70-200mm L non IS

[Doublea17]

I have done some searching on here and other web site trying to get an answer. I want to get 70-200 and going to to shoot basketball/wrestling and once a year NASCAR do i need to get the IS version everybody talks about shooting car racing that you don't need it but what about basketball/wrestling and maybe volleyball.

[pagnamenta]

You need a high shutter speed and wide aperture to stop motion, not IS.

[Sports_Dude]

IS would help when shooting basketball / wrestling assuming the standard poor lighting in the gym.

[Doublea17]

Pagnamenta, if I get the 2.8 with my Mark III i can get high shutter speed and ISO i will not need IS?

[TopGear1Ds]

IS would help when shooting basketball / wrestling assuming the standard poor lighting in the gym.
not really... if you're at such a slow shutter speed that camera shake is a problem then you won't be shooting at fast enough shutter speed to freeze motion. IS really isn't important for sports shooting.

That said, if you're shooting nascar or anything else that you'd like to do panning shots with, IS will be helpful there, but still not necessary.

[mspringfield]

not really... if you're at such a slow shutter speed that camera shake is a problem then you won't be shooting at fast enough shutter speed to freeze motion. IS really isn't important for sports shooting.

That said, if you're shooting nascar or anything else that you'd like to do panning shots with, IS will be helpful there, but still not necessary.

Well said. For NASCAR just practice your panning technique and you will be fine. I have a 70-200 IS but most of the time when I shoot sports it is off to save battery life.

Michael

[primoz]

I'm going to be really nasty now, and I'm going to say something I probably should keep for myself.... yeah I'm having extremely bad day, and only bad thing that can still happen today, is my colleagues will beat crap out of me during our weekly ice hockey session later on evening, so all the flames I will get after this post, won't do much....
If you have 1dmk3, 300/2.8 and 70-200/2.8, and you are shooting sport, and you don't know if you should use IS or not, then I suggest you to take few "how to" lessons first. Take this suggestion as you wish, but without knowing this basic things, you really don't have much to do on sport field with camera in your hand... even if it's best one money can buy.
On a bit more constructive side... no IS won't help. On 200mm IS will help with times slower then 1/200 or so (for some a bit faster for some a bit slower). Shooting any sport other then chess with times like this will make photos blurred due motion blur not due camera shake. But of course you can always get creative with slow times, so yeah IS might help in that 3% of photos we normally do this way on sport events.

[Doublea17]

Prizmo, I do need to take some lessons on using my lens and camera that is why I read and ask question on forums like this, the reason I have the equipment I have is because I can afford it and one day hope to use it to it's full potental and be POTN Sports Photographer of the Year like you, like my $300 driver and $600 irons cant hit them strait but some day I will be able to, I'm the kind of person that doesn't blame the equipment but the person using it. I wish we still had our rink here took out floor to make it an indoor soccer I sure do miss playing hockey. Thanks for the info.

[Merciez]

Nothing wrong with having great equipment, I give you credit for trying to learn and get better. To answer your original question, I have the non-IS version of the 70-200 and have never felt the need for IS while shooting sports :)

[fslshooter]

Doublea17 - As others have said, IS isn't necessary for sports. However, if money's not a consideration, I'd go for IS if I were you. You can always turn it off but if you don't have it you can never turn it on and I've found IS useful in low light conditions when shooting head shots without flash.

[AB8ND]

I think the misconception people are getting for the "you need IS" is the ads and advice from salespeople that you can shoot at slower speeds. I'm with Primoz 100%, if you need to ask these questions, you need to think and study sports photography a bit. You can not stop action or motion with a slow speed. The only time I wish I had IS is when I'm doing slow speed pan shoots of cyclist, then it might help a bit, but then so would my using better technique.

Jack

[nath_400d]

ive used both whilst shooting car racing and tbh i found little difference between the two and the end results. if it was me id go the non IS over the IS any day and save some money in the process...but like i said ive really only shot motorsport.

[CanadianKitKat]

I debated this a year ago and I ended up with the IS version, however it is always turned OFF for sports or action. I do use the lens for a variety of other work however (freelance for the paper on a weekly basis doing whatever they send my way), plenty of which are low-light situations where the IS comes in handy. If you think you'll use it for anything other than sports, I'd spend the extra money on the IS. If you will only ever shoot sports, save your money.

[musicmaster]

I have the non IS and its perfect for me!

[jcmorin]

Let's forget the IS and talk about weather sealing, is there a huge difference between the IS version which is weather sealed and the none IS version which is not weather sealed? I'm often taking pictures in wet/salty environment, will the non weather sealed version do the job?

[FA_Productions]

I have the non IS and its perfect for me!

Same for me and do not miss it at all.

[liam5100]

I'll put it to you like this. IF I could get canon to give me a rebate and remove the IS on my 400 2.8, 300 2.8, and my 70-200 2.8. I'd take them up on it in a heartbeat. Come to think about it, I'm not sure I've ever turned it on..

[flickserve]

I 'used' to have the non IS version and changed to the IS version.

Yes you can switch off the IS when you want to.

In certain situations, I found myself shooting sports in very poor lighting conditions. The subjects are my children. At this level of expertise, shutter speeds of above 1/320th second are not essential. In fact, 1/200th or 1/250th might be needed just to get a decent exposure at ISO1600 or 3200. At that point, camera shake may start to affect your shot. Personally, having the option of IS helps me in these situations.

[Travelingman]

Don't spend the extra bucks for the IS unless you are going the shoot
Wildlife and will be using 200 and slower shutter speeds.

TM