Softball Game

[Ferdinand]

I went to the local softball game tonight to try and shoot with my 75-300mm f4-5.6 Now I know this is not a very fast lens so I can deal with the fact that with poor lighting I am not going to get anything good.

But what I notice is that at 300mm with 1.6x crop factor = 480mm, I can't even get to have the subject fill my screen when I am 10 feet away from 1st base. Which really is disturbing cause I am hoping to get the 70-200mm f2.8L IS USM. And if I cannot even "reach" out there with my 75-300mm what can I do with that 70-200mm :(

There is the 100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS USM.

Or 2X Converter and change my 70-200mm to a 140-400mm f5.6 IS

Or 1.4x Converter and change my 70-200mm to a 98-280 f4.5 IS

I don't think my pocket is deep enough for a 300,400,500mm prime.

So would your advice be the 70-200mm f2.8L IS USM with the 1.4x TC?

Has anyone here shoot any baseball game under stadium lighting condition? If so which lens did you use and how far were you from the player? What is the shuttle speed needed? Any tips? Hope someone can impart a bit of their experience to us who are starting out here.

Thanks again guys. Tonight's experience really put a damper on my confidence drats drats drats!

Regards,
Ferdinand

[Tommy2103]

Hello Ferdinand,

in the last weeks I´ve thought about the same things you do.

After reading a lot of articles in this forum and other forums, I 've took a decision:

2,8 / 70-200 L IS + TC 1,4 II.

The lens and the TC is on order and I think it is a good decision. In the future I will also buy a 100 - 400 L.

Together with my 17 - 40 mm I have than a range from 28 mm to 896 mm !!

Thomas (Germany)

[DAMphyne]

Ferdinand,
I'm having a hard time understanding your problem.
Are you trying to fill the frame with the whole player, from 10 ft. away, at 300mm? Or is the 75mm position on the lens not wide angle enough to fill the frame? Pehhaps you need to look at a more wide angle - telephoto zoom to suit your needs.
I use the 75-300 IS lens for basebal/softball, I've found it very usefull, and get good results (although Sports Illustrated isn't pounding on my door).
Position is what it's all about with baseball/softball, sometimes you have to be on the other side of the diamond to get the shot you want.
I'd give the lens another try, then decide what you need.

[SoCal69]

Obviously, longer lenses are more helpful in getting the shots that you want, but at a local softball game, 300mm should be close enough for a good shot. Just by way of example, here is an older shot I had posted on the forum before from a MLB game taken from the stands at 300mm (+1.6 crop factor)... way more than 10 feet away.

http://images.fotopic.net/?id=960327&outx=600&noresize=1&nostamp=1

[Ferdinand]

Thanks guys, DAMphyne what I was trying to say is that with my 300mm I cannot even zoom in enough to get a good composition 10 feet away from 1st base at a pitcher or batter. Hence the worry that spending my money on the 70-200mm f2.8L IS with a 1.4x TC might be not enough since it would only give a max zoom of 280mm

SoCal nice shot there, I guess there won't be any chances of a nice clean shot without being allow to get close to the diamond huh? I mean how does those guys in sports magazine get a nice clean shot? Without the nettings or fencing in the way? I tried shotting thru the fence behind the catcher but I hate having the fence in the way.

Anyways, thanks for your input, I think I will go with the 70-200mm f2.8L IS and 1.4X TC setup for now.

Regards,
Ferdinand