High School Soccer w/70-200 f/2.8

[Big Hands]

All shot with my well worn 20D and trusty 70-200 f/2.8L. Only my second match back into the new season and I felt pretty rusty during the first half so even I was surprised when I came away with 125 keepers for the match.

C&C always welcome.

1- Lots of shots of this kid, but it's not on purpose. He is used to playing defense and had been struggling a bit since last year. They moved him up top this year and he's become a monster and VERY involved.
http://photos.imageevent.com/johansen01/westranchsoccer0708/wrhsgvhs011107/IMG_3028.jpg

2-
http://photos.imageevent.com/johansen01/westranchsoccer0708/wrhsgvhs011107/IMG_3136.jpg

3-
http://photos.imageevent.com/johansen01/westranchsoccer0708/wrhsgvhs011107/IMG_3422.jpg

4-
http://photos.imageevent.com/johansen01/westranchsoccer0708/wrhsgvhs011107/IMG_3497.jpg

5-
http://photos.imageevent.com/johansen01/westranchsoccer0708/wrhsgvhs011107/IMG_3528.jpg

6-
http://photos.imageevent.com/johansen01/westranchsoccer0708/wrhsgvhs011107/IMG_3556.jpg

7-
http://photos.imageevent.com/johansen01/westranchsoccer0708/wrhsgvhs011107/IMG_3705.jpg

8-
http://photos.imageevent.com/johansen01/westranchsoccer0708/wrhsgvhs011107/IMG_3639.jpg

Thanks for looking.

Regards,
Jeff

[Novissime]

Great action. I have been curious as to the effectiveness of a 200mm lens on a playing surface as large as a soccer field. It looks as though there is plenty of reach in your shots. Do you find that the 70-200 is generally enough, or do you find yourself wishing for 300mm or more?

[Big Hands]

Great question. I often read opinions declaring the 70-200 f/2.8 too short for a full size pitch. For the 1.6x bodies like the 20D or your own 400D, I think they are an excellent choice since there is no 'perfect' (covers the entire pitch perfectly no matter what) single lens for shooting soccer.

So I choose to cover the area nearest to me the best and take what I can get. In the case of yesterday's match, I shot from the touchline about 30yards up from one end line and ony moved up another 20yards toward midfield near the end of the second half when the action seemed stuck at the opposite end.

I have a 400 f/5.6L that I use occasionally when shooting from behind an endline, but find it frustrating at times because when action gets far enough away to keep it all in frame, other players inevitably seem to eclipse my view.

I think a 300mm would be a bit better in that respect, but not perfect either. The Sigma 120-300 f/2.8 seems like it would be a killer soccer zoom, but it was over twice the price of my 70-200 f/2.8L and the one I tried on my 20D (when I was shopping for my soccer lens) was struggling with AF.

So, the 70-200 f/2.8L is generally enough to get me around 1,000 shots in a match of which I will usually keep from 50 to 100+ that I like. I tried the f/4L version first, but found it mostly unsatisfying (for my purposes) with the larger DOF.

If money (and back spasms) were never an issue ;), I'd use two 1DMkIIN bodies with a 70-200f/2.8L on one and a 400 f/2.8L on the other.

If you want excellent performance with maximum bang-for-the buck, the 70-200f/2.8 would be my first choice.

Regards,
Jeff

[Paul S]

Jeff, What settings are you using ? I have yet used my 70-200 2.8 IS for outdoor sports. i'm looking forward to spring.

Paul

[khall]

Good set of pictures. Excellent focusing, movement stopped, good player/background separation, clean colours and you have filled the pictures very well.
Whats the best lens, never going to get the answer for that. The 70-200mm f2.8 is a good all round selection.
Your keeper rate of 10% why so low, what is the main problem with the other 90%?
Your posted shots all good.

[Big Hands]

Good set of pictures. Excellent focusing, movement stopped, good player/background separation, clean colours and you have filled the pictures very well.
1) Whats the best lens, never going to get the answer for that. The 70-200mm f2.8 is a good all round selection.
2) Your keeper rate of 10% why so low, what is the main problem with the other 90%?
Your posted shots all good.

1) True. You just have to pick one and get the best from that one.

2) There are several factors for me to determine which make it as a 'keeper':

First thing to determine is the technical quality of the shot. The 20D is capable of very good images, BUT, I suspect the AF is not as accurate as it could be compared to a 1D series. For what ever reason (could just be operator error), I get a significant number of OOF shots that I just can't save in PP.

Next, I don't necessariy spray & pray (in fact, I rarely utilize a burst as opposed to single well timed shots), but I don't have control or knowledge of what is going to happen next and have many images that don't really depict the level of action I deem 'worthy'.

Improper (bad, if you will) timing can also play a part in not capturing peak action.

Other players and officials also tend to obscure my shots at unfortunate moments (often).

Sometimes I will amputate limbs in a way that makes a shot unusable (IMO).

I also get shots that are before or just after peak action moments I have captured making them not as good AND repititious. Sometimes I get two or more good shots from a sequence that are different enough to keep, but I usually just keep the one I like most.

Thanks for the comments!

Regards,
Jeff

[Big Hands]

Jeff, What settings are you using ? I have yet used my 70-200 2.8 IS for outdoor sports. i'm looking forward to spring.

Paul

Paul, I shoot in Av Mode, almost always keeping the aperture at f/2.8. I use AI Servo (for continuous AF tracking with shutter at least half-pressed). For outdoors, I use AWB. I also use continuous drive, centerpoint focus, and keep the ISO as low as possible that will still maintain shutter speeds >1/500.

Hope that helps and I look forward to your posts.

Regards,
Jeff

[SBK1]

Awesome shots Jeff. I picked up a 70/200 2.8IS in December and cant wait to get outside this spring as well. Thx for sharing your settings. Very inspriring indeed.
Did you hapeen to be using any sort ot filters and were you hand holding or on a fixed mount ?
Thx again...

[Novissime]

Thank you, Jeff, for your thoughtful reply. I am considering a 70-200 2.8, and your insights are appreciated.

[twoshadows]

Very, very nice, Jeff :) . I'll be selling my Sigma 70-200 f/2.8 to get the Canon IS version. Looking at your pics, I can't wait.

[Big Hands]

SBK1, I use a monopod (Manfrotto 681B) and usually sit in a chair to keep the perspective low. I don't normally use any filters.

Thanks all (SBK1, Novissime & twoshadows) for the comments.

Regards,
Jeff

[khall]

Big Hands.
Appreciate your answer, all good and valid reasons.
Thanks Ken.