Daughters Dance Retital ( Question)

[dmeyerspb]

Hello to all , My name is Dave and i am new in here. And i hope i put this in the right place. I take pics of my daughters dance team in competitions.
and i just bought a 40d and i found a lens . Now my question is , is this lens (Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L USM Lens) good for indoors in a school auditorium . The have stage lights and its not the brighest but its not the darkest. Would this lens be good for the dances . i will be using a triod also.
Please any help would be awsome.

oh i came over from a nikon so i am sort o new at cannons

Thank You guys
Dave

[bacchanal]

Ultimately it will depend on how much light you have. With the tripod, you should be able to get by, because you probably won't be able to get great shutter speeds.

I would start out at ISO1600 f/4 and see what kind of shutter speed you can get. If you need more speed, go to ISO3200. If your shutter speeds are still too slow to stop action at ISO3200, try to look for moments when the performers are still to take your shots.

The 70-200 f/2.8 IS or 135 f/2 would be more ideal lens choices for this type of shooting.

[dmeyerspb]

Ultimately it will depend on how much light you have. With the tripod, you should be able to get by, because you probably won't be able to get great shutter speeds.

I would start out at ISO1600 f/4 and see what kind of shutter speed you can get. If you need more speed, go to ISO3200. If your shutter speeds are still too slow to stop action at ISO3200, try to look for moments when the performers are still to take your shots.

The 70-200 f/2.8 IS or 135 f/2 would be more ideal lens choices for this type of shooting.

Thank You . I am looking into a 2.8 now.

Thank You for the reply and help
Dave

[SnapsbyPoteat]

Sigma just announced they are releasing a 70-200 2.8, it's not out yet but I bet it will be cheaper than the canon version. Don't know too many details yet. http://www.dpreview.com/news/1002/10...a70mm200mm.asp

[Sgt.Ed]

I also shoot dance recitals. I did it for a couple of years w/the 40D and 28-135 kit lens. The results were ok but not great. I upgraded to the 70-200L 2.8 and the 24-70L 2.8 with much better results. You get to use faster shutter speeds to reduce motion blur. Recently I purchased the ID MK IV and those crummy venues are not so crummy anymore. Now it is mostly shooter error:oops:. Good luck with your shooting. You may find some places restrict the use of a monopod or tripod and very often restrict flash use.

[snyderman]

did you buy the f/4 lens thinking it was the right tool for your application? The advice given by bacchanal was spot on. My guess is you're not going to have enough light to make the f/4 lens work unless the stage is flooded with white light!

All the best and let us know how things came out!

dave

[dmeyerspb]

I also shoot dance recitals. I did it for a couple of years w/the 40D and 28-135 kit lens. The results were ok but not great. I upgraded to the 70-200L 2.8 and the 24-70L 2.8 with much better results. You get to use faster shutter speeds to reduce motion blur. Recently I purchased the ID MK IV and those crummy venues are not so crummy anymore. Now it is mostly shooter error:oops:. Good luck with your shooting. You may find some places restrict the use of a monopod or tripod and very often restrict flash use.

Yeah flash is never allowed BUT there are some idiots out there that just don't give a crap. But i send in emails to the dance companys asking permission to do so. 90% say yes. Last yr i had the nikon d70 with the nikor 2.8 and it took beautiful pictures. But i stepped it up and grabbed a 40d and now a 50d. i just bought the sigma (used) 70-200 f2.8 and we will see saturday. i will post up some pics when i done.

Thank You Guys
Dave from PA

[dmeyerspb]

did you buy the f/4 lens thinking it was the right tool for your application? The advice given by bacchanal was spot on. My guess is you're not going to have enough light to make the f/4 lens work unless the stage is flooded with white light!

All the best and let us know how things came out!

dave

no i tried it in dim ighting and no good. and semi dim and it still was no good . i did grab a used sigma . but when the new one comes out i will grab that one

Thanks
Dave

[dmp-potn]

Hi Dave,

Thank You . I am looking into a 2.8 now.

Thank You for the reply and help
Dave

We've used the EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM for indoor gymnastics. As others have said, it depends on lighting, but in our situation, we were not able to freeze the action, even at ISO 3200. On that same weekend, I used our EF 85mm f/1.2L USM, but the challenge there was getting enough shots in focus. The depth of field is tiny at large apertures, and the AF system on the big 85mm is not the fastest in Canon's line. Fantastic glass, but designed for portraits--not sports.

