Need advice for lenses for 1st daylight football game

Tomorrow I'll be shooting my first football game in daylight and though it should be fairly easy to know what to do, I'm a little nervous about gettng the best out my photos and equipment. It'll be my first chance to take the new Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 out in the light of day and to use my 1.7x TC in a daylight game.

So here's what I have and the settings I'm planning on using; and, I'd really appreciate it if some of those experienced in shooting football in daylight could tell me if I'm going wrong with any of these and what you think would be the best combo of lens and settings.

1) I thought I'd try the Sigma lens on the TC and see how that works. I'm thinking I'd set the camera to AV with 2.8 (I know I won't get 2.8 with the TC, but that is the way I'd set it, right?), and the ISO at 200 or maybe even 100.

2) I'll also be taking the Canon 75-300mm f/4-5.6 lens and try the TC with it as well. I'd be using the same settings as with the Sigma, but set the aperture to 4.0. I know some of you might say why even bother with the Canon lens, but I do think the bokeh with the Canon is just a little nicer than with the sigma and the AF is a little faster as well.

Also, it's probably going to be pretty cloudy. They are calling for rain showers around the time the game starts with it becoming a more steady rain as the afternoon progresses.

So any advice, comments, or tips?

AV would work, but I would personally use TV to control shutter speed. I personally like shots that show a little blur to show action, but it all depends on what type of effects you desire.

Not sure which camera you are using, but generally, dont be affraid to bump the ISO up even higher to get the shutterspeed you need.

Good luck.

Whatever mode you use, I'd try to maintain a shutter speed in the neighborhood of 600 (or more). You can get by with slightly less, but you risk blur.

Although it's a day game the clouds and rain can darken the conditions. If you have to, jack up the ISO to maintain a high shutter speed.

Monitor the light conditions and make adjustments as the day goes on. Keep the shutter speed in mind at all times.

Good luck.

I'd suggest the 70-200 2.8, if you have one...

75-300 with 1.7x teleconverter isn't going to be nearly as sharp I think... I doubt it will autofocus, because min. aperture is 5.6 * 1,7x > 5.6

Take the Sigma and don't use the TC. Shoot wide open with high ISO to get the speed. I normally use AV and sometime Manual. Night HS football is the toughest.

okay. im not sure which TC you have, but if it reports it to the camera it will, only allow you to shoot F4, which is perectly fine, if not keep it at 2.8 i guess and make sure your esposure is okay. that combo should work the best, but if you are finding the focus too slow just shoot the lens bare. as for the 75-300, leave that piece of crap at home, it wont keep up with the action, especially with a TC on it. i personally shoot all M for sports, but AV at the max aperture isnt a bad idea if you dont feel confident going all M. the max aperture will give you the thinnest DoF to isolate the players, very important in sports shots. set your ISO so you can get good shutter speed (640 or more would be great, unless you are going for blur, in which case you will have to stop down the lens to get a smaller shutter speed) meaning if its bright out you should be able to use ISO100-200

and last have fun and let us know how it went,

Yep use the 70-200 and TC if it works ok. Forget the 75-300. It looks to me that the 75-300 is overlap for you here. The 70-200 should be way better and even with the TC is probably better. I see ebay in your future!

First of all, I'd like to thank everyone for their advice.

Those of you who told me to leave the Canon 75-300 lens at home were right. I used it with the 1.7x TC for a few pre-game shots, but found that the combo was worthless for game shots right away because the AF was so slow under the conditions.

The weather made shooting difficult. The game started at 1:30 and it was so cloudy and dark that they had to turn the lights on. Then came the rain and it was cold and being driven right into my face and lens for most of the game. I was constantly having to dry it off and try to keep it from fogging up. I ended up just using the Sigma 70-200 the whole game.

Because of the conditions I didn't really get to experiment with settings much. I tried shooting with AV, but couldn't get the shutter speeds I wanted. I just shot in manual at ISO 400-800 and should have gone to 1600. Aperture was 2.8-4.0, and shutter speeds were 500-640. It might as well have been a night game.

So in other words, you guys were spot on with the advice you gave me and I appreciate it. Also, thanks for the well wishes and encouragement. Things didn't turn out as well as I'd hoped, but I posted some of what I ended up with in the Sports forum. If any of you would want to take a look and give me any advice on what I could have done to get better results I'd appreciate that too.

Thanks,
Alexandra

Shoot wide open for shallow DOF. Also use the following settings for your camera.

http://www.siphoto.com​/

Great photos. Yeah, at this time of year day games can turn into night games very quickly. If sports might turn into your thing, shoot as many games as you can, indoors and out. Your own experiences will be your best teacher. Once again, nice job.

erdavis, thanks for the link!

Alexandra

kidpower, thanks for looking at the photos, and I really appreciate your encouragement and advice!

Alexandra

Billginthekeys, thank you for taking a look at the photos and for the kind words and helpful advice!

Alexandra