Best lens for sports

[Angela_14]

Hello! I am completely new to photography and need some help. I recently bought a Canon Rebel T6 that came with a 18-55mm lens and 75-300mm lens. I bought this camera to take pictures of my kids at football and basketball, but realize I need a different lens to get the nice crisp clean pictures that I want. I will be taking pictures outdoors from the bleachers for football and indoors from the side of the court for basketball. I also realize lenses are expensive, but because I’m still learning, I’d like to keep a lower price in mind. So, what lens would work best for me? I appreciate any advice!

 

[Designer]

.. I need a different lens to get the nice crisp clean pictures that I want.

Hello and welcome!

I am not quite sure of what you mean by "crisp clean", other than perhaps sharply focused. Is that what you mean? Can you post a photo of what you get now? (edit) In the Canon forum.

Agreed, some lenses are "sharper", if sharpness is what is lacking, but it also could be a combination of your camera's sensor, the lighting, or your post-capture editing workflow. You should be aware that you can apply additional sharpening when editing your photos. Sharp is good for sports, but perhaps not so good for portraiture where you might want some softness, so treat each project with that in mind.

I'm not familiar with Canon cameras and lenses, so start another thread and post in the Canon forum.

 

[Derrel]

I think the most important thing is to have a lens that has a wide maximum Aperture. There are a few lenses I would suggest. They are in no particular order the EF 85 mm F/1.8: D1 135 mm F/2.2 L series, and the 200 mm F/2.8. in zoom lenses I would suggest the canon 70 to 200 F/2.8 L series Mark III

 

[RVT1K]

There are a ton of variables here...

As a new photographer, I feel that you getting good shots will have A LOT more to do with correct technique than what equipment you are using.

Maybe post some shots that you are not happy with? Be sure to include the lens you used and what settings your camera was set to...the f-stop, the shutter speed, the ISO setting, auto-focus settings... See what I mean about variables?

And while you can and will get lots of good advice here, I think your best bet will be to take some form of entry-level photography class. There is nothing like the hands-on experience and instant feedback from an instructor to get a good handle on the basics. Keep your eyes open for adult-education classes at your local schools and local camera stores. I took a class (way back when) at the store where I bought my first digital camera and then took another one at some point at a local elementary school.

 

[stk]

You should be able to get good, crisp images with your setup outdoors. Indoors will probably be difficult.

The problem is long and fast lenses are expensive by nature, and to make it worse, usually only offered with pros in mind meaning even more expensive due to faster auto focus, better build quality, weather sealing and so on.

I don't know much about basketball, and how close you can get to the game, but the closer you can get the less you have to spend on a new lens.

A 70 - 200 mm f/2.8 would probably be a good choice, but they are pricey.

 

[weepete]

Cheapest: Canon 200mm f2.8L ii
Fastest: Sigma 135mm f1.8 Art
Sharpest: Canon 300mm f2.8L
Most versitile: Canon 70-200 f2.8L, Sigma 70-200mm f2.8 Art or Tamron 70-200mm f2.8

 

[ac12]

For Football

• The 75-300 should be OK from the bleachers, during the DAY.
  • That lens is a bit slow for night games. For night games, the rules change.
• Keep the shutter speed UP, above 1/1000 sec.
• Try to move the camera as smooth as you can. Don't jerk it into position for a shot.

In the gym.

• On the gym floor, a Sigma 17-50/2.8 is a good lens to use.
  
  • The Tamron 17-50/2.8 is another option, BUT the zoom ring turns in the opposite direction than the Canon lenses. This may or may not bother you, it does me.
    
  • The f/2.8 is fast enough for the gym that you are not at really high ISO levels, that your 18-55 would need.
  • But the zoom ring is kinda stiff, because of the short throw and extending lens.
• If you are in the bleachers, the Tamron 35-150/2.8-4 would be my choice.
  • But the zoom ring turns in the opposite direction than the Canon lenses.
• If you are high in the bleachers, a 70-200/2.8 would be my choice.
  • But, these lenses are NOT cheap. They start at $1200 and go up, way up.
  • They are also big and heavy.
  • Some people use a monopod, but people walking and stamping on the bleachers will vibrate and shake the monopod. Monopod is OK on a cement floor, where you don't have that vibration and shaking.

Other tips.

• Do NOT use Auto exposure mode.
  
  • This is because you need more control over the camera.
    • On a Canon, in Auto mode, you cannot control what the camera chooses to focus on. The camera will focus on the closest subject, even if it is NOT your son.
    • See next item "single point" auto focus.
  • For sport during the day, I recommend Tv (shutter priority), to keep the shutter speed above 1/1000 sec.
    
