Football photography at night:Camera, lense advice?

I'm a sports photographer. I have been shooting film for many years. I'm looking to break into the digital world. Budget is a concern. I'm considering the rebel xti and the 300 mm f4--which would certainly be pushing my budget over the edge. Any advice from the experts?

I'm not a sports photographer, but I've shot a lot of stuff at night in football stadiums (marching bands). It really depends on the lighting in the stadium. With really good lighting, you'll be able to get good shutter speeds at f/4, and the 300 f/4 would do very well.

If your stadiums are dimly lit, you may need f/2.8 or even faster (higher ISO) to get your shutter speed up. Unfortunately on your budget, you can't do 300mm and f/2.8. You could give up 100mm and get a 70-200 f/2.8 (or a 200 f/2.8L), but that may not be enough reach. If you can pony up even MORE money, consider the Sigma 120-300 f/2.8. (still significantly more than the 300 f/4, but much less than the 300 f/2.8).

For most high school stadiums, f/4 really won't be enough, even at ISO 1600. (of course, f/2.8 has issues here too). I was getting shutter speeds at a decently lit high school stadium in the 1/80s range for ISO 1600 f/4. Of course, at f/2.8, it's still a bit slow, though at f/2.8 and ISO 3200 (with a 30D or 40D), you could get 1/320 at f/2.8, which would be enough to stop a lot of action (but not all).

College / pro stadiums, or very well lit high school stadiums, you might be able to swing f/4 and still get action shots for sports.

mmauthor wrote in post #4983819
I'm a sports photographer. I have been shooting film for many years. I'm looking to break into the digital world. Budget is a concern. I'm considering the rebel xti and the 300 mm f4--which would certainly be pushing my budget over the edge. Any advice from the experts?

What have you been using/shooting so far? If you've had any success shooting sports in the past, just replicate with lenses that will fit a digital body.

I shoot sports in high school stadiums and lighting is horrible. I think you'd be better off with a 70-200 f2.8. The f4 is certainly limiting.

I shoot a Canon 30D with 70-200 f2.8. Sometimes, if I need the extra reach I'll shoot a 300 f4 with flash.

If you Canon 70-200 f2.8 is too expensive, the Sigma version is great, and it'll save you a few hundred bucks.

The Canon 200mm f2.8L would fit the budget and give a great compromise between length and large aperture.

The 200 2.8L is an awesome lens...couple it with a 1.4x teleconverter and you'll have 200 f/2.8 and 280 f/4.

Not to state the obvious but since you're new to digi, remember the 1.6 crop factor. On a Rebel or 20/30/40D, a 200mm lens gives you 320mm in 35mm film terms.

If you have sideline access you might want to consider the 135mm f/2L. Couple that with a 1.4x and/or 2.0x TC and you've got a 198mm f/2.8L and/or a 270mm f/4L. If you have both TCs, you'll also have a 378mm f/5.6...

mmauthor wrote in post #4983819
I'm a sports photographer. I have been shooting film for many years. I'm looking to break into the digital world. Budget is a concern. I'm considering the rebel xti and the 300 mm f4--which would certainly be pushing my budget over the edge. Any advice from the experts?

I use a DIGITAL REBEL XT with a Canon 70-200 f/2.8L with IS US. If you set the ISO higher then 400 you start getting noise in the pictures. In addition I have found that when you shoot with the lens set at 2.8 and shutter speed 200 the pictures will come out slightly blurry. You will start to notice this as you try to zoom in and crop on the computer. I have found that the sweet spot for this lens is a 5.6 but I have not shot night pictures at this setting because at the tie I didn’t have a flash. Recently I purchased a flash and I will be trying it out at the next night game which is sometime in March. Here is a link to some of the pictures I took at night (see 5/01/07 date)

http://comsewogue.nyse​ction11boyslax.com/pho​tos/Default.asp?d=5/1/​2007&t=38537

Good Luck

buy a gently used 30D instead of a rebel XTi - more rugged, better ergonomics, brighter viewfinder. And a 200mm f.2.8 used as well. Together about $1200. You can also get a 1/4X extender on ebay - kenko 1.4X Pro DG for $125

DONT buy a lens with f/ slower than f/2.8 or you can forget about night football.
Later, a 580EX and a 'better beamer' for flash.