Best Lens for High School Football

I am going to be shooting a lot of football for one of the local high schools. What lens would be the best one for me to invest in beacouse of all the lighting issues that the staidums have? I would like to keep it fairly inexpencive, but please post your opinion on what you think the best lens is, and then the best ecnomical choice would be.

Thanks,
Jon

Hi Jon

I have been shooting local highschool football games for the last 2 years. Most fields are not well lit, and a fast lens is a must. I would suggest a 70-200 2.8, or the sigma 120-300 2.8. Both work well. I shoot raw, in manual mode at 2.8 and 1/800-1/1000. PP takes care of underexposure. Good luck with the season.

Ken

If you want cheap and can shoot in low light, i'd suggest maybe shooting with a prime.

85mm 1.8
100mm 2.0
135mm 2.8

Apart from that I'd say the 70-200 f4L or 70-300 IS but they may struggle if your shooting in poor light...of course if your budget can stretch go for the 70-200 2.8 Canon or Sigma...

Most highschool games are played in the late afternoon/night under pretty bad lights. The ideal lens is probably the 300/2.8 but that cost more than most people's car .

If you want something inexpensive, the 200/2.8 would be a good choice. Pair this lens with a 1.4x and you'll have a f4 lens for when the light is still good and when it's getting dark, remove the 1.4x and bump the ISO up or use flash.

Another one is the Sigma 70-200. The zoom is nice when the action is close to you.

Thanks for all the help guys! This weekend i am renting the Cannon 70-200 f2.8L US to see how it all works out. Thanks again. And if any of yall have any more suggestions i am completly open to them.

-Jon

my opinon in order:
400 2.8
300 2.8
120-300 2.8 sigma
70-200 2.8

i love the 300 2.8 and 70-200 2.8 combo for football

I shoot High School games for the local paper. I use a 300 F/2.8L IS and a 70-200 F/2.8L IS. 2.8 is a must for night games, High School stadium lighting can be awful at times. You need the longer lenses for the reach, 135mm is too short most of the time.

alright, i feel realy stupid asking this question but i am really new to this whole photography thing, when you use a say 300 f/2.8, your lins is at a fixed 300 mm right?

bigjon0107 wrote in post #2139799
alright, i feel realy stupid asking this question but i am really new to this whole photography thing, when you use a say 300 f/2.8, your lins is at a fixed 300 mm right?

right.

ed rader

There is no economical choice for sports lenses. Trust me.
Probably the most versatile lens for night football with excellent image quality is the Sigma 120-300. The 300mm f/2.8 is sweet, too. At present, I'm using a Sigma 70-200 f/2.8 and a Canon 200L, but neither is really long enough to get facial expressions on a consistent basis.

thanks, so if i were to only buy one lens would you you suggest one of those or should i go with a zoom telephoto and possibly put a 1.4 or 2x extender it for those longer shots? Or just get the lens beacouse i would need all the speed i can get?

Save yourself both the money in long run and headache.
Buy L 70-200 IS 2.8, 2xTC. Use a monopod.
Buying anything cheaper or longer, you'll be paying more...Geting less...

Billginthekeys wrote in post #2137374
my opinon in order:
400 2.8
300 2.8
120-300 2.8 sigma
70-200 2.8

i love the 300 2.8 and 70-200 2.8 combo for football

Ditto that.

The 300 f/2.8L IS is probably the first choice for most people, but it is a bank buster. The 300 f/4L IS is workable...but you will be at ISO 3200 in order to get ample shutter speed....the 70-200 f/2.8L IS is a super lens on a 1.6 crop body....you can get decent shots of action within 10-20 yards of you. Occasionally you will see someone mention a Sigma or Tamron...but they are just too slow focusing for my tastes. The bottom line is that it is not going to be cheap to get a reliable sports lens.

Eh, really hard to go budget savvy here.

The ideal situation would be a 300/2.8 + 70-200/2.8 when you're near the endzone

either way, you will NEED the reach for sure, and you will need 2.8 if you're going to be shooting night games