If we did this sort of work more often, I'd pick up one (or all) of these:EF 85mm f/1.8 USM (http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=ModelDetailAct&fcategoryid=152&modelid=7311)
EF 100mm f/2 USM (http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=ModelDetailAct&fcategoryid=152&modelid=7310)
EF 135mm f/2L USM (http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=ModelDetailAct&fcategoryid=153&modelid=7312)
You loose the versatility of a zoom, but all of these have very fast AF (especially the smaller 85mm) and can be shot at twice the shutter speed of the zoom, which can make a difference when you're trying to freeze the action and you're already at or near maximum ISO for your camera body.

We have the EF 70-200mm f/4L USM as well. It too has very fast AF (faster than the f/2.8 due to lighter lens groups), but as you have discovered, four stops is kind-of a lot of speed to give up.

Looking forward to seeing what you decide.

[SuzyView]

The 70-200 f4 is not going to be very fast indoors. Even with the 40D, it will be slow. The 85 1.8 or 135 f2 are good choices. If you are wanting to invest real money, the 70-200 f2.8 or f2.8 IS is what you want. Save for it.

[checkitout]

I shoot dance from a theater balcony and have had great results using 200 2.8 + 1.4x, 500 4, and even an old FD 300 2.8 with a $1000 fd-eos adapter(manually focusing)...all on pod and with slower focus 5D and 5D 2. This spring I will be trying a 400 2.8 IS. My main concern with you considering a 2.8 is the thin DOF it will give. Even at 4, many of my shots needed more DOF. Lighting is always changing and challenging in terms of keeper rate. Also consider keeping the zoom range as you mentioned shooting "team". You may need to get more dancers in the shot often. Hope this helps

[ChrisMc73]

Hello to all , My name is Dave and i am new in here. And i hope i put this in the right place. I take pics of my daughters dance team in competitions.
and i just bought a 40d and i found a lens . Now my question is , is this lens (Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L USM Lens) good for indoors in a school auditorium . The have stage lights and its not the brighest but its not the darkest. Would this lens be good for the dances . i will be using a triod also.
Please any help would be awsome.

oh i came over from a nikon so i am sort o new at cannons

Thank You guys
Dave

Welcome, and its Canon not Cannon hehehe just had to jab you there! :D

[DDCSD]

Dave, how did it go?

[tfd888]

Nice to see some dance shots here! My favorite thing to photograph.

Nice captures!

The second shot (red tutu) would be excellent if cropped down to the center dancer.

Just remember not to shoot too tight in dance so that you don't clip limbs (3rd shot), you can always crop down in post if need be.

For dance, I wouldn't go for the 70-200 f/4, just doesn't cut it (one sharp lens though if you have the light) for low light shooting and for live dance performances or rehearsals, flash is never an option so f/2.8 is usually a minimum.

[alan_potter]

I borrowed a neighbour's 70-200mm f/2.8 IS recently and was amazed by how heavy it was. Pair that up with a full-size dSLR and that's a serious amount of weight to carry around for an evening.

Unfortunately the theatre where I was shooting wasn't conducive to using the lens; I ended up using the 24-105mm all evening, so I don't know how I would get on carrying the f/2.8 all evening, but it has certainly made me think twice about buying that monster.

As a side note, I messed up the camera settings and shot the first half-hour or so at f/8.0. I was amazed by how much sharper the pictures were than at f/4.0. The 5D's ISO 1600 performance is so good that I think I'll now try to stop down a little when the lights are brighter, where previously I would have dropped the ISO (on my 350D).

regards,
/alan

[tfd888]

I borrowed a neighbour's 70-200mm f/2.8 IS recently and was amazed by how heavy it was. Pair that up with a full-size dSLR and that's a serious amount of weight to carry around for an evening.

Unfortunately the theatre where I was shooting wasn't conducive to using the lens; I ended up using the 24-105mm all evening, so I don't know how I would get on carrying the f/2.8 all evening, but it has certainly made me think twice about buying that monster.

As a side note, I messed up the camera settings and shot the first half-hour or so at f/8.0. I was amazed by how much sharper the pictures were than at f/4.0. The 5D's ISO 1600 performance is so good that I think I'll now try to stop down a little when the lights are brighter, where previously I would have dropped the ISO (on my 350D).

regards,
/alan

Must have had some nice light to be able to shoot f/8.0 at ISO1600.

Very common for me to be at f/2.8 ISO1600 and barely squeaking out a usable shutter speed.