best lens for night shooting baseball

[kgauger30]

What would be the best low price lens for shooting baseball at night. Not pro, just my kids. Would need about 200mm zoom. It would be under lights, but the canon 75-300mm (cheap one) that I have is too dark for night time. Lucky that they have games at day too, but would like to have some night shots as well. What would be the best advise you can give me for a lens to suit this situation?

Thanks alot
Kim

[zacwolf]

BEST would be 70-200 2.8 IS L

[Merciez]

Kim,

Poor lighting and fast action are very demanding on a lens, to have a lens that is worth while will require an aperature of F2.8 or larger. For low cost, you will need to stick with a prime lens and the better ones can be expensive. I would recommend the 200mm F2.8 prime which you can buy for around $600. Not sure if that constitutes "low cost" or not for you. Any zoom with a 2.8 aperature with any length will cost some $$$.

[superdiver]

The 2.8 will NOT be fast enough for the pooly light gyms you are encountering (it will work, but not as well as you would hope...ask me how I know!....LOL) Dont get me wrong, I like my 70-200 2.8, but its too slow for these poorly light gyms as a rule...

The best lens IMHO is the 85 1.8 (or 1.2 II if you can spend the cash) and sometimes the 50 1.4 (but it focuses a little slower then the 85)...

[Big WIll]

200mm F1.8 ideally! however im guessing this is slightly out of price range!

I would probably go for another F1.8 or F1.4 like superdiver has suggested!

The 70-200 is workable however high ISO would be needed which will reduce IQ!

[liza]

For baseball, the most bang for your buck would be the Sigma 70-200 f/2.8. The best lens without regard to price would be the Canon 70-200 f/2.8L IS.

[Big Hands]

Seriously, either pony up for something that will give you the results that will be worth the time, or get your good shots during the daytime and just sit back and enjoy the night games without having to look at them through a tiny viewfinder. Anything else will be an exercise in frustration and a waste of time playing with images that are just not up to standards.

The pros can do it because the stadiums pros play in are lit far better and they have spent several thousands of dollars for equipment that is actually borderline for the results they get.

Otherwise, you are most likely in for an expensive lesson in how not to kid yourself. Been there myself..... ;)

Regards,
Jeff

[mdm]

What about using the 85mm f/1.8 to get a nice shot and crop it a bit? At least if you can get in a good position you can get some keepers.

[Big Hands]

You'll have to be pretty close to the action and don't forget about the CA of the wide open 85 f/1.8. I tried it for some soccer shots on a HS football/soccer field recently and was not impressed. I'm going to try it again likely next Tuesday at a local JC field and we'll see how it does there.

I'm fairly particular about IQ and if I can't get something worth printing, I'd just as soon not bother in most cases.

Cropping, high ISO and night shots don't do well together.

This is about as good as I can get at night and this was very close to me. Most of the time it's not close enough to get a shot like this and IQ falls off quickly. This was taken with the 85 f/1.8. Look closely and you can see the CA in several places.

http://photos.imageevent.com/johansen01/westranchvarsity0607/wrhs11607/WRHS%2011607%20002a.jpg

[liza]

What about using the 85mm f/1.8 to get a nice shot and crop it a bit? At least if you can get in a good position you can get some keepers.

Nah, she'd have to be sitting out on the field if she used an 85mm lens. I shoot baseball a lot in the spring and am hard pressed to get decent second base shots from the dugout with the 70-200 and the 200L with a teleconverter.

[DavidEB]

stop guessing, go to one of your games, and meter the environment. then you'll know what you need. Set ISO1600 (XT doesn't have 3200), underexpose 1 stop and shoot RAW, pull the exposure back up in RAW conversion (effectively giving ISO3200), see what shutter speed you get with your f5.6 lens, then divide by 4 for f2.8. Kid's baseball under age 10 needs maybe 1/250 at least. If you can get there (ISO3200, f2.8 1/250) then the 200f2.8 is OK. If you need one more stop, then 135 f2 or 100f2, confine your shooting to the near baseline (eg, stand 1/2 way between home & first, shoot those bases only, forget about 2nd, 3rd, or outfield). If you need more than f2, then sit back and watch the game.

good luck.

[Tee Why]

Sigma 70-200 f2.8.
Ideally the 200mm f1.8 would be nicer, but this is way to rich for most folks at about 4-5 grand for a used one.

[kgauger30]

Thanks for all of your help. I will have to check into that 70-200 f/2.8 It will be awhile before I can get it, but just wanted to see what price range I would have to save up for since I just spent around $1000 for my startup kit. Thanks alot everyone!!