-300 and 18-55.

Pictures of horses outdoors from a Tamron 28-300mm lens and an XTi.

http://www.kevinlillard.com/racing3/20110712a0125.jpg

Focal Length: 59.0mm
Aperture: f/9.0
Exposure Time: 0.0040 s (1/250)
ISO equiv: 200
Exposure Bias: +0.33 EV
Metering Mode: Matrix
Exposure: program (Auto)
White Balance: Auto
Flash Fired: No (enforced)
Orientation: Normal
Color Space: sRGB
GPS Coordinate: undefined, undefined



http://www.kevinlillard.com/racing3/20110712a0067.jpg

Focal Length: 130.0mm
Aperture: f/10.0
Exposure Time: 0.0025 s (1/400)
ISO equiv: 400
Exposure Bias: +0.33 EV
Metering Mode: Matrix
Exposure: program (Auto)
White Balance: Auto
Flash Fired: No (enforced)
Orientation: Normal
Color Space: sRGB


http://www.kevinlillard.com/racing3/20110712a0073.jpg

Focal Length: 300.0mm
Aperture: f/8.0
Exposure Time: 0.0020 s (1/500)
ISO equiv: 400
Exposure Bias: +0.33 EV
Metering Mode: Matrix
Exposure: program (Auto)
White Balance: Auto
Flash Fired: No (enforced)
Orientation: Normal
Color Space: sRGB



http://www.kevinlillard.com/racing3/20110712a0099.jpg

Focal Length: 154.0mm
Aperture: f/7.1
Exposure Time: 0.0040 s (1/250)
ISO equiv: 200
Exposure Bias: +0.33 EV
Metering Mode: Matrix
Exposure: program (Auto)
White Balance: Auto
Flash Fired: No (enforced)
Orientation: Normal
Color Space: sRGB


The equipment listed in the OP is more than good enough for outdoor equestrian pictures. There is no reason to buy more equipment.

Also, there's no reason to worry about settings. Program AE is good enough unless there are major problems with the light.

Spend your time working on getting the best pictures of the action.

[jakefreese]

Most of our shows are in covered or indoor arenas here.

covered pen
85mm, 1.8, 1600, 1/500

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5256/5563154888_6d2b7b4c3e.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/57933972@N03/5563154888/)
IMG_6582 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/57933972@N03/5563154888/) by JF TX (http://www.flickr.com/people/57933972@N03/), on Flickr

70-200 2.8 at 70mm 3.2 1/320 iso 3200

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7175/6740388861_c91646ba46.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/57933972@N03/6740388861/)
IMG_9522 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/57933972@N03/6740388861/) by JF TX (http://www.flickr.com/people/57933972@N03/), on Flickr

I responded on my phone the first time, I didnt see the part where you put outdoor. Only thing is the 70-300 is usm non L lens would be better than the 75-300 if you wanted to upgrade.

[MysticalPhoto]

An 85mm lens is not ideal for horses.

The lens will make the horse look out of porportion. The best lens to use for Equine industry for indoor or outdoor events is the 70-200mm 2.8 or even the 70-300mm for outdoor shows.

Any pro in the equine industry will tell you this! Good luck! and happy shooting!

[jakefreese]

An 85mm lens is not ideal for horses.

The lens will make the horse look out of proportion. The best lens to use for Equine industry for indoor or outdoor events is the 70-200mm 2.8 or even the 70-300mm for outdoor shows.

Any pro in the equine industry will tell you this! Good luck! and happy shooting!

I guess I have not seen this. What do you do in a small indoor pen where you really need between 50-100mm and FAST glass without having to use strobes? That cutting horse shot was at 70mm on the 70-200, wouldn't that make the horse out of proportion too?

[aponi06]

I will be doing outdoor photos :)

[matonanjin]

An 85mm lens is not ideal for horses.

The lens will make the horse look out of porportion. The best lens to use for Equine industry for indoor or outdoor events is the 70-200mm 2.8 or even the 70-300mm for outdoor shows.

Any pro in the equine industry will tell you this! Good luck! and happy shooting!

I'm a pro in the equine industry and I won't tell him/her this. I don't even know what you mean by "make the horse look out of porportion (sic)" Are you talking about perspective distortion? You might get some, extremely slight, telephoto compression effect (more-so with a cropped sensor) but barely noticeable. If you're shooting with the 70-200 or 70-300 and end up at the 85 mm range aren't you going to get the same thing?

The 100 F/2 (similar focal length) is without question my most used lens for horse shows. I would call it ideal. But, granted, most of my shows are indoors.

To the OP, you say you are on a budget but what budget? My first response is if you are shooting to get practice and to get pictures for friends why not just use your 75-300? Granted, it ain't considered a great lens. But used correctly it can get some more than acceptable shots.

By used correctly, I mean use a high enough ISO that you can get an acceptable shutter speed (see below) and stop down enough to sharpen up the lens. Any lens gets better if you stop it down a little. At a longer focal length stopped down a little will still get you a blurred background and isolate your subject.