  • For gym, I use M (manual), because of under exposure problems when the ceiling lights are in the image.
    • If you are shooting downward, and don't have ceiling lights to deal with, Av (aperture priority) would be my choice, with the aperture set to the smallest number (largest aperture).
  • There is a sport scene option, but I don't use scenes, so I cannot comment on how well it works or does not work.
• I would use "single point" autofocus.
  
  • Any of the group/area autofocus will likely focus on players other than your son.
    
    • Group AF uses "closes subject" logic, so if there is another player in the area that the autofocus covers, it will focus on the closest player. You have no control over this.
  • Single point, lets YOU choose where to put the autofocus point
    • However, this puts the requirement for tracking and putting the autofocus point on your son, on YOU.
• Set the ISO level as HIGH as you need to go to maintain a shutter speed of 1/500 sec for basketball, and 1/1000 sec for day-time football.
  • In the gym, I will go up as high as ISO 12800 or 6400, depending on the lens I use.
• In sports photography, practice is the key. The more you shoot, the better you will get.

 

[ebyelyakov]

It boils down to two things:

1. Reach - as in the focal length. 70-200, 100-400, 400 and 600 are the most useful for full frame. I believe your camera is crop, so you will get the same reach with 1.5 lesser length (e.g. 400 becomes 600).

2. Speed- as in the max aperture. f/2.8, but realistically, for the masses only 70-200 is relatively affordable (I paid about $AUD3600 for Sony), for amateur photography (I mean as not a source of income to justify the spend). 400 or 600mm get ridiculously expensive, well, by my standards. $AUD22K is not something I can justify myself.

The conversation shouldn't be taken in isolation to the camera itself. Your sensor performance, speed of AF, burst capability and speed of storage cards will also become very important to capturing an unpredictable, fast action under whatever (probably crap) lightning conditions.

 

[Derrel]

You have been given some good advice. In my experience, for indoor sports, lens speed is of primary importance. When shooting night time high school football lighting is poot. your75 to 300 mm zoom lens would be OK outdoors in daylight, but for night football and for indoor volleyball or basketball it is too"slow" which refers to the maximum aperture value, which I believe is f/5.6 above around 225 mm in length.

if you do not have a zoom capability in your lens,then you must move yourself and the camera closer or farther from the action, so there are a number of prime or single focal length lenses which would be good for indoor sports such as from very close the 24 mm wide angle lens or the 35 mm F/2 (affirdable!) Lens, Or the 50mm F/1.4 lens, or from a moderate distance,the 85 mm F1.8 auto focus lens. For night time football from the bleachers there really is no good lens that you can likely afford… Shooting from the bleachers is not nearly as good as moving 50 to 100 feet closer to the action and using a lens that does not cost $10,000 and weigh 12 to 15 pounds ( I am speaking of a 400 mm F/2.8 Canon EF ). from the sidelines I would think that the shortest lens you could possibly use would be the 135 mm F/2.0 Canon L-series, or the 200 mm F2.8. These two lenses are amazingly sharp and relatively light and fairly easy to use.

Another popular sports lens is the 70 to 200 mm F2.8 L, which has recently been upgraded to the Mark III iteration, and it is an exceptional lens ,but it is F2.8 not F1.8 or F2. The typical high school football field does not have very good lighting at night, and it's nowhere near as bright as most college or professional stadium fields, so lens speed, meaning maximum aperture value, is a primary importance when shooting night time high school football. In some parts of the country, junior varsity and lower levels and sometimes varsity level football is played during daylight hours and this is much less demanding of equipment.

Coming back with sharp,clear high school sports photos...it's not all equipment....there is quite a bit of demand placed upon the skill of the photographer.there is no one "best lens". I think you need three different lenses, ideally.and quite a bit of experience.if I would recommend just _one_lens however it would be the actual Canon 70 to 200 F 2.8.

 

[ac12]

. . . to take pictures of my kids at football and basketball,

What level school; middle school (7-9), high school (10-12), college ?
And what level of play?

Here HS varsity football is played at night, under lights.
As @Derrel said, the lighting is POOR, and you will not do very well from the bleachers with any consumer grade lens in the 300mm range. They are just not fast enough (large aperture). And the pro 70-200/2.8 is kinda short, but usable, for use in the bleachers (I use it down on the field on the sideline).
Night high school games are just plain difficult to shoot.

BