New to SLRs and need sporting lense advice

[Pwelco]

Just bought a Canon Digital Rebel

I wanted it to catch action and detail of my kids sporting events. They are at the age where the sports have moved indoors and Im trying to get good shots. The lense that came with 15-55 I think was too slow and the pictures are blurry. A 100mm 2.0 Canon was recommended which I bought but am wondering if I should return it for a different one because it seems I still must shoot at ISO 500 (I guess thats what you call it) to stop the aperature setting to stop blinking? (2.0). The events are basketball and indoor soccer but the lighting in both sucks. What can be done to stop the action with good bright pictures? Maybe a 200mm 2.8 or a zoom? Please advise and remember that I am quite close to the action in the basketball games as the twins are only 7 which is why the lighting is bad too.

Thx :idea:

[DaveG]

Just bought a Canon Digital Rebel

I wanted it to catch action and detail of my kids sporting events. They are at the age where the sports have moved indoors and Im trying to get good shots. The lense that came with 15-55 I think was too slow and the pictures are blurry. A 100mm 2.0 Canon was recommended which I bought but am wondering if I should return it for a different one because it seems I still must shoot at ISO 500 (I guess thats what you call it) to stop the aperature setting to stop blinking? (2.0). The events are basketball and indoor soccer but the lighting in both sucks. What can be done to stop the action with good bright pictures? Maybe a 200mm 2.8 or a zoom? Please advise and remember that I am quite close to the action in the basketball games as the twins are only 7 which is why the lighting is bad too.

Thx :idea:

The 100 f2 isgoing to be a lot better than the 200. The 200 f2.8 is going to be a stop slower - which means that you'' have to use either a one stop slower shutterspeed or a one stop faster ISO. A 200 - on a dRebel - would be a good lens for shooting football, so it'll be too tight to use for basketball in any case.

You could get a 50 f1.4 which would give you a faster shutterspeed but it'll be like an 80 mm lens. If you sit on the baseline and have your kids coming at you you'll get their faces and the 50 will be OK. They are small so you'll have to be patient and wait for them to come to you.

The key to successful sports shots is the freezing of the action and you'll need at least 1/500 of a second to do that. You should understand that you are going to shoot at high ISO's like 1600. It will NOT be as good as ISO 100, or even close; but that's the way it is. Panning at slow speeds are a one trick pony, efffective once, but can you keep doing it? You need those images sharp. Since everything in photography tends to be a compromise you have to choose sharp over fine grained (low noise in digital speak) in this case.

[Pwelco]

Thanks Dave! Would you recommend keeping the 100 and get the 50 also or are they too close to the same thing. The 100mm might work better on the full size indoor soccer with better lighting which is to be concidered. I don't know how much th e50 is but can look it up on Wolf Cameras site.

Thanks again! :wink:

[DaveG]

Thanks Dave! Would you recommend keeping the 100 and get the 50 also or are they too close to the same thing. The 100mm might work better on the full size indoor soccer with better lighting which is to be concidered. I don't know how much th e50 is but can look it up on Wolf Cameras site.

Thanks again! :wink:

They are far enough apart. I used to use an 85 mm lens and a 180 when I worked at a newspaper. The 50 and 100 are slightly shorter (80 & 160), but will do a complimentary job. They are also a stop faster in both cases from my old Nikon lenses.

With your kids being small the 100 from a sitting position on the baseline (out on a corner) would be far more useful than it would be with adults. With the 85 from that same position I would cover the guards moving the ball on the perimeter. The little guys would almost be too small with the 50 so the 100 would be great. Still, be patient. Fill the frame by waiting for the action to come to you, and change ends when the kids change ends so that your kids are always coming towards you.

[Pwelco]

Great feed back Dave, Thank you. It's always nice to find out that I made a good choice and will stick with the 100 and maybe invest a little more for the 50 as well. While I have your attention, down the road when I start looking into a zoom lense what would be your recommendation? I see a lot of input here on the subject but am curious what you have to say knowing my interests and as the playing fields get bigger and farther away. Night games included.

If you don't have time to answer, thank you for the input you already gave me.

[CyberDyneSystems]

You will ant to get a "longer" lens at some point,. but the light fall off (reduced aperture) or dramatice INCREASE in price will get you,. one or the other!

