Indoor sports with 50mm f1.8

I am new to DSLR's so go easy on me.

I am going to try indoor gymnastics with T2i and I have 2 lenses, one which I will not use indoors. The other is the little 50mm. I will be as close as I can be, 10-30 ft. Will this work?
Any suggestions?

Thanks

gymmom1 wrote in post #13615987
I am new to DSLR's so go easy on me.

I am going to try indoor gymnastics with T2i and I have 2 lenses, one which I will not use indoors. The other is the little 50mm. I will be as close as I can be, 10-30 ft. Will this work?
Any suggestions?

Thanks

For starters, you posted in the wrong section. You should have posted this in the "talk about photography" section. Second, you only listed one of your two lenses. I'm assuming the other is the kit lens (18-55). If that's the case, yes the 50mm f/1.8 is definitely the better choice of the two. You'll want the 1.8 aperature to help achieve faster shutter speeds. Keep in mind though, the AF will hunt a bit in low light. Be sure to set the center focus point (or any other single focus point), and set it to AI Servo. Personally, I'd program the camera in Manual to around f/2.8 (or faster, but not wide open), 1/500 and crank the ISO as high as it needs to go to make a correct exposure. Hope this helps!

Oh, and welcome to POTN Be sure to share your results, good or bad! We're here to help.

i think If you new in photography, try first the all-around lens, like kit lens 18-55 or 18-105, the choice is yours

wolfdale13 wrote in post #13617623
i think If you new in photography, try first the all-around lens, like kit lens 18-55 or 18-105, the choice is yours

It really depends though. If she's indoors, the 50mm is the way to go. Kit lens will be to slow for any sort of sport.

Even if you do get the settings right, the 50mm 1.8 is terrible at focusing. It's going to hunt a lot and miss focus a lot. This is not a good setup for indoor action sports at all, but it will make do while you're learning the ropes. Just keep in mind that you're not starting off with a good foundation for basing your indoor sport photography success upon with that lens.

Bottom line, it will certainly work, but set your expectations accordingly. You'll most likely have very many missed shots if there's a lot of action going on.

I agree.

When I started out I used the 50mm 1.8 and got lucky sometimes..

50D + 50mm 1.8

I use the 50mm ALL THE TIME for indoor sports. Including gymnastics, so yes, this lens will work fine. I would do as Aressem said though, crank your ISO up so you can keep the lens open more and your shutter speed up. I typically shoot at 1600ISO 1/500 at 2.8 or higher when I'm indoors with the 50mm.

It's a cheap lens, yes. It shoots 50% of the time, so I compensate by A)looking at my photos in batches of 10 and automatically delete right off my camera the bad ones I can see and B)plan to take twice as many photos.

The Nifty-Fifty isn't all that bad. It's good in a pinch and until my college loans, my house, my car is all paid off and I can spring for the better 50mm... It works and with it I've won 2 years in a row my state's Sportsman Photo Award for press photos.

Sure, it works if you can afford the fact that it's a 50/50 (and often less favorable) gamble on whether or not a shot comes out. Even a broken clock is right twice a day. The same can go for the kit 18-55, 28-135, or any other lens not intended for shooting sports. I'm not sure how many people enjoy shooting sports with a lens they know is going to ruin at least half their shots. For this reason, I'm hesitant to even recommend it as a starting sports lens as it might breed more disappointment and frustration than necessary for seeing if shooting sports is your forte.

The Canon 85 f/1.8 or 100 f/2 would be better in my opinion. I have used both for volleyball and basketball. Plus it would help you get closer to your subject.

With typical gym lighting there is no way a kit lens (18-55) would be fast enough to use indoors.
Another option is the 135 f/2 but it is pricey - excellent but pricey.

One of the best AF for indoor sports is the 85/1.8, but I have used the 50/1.8.

I suggest you avoid action that is moving toward you... until the action slows, then click. Like, don't try to capture the guard slashing toward the basket - instead, keep him centered at half-click and wait for him to stop and jump up.

Look to track and shoot action moving across (at about the same distance). Give your focus time and you can get several clicks... but you have to have spot focus and keep it centered on the subject.

Both these techniques give you the best chance with the 50's slower AF.

The other advice given is spot-on!

Frankly, the slow AF is such a bother that I usually reserve the 50 for team or group still-photos.

@Bubby...

Thats why I hold that sucker down! Last game, there was a guy beside me with a Nikon, D3s and I thought i was in Viet nam!

Thats why I hold that sucker down! Last game, there was a guy beside me with a Nikon, D3s and I thought i was in Viet nam!

As you get better, you won't need to rely on the spray and pray method. It wastes a lot of space on your cards for other shots you could be getting with refined timing and more deliberate shorter bursts.