But to answer your question, the 55-250 F/4-5.6 IS, from what I understand, is an excellent value lens. I hate it when people recommend equipment on these forums that they haven't used. And that is exactly what I am doing. But I have read this lens recommended enough that it must be true.

Spending just a few more bucks the 70-200 F/4 is a spectacular lens. Razor sharp and blindingly fast AF. It is my go to lens for shooting outdoor shows.

To your question about "ISO, white balance, etc settings":

ISO: You want the lowest ISO that you can get away with and still get a fast shutter speed. Fortunately, with outdoor shows this is usually easy. I am typically using an ISO of around 200 outdoors. I'm not sure which camera the T1i is. But if it is newer it will handle noise well even at ISO 400.

White Balance: I always shoot in auto white balance but I also always shoot in RAW and adjust white balance after-wards in "batch mode". If you are shooting in JPG then just match your white balance to conditions, sunny, cloudy, etc.

etc.: Exposure: I always shoot in manual exposure. But I take an incident reading with a hand held meter. I then set it and, unless conditions change, forget it. If I am following a horse and it goes from a scene with a lot of foliage in the background to one with a lot of bright sky or vice-versa, I don't want that fooling my in-camera meter. I'm sure that you're not using a hand held meter so take some test shots, get a good exposure, and set it. I know some guys will spot-meter off a rider's face. Bright sandy arenas (like snow) are notorious for fooling in-camera meters and giving you underexposures. Also keep in mind that bright, sunny, contrasty days are going to give you shadows under the riders' hats. Riders want correct exposures on their faces. I tend to overexpose 2/3 to 1 full stop and risk blowing out exposures on white fences, jumps, etc.

There are a lot of highly qualified sports shooters that will argue to use AV or TV mode. Just learn a system and become comfortable with it.

Shutter speed: You have to have a fast enough shutter speed to stop action and eliminate motion blur. This is a minimum of 1/500th. I always go for 1/1000 or higher outdoors. I love it if I can get 1/1500th to 1/2000th. Up your ISO enough to get this.

Aperture: You want to open up enough to blur the background and isolate your horse and rider. But you also need to stop down enough that you get sufficient DOF as to get all the horse and rider in focus. The aperture to use is going to depend on what focal length you are shooting at. I tend to error on the side of stopping down too much because it also gives me some "wiggle room" on the focus on fast moving horses. BTW, I always try on the horse's point of the shoulder as that tends to be in the same focus plane as the rider's face. And easier to follow.

AF Mode: use AI servo for your fast moving horse's and I always use my center focus point.

Hope this helps.

[haf]

Pictures of horses outdoors from a Tamron 28-300mm lens and an XTi.

http://www.kevinlillard.com/racing3/20110712a0125.jpg

Focal Length: 59.0mm
Aperture: f/9.0
Exposure Time: 0.0040 s (1/250)
ISO equiv: 200
Exposure Bias: +0.33 EV
Metering Mode: Matrix
Exposure: program (Auto)
White Balance: Auto
Flash Fired: No (enforced)
Orientation: Normal
Color Space: sRGB
GPS Coordinate: undefined, undefined



http://www.kevinlillard.com/racing3/20110712a0067.jpg

Focal Length: 130.0mm
Aperture: f/10.0
Exposure Time: 0.0025 s (1/400)
ISO equiv: 400
Exposure Bias: +0.33 EV
Metering Mode: Matrix
Exposure: program (Auto)
White Balance: Auto
Flash Fired: No (enforced)
Orientation: Normal
Color Space: sRGB


http://www.kevinlillard.com/racing3/20110712a0073.jpg

Focal Length: 300.0mm
Aperture: f/8.0
Exposure Time: 0.0020 s (1/500)
ISO equiv: 400
Exposure Bias: +0.33 EV
Metering Mode: Matrix
Exposure: program (Auto)
White Balance: Auto
Flash Fired: No (enforced)
Orientation: Normal
Color Space: sRGB



http://www.kevinlillard.com/racing3/20110712a0099.jpg

Focal Length: 154.0mm
Aperture: f/7.1
Exposure Time: 0.0040 s (1/250)
ISO equiv: 200
Exposure Bias: +0.33 EV
Metering Mode: Matrix
Exposure: program (Auto)
White Balance: Auto
Flash Fired: No (enforced)
Orientation: Normal
Color Space: sRGB


The equipment listed in the OP is more than good enough for outdoor equestrian pictures. There is no reason to buy more equipment.

Also, there's no reason to worry about settings. Program AE is good enough unless there are major problems with the light.

Spend your time working on getting the best pictures of the action.

Colors are perfect !!!

[myguyom]

Manton, great explanation and advice...I'm just a newb starting out, and you gave me lots of good information in your post. Thanks!

[matonanjin]

Glad you found it helpful.