Lens For Sumo Matches

I will be attending the Grand Sumo event in January 2010 in Tokyo. Here is a view of the building: http://upload.wikimedi​a.org …an_Tsuriyane_05​212006.jpg

I do not know where I will be sitting. I was thinking about taking a 135L with 1.4x for flexibility but I think I will probably just opt for using a 70-200F/2.8L IS and a 16-35L for wide-angle shots like the wikimedia shot above. Flash is allowed but I'm not sure how effective it will be. I believe this is very similar to shooting basketball in the US. Any pointers from experienced indoor sports shooters would be appreciated.

I will probably either be sitting ringside or 5-10 rows back of ringside or the first row on the top level depending on seating availability. Ticket availability varies by day and I plan to attend on an early day on a non-weekend so there should be good seats available. Ringside would be optimal but I'm told those are extremely difficult to get. The throws are quite fast and I want to try to get some action shots. It will have to be handheld because of space constraints. The actual building lighting is not very good.

Route246 wrote in post #8730991
Any pointers from experienced indoor sports shooters would be appreciated.

Route246 wrote in post #8730991
Ringside would be optimal but I'm told those are extremely difficult to get. The throws are quite fast and I want to try to get some action shots. It will have to be handheld because of space constraints. The actual building lighting is not very good.

Okay, at the Jungyou I was second row, so quite a few "sumo legs" got blocked by heads. I was able to shoot the 5D2 manual mode at ISO3200 and 1/500s shutter speed and get enough stopping of action / motion blur to really convey the sense of the action. sRAW2. The RKG probably is brighter than the stadium in Sapporo, so you should be fine. Whatever you do, get as close as possible. Even the pro sports photogs here shoot loose (for cropping) stupid flash, and f4~f5.6... if you want the essence of the event, get the natural light. Also, the WA is nice for about two shots to set the enviornment (I had the 24L for a shot of the ring) every other shot was with the 70-200/2.8IS handheld. I occasionally shot f3.5 1/160s ISO1600 with IS on during the ceremonial sections, everything else was as listed above.

Whatever the cost... pay it. Truly a spectacular sport from up close.

I'd do the 70-200 f/2.8 IS and the 16-35

Simply put, I would not want a prime with something that changes so quickly...Juggling a TC on and off may not be a good idea either

For Sumo? Something wiiiide

But really, I'd suggest a 16-35 or a 15mm FE, definitely. The 15mm isn't very "fishy" on a cropper and I usually use mine for indoor assignments. Pairing either one of those up with a 70-200 2.8 would be really nice.

Chez Wimpy,

Thanks for the pointers. This is what I was looking for. I don't think I'll be able to get 2nd row seating and may even end up on the upper deck. I'll remember 3200 and 1/500 as a good guideline. I wanted to avoid flash for all of the obvious reasons. But you really answered my question about if f/2.8 is going to get it. I was afraid that only a very fast prime was going to be my only option.

In Sapporo are you sitting on zabuton? Might be a dumb question but I don't know that arena.

Also, should I even bother with taking any f/4 (24-104L or 70-200IS) glass or is it too slow?

Chez Wimpy wrote in post #8731281
Yes, I just shot the Sapporo Jungyou in August (Kotomitsuki and Kaio for example). 2nd row in the N/E corner of the ring, about 1500 captures during the day. I got some great results. Including #1 here:
http://www.dpreview.co​m …es/Challenge.as​px?ID=2107
From that vantage point I could see the west-side rikishis head on (Koto at the shikirisen), and the east side as they would take their seats and enter the ring (Kaio stepping up in that shot), recieve water of power and spit it back, ect.

Okay, at the Jungyou I was second row, so quite a few "sumo legs" got blocked by heads. I was able to shoot the 5D2 manual mode at ISO3200 and 1/500s shutter speed and get enough stopping of action / motion blur to really convey the sense of the action. sRAW2. The RKG probably is brighter than the stadium in Sapporo, so you should be fine. Whatever you do, get as close as possible. Even the pro sports photogs here shoot loose (for cropping) stupid flash, and f4~f5.6... if you want the essence of the event, get the natural light. Also, the WA is nice for about two shots to set the enviornment (I had the 24L for a shot of the ring) every other shot was with the 70-200/2.8IS handheld. I occasionally shot f3.5 1/160s ISO1600 with IS on during the ceremonial sections, everything else was as listed above.

Whatever the cost... pay it. Truly a spectacular sport from up close.