Football with 70-200 f/4L

Is this doable? Especially with my Xs, which only goes to ISO 1600, making it even more difficult to shoot night games. Please post examples with 70-200 f/4L if you have any.

Thanks

Can or would you be willing to use a flash? Might still be iffy with a flash, but it will help.

I think you will struggle at night however in the day time you would be fine as long as the action isn't too far away.

Have a look here at some rugby photos taken with the F4 http://photoshotz.co.u​k/p198555669

No flash available(Well my day has an old flash for film cameras)

I shot with that lens for the past two years including football at night and wrestling in gyms of many different lighting types and brightness.

Play around with speed not lower than 200ths. Get in there close as is possible. Do not us flash without the coaches permission. Generally it is a no no. Try to get the action coming to you or away from you instead of accross your target area. Go to center only focus and get that one sensor hitting the top of the jersey or the kids neck. Use a post management tool to tweek out a better image. I did these things for two years while building the cookie jar for the f/2/8 IS lenses which I just got this week. The image I am showing is with Canon 70 X 300 f/4.5 commonly called a kit lens.

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As others have said, during the game it will work out very well for you. But night games you will struggle to capture good action shots. For night football games I'll bring two bodies, one with a 70-200 2.8 and the other with a 100-400 4.5, both L lens'. In the early part of the year I can use the 4.5 during warm ups, and part of the first qtr, then I can't get my shutter speed over 1/800 which is unacceptable unless I'm just shooting the line men, or before the ball is hiked. But if you are just getting snap shots and don't mind the motion blur, it will work for ya.

The sun is in full retreat now that we are past the equinox. Get some shots during warm ups and perhaps the first few minutes of the game if you can, but the opportunities for shooting ambient with ISO 1600, f/4.0 and a 7pm start are largely behind us.