What indoor sports lens if you have the slow 85 in the bag already?

So, that is the question. Basketball, Gymnastics, etc... Should I just have two 85mm lens a 1.2 and a 1.8, or get the 135L to complement the 85 1.2 on a 1.3x body. My concern is the 135 could be a bit long but would be a good compliment to the 85 I have. Considering the relatively low cost of the 1.8 ($380 usd), it would not be that big of a deal to have two 85mm lenses but I would rather put that money toward the 135. Another idea I have not thought of?

friesr wrote in post #10044254
So, that is the question. Basketball, Gymnastics, etc... Should I just have two 85mm lens a 1.2 and a 1.8, or get the 135L to complement the 85 1.2 on a 1.3x body. My concern is the 135 could be a bit long but would be a good compliment to the 85 I have. Considering the relatively low cost of the 1.8 ($380 usd), it would not be that big of a deal to have two 85mm lenses but I would rather put that money toward the 135. Another idea I have not thought of?

why not sell the 85mm that you have and get a quick 70-200mm? or you want to stick with primes?

spb wrote in post #10044443
why not sell the 85mm that you have and get a quick 70-200mm? or you want to stick with primes?

Errr, the 85mm is f/1.8, the 70-200 is a max of f/2.8.

I think friesr is after a larger aperture (faster) lens like the f/1.2 85mm

If shooting indoor basketball, v-ball, gymnastics without supplemental lighting, even the 70-200 f/2.8 is usually too slow to capture the action.

The lenses that work best for me are the 85 f/1.8 and the 135 f/2. Both can be used with these settings on my 7D: f/2, ISO 2500, 1/640 on shutter. Pretty much standard settings for your typical HS gym lighting.

Edit: If I want to go wider, and sometimes do, I'll put the 50mm f/1.4 on the 7D and shoot at the same settings as the other two lenses.

dave

snyderman wrote in post #10044568
If shooting indoor basketball, v-ball, gymnastics without supplemental lighting, even the 70-200 f/2.8 is usually too slow to capture the action.

learned something new. thanks.

whats the slow 85?

the 85 1.8 is far from slow. is there another 85 I am missing?

the 85 1.8 is super quick to focus. much quicker than the 1.2

CosmoKid wrote in post #10044738
whats the slow 85?

the 85 1.8 is far from slow. is there another 85 I am missing?

the 85 1.8 is super quick to focus. much quicker than the 1.2

The slow focusing 85 is the 1.2 which i have. I need something that will focus as fast like the 1.8 but I am reluctant to add another 85mm to the bag and really dont want to get rid of the 1.2.

I am looking for fast primes, I am good on 2.8 zooms.

For basketball, 50mm f1.4 is good, especially if you're sitting near the basket. I never shot gymnastics but you will have to get fairly close to use the 50. Maybe the 100f2 will work better.

Does anyone have any experience using the 135 for basketball? The 100 on a 1.3x would give about the same FOV as the 85 on a 1.6x.

friesr wrote in post #10044254
So, that is the question. Basketball, Gymnastics, etc... Should I just have two 85mm lens a 1.2 and a 1.8, or get the 135L to complement the 85 1.2 on a 1.3x body. My concern is the 135 could be a bit long but would be a good compliment to the 85 I have. Considering the relatively low cost of the 1.8 ($380 usd), it would not be that big of a deal to have two 85mm lenses but I would rather put that money toward the 135. Another idea I have not thought of?

I hear the 100 f2 usm has the same qualities as the 85 1.8. Sharp wide open, fast AF, decent build quality, and similar price.

I have used the 100mm f2 for gymnastics and it works quite well. Very fast focusing like the 85mm f1.8.

I owned the 100 f/2 for about two weeks and LOVED it. I shot a HS basketball game with it (I never shoot sports, let alone indoor sports) and thought it performed very well on my 5D. I only sold it to get the 100L because I liked the focal length so much.

Here's a sample from the basketball game:

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f/1.2 might be too thin to capture action shots. f/2.8 gives enough DoF for action shots. In other words, I'd suggest upping the ISO to 3200+. So why not invest in a 1D3 and start shooting at ISO 6400 with a 70-200/2.8. That's just another option.

friesr wrote in post #10046331
Does anyone have any experience using the 135 for basketball? The 100 on a 1.3x would give about the same FOV as the 85 on a 1.6x.

The 135L saw nearly equal time with the 85mm f/1.8 as my main BBall lens when I had the 1DmkIIn. Of course, I like to shoot real tight . The 135L is especially good from the corners:

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I like the 85L and 135L for indoor action. f/2.8 and IS just will not cut it indoors without a flash, imo. Another thought is the 200 f/2 if cost is no object.