Lens advice for running event

[deana]

Hi,
I have been asked to take photos of a local 5k race in July. I have a Digital Rebel with a 70-200 lens right now but am getting a 20d and need help in deciding on what a good second lens choice would be for this event. What I am looking for is something that has a decent width but still has a good focal range. An example of what I would need this for is for starting line and group photos of like 10 people across. Thank you! Deana

[PhotosGuy]

28-70 f/2.8? Some might prefer something a bit wider. OTOH, for groups, the kit lens is pretty good above f/8 & it's very cheap. (But not an "L") ;-)
At the starting line you may have to fight for position if you want to get close. I might use the 70-200, get back a bit, & focus on one person as they approach.

[EricKonieczny]

I honestly think you have the best choice of lens already. If you can carry both bodies and keep the wider lens on the 300D that would be my choice. You will not want to be changing lenses.

My suggestion is to try many angle and point of view. Stand up, get low, from the side panning, coming at you. Try to capture some of the emotion of the event, along with the action shots.

Here are some photos that I took with my 70-200.
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=79007

[ttmatsu]

I would recommend the Tamron 17-35 f2.8-4. It gets much better user reviews than the Sigma 17-35 f2.8-4 which has suffered some terrible reviews (check the Fred Miranda site under "review"). If you have the 20d, I would especially recommend going with the Tamron over the Sigma. The Sigma 24-70 and 18-50 both have to be rechipped to work with the 20d. If you upgrade the camera body again in 5 years, you may have to rechip again but if they no longer produce that lens (say they go to model II versus your model I), they will refuse to rechip the lens (happened to me with my Nikon film body). On the other hand, Sigma does make some fine lenses and depending on the Canon bodies you purchased, may have been working for 10 years and may work for another 10 with no chip issues. The problem is you just don't know.

A setup of the Tamron 17-35 f2.8-4, Tamron 28-75 f2.8, and your 70-200 would cover most of your needs outside of extreme telephoto.

The Sigma 17-35 is around $500 for US warranty, Tamron 17-35 is around $464, Canon 17-40 f4L is $670. The Tamron 28-75 f2.8 is around $360 while the Canon 24-70 F2.8L is around $1100. Both Tamron lenses get great reviews with warnings of QC issues on the 28-75. The Sigma 24-70 also suffers from QC issues. If you get a good copy of either the Sigma or Tamron in the 24/28-70/75 range, they will give you excellent sharpness and color/contrast.

I disagree with the previous poster, you will use either the WA or standard zoom during pre-race group shots and for the starting line. I'm assuming you would get preferential positioning if the organizers asked you to take pictures for the starting line. If just your friends participating in the event asked you to take pictures, then the starting line pics will be tough and the 70-200 will be your best bet. But the pre-race group shots will definitely not be a 70-200 type thing. With 10 people and everyone milling around, the WA is what I would use. So much depends on your positioning during the race and the course layout dictating which lens you use. Most running events that aren't on a track require 2 photographers. One at the start/finish and another on the course unless you are very familiar with the layout and you can quickly get from the start to some point in the course and back to the finish (less than 15 minutes from start to finish). Also, if they run different groups according to age/ability, then they may start a race every 10 minutes so that would complicate things.

[blinking8s]

when in doubt use the 85mm 1.8 or a 70-200 (2.8 has more use generally for those low light situations) for everything :)

[deana]

Thanks all but question for blinking8s....would the 85mm give me the distance I need? Anddd for ttmatsu...do i need the 2.8 because of the action or will something a little less suffice? Thanksssss

[ttmatsu]

There are several considerations that go into what "speed" lens you "need" or want but it all comes down to 2 issues.

1) Available light
Assuming you don't want to run around taking flash photos, if pre-race is early morning, then usually light conditions call for a fast lens. Also, if it's overcast, I would much rather have a f2.8 lens than a f4. Available light also dictates shutter speed and what ISO you use. 1 fstop is equivalent to doubling or halving the amount of light reaching the sensor. This either doubles or halves the shutter speed for each fstop you go up or down.

2) Quality of image
It's true that you might just bump the ISO and go with a slower lens but consider that a f2.8 lens stopped down to f4 is going to be sharper and capture more detail than a f3.5-4.5 lens wide open. Yes, you could get a Canon 28-105 f3.5-4.5 for less but you will be much happier with the results from the Tamron 28-75 f2.8 unless you stop both lenses down to f8-f11. f2.8-5.6, the Tamron stomps the Canon. Don't make the mistake so many commit - buying a less expensive, lower quality lens then having/wanting to upgrade later.

A high quality lens yielding good picture quality at all fstops is much better than a lower quality lens that forces you to live within it's abilities (like most that you have to stop down by 2 stops). Also, a f2.8 or lower lens allows the focusing system to be at it's best.