Shooting HS football with 70-300 IS USM

[kauffman v36]

i will be shooting my first football game this weekend in a decently lit stadium. i have a 40d and i will use a 70-300 4-5.6 IS USM that i just got and have been playing around with. ive seen photogs shoot at this stadium with canon and no white lenses, no flash either. i have permission to be on the sidelines so thats not an issue.

so the question, what settings do you guys recommend i set my camera too. i know its not a f/2.8 but i gota work with what i got. the game will be 7pm-9pm. there are day games for which im not concerned. my question is specifically for night games, do i have a chance in hell of getting any decent photos with my setup,lol ????

[Jamie Holladay]

It will be tough. Shoot raw. f/4, ISO 1600 (you may need to go to 3200 but be prepared for noise).

[cecilc]

... do i have a chance in hell of getting any decent photos with my setup,lol ????

It will be very tough .... and here's why:

Most high school fields that I shoot at meter at ISO 1600; f2.8; 1/250 (and that's on the "well" lit part of the field) ....

Let's say, for example, that you're shooting at ISO 3200; f5.6; 1/250 (and I say that because I think you'll mostly be shooting in a focal length range that will make your maximum aperture 5.6 - the previous poster said to shoot at f4.0. Which is great if you want to shoot all night long at a 70-75mm focal lenth. But as you increase your focal length with that lens, your maximum aperture will jump to f5.6 quicker than you can say, "Oh, s***!"). And with those settings, you're already a full stop slower than what the field will probably meter at ... which means that a "proper" exposure will be in the range of ISO 3200; f5.6; 1/125.

That 1/125 shutter speed will be waaaaaay too slow to stop action on the field - now, you'll be able to get some "static" shots (the huddle; the line of scrimmage; sideline shots; etc) - but "action" shots will be hard to come by without major blurring.

Your next "do-able" option would be to use a flash ....

But, when I was starting out, I tried that "f5.6" route, too (hey, we all do!) - and the results are UGLEE !!!

Good luck with that, though .... But give it a shot - everybody has to go through this so they know .... and, after you've done it, then you know ..... :)

[cecilc]

ive seen photogs shoot at this stadium with canon and no white lenses, no flash either.

I will also say that, just because a lens isn't a "white" one, it doesn't mean that it's not an f2.8 or faster lens .... the color of the lens makes absolutely no difference - the speed of the lens is what counts!

In fact, I wouldn't shoot high school football under the lights with a Canon 100-400 L lens - and it's "white" .... but it's also too slow !!

[kauffman v36]

you guys kind of confirmed what i already knew. i just dont wana let myself down. and i dnt wana say, well i can only shoot day games,lol.

as for the color of the lens, i said that because the majority of high speed lenses are white. i know not all are. the ones i saw were not L either. this was about a year back.

so basically ill be lucky to pull off maybe maybe 5 decent shots that night. well i better get my pics at the begginning of the game, cuz after the sun sets, forget about it. daaaamn, wata bummer guys.

[Croasdail]

Just shoot a ton from 7 to 7:30, then sit back and enjoy the game....or shot non action shots.