I am new, stupid and want your help!

Gizmo3

Not having $ to invest into a long and fast lens I would continue shooting at the highest ISO, mounting your camera onto a tripod and PANNING with the action.

Panning is simply moving the camera while attempting to keep your center of interest in the same spot in the viewfinder while the image is being exposed.

Doing this may help add a sense of action to the shots, too.

Ok--

Just a few sports basics--If something else works for other members please add your 2 cents.

Switch to center focal point only.

AI Servo

Shoot in AV or TV mode

In AV mode use the largest aperature possible

In TV mode use the slowest possible shutter speed to stabilize the lens --for your kit lens around 1/125 second.

Get as many shots as you can before dark.

ISO 1600 with noise reduction

I'm sure I forgot something

And let us know how it works out

dave kadolph wrote in post #4096264
ISO 1600 with noise reduction

I don't think the XTi has high ISO NR.

Mark_Cohran wrote in post #4095815
IS lag? Once it spins up, there's no lag to speak of - Best Buy wouldn't be the place I would go to for photographic advice and critique though.

Mark

Maybe there's something wrong with the copy this BB's locked display cabinet...
There was DEFINITELY lag in the VF as the IS couldn't keep up with my not so fast pan...no lag with the IS off...
The fella at BB was just looking at the LCD with me...no expertise was needed to see that there was no gain in sharpness using IS.

No my Rebel XTi stops at 1600 as far as ISO goes. So I am already maxed out on that.

gooble wrote in post #4096488
I don't think the XTi has high ISO NR.

I believe you're right--I apply NR and sharpening in post processing

kitacanon wrote in post #4096544
Maybe there's something wrong with the copy this BB's locked display cabinet...
There was DEFINITELY lag in the VF as the IS couldn't keep up with my not so fast pan...no lag with the IS off...
The fella at BB was just looking at the LCD with me...no expertise was needed to see that there was no gain in sharpness using IS.

This seems strange to me. The IS stabilizes handshake by X number of stops. If I can't hold a certain lens/camera combo still at 1/60 it will let me shoot at 1/30 or 1/15 or etc. If you can't hold the same combo still at 1/15 then IS should allow you to shoot at 1/8 or 1/4 or etc. Am I missing something?

What about getting a FD to EOS adapter then picking up an older fast FD lens? You would have to manually focus, but I expect with action being pretty static and far enough away, the dof won't be too limiting. Just trying to think outside the box.

http://www.adorama.com …tml?sid=1191976​8851670103

Then find a faster FD lens on ebay like a 200mm f/4...
http://cgi.ebay.com …ZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcm​dZViewItem

or a 100mm f/2.8 lens that is also a 1:1 macro lens, kill two birds with one stone
http://cgi.ebay.com …ZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcm​dZViewItem

Either for under $200...

gizmo3 wrote in post #4096202
I am reading trust me.
Has anyone rented from some of the lens places on the web?
Here is a decent night shot.

I do have another lens. It is an EFS 18-55mm
I feel the movement is more from the players ad the few day games we had, the camera was just wonderful. For what we are doing.

I do want to thank all of you that have tried to help answer my questions.

Gizmo, there are two problems that you have and both are related to the shutter speed.

The first photo you posted was shot with the lens at 190mm and a shutter speed of 1/60 second. The "rule of thumb" for a shutter speed that can stop YOUR motion (wiggling the camera/lens) is 1/(focal length * "crop factor"). Putting numbers in that formula: 1/(190*1.6) or 1/304. In other words, you need roughly a 1/300 second shutter speed to minimize blur due to your own inability to hold the camera/lens steady. To be sure, some folks can hold steady at a slower shutter speed and others need faster.

Secondly, the motion of the players is blurred because of the very slow shutter speed. As said before, you need at least 1/250 second shutter speed to reduce the blur of their motion.

You could eliminate a lot of the camera-motion blur if you worked off a tripod. That is a bit tricky to do, though. A monopod might help but not nearly as much as a tripod.

To get the shutter speed up to "stop" the subject motion will require either more light or a much faster lens (much larger max aperture or much smaller minimum f-stop number) or the ability to crank the ISO value even higher or a combination of two or three of these steps.

kitacanon wrote in post #4096544
Maybe there's something wrong with the copy this BB's locked display cabinet...
There was DEFINITELY lag in the VF as the IS couldn't keep up with my not so fast pan...no lag with the IS off...
The fella at BB was just looking at the LCD with me...no expertise was needed to see that there was no gain in sharpness using IS.

You can't can't evaluate sharpness using the low resolution of the LCD.

Mark

gizmo3 wrote in post #4096202
Has anyone rented from some of the lens places on the web?

I can not say enough good things about www.lensrentals.com .Roger Cicala is the owner and the service is beyond reproach.

The only bad thing I can say is I rented a 500 f/4 a year ago and felt so sad returning it I went out and spent $6,000 on my own.

Mark_Cohran wrote in post #4096873
You can't can't evaluate sharpness using the low resolution of the LCD.

Mark

You can compare the DIFFERENCE...and at worst there was none.

kitacanon wrote in post #4097226
You can compare the DIFFERENCE...and at worst there was none.

Whatever you say. Now back on topic.

Gizmo, read what SkipD wrote very carefully. He's giving you good advice, as have some others. In this case, IS isn't going to help you that much becuase you are trying to stop action in low light conditions, but don't be dissuaded from it for your future purchase. I think you'll find the majority of photographers who use it on a regular basis find it quite useful for handheld shots.

Mark

Mark_Cohran wrote in post #4097806
Whatever you say. Now back on topic.

Gizmo, read what SkipD wrote very carefully. He's giving you good advice, as have some others. In this case, IS isn't going to help you that much becuase you are trying to stop action in low light conditions, but don't be dissuaded from it for your future purchase. I think you'll find the majority of photographers who use it on a regular basis find it quite useful for handheld shots.

Mark

IS is valuable to many I'm sure...of course you can have both, faster aperture and IS, if you have the money...
...but given the choice of two lenses, one with a smaller widest aperture (say 5.6) and IS and one that has a wider largest aperture (say 2.8 ) that will allow the shooting at faster shutter speeds to stop action, the recommendation HAS to be the wider aperture of the two...you can always learn how to breath and brace and hold a camera properly, and even learn how to focus manually, but you can't slow down the action in front of the lens...and the difference between 125/sec and 500/sec is critical for OP.

Can you afford a monopod? They're significantly cheaper than an image stabilized lens. You can get a good one for around $65. However, like image stabilization, it will only help you avoid camera shake. It will not prevent the blur of action on the field.