BEST CANON LENS FOR ACTION SPORT PHOTOGRAPHY

[Parko008]

For indoors or in low light (eg early morning or evening) the 70-200mm f2.8 would be my choice. You need the f2.8 aperture for the low light conditions to help you capture as much light as possible for a good exposure.

For outdoors in good light then the 100-400mm would give an edge in range and likely be a very solid choice; but in lower light you will find it will struggle.

awesome thanks just what i needed to know

 

[Parko008]

For indoors or in low light (eg early morning or evening) the 70-200mm f2.8 would be my choice. You need the f2.8 aperture for the low light conditions to help you capture as much light as possible for a good exposure.

For outdoors in good light then the 100-400mm would give an edge in range and likely be a very solid choice; but in lower light you will find it will struggle.

thanks so much i ended up buying that lens but i went today an tested it out and the photos look clear and great on the camera screen but when i put them on my laptop when you zoom they are distorted .... and i have my camera on sports action... how does it work is that me that is causing this?? cause there was no issues the light was fine i was close to athletes had free range today up close far back and yet i produced poor quality pics????

 

[Parko008]

thanks so much i ended up buying that lens but i went today an tested it out and the photos look clear and great on the camera screen but when i put them on my laptop when you zoom they are distorted .... and i have my camera on sports action... how does it work is that me that is causing this?? cause there was no issues the light was fine i was close to athletes had free range today up close far back and yet i produced poor quality pics????

 

[Overread]

It would help if you could post some photos to show, however at a guess I would say that your shutter speed likely wasn't fast enough. Sports mode is okish but it won't mind-read what kind of action is going on and only weights the camera to pick a faster shutter speed if possible.

For sports I would say that around 1/500sec is the slowest shutter speed you can go with, and even then you might get blurring on fast moving areas like feet and hands. Any faster and things get progressively better. So I'd be willing to say this could be the cause of the softness in the photos.

Another angle can be if the IS is enabled but not sped up to speed. Anti-shake systems have to run for a little to get used to the shake they are countering; normally a second or two and they are ready; but if you point ad shoot fast the IS might not get up to speed and thus causes blur. At sports you shouldn't need IS on a 200mm lens - even a 400mm should be sharp handheld (with proper posture) at 1/500sec (for most people of good fitness).

 

[Parko008]

hello

thanks ill post a pic the ones that i took that when you zoom are blury are still ones thats what i dont understand have a look at this one looks clear but when you zoom its not

thanks

 

[Parko008]

 

[Parko008]

 

[pixmedic]

for fast moving subjects like that, i would make sure your shutter speed is a minimum of 1/500th. faster if possible.
i would shoot in manual with auto ISO, or shutter priority so you can pick your shutter speed depending on the action.
this will let you drop the shutter speed a little on slower moving things so the camera can lower the ISO if the lighting isn't great.
also, if your shutter speed is around 1/500th or faster i believe you should be turning image stabilization to OFF.
it is my understanding of IS that if you use it with a fast shutter speed it can actually cause blurry images, or at least, contribute to the problem.

 

[beagle100]

yes, shoot sports at least 1/2000 - manual - auto ISO (daytime)

Untitled by c w, on Flickr

 

[Parko008]

thanks for that pic. So from what i have been reading they say i should use either TV or Av mode which is ok but i am not sure as to what i then need to have all the settings on as in ISO the shutter speed i need as fast as possible as i am shooting athletics which are fast moving so any suggestions on what i should set it to in the day time???

also have been fiddling with it at night whilst athletes are training well i have given up i cant get a single shot that is not blurry even shooting with shutter speed at 1/8000 i have changed settings so much that i dont know what is what anymore and ended up restoring the camera back to factory settings as nothing seem to work for it.....

so i guess i will start with day first and get that right cause i have given up on night time very frustrating.....

Thanks for everyones help learnt alot

 

[Vtec44]

Manual mode, 1/400, 70-200 at 200.

 

[Overread]

Few thoughts:

1) TV is good for fixing your shutter speed; that's great for a photo like what Vtec just posted above of the motorbike where you want a slow enough shutter speed to blur the motion of the wheels; but fast enough to keep the action sharp over the body of the bike.
Yes Vtec used manual mode but manual or TV would work.

3) For general sports I would go with aperture priority mode. This lets you fix the aperture, ergo the depth of field. The shutter speed can then be as fast or as slow as it wants based on the light; so you keep an eye on it and if you need it faster you up the ISO and/or widen the aperture. This means you only need to keep an eye on the shutter speed - as long as its coming in faster than you need (say at least over 1/620sec) then you don't need to change anything.

 

[beagle100]

thanks for that pic. So from what i have been reading they say i should use either TV or Av mode which is ok but i am not sure as to what i then need to have all the settings on as in ISO the shutter speed i need as fast as possible as i am shooting athletics which are fast moving so any suggestions on what i should set it to in the day time???

also have been fiddling with it at night whilst athletes are training well i have given up i cant get a single shot that is not blurry even shooting with shutter speed at 1/8000 i have changed settings so much that i dont know what is what anymore and ended up restoring the camera back to factory settings as nothing seem to work for it.....

so i guess i will start with day first and get that right cause i have given up on night time very frustrating.....

Thanks for everyones help learnt alot

OK, I usually shoot in manual where I can control aperture and shutter
www.flickr.com/photos/mmirrorless

 

[table1349]

The best lens is the one that gets the job done the way you want to. With that said and your budget I would concur with the 70-200 f2.8. MkII if possible. If not the Mk I is still a very good lens.

As for shooting, if you don't feel comfortable in manual then Overread nailed it, shoot in AV mode and use your ISO to keep your shutter speed up. You don't have to go crazy on shutter speed either. The age of the participants and the sport will determine your minimum shutter speed. You don't need crazy fast shutter speeds to freeze action, in fact crazy fast depending on the conditions will cause other issues.

For young kids generally 1/25oth is fine. Older kids (high school on up) then you will generally want 1/500th minimum. I say Generally because if you are shooting curling 1/100th is fast enough. Certain motor sports you may want 1/1000th depending on the shot.

I suspect that your blurring issues have to do with focus not shutter speed. Set you camera to a single focus point. With the 60 D having 9 focus points select the center point as it has cross type points and the Center point is the most sensitive. Set your focus point to continuous focus, AI Servo mode. Continually follow the action focusing all the time and be prepared to capture the action you want. Shoot as wide open as you can. Your DOF needs to only be as deep as necessary to capture the action. The difference between a good sports photo and a sports snapshot is making the action pop. That is done with a shallow DOF.

Know the sport and the players so you can anticipate the action and always be prepared. Do not rely on spray and pray. While I generally have my bodies set in continuous mode I am light and quick on the shutter and only shoot a sequence when it really calls for it. That is generally action that is running parallel to me. Modern AF is very good, but still not as good as the human eye.

Lastly practice, practice practice. The athletes have to practice and so does the sports shooter. Good luck.