lens choice for indoor basketball

[ChasWG]

I found the 50 f1.4 to be too slow to the focus for even youth basketball. The MicroUSM in that lens just isn't as fast as the real USM in your 85 f1.8 ( a great lens for basketball, shoot it from the corners to the three point line/baseline juncture). I finally gave up on that lens as a sports lens and bought a 24-70 f2.8L as my under the basket lens. It's perfect for BB. Fast to the focus, sharp and it has a large focal range for that spot on the floor.

24-70L at 70mm from under the basket area.


I also love my Canon EF85mm f1.8 lens as an indoor sports lens. It's fast to the focus and sharp as well.

85mm f1.8 from the opposite 3 point/base line area at 1/400th and f3.2, probably could have bumped the ISO a bit or opened up some more to get a faster SS. But that kid was just crazy fast and wild.

[JH1984]

Originally Posted by ChasWG

I found the 50 f1.4 to be too slow to the focus for even youth basketball. The MicroUSM in that lens just isn't as fast as the real USM in your 85 f1.8 ( a great lens for basketball, shoot it from the corners to the three point line/baseline juncture)."

I had the same experience with the 50 f1.4. I switched to the 100 f2.0 and had much better results. This is basically a sister lens to the 85 f1.8, right? Or is the 85 still superior to the 100 f2.0?

Thanks!

[AusDoug]

Hello,

Originally Posted by ChasWG

I found the 50 f1.4 to be too slow to the focus for even youth basketball. The MicroUSM in that lens just isn't as fast as the real USM in your 85 f1.8 ( a great lens for basketball, shoot it from the corners to the three point line/baseline juncture). I finally gave up on that lens as a sports lens and bought a 24-70 f2.8L as my under the basket lens. It's perfect for BB. Fast to the focus, sharp and it has a large focal range for that spot on the floor.

Thank you for the explanation. While I was shooting the pictures with the 85m 1.8, I noticed that the focus happened much faster. At the time, not understanding what you just wrote about the superior USM, I put the difference down to the faster shutter speed. In retrospect, I should have realised that focus and shutter speed are independent of each other. Quite a few more pictures turned out well using the 85mm (no doubt the faster shutter speed playing its part as well).

If you don't mind a dumb question, how do you know if a lens has a good USM or not? Do all Canon L lenses have one?

Thanks,
Doug

[ChasWG]

Only the Canon 50 f1.4 came with the Micro USM (Ultra Sonic Motor). As an art lens the 50 1.4 is a stunning hunk of glass, I just wouldn't use it for sports photography if focusing speed is what you're after. The 85mm f1.8 and the 100 f2.0 are very simular in build. Both use the ring type USM that Canon uses in many of it's lenses. The ring type USM focuses quicker than non-USM (think 50mm f1.8 Mk I & II) or the Micro USM. Ring type USMs are always used in the current L series lenses. They are quiet, fast and smooth unlike the loud motors in the non-USM lenses.

Take a look at your 85mm f1.8, see that gold dash line in front of the focus ring, it says "Ultrasonic" in that line. That way you know the lens has a USM. Again, I'm pretty sure only the 50mm f1.4 was the only Canon lens to have the funky, klunky and often broken Micro USM, otherwise the rest are good to go.

Again, I'm not really harshing on the 50 f1.4, I'd love to own one myself. It's a beautiful lens for both video and still subjects that aren't moving too quickly. I just found it wasn't that great at tracking basketball players coming right at me.

[abbypanda]

Interesting points regarding some of these lenses. So in which order would you rate these lenses for indoors in terms of best use:

85 1.8
100 2
70-200 or 24-70 2.8

[4Bucks]

I have two of the 3 lenses. I use the 70-200 about 90% of the time. It gives me more reach than the 85. I get good shots of the far end of the court with the 70-200. It also works great for football (night games, no flash) and other indoor events with no flash allowed. The 70-200 is the moster versitile for sports IMO. Here are a few examples I had handy.

[ChasWG]

Originally Posted by abbypanda

Interesting points regarding some of these lenses. So in which order would you rate these lenses for indoors in terms of best use:

85 1.8
100 2
70-200 or 24-70 2.8

It's kind of a toss up for me between the 85 f1.8 and the 24-70L. I like them both, a lot! It just depends on what I want to shoot I guess.

I don't own the 100 f2 or the 70-200 f2.8 so I can't comment, but from the images shown using the 70-200 indoors you can see that it can be a nice lens for indoor stuff.

If I were to order the lenses I do own from the above list I'd say the 24-70L and then the 85 f1.8 just because with the 24-70 I get more focal range to vary the shots. And I can track a basketball player in pretty far by zooming out and follow focusing the whole way in. At a certain point the 85mm gets a bit too tight at times. But again, that all depends on where you use it from on the floor.

[dwarrenr]

For basketball my lens choice/setup will depend if I'm using strobes or ambient.

For ambient I'll shoot with a 70-200 on one body and 24-70 on the second.

If I'm using strobes I'll use a 70-200 with 1.4ET on one and a 24-105 f/4 on the other. I do have an 85 1.8, but would rather lose a stop of light for the versatility of a zoom.

[sch_photo]

Originally Posted by dwarrenr

For basketball my lens choice/setup will depend if I'm using strobes or ambient.

For ambient I'll shoot with a 70-200 on one body and 24-70 on the second.

If I'm using strobes I'll use a 70-200 with 1.4ET on one and a 24-105 f/4 on the other. I do have an 85 1.8, but would rather lose a stop of light for the versatility of a zoom.

Amen to that...