Best Canon lens for fast action

I just recently got my new XT and as I suspected the kit lens isnt the greatest.Im new to the game so knowing exactly what to get is just out of reach,so I was hoping to get some help here.I would like to have improved zoom.I would also like to go to some HS football games and get some good action photos,and get my nephew and niece playing around.Ive read about every review for just about every lens Canon makes.Still im lost on what I need.Could anyone help me out by suggesting the best lens?And what would be a good zoom lens for the slower need,like scenery and whatnot?
The L series has got to be out of the question right now.I know the prices on them.WOW.Thank you

70-200 F4L, this would be ideal, its not up there price wise with other L's. Its got a very fast auto focus and creates sharpe images. However its weakness is low light shooting, also if your shooting indoors I'd look at a fast prime like the 85 f/1.8

I love L glass... And it sucks because if you want good, ur gona have to pay for it.

Good, Cheap, Slow
Good, Expencive, Fast
Bad, Cheap, Fast

Your going to pretty much end up some one of the above depending on what you want to spend. There are a LOT of good lenses out there tho, for a "fair" price.

Good examples are like the Tamron 28-75 2.8, and the 70-200 f/4

Since you said action, I would say go for a 70-200 2.8 or 2.8 with IS, but ur looking to spend $1100 - $1600 for a lens.

You can get a 75-300 Canon lens , but ive owned 2 of them, and cant stand to see one on a camera. But im spoiled by L glass, so others may like them more than I do.

the 58mm looks to be a lil bit closer to my price range.thanks for all the help,i really appreciate it.I hear that alot of stabalization problems can be delt with fast shutter speeds.Right?

for sports, at non-L prices: sigma 70-200 f2.8 or canon 85 f1.8

you're looking for 3 things: the right focal length to get a well-framed image, fast focus mechanism to track the athlete, and fast aperature (low f-number) to enable high shutter speeds and freeze the action.

f4 lenses are not ideal for indoor, twilight, or stadium sports. The Tamron mentioned above is a beautiful lens; it takes great photos, but the focus mechanism is too slow for most sports.

Well, the question as stated would include the F/2.8's of the line-up. Might check out a 200 F/2.8L for action shots. Its a great lens at a great price $675.00 plus a rebate is available right now. Anything less that F/2.8 will require daylight for action stopping

http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …SA&addedTroughT​ype=search

For action sports you will need something faster than f/2.8. Even in broad daylight you will get action blur from an f/4 lens.

Consider possibly getting both the 85 1.8 and 135L for sports and action? They'de whoop just about any zoom, if you can deal with the fixed focal length.

For decent HS football, you're going to need at least 200mm's. The best bang for the buck is the 200mm L 2.8 mentioned above. The 70-200 f/4 is another great lens, but you'll need more light.

Ok so I think Ill go with the 85mm.But it raises a question.Since it is a fixed position lens how will the 17-85mm IS lens do?Is it too slow?

SolPics wrote in post #2203424
For decent HS football, you're going to need at least 200mm's. The best bang for the buck is the 200mm L 2.8 mentioned above. The 70-200 f/4 is another great lens, but you'll need more light.

I don't know about the 70-200 f/4L, but I do have the 200 f/2.8L..and it worked great for me, shooting nightime highschool football. Faster AF, lighter..so I could handhold. On a crop body, it did fine. Still...I had to zoom with my feet.

rklepper wrote in post #2203293
For action sports you will need something faster than f/2.8. Even in broad daylight you will get action blur from an f/4 lens.

without trying to sound rude, i'd say this is not entirely correct. i've been very happy using the bigma for the last 3 seasons (until i got the 120-300) and have been able to stop action without any problem.

to the OP - are the games daytime or night? will you be right there on the sidelines?

Well most games around here are night games with the somewhat bright lights and Ill be relatively close.Not as close as the players on the sidelines but close

What about the 17-85mm IS lens and/or the 28-200mm lens?are they worth having.And not just for the action scene.

They are way too slow. For night games, even with a f/2.8 you'll have to shoot at over 800 ISO to get any decent shutter speed.