doug_saucier

I use my 135 f/2 and 200 f/2.8 primes with either the 1.4 or the 2 TC's. This work better on the 200 than 135 IMO anyway. The 200 and a 1.4 or 2 TC is less than a grand and good images to boot. FYI - this is on a 30D.

Zach,

I would rent the 85 1.8 but this is tennis season here in Minnesota and I use it almost all the time, because the coaches let us inside the fences to shoot.

Pull the trigger on the 85 you will not be let down for the price.

Some others have said the 70-200 2.8 is great, but plunking down a grand plus some for the Non IS version is tough to do. It will pay off, but the out lay is hard to swallow. I would rather spend the grand on 135 2.0 before a 70-200, which is what I did. IMO anyway.

Zach,

I had the same issues as you. I have gone prime only route using the 50/1.4, 100/2, 135/2 and the 200/2.8 all on a 30D. The 85/1.8 is a great lens as well. The 1.6 crop helps the long end and I end up shooting with the 135 and the 200 almost 100% of the time split evenly based on distance to HP.

Droped my 300d with a 135 f/2.0L at a Lacrosse match on the running track that surronds the field and I saw my life (wife!) pass in front of me. All seems well after 6000 shutter actuations and 5 months. Go Canon!

CF cards can Fail, and do fail. I never keep more than a days shoot on a card and sometimes I use four or five cards at an event just because odds are not all cards will fail me at any one time. I only use Sandisk II 2GB cards, and that will hold around 300 images at most. I bet I have never put any more than 100 on any one card. Burn those images to a CD or DVD as fast as you can and back up your HD everyday.

 

Paranoia comes from lifes experience's, and that?s not always a bad thing.

Try using the 50 f/1.4 not wide open but still getting good backgroound blur. Move in close for head shots and futher out for body shots. No need to get any other lens for this shoot. The only thing you should be looking at getting is a 5 in 1 lite panel to take out the shadows that appear on those sunny days. On the 20D use iso 100 with a fill flash as well.

Glenn, I would suggest using a 135 F/2.0L lens as this is a wonderful fast lens. Depending on the arena, this will let you shoot in darker arenas at 400 ISO, and at 1/500. I try to stay at or above the 1/500 for Ice Hockey as it is so fast. Unless you are shooting Mites or 1st yr Peewees, 1/250 will not work. At the High school levels the lighting is a bit better and can get upwards of 1/800 at f/2.8 or even f/3.2. If you are doing college your setup is perfect.

 

Shoot RAW! Shoot, Shoot, and more shoot. I figure a 10% success rate is darn good for hockey, and 5% is ok.

 

Sometimes the white ice and the white boards can confuse the WB a bit, but if you shoot in RAW this can be corrected. White jerseys can also be a problem.

 

Try using center AF and follow the action. Knowing and predicting the action is required to shoot hockey. If you shoot for a specific team all of the time, you will learn to predict the player?s alot better over the year. This will allow you to get the right player in focus because while your shooting at a f/2.0 or 2.8 the depth of field is real shallow and your subject(player) will not be the focal point all of the time.

 

Position your self to always get a face in the image. Never shoot from the rafters as they say. Ice level shooting through the glass is not that hard as your focal point is well beyond the glass anyway, and you will not see the lighter scuff marks you?re shooting through. You can get nice shots form the blueline area and sometimes from the penalty box if they let you have access to the area. I have even asked the coaches if I can shoot from inside the player?s bench. Most coaches are ok with this although the arena may have some problems with it.

 

You don't say if you?re a parent or a pro, this makes a huge difference in the way you?re treated at the arena. Parents get the stands as the pros get the boxes and bench areas.