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jebfsu
3rd of August 2006 (Thu), 22:14
I have a question regarding which lens to use for sporting events. I have a Canon digital XT Rebel with a 50mm/1.8; 28-105/3.5-4.5; and a 70-300 /4-5.6 lens. I take pictures of my daughter in 2 venues: ice rink and taekwondo tournaments-usually in a gym.
For ice skating I have been using the 70-300 and it works wonderfully. 95% of the pictures turn out great. I know a large part of that is due in fact to the great lighting at our rink. I typically use the Tv mode at 800 ISO and click away.
As for taekwondo-I usually use the 28-105 or the 70-300-depending on where I'm shooting the picture from. I use the Av mode because of the poor lighting. (I usually end up touching up the photos with Adobe Photoshop elements. If I use Tv to freeze motion-the picture is so dark that Adobe won't even work. ) I get about a 50% success rate in this venue. The only blur I usually have is with the feet in motion. The pictures are usually pretty clear, but it's the lighting issue that concerns me. (I can't use flash.) I was debating on getting a 85mm/1.8 lens. Would this help? My daughter use to roller skate competitively and I had tons of problems with lighting in that venue-that's where the 50mm came in handy. But with that lens, I had trouble focusing. Is the 85mm lens any better or do I need to go to 85mm/1.2 or even 70-200mm/2.8? Money is a concern here. Naturally I want something that I will use for different venues. Any suggestions?
Thanks in advance.

Citizensmith
3rd of August 2006 (Thu), 23:21
Depends how much you want to spend. If the 28-105 will sometimes do the 85 1.8 would be a good choice. Fast focus, good max appeture, and a wonderfully sharp lens. The 50 1.4 could also be a good choice if you liked the 50 1.8. Its a better built and faster focusing lens.

Of course if you have money to spend something like the 135 f/2 L or 70-200 f/2.8 IS L would be wonderful choices. The 135 is about the best compromise out there for speed with length so is a very popular indoor long lens.

liza
3rd of August 2006 (Thu), 23:54
I'd get either the 85mm f/1.8 (not the 1.2) for it's fast focus and low light capability. If you need more reach, opt for the 135 f/2L. I don't like to use zooms for indoor sporting events, because the lighting is usually lousy.