Canon 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6L EF IS USM Lens

What do you think about this lens Canon 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6L EF IS

USM Lens for a all round sports lens if not then any other

suggestions? Thanks for the help

IS is less important for sports since you need to be shooting at fast shutter speeds anyway. So you really need fast lenses. Different sports do have different focal length requirements so your idea of a zoom is not a bad idea. For the same budget I'd be thinking about 70-200/2.8 non-IS and 300/4 non-IS. Personally I'd be considering a used 300/2.8 non-IS. If you wanted all new for that same budget I'd consider either 135/2 + 300/4 L IS OR 200/2.8 + 400/5.6. For all possibilities I'd add a 1.4x converter. Good luck.

I would like to add that the 28-300 does not have stellar optical quality and if that is not a significant drawback and you want speed as well as longer range than the Sigma 120-300/2.8 for the same price is a reasonable consideration. Many people here are happy with it.

For sports photgraphy, I would reccomend the 50 1.8 (if you don't already have one), an85 1.8 and the 120-300 2.8 if you can afford it. That will give you the versatility to shoot almost any sport. The 28-300 is simply the best hyperzoom lens, but even that is not really saying a whole lot.

The 'IS' feature will keep the lens stable in your hands....but if you need to shoot in near-darkness with stadium lights, a f3.5 lens (even a L series from Canon) will become not-so-nice when you need 1/180th second at f2.8 to stop some soccer action. A f2 135mm lens would (maybe) be a better choice for sports.

28-300 f3.5-5.6 will work great for outdoor games with lots of light. However, there will be many situation where lighting won't be ideal and you'll need to opt for something a lot faster to a.) get enough exposure to stop the action, and b.) to blur away distracting background when necessary. I'd second a Sigma 120-300mm f2.8 for a great, all purpose lens. An 85mm f1.4 and a 50mm f1.4 are very useful in lowlight gyms. IS/VR doesn't do anything for me when shooting sports. I'd rather have f1.4 lens in low light situations.

I have this lens and use it extensively for outdoor sports. The images I have taken have been tack sharp and I always use it with a monopod. I have used it on a Canon 10D, 20D, and the new 1D Mark II N. The others are right though about indoors use - it just isn't fast enough. The 70-200mm f/2.8 works great and so does the Sigma 24-70 f/2.8.