Regular 5dMkII Sports Shooters

[One Eyed Jack]

Hi all. I just had a query as I have put in an order for a 5dMkII. I seen Brad Remic's skeet shots today but was wondering if anyone else uses their 5dMkII to regularly shoot sporting events and if so how they find it.

The main use will primarily be for taking general pictures of my 2 children but they both also play a lot of sport so the camera will be replacing my old 20d which used to take up that role. My only real concern would be the distance factor with the full frame and my 70-200L IS and the focus system of the camera.

Any regular shooters with any positive or negative experiences would be much appreciated.

Pete

[jacuff]

Hi all. I just had a query as I have put in an order for a 5dMkII. I seen Brad Remic's skeet shots today but was wondering if anyone else uses their 5dMkII to regularly shoot sporting events and if so how they find it.

The main use will primarily be for taking general pictures of my 2 children but they both also play a lot of sport so the camera will be replacing my old 20d which used to take up that role. My only real concern would be the distance factor with the full frame and my 70-200L IS and the focus system of the camera.

Any regular shooters with any positive or negative experiences would be much appreciated.

Pete

The distance factor is irrelevant... especially with what you've gotten used to with your 20D. A 21 Megapixel image cropped to the same resolution as the 20D will give you just as much reach. The focus system is better than what you have in the 20D.

From what you know, the 5D Mark II will be a better camera. The main difference would be that it is about 1 fps slower than the 20D, but the 5D Mark II has a much larger and faster buffer so you can do longer continuous bursts.

[One Eyed Jack]

The distance factor is irrelevant... especially with what you've gotten used to with your 20D. A 21 Megapixel image cropped to the same resolution as the 20D will give you just as much reach. The focus system is better than what you have in the 20D.

From what you know, the 5D Mark II will be a better camera. The main difference would be that it is about 1 fps slower than the 20D, but the 5D Mark II has a much larger and faster buffer so you can do longer continuous bursts.

Thanks for the post. I was hoping the 21mp would come in use for cropping.

[pigtailpat]

I'm curious, if FF isn't an advantage for cropping, what is it good for?? Why do people spend so much money on FF? I hope you guys don't mind the question - for my educational benefit....

thanks...

[SuzyView]

The 40D I use for sports is just faster and the crop is really important for me. The 5D2 I've not used yet for indoor basketball, but I will this weekend. So, I'll report then. I'll compare them if I get a chance. Right now I don't use my 5D2 for sports.

[jacuff]

I'm curious, if FF isn't an advantage for cropping, what is it good for?? Why do people spend so much money on FF? I hope you guys don't mind the question - for my educational benefit....

thanks...

Some of it has to do with the same reason people shot medium format cameras instead of 35mm. A larger negative/sensor will yield high quality enlargements.

Also, not all photos benefit from the crop. Wide angle is one area where FF really has an advantage over crop cameras. What lens are you gonna use if you want to get the same field of view as a 24mm lens (on the 35mm format) and need to shoot with an aperture of 1.4?

[One Eyed Jack]

I'm curious, if FF isn't an advantage for cropping, what is it good for?? Why do people spend so much money on FF? I hope you guys don't mind the question - for my educational benefit....

thanks...

The reason for the thread was for people to share their experiences using the 5d MkII for sports shooting. While the 21mp will come in useful for cropping, I want to have reach to get the shots from across or down the field and don't want to have to majorly crop every image so to speak.

I think I will have to look for some more reach and purchase some longer lenses.

[liam5100]

I'm curious, if FF isn't an advantage for cropping, what is it good for?? Why do people spend so much money on FF? I hope you guys don't mind the question - for my educational benefit....

thanks...

True lens length, distortion and proper wide angle usage.

[liam5100]

The new 5d is an awesome camera, but I think if your primary purpose is sports there are better options, just my 2c. Honestly if I had to choose between a new 5d II and an old 1d MkIIN for sports, I'd take the 1d without even blinking.

Now if sports was just an occasional thing, and I shot mostly portraits. I'd go the other direction.

[LennartW]

Mainly I am a documentary photographer and working on long term assignment (1-2weeks).
But I shoot sports quite regularly and the 5DII performs really good.

I was shooting a 1DII before and I get as many - maybe more - infocus shots as I got before.
That said, it only shoots 4 fps a second. Make sure you work on your timeing when you get the 5DII :).

[AdamLewis]

Can the 5D2 do sports? Sure it can...
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa67/adamlewis88/Randomness/20090210%20TrinityMale/AL_BKHS_TrinityMale0011.jpg

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa67/adamlewis88/Randomness/20090210%20TrinityMale/AL_BKHS_TrinityMale0014.jpg

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa67/adamlewis88/Randomness/20090210%20TrinityMale/AL_BKHS_TrinityMale0017.jpg

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa67/adamlewis88/Randomness/20090204%20NorthSouth/IMG_9446-AL-2.jpg

For that matter, so can the 5D
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa67/adamlewis88/Randomness/20081101%20GeorgetownUL/IMG_8775.jpg

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa67/adamlewis88/Randomness/20081206%20ULBK_IndianaState/IMG_01331.jpg

Is the best tool for the job? Absolutely not.