There are 7--200mm f/2.8 zooms,. a great choice in most situations,. but you sacrfice that extra stop.

The Pros use either of three lenses really,. the aforementioned Zoom,. thats the economy choice at under 2K :)

The other top choices are the 300mm f/2.8 and the 200mm f/1.8

Both over 3k :( (so i realize I'm not helping)

At some point you really should get a longer lens than 100mm though,. I think a 200mm f/2.8 either prime or in a zoom is a good option.

[sparty314]

Hi Pwelco. I am sure you will enjoy your new camera. Dave has given some good advice, but let me add a few thoughts:

When I've taken pictures at basketball games, I've found that it is nice to have a really fast lens (like the 50 f/1.4 you are considering), and a longer lens as well (something 200mm or longer). That way, you can use the telephoto lens to focus on the players' faces/eyes as they concentrate on making a play. If your telephoto lens is too slow to really freeze the action, you can somewhat help matters by taken pictures of the kids when a foul is called, they are receiving instructions from the coach, i.e., they are not moving. Later when you/they look at the pictures, they probably won't remember exactly what they were doing at that specific time.

I will cautiously mention the possibility of using a flash--be careful, though, because sometimes it is not allowed (and sometimes it can be downright annoying). If you are able to use a flash, though, it opens up a lot of options because the burst of the flash effectively becomes the shutterspeed. An external flash like the 420EX might be very useful?

The ISO of the rebel is analagous to film speed, and I believe the values are 100, 200, 400, 800, and 1600. So, it is not possible to have and ISO of 500. Is is possible that the 500 you mention actually represent 1/500 second shutterspeed? When "2.0" blinks in your viewfinder it is because the camera is telling you that the picture will be underexposed based on the shutterspeed you are using (the aperture can't open up any more!).

An easy (although limiting) way to shoot sports action is to set a high ISO (try 800 or even 1600), put the camera in Av mode, and crank the lens wide-open (2.0) on your 100 f/2.0. That way, the camera will always automatically use the highest possible shutterspeed and you'll hopefull be able to freeze action and reduce image blur.

As far as zoom lenses go, if you can afford it, the 70-200mm f/2.8 IS lens is considered to be very good. It is fast and offers image stabilization to help while handholding the lens (it won't prevent blurring caused by the subject's motion, however). Sigma makes a 70-200mm f/2.8 that also seems to be very good for about half the price, but you won't get the image stabilization feature. For a tighter budget, consider the 70-200 f/4L or even the 75-300 IS lenses.

[Pwelco]

Thx Sparty,

I believe your right on the ISO vs shutter speed. I am in TV mode and using the dial to change it and it goes up to 2000. Perhaps AV mode would be better for the poor lighting but it would no doubt drop down to a shutter speed of 250 or so in such poor light. Alaas I will have to wait for better lighting when their in the big leagues. I did get some great shots when some guarding was going on and looking up at the basket. I was trying to use 500 or faster to stop some action but it made the pictures fairly dark. Is there a way on the Rebel to set the ISO and shutter speed seperately or is that one in the same on a digital camera?

Got to go pick up the kids so by for now and thanks.

[sparty314]

Pwelco,

I have a 10D, but I am somewhat familiar with the Rebel.

You definately *can* set both the ISO and the shutterspeed separately! There is a button on the back of the camera that says "ISO." I believe that it is the same as the up arrow on the back. Note that you can only adjust the ISO in one of the creative modes--it is set automatically in the portrait, landscape, night, etc. modes.

I recommend setting the ISO to a high value like 800 or 1600 if the lighting is bad. Then, for ease, use Av mode and open the lens up to its maximum value. Give that a try and see if it help with the bluring at all.

[sjprg]

You mentioned Wolf for prices. Not good! Look things up on B&H.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home

Then shop around, you MAY find a better price but B&H is reliable.

Delta International sometimes has better prices on some things, but does not carry a large stock.

http://www.deltainternational.com/

Paul

[Pwelco]

Much better prices at B&H. Thanks, I may have to return the one I bought and buy one from here at a savings of almost 200.00. I could buy the 50 and have both for the same price.