300mmF4LIS Under the lights question

I use a Canon 50D camera and am considering this lens for photographing my sons football games next season. He will be playing all of his games under the lights in the evening. Wondering if anyone has used this lens on a 50D or other crop camera in a similar situation. I would love the 70-200f2.8L II IS but it is too expensive. Any input or sample pics would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Perhaps you should consider a third party brand of the 70-200.. Or a TC for your 200mm ..

We had two night games this year and I did use the 200, but it is not IS. Results were soso. I was hoping the IS of the 300 would be beneficial in low light. But since it is f4 I don't know. Was hoping someone who used the 300 in similar situation could provide some info about how it performs in that arena.

What would the 70-200 F/2.8 give you over your 200 F/2.8 anyway? IS wont be of a whole lot of use for a football game, at least not any action shots.

I am assuming high school? Although I haven't used the 300 f/4, I know for the lights that I have shot under (NCAA D1 school) I have to push my ISO to 1600 to get to 1/500th and that is with f/2.8 (with some levels in post to pull up shadows even more) so I dont know how well a f/4 will fair under HS lights. When shooting I use a combination of the 300 f/2.8 and 70-200 f/2.8. IS does not do much of anything for sports, you need a fast shutter speed anyways negating anything that IS will do.

Yes, he will be starting high school football in the fall. With the exception of two games this past season, he has always played during the day. So, taking pics under the lights was something new for me. At least now I know that IS will not do much. Guess I will try and gain some knowledge about shooting at in poor light with what I have. Thanks for the responses.

You could always rent this baby and have a little fun (not to mention getting some great shots of your son).

http://www.lensrentals​.com …ephoto/canon-200mm-f2l-is

Get a flash and use it, simple as that. I will use my 300mmf 2.8 IS at f4 for night time football. Unless you got good lights or newest gen bodies which show not much noise at ISO6400 or so, flash is the way to go. Check sports for details on how to do it.

i've used mine on a 7d at outdoor concerts after dark, in my town they're played on a baseball field and use the field lights. works fine, no complaints up to 3200 ISO.

bobbyz wrote in post #13877988
Get a flash and use it, simple as that. I will use my 300mmf 2.8 IS at f4 for night time football. Unless you got good lights or newest gen bodies which show not much noise at ISO6400 or so, flash is the way to go. Check sports for details on how to do it.

+1^^

The only way to go given what you have and/or want.

IS is not what you really want for sports anyway in my opinion, a Sigma 70-200 2.8 would be a great option and can use a TC if you ever want the extra reach.

I have shot at ISO 3200 @2.8 with no flash on my 7D and the results were good. If shooting at f/4 I would use a flash unless you have really well lit fields.

Thanks for all the responses. Question comes to mind about using flash. Will the flash make a difference considering that the subjects will be some distance away from me? Say, if I am on the sidelines or a little off the sidelines. Sorry if these sound like stupid questions, but I am not very experienced in night/under the lights photog. The results I got with the 200mm during the day were super. No complaints. But when those two night games came around it was another story. So I am trying to get as much info as I can. Thanks again.

Look at the shooting football with flash threads in the sports forum.

I have the 580ex II which can reach across the field, but it is more challenging to light up far away subjects. I am shooting football with the 70-200 2.8 so 200mm is a bit short for the far side of the field anyway.