Which Wide Angle EOS Lense for a football statium shot?

[tgirl]

Hi,
I will be taking a Statium shot from the Media booth (high up) and am not sure what kind of lense should be used. Do you use a Wide angle zoom lense? I'm kinda lost here. I have a Sigma 28-70mm 1:2.8-4, do you think this would work? The Statium isn't pro, it houses College and Highschool games. Do you think that I should rent a lens? The Statium will be filled with a plant tribute to 911 and will fill the field there will be 3998 (one for every lost life from 911). I don't want any other part of the statium except the live tribe.
:?

Tgirl

[CyberDyneSystems]

... I'm lost too... :?

Usually sports photogs want a long telephoto.. are you saying you want to fit the whole stadium into a the shot?

One of the wide angle lenses that gets recomended the most here is the EF17-40mm f/4L zoom...

It's a great lens.

[robertwgross]

It depends on the size of the stadium. A small high school stadium is much different from a large pro stadium. You might need an extremely wide lens. Canon makes one that goes to 14mm, but that depends on which camera. The Sigma lens doesn't sound extremely wide.

---Bob Gross---

[Kinger]

Well I am going to the Philadelphia Eagle's Carnival on Sunday, and I plan on using my new 17-40 there. So I will post some examples to help you make your decision.

[Cadenza]

To shoot a whole stadium you need a helicopter.

[jgbeam]

If you have a plan of the stadium (a seating chart may do) and know the effective angle of the lens you can get a good idea of the coverage from your vantage point.

Jim

[Danny Boy]

Have you considered a fisheye lens? I've seen some great shot of stadiums using that type of lens. I don't know which type of fisheye lens' there are but it might be an avenue to pursue.

Dan

[Kinger]

Well the dumb security wouldn't let me in the carnival with the camera. They said that it was a professional camera and I needed a presspass to gain access with it and not just the simple ticket that I bought. I tried to explain to them the difference between my DRebel and a Pro camera, but they wouldn't budge. The funny thing was I saw someone two lines over get in with the DRebel but didn't have the grip on it. I was too pissed off to remove the grip and come back so I just went home.

But here is a pick with the 50mm of Citizen Bank Park from the upper decks, hopefully you will be able to gauge your decision on it.

http://home.comcast.net/~king247/images/IMG_0241.jpg

[drisley]

Kinger, funny story, and great picture!
Just goes to show how much a difference in appearance the grip makes, eh.

I would recommend either the sigma 15F2.8 fisheye, or the canon 15F2.8 fisheye. Both get very good reviews from most places I've seen, and apparently fisheye can be corrected in software quite easy. Although, these lenses are diagonal fisheye, so the effect isnt too bad to begin with.
Also, the price is very decent, especially for the sigma. The only drawback is that neither can take filters on the front.

Sigma 15F2.8 Fisheye Review (http://www.fredmiranda.com/reviews/showproduct.php?product=76&sort=7&thecat=13)

[url=http://www.fredmiranda.com/reviews/showproduct.php?product=26&sort=7&thecat=2Canon 15F2.8 Fisheye Review[/url]

[garethhhhh]

It depends on the hight and the position you can get yourself into. The higher the better.

If you are going for these type of shots:
http://www.sitercl.com/Clubs/Europe/sthighbu.jpg
http://www.pyramidfootball.co.uk/images/highbury.jpg

...then your 28-70mm probably wont be wide enough.

the 17-40mm should be OK on full frame sensor, but you'd need a fisheye lens if your camera has a crop factor.

btw, if you do take a fisheye lens, then you should try something like this:
http://www.euro-goal.info/euro4/england/images/stadiums/highbury1.jpg

[PhotosGuy]

What's it going to be used for? Can you do get by with a panorama?

[sGu]

get as high as you can and a fisheye as wide as you can, if it's just a one off thing, rent one instead of buying it

[PhotosGuy]

...and a fisheye as wide as you can...

Remember, the wider the lens, the smaller everything in the distance will look. That's why I suggested a pano. We really need to know what it's going to be used for.

[mdude85]

seems like you might want an image like this:

http://gtalumni.org/campusmap/buildings/bdodd.gif

It was taken with a super wide fish eye lens ... I'd estimate it at 15 mm or so. 28 mm is not enough, especially if your camera is 1.6x

[/img]

[theoldmoose]

Well the dumb security wouldn't let me in the carnival with the camera. They said that it was a professional camera and I needed a presspass to gain access with it and not just the simple ticket that I bought. I tried to explain to them the difference between my DRebel and a Pro camera, but they wouldn't budge. The funny thing was I saw someone two lines over get in with the DRebel but didn't have the grip on it. I was too pissed off to remove the grip and come back so I just went home.

But here is a pick with the 50mm of Citizen Bank Park from the upper decks, hopefully you will be able to gauge your decision on it.


I bet if you look at the back of the ticket you got for the ball park, it will say (very clearly) that you are not allowed to transmit any images, description, video, etc. of 'the game' -- sorry, but you've just been busted :twisted:

(I case you can't tell, I too, weary of all the restrictive 'implied contracts' these days for gaining entrance to various venues. Also, the fact that they print the 'contract' on the back of the ticket oft times is enough to make it an invalid notice, if you have enough smart lawyers on your side. But, life's too short for all this nonsense.)

I think the most ridiculous restriction I came across in recent memory was the sign posted outside the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit that said, "No lenses over 12 inches".

[JoeTampa]

We have two local stadiums, one baseball, and one hockey. The baseball stadium just doesn't care. I have shot with the 100-400L IS many times with no problem or hassle. The hockey stadium does not permit any camera with a removable lens. This is, according to security, "to prevent professional pictures". So, I guess you can get a high-end prosumer with 28-280 2.8 lens and go nuts! At any rate, a few times I was able to get in by taking the battery grip off the 10D and sticking on the 50mm 1.8. Once inside, slipped on the 28-200 and fired away. Once they refused, they figured it was a pro camera. Oh, well.

[velvetjones]

I tried to shoot the entire stadium from the roof of the skyboxes at the University of Nebraska with a 20mm(full frame) and wasn't even close. That stadium is big, but pro stadiums are always larger in size. You will probably need to be up higher to get the entire stadium in the shot. Get as wide as you can. Even so, you WILL be able to get some great shots anyways.

Have Fun! 8)

[tenerife]

http://www.knmultimedia.com/Galerie/loropark/LP%204%20400bdw.jpg[img]

1Ds and 16mm, some work with PS...

Regards from Tenerife
Klaus

[tenerife]

http://www.knmultimedia.com/Galerie/loropark/LP%204%20400bdw.jpg

Canon 1Ds, 16mm, some PS work...

Regards from Tenerife
Klaus

[sp00g3]

Hi,
I will be taking a Statium shot from the Media booth (high up) and am not sure what kind of lense should be used. Do you use a Wide angle zoom lense? I'm kinda lost here. I have a Sigma 28-70mm 1:2.8-4, do you think this would work? The Statium isn't pro, it houses College and Highschool games. Do you think that I should rent a lens? The Statium will be filled with a plant tribute to 911 and will fill the field there will be 3998 (one for every lost life from 911). I don't want any other part of the statium except the live tribe.
:?

Tgirl

I have a better Idea, set to manual, f8, 1/60, and 28 mm, and do a pano, then stitch it... It would be a great place for a pano.