One lens is too long the rest are to short...which is the hoy grail?

burnet44 wrote in post #14068896
ok if im shooting at 200mm at 2.8
the zoom softens it?

might explain a lot of my snitty pics

highet f stop huh

Yes, they would probably sharpen up if you went to say 3.5 or 4. When I shoot baseball in the daytime or any daytime sport really, I always shoot it at 3.5 or 4 just to make it that much sharper. You can get away with it because the daylight will still allow you to have the SS you need at the smaller aperture.

JersFocus wrote in post #14067144
What I like about it is, in servo, the ability to lock down the focus. With the focus dancing all over in servo, there is no way to recompose without the focus refocusing as well. That drives me nuts.

I shoot now with one shot, half click then recompose, and with servo, its just shoot and crop to recompose, or just shoot and hope the servo focuses properly on the single center spot.

I hear you though, I read somewhere that 10% of pros use it, so thats a small margin but, I would imagine that 10% of photographers or less primary do sports.


I am just rambling at this point about things I know nothing about , but I really like the idea of back button focus and stopping/locking the servo focus.

I don't worry so much about locking and recomposing. For a sport like basketball, I keep the shutter button half-pressed and follow the action. I have the focus points set to inner 9 and I just move them around if I see that something will need recomposing. It takes a little practice but I know exactly what direction to move the wheel to get the points I need, whether I'm in portrait or landscape.

good stuff el rat thanks

I'm going to take a different approach.

You say the lighting is great, but can it be improved? There's no such thing as too much light in a gym. Maybe you can invest in some permanently mounted lighting options if you're going to be there for 20 years. This would allow you to use slower (and subsequently cheaper) lens indoors if that's a deciding factor for you.

I've found that my 70-200 on my 7D is a bit long when the action is at my end of the court, so I have my 40D w/ my 17-55 f/2.8 with me as well. I find that combo works pretty well. And I usually sit in either the white or gray area.

JersFocus wrote in post #14052941
I will literally be shooting at this gym for the next 20 years so I dont mind investing in a lens for it.

How about a body? APS-H would probably put that fantastic 70-200 right where you want it to be.

JersFocus wrote in post #14052941
I went and shot basketball at a local highschool today, and the lighting as I am surprised was great (at 2.8), but the gym is small, as in 3 rows of bleachers...thats it.

My 70-200is ii was what I used all game, and it seems to be to long, when action was at my side and perfect for midcourt where there is little action. I have a tamron 17-50 and a 50mm but even right in the corner was to short.

This was my first basketball game, so I am probably doing 100 things wrong, but I almost feel a midrange tele would be perfect, like a 24-70, 15-85, or 24/28-105...but I think ill be hurtin for light if it isnt 2.8 or lower. I will literally be shooting at this gym for the next 20 years so I dont mind investing in a lens for it.

I was thinking about an 85mm after reading so much, but if 70mm is to long...

I should note there is like 1ft between end and walls and about 2.5ft on sidelines. So sitting under the net would probably not be an option...

1. What lens am I looking for?
2. Where is best positioning in a gym like this?

Thanks.

Personally, if I was going to be shooting their for the next 2 decades, I'd get a 2nd camera body. One with the longer zoom, one for the wider angle.

Or, I believe Sigma makes a 50-150 f2.8 (50-150mm F2.8 EX DC APO HSM)

http://www.dpreview.co​m/news/2011/2/8/sigma5​0-150
http://www.amazon.com …tal-Cameras/dp/B001047YXG

(I'm not a Sigma lover myself btw )