100-400 4.5 in a MLB Stadium at night?

For those who have been to a MLB stadium for a night game (610pm first pitch) do you think there is enough light at night to use this lens? I was thinking of renting one for the game. In my feeble opinion I think there would be knowing that the stadiums are really lit up at night but how that translates to a 4.5 lens I do not know.

The first thing I would do is check to see if you can bring a lens that size to the park.The NFL wont let you bring a lens over six inches.
If you can make sure you bring something to protect your gear in case it rains
As far as light 6:10 is a nice start time you could get some nice soft light shots maybe a few good shots as the sun sets ,then as the stadium is taken over by the lights you won't have any issues with light.
I recently went to a AAA game and brought my 70-200 2.8 with a 2x and had no issues with light ,they didn't check my gear going in so you might be ok.

I shot a night game with my 7D and 300L F4 IS. I had to go to ISO 12,800 and the fastest shutter I could achieve was 1/500.

coffeebeens wrote in post #16267191
The first thing I would do is check to see if you can bring a lens that size to the park.The NFL wont let you bring a lens over six inches.
If you can make sure you bring something to protect your gear in case it rains
As far as light 6:10 is a nice start time you could get some nice soft light shots maybe a few good shots as the sun sets ,then as the stadium is taken over by the lights you won't have any issues with light.
I recently went to a AAA game and brought my 70-200 2.8 with a 2x and had no issues with light ,they didn't check my gear going in so you might be ok.

Yep, already checked. They'll allow anything up to 12 inches. And since the NFL stadium is right across the parking lot, I already know they only allow up to 6 inches.

digital paradise wrote in post #16267239
I shot a night game with my 7D and 300L F4 IS. I had to go to ISO 12,800 and the fastest shutter I could achieve was 1/500.

Good to know. Guess I'll just not plan on any stop action shots.

This has been discussed a few times before on POTN. At the risk of irritating your neighbors, you can get some decent player shots (no action) only if you are in a box seat. Otherwise you're going to run the risk of a security guard turning you away because of the way the lens looks (you won't win the argument), you'll be hauling a big lens around for nothing, and someone will kick it or spill a beer on it. If I was sitting in the stands, I'd take a P&S, shoot a few shots for a memory and enjoy the game.

I cover the Fort Myers Miracle, farm team of the Twins, at the Twins spring training stadium which is lit to MLB standards. At night I typically shoot 1/1000 sec, f/4, ISO6400. You are going to find that you will be using the long end of the 100-400 which is f/5.6, so you are looking at 1/500 or ISO 12,800. Shooting from the 3rd base side dugout with a full frame camera it takes a 300mm lens for a tight shot at home and 400mm for 1st at Hammond Stadium. The dugouts and stands at Hammond are much closer to the baselines than the MLB stadiums that I have been to in the Northeast. You may well find that 400mm does not put you close enough to the action to make a rental worthwhile.

Just a quick add-

the closest MLB to me won't allow anything over a 200mm, but I have used a 200 prime with a doubler there many times, faster than 5.6 but no IS

I assume you watched the mariners win last night, get any good shots?

Darrell, I used to own the 100-400 and I ended up selling it for this exact reason. You are going to really struggle getting any decent action shots with the lens and the given lighting. I can tell you for sure that once the stadium lights turn on it will be useless. Dont forget that at 400mm it is no longer a f4.5 lens it is more like 5.6.

A buddy of mine had to move to the 300mm f2.8 to acomplish action shots in a stadium using stadium lights.


Hope this helps.

rockfordhx wrote in post #16272724
Darrell, I used to own the 100-400 and I ended up selling it for this exact reason. You are going to really struggle getting any decent action shots with the lens and the given lighting. I can tell you for sure that once the stadium lights turn on it will be useless. Dont forget that at 400mm it is no longer a f4.5 lens it is more like 5.6.

A buddy of mine had to move to the 300mm f2.8 to acomplish action shots in a stadium using stadium lights.


Hope this helps.

Yes, all the replies have helped. Thank you for the input. While I agree with most, I think I'm still going to rent it and maybe try and get the best shots I can. Renting is easy for me because there is a place in town I can pick it up so I dont have to mess with mail order.

rockfordhx wrote in post #16272724
Darrell, I used to own the 100-400 and I ended up selling it for this exact reason. You are going to really struggle getting any decent action shots with the lens and the given lighting. I can tell you for sure that once the stadium lights turn on it will be useless. Dont forget that at 400mm it is no longer a f4.5 lens it is more like 5.6.

A buddy of mine had to move to the 300mm f2.8 to acomplish action shots in a stadium using stadium lights.

Hope this helps.

That is a very nice lens. Sharp. I'd love to have one.

dhornick wrote in post #16272940
Yes, all the replies have helped. Thank you for the input. While I agree with most, I think I'm still going to rent it and maybe try and get the best shots I can. Renting is easy for me because there is a place in town I can pick it up so I dont have to mess with mail order.

Did you rent it and how did it go?

rockfordhx wrote in post #16329441
Did you rent it and how did it go?

I did rent it but it was a rainy day/evening so I left it at home for fear of the rain. That's OK thought because I used it around the house and yard. It wasnt the first time I had rented the 100-400 so I was plenty used to it. I'm pretty sure had I taken it I could have had several good shots, maybe not full on action shots but still good shots all the same. I love the lens but thinking when I pull the trigger for a bigger lens it'll be for a 28-300L.