Need a prime for basketball. But which?

Yeah, I guess I could use my 20mm on my 7D which would equal about a 32mm and use the 70-200 on the Mark III.

I just bought the 7D and am wondering about it's focus ability in dimly lit gyms....

Hank E wrote in post #11385560
Yeah, I guess I could use my 20mm on my 7D which would equal about a 32mm and use the 70-200 on the Mark III.

I just bought the 7D and am wondering about it's focus ability in dimly lit gyms....

The 7D is extremely good at focusing. I would not worry at all.

I had this issue with the 7D and the 70-200. Under the basket it's just too long to get a shot of a guy going up for a layup without cutting too much off.

I picked up a 24-70 for this, because it lets me Zoom to around 50-60mm as they move down court toward me and slowly zoom to around 30mm for the shots of them shooting in front of me.

This one's at 24mm:

Hank E wrote in post #11385560
I just bought the 7D and am wondering about it's focus ability in dimly lit gyms....

In those dimly lit gyms...?? is going to be tough for mom & dad's shooting the kids at a BBall game..
Now if you are shooting at a nice high school, NCAA or Pro game it is going to be so much easier to get good pic's.

But I can see where you are going to need all of 1.8..1.4 for those dimly lit gyms...No Flash... I have been there and parents wanted to see my pic's, they were so bad I stop shooting and starting watching the games like the rest of them.
Joe.

I don't shoot basketball but my 135L is extremely fast focusing and sharp at full aperture.. I also like my EF 50mm f/1.4 for the same reason.... The EF 100mm f/2 would also be a good choice..

I have shot basketball with lenses from the 17-55 up to a 300(sitting in the stands halfway up the arena). Many of my best shots have come from lenses in the 50-85mm range. Assuming you are sitting on the baseline near the basket... I would think that a 50mm would be suitable. There is no 50mm prime with phenomenal AF, so your technique will have to be good. But, I suspect that you'd be able to get it to work.

However, I was on a 40D or 7D(both 1.6x crops)
Your options would be...

7D+50mm= 80mm
1DIII+70-200mm= 91mm-260mm

^^^ There is not that much of a difference between 80 and 91(would it really be worth it?...maybe)

7D+70-200mm= 112-320mm
1DIII+50mm= 65mm

^^^ 65 eq.FOV is slightly wide for bball, but you could probably make it work depending on where you are sitting.

I've actually shot from under the hoop with a 17-40 and a 1DMkII before and gotten good results. Considering that the MkII ISO performance can't touch the MkIII and the 17-40 is slow glass to start with, I think you'll find there are lots of options since it certainly doesn't require f1.4 speed.

here's just a quick idea of f4..

Two other photographers shoot the same team as me. One guy shoots a 1Diii and the 70-200 f/2.8 never leaves his camera. He uses flash, too. The second shooter uses both a 70-200 f/2.8 on a 7D and a 24-70L on a 1Dii.

Me? I prefer to leave the 70-200 at home and use an 85f/1.8 on my 7D most of the time. Sometimes I'll switch out the 85mm for the 50mm f/1.4 if the game is inside with lots of dunking going on. The 85mm can be too long from a courtside setup.

I know ... more confusion. Just what you needed!

dave

Canon EF 200L 2.8 MKI for snapshots, right out of the lens, check the colours, bokeh for only $500! (and not having to carry the 70-200 2.8L IS )

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I'll agree with those saying the 70-200 is the shiz for hoops. There's almost nothing that you miss using that glass and depending on your shooting position and access, it may even make shorter glass meaningless.

Joe300 wrote in post #11386157
In those dimly lit gyms...?? is going to be tough for mom & dad's shooting the kids at a BBall game..
Now if you are shooting at a nice high school, NCAA or Pro game it is going to be so much easier to get good pic's.

But I can see where you are going to need all of 1.8..1.4 for those dimly lit gyms...No Flash... I have been there and parents wanted to see my pic's, they were so bad I stop shooting and starting watching the games like the rest of them.
Joe.

I hear you . I gave up last year .This year they are playing in a different gym , I hope the lighting is better . I'll find out this weekend.

yogestee wrote in post #11386213
I don't shoot basketball but my 135L is extremely fast focusing and sharp at full aperture.. I also like my EF 50mm f/1.4 for the same reason.... The EF 100mm f/2 would also be a good choice..

With good lighting , the Sigma 50-150mm 2.8 is great for BB . If the lighting is bad I go with 85mm 1.8 , but I do like the Sigma zoom better.

Hank E wrote in post #11385381
I'll be needing a prime Canon lens for the upcoming basketball season. Currently, I have a 7D and 1D MarkIII. I have a 20mm f2.8 and a 70-200 2.8 IS.

I'd like something in between the above two lenses and am thinking about the EF 50mm 1.4 USM. I had a Canon 50mm 1.8 but it was so slow to focus. I'd be using this under the basket.

Anyone use the 50 1.4 for sports???

Thanks!!

50mm 1.4 well i had an awful lot of misses with that one, remember it's not ring USM but fake micro-USM and a very poor version of even that.

85 1.8 focuses much better but it is a bit long under the basket, maybe on the 1D3 you could just manage with it

do you want a prime for better than f/2.8?

Hank E wrote in post #11385400
You're so quick to answer. I went back and added that this would be for use under the basket. I think the 20 is going to be too wide and the 70 end of the zoom too tight.

Well here is 70mm right under the basket on APS-C:

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twoshadows wrote in post #11385507
OP,

No offense meant, but in sports the mantra is "shoot tight, crop tighter". I use an 85mm f/1.8 on my 7d (136mm AoV) right under the basket and it is not too tight, so I can't imagine how the 70-200 on your 1DmkIII is too tight...

I've used the 35L on a 1D3 for basketball from under the net. It was a little too wide. 70mm is too long for a contested layup in the paint if you are really under the net.

I also tried the 50/1.4 but AF missed way too much. I'd not buy that lens.

This year I'm going to try using the 24-70 under the basket with the 1D4 but I am not super optimistic that the AF will be acceptable. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Anyway - here is 50mm under the net, and yes that is a foul.

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Save and get the 24-70L . A great lens for under the basket and a complement to your 70-200.