If you know anything about me and what Ive done, you know I got away from it.

I changed back to the 1D3 for overall speed, responsiveness, ability to actually use all of the focus points I want to, and build.

If youre serious about sports, Id suggest to look for something else. Id take a serious look at picking up used a used 40D or a 50D would be pretty solid as well. Just be aware that I say this as a person who was at one point a staunch supporter of using the 5D/5D2 for sports. You can do it but after shooting with both for a few months and migrating back to the 1D3, it has never been clearer to me that they really arent the right tool for the job.

[MJPhotos24]

I've honestly never seen a 5D in any photo pit, which is odd because I still see some 10D and 20D's but never anything new accept of course the MkIII, IIn, II

[S.Horton]

@Adam that last shot is epic -- really nice.

@OP - I don't use FF for sports because I don't own one. I don't own one because of FPS and AF differences vs. MKIII.

[AdamLewis]

I've honestly never seen a 5D in any photo pit, which is odd because I still see some 10D and 20D's but never anything new accept of course the MkIII, IIn, II

You definitely dont see it much. And like I said, while it can do sports it is definitely not the best tool for the job. I think you see 10/20D because theyre cheap and 1D because people have the money.

[MJPhotos24]

You definitely dont see it much. And like I said, while it can do sports it is definitely not the best tool for the job. I think you see 10/20D because theyre cheap and 1D because people have the money.
Well you see the 1D's because when you're doing this as a full time job (sports) you need the tools that get the job done, not just because they have the money. The old quote "you have to spend money to make money" is not a lie, especially in photography. Editors want to know you have sports oriented bodies (fps, quick AF, recorders even) to meet there needs, also of course is the right lens. I got gigs because they knew the results were there and I had the gear they wanted and lost some because I didn't have something.

Really the only time I see the 10D/20D's are smaller events where there's people who I wonder why they got credentials. Last year for football playoffs there were 5-6 shooters every game and only one from the newspaper, the rest were there shooting to sell prints and the guy giving out media passes didn't check anyone. All you had to do was say "media" or walk in with a camera which was really annoying.

[AdamLewis]

All you had to do was say "media" or walk in with a camera which was really annoying.

:lol: Universally true

[Croasdail]

There are other options for high frame rates and fast AF with FF cameras, they just don't happen to be Canon's. In Atlanta over the weekend there were plenty of them, and surprisingly a lot of mixed kits. One brand for your long range shots, the FF for under the basket.

I think the question needs to be asked which sports and at what level. If it is predominately field sports, then that leads in one direction. If it is primarily indoors, another. The 1.3x crop factor is a nice compromise between the two.

But to be clear, the type of camera, or its age has nothing to do with how good of a photographer anyone is. There is no direct connection. A good photographer can get good sports shots with a 10D. I have worked with one NG photographer who makes a very nice living using D90s. He uses them because they are good enough and expendable. His images have graced the most acclaimed magazines out there, including NG. If he can do his job without the absolute best, you surely don't need a 1D or a D3, nor a 5D to get good shots of your kids. It sure doesn't hurt to have a kick a$$ camera - never does.

[yokotas13]

i sold my 5dmk2 because is performed so poorly on sports. AF was slower than my 40d(or so it seemed), wasnt fast (i do alot of skate sequences for fun), and i didnt want to have to buy a grip for portrait.
so i traded it for a 1dmk3.
best thing i ever did for my sports stuff

[LMMPhoto]

I know this thread is a couple of weeks old but one thing nobody talked about is the slow 1/200 sync. I wish I had more when I shoot Tae Kwon Do tournaments. I am using a 5d classic mostly for landscape and macro but use it for the kids sports as well.

The 3fps is too slow for shooting a burst of Tae Kwon Do action. I have to time single shots.

[colbyb25]

i sold my 5dmk2 because is performed so poorly on sports. AF was slower than my 40d(or so it seemed), wasnt fast (i do alot of skate sequences for fun), and i didnt want to have to buy a grip for portrait.
so i traded it for a 1dmk3.
best thing i ever did for my sports stuff

Not sure why you bought a 5D Mark II for that type of photography in the first place. The original 5D was no sports/wildlife camera. The new 5D is amazing at what it was built for, landscape, portrait and travel photography. I have both the 1D Mark III and the 5D Mark II because both of them excel in their given fields.

That is like buying a Jeep Wrangler and selling it because it can't drive as fast as an Audi.