Sports Photography - Which Lens?

I own a Canon 1d (4.2 megapixels)and would like to get a lens to shoot

football. My budget is about $800.00 so I am seriously considering the Sigma

70-200 2.8 lens. Any thoughts or suggestions? Is the Canon lens so much more

superior that I should save and buy it? Any compatability issues with the

Sigma lens? Thanks in advance for any input!

I used the 70-200 2.8L for seven years shooting sports for a paper. It is rugged, sharp and most important over third party lenses it focuses rapidly. I published a lot of pictures made by this lens. I still have it well over ten years later. I have used it for weddings, wildlife, and portraits. If I were doing it I would stick with Canon.

I can't compare the Sigma and Canon, I have the Canon and love it. I use it and the 400 2.8 to shoot football.

 

It depends on a lot of things. How is the lighting? What kind of access will you have? In general, I think 200 is barely long enough to shoot football, but I only shoot college and sometimes you have to fight for a position on the sideline. The 2.8 aperture is a must if you are going to shoot at night on the field where I work. Most high schools would be worse, but some colleges and pro venues would be better.

 

If you are going to do all your shooting on the same field in the same light conditions, this might be a good place to rent a lens and see for yourself.<div></div>

By the way IS is not very useful for sports and I never really missed it. I have IS on a Canon 4.5-5.6 100-400L that allows me to hand hold a couple of stops better but I don't rely on it much just because of my ingrained shooting habits.

In that price range I would be considering a used Canon EF 300mm f4 L (with no-IS). I shoot soccer with a 200/2 and 400/2.8 on a 1.6x body and consider the ideal length to be a 300mm on a 1.3x body.

I have owned both the Canon 70-200 2.8 IS and the Sigma 70-200 2.8. In the two copies of the lenses I owned there was no discernible difference in the final prints. I still have the Sigma. I got rid of the Canon 70-200 for a Canon 300.

 

As someone else mentioned the 70-200 is barely long enough for football if you will have to shoot from one position. If you can move along the sidelines or to the end zones with the play it will get the job done. The Sigma's auto focusing is fast & photos are sharp.

 

I shoot a lot of sports with my Sigma 70-200. While I take good care of all my lenses it has taken the most abuse and is still as good today as when I bought it.

 

I've seen the Canon non-IS go for about $800.00 on ebay which is close to th price you will pay for the new Sigma.

 

If you like to buy new, get the Sigma. If you don't mind the risk of ebay or similar transactions, get the Canon used.

 

I didn't save for the Canon the first time around. The money I made off the Sigma's shots paid for the Canon which I didn't keep.

 

FWIW.

 

K.

I think you need to know how rapidly the Sigma focuses vs., the Canon: this I think will be the major separating criterion.

 

I use the Canon 70 to 200F2.8L for sport (20D: i.e. x1.6): it is useful with the x1.4MkII converter. On a x1.3 it might be a tad short: hence my mention of the converter.

 

I did not consider the Sigma lens.

 

I have access to the sidelines, from the stand, and with limited movement I would have looked at a 300mm and, possibly the converter also.

 

The viewpoint freedom the photographer has is critical for FL choice in sports photography.

 

WW

When I did my sports I had very good field access and the 70-200L was more than adequate. I always used a stick(monopod) to keep from getting arm weary and it helps some with sharpness. I also did high school football where the end zones were so dark that I had to keep flash mounted as 2.8 was not wide enough. My favorite football picture was a tight shot of a back busting the goal line. My editor would only accept pictures with at least one hometown face and a ball in it.

and as DA mentioned a monopod: me too.

 

WW

I use the Canon 200mm f/2.8L lens for football. I have sideline access and can move up and down the field without any problems. In fact it's kind of cool when the kids willingly move out of your way so you can get a shot. They know that when they are in playing that I'll do my best to get some good shots of them. :).

With the 1D, you have a weather-sealed body. The Canon L lenses are weather-sealed; the

Sigma is not. Although I'm generally a big fan of the Sigma (the image quality and AF

performance on my 20D are comparable to a 70-200/2.8L--I couldn't tell much of a

difference when I borrowed my friend's lens), but I'd think the extra couple hundred would be

worth it when combining with a 1-series camera.

I have used the Sigma 70-200 2.8 for sports, portraits, and commercial work, all of which has been published. I have used this lens for a lot of high school/ college sports for the local rag and have had no problems or issues with it. Can't beat it for the money IMO.

<p>I dont know much about these kind of cameras, but i want to be able to take pictures at my brothers high school football games.<br />Someone told me to look at the Canon EOS Rebel T1i and to use this lens EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6IS Lens<br />I have a game this week and want to get something by then. Can someone tell me exactly what you would reccomend. All together price wise i can only spend up to 1000. Thanks!</p>

<p>If the football games are at night and are under typical high school stadium lighting (meaning: poor) then the 55-250 will force you to use ISO 12800 with the T1i. If you're willing to put up with post-processing to try and reduce the digital noise, it's as good a place as any to start. </p>

<p>[[i have a game this week and want to get something by then]]</p>

<p>Photographing sports is not a trivial task and under low light, it's only more difficult. If you've never used a DSLR, by all means, buy one now, but expect a steep learning curve and don't expect anything close to perfection with your photos. And don't use auto modes. You're going to have to dig through the menus and the user guide.</p>

<p>Search the archives here for similar questions, don't limit your searching to football.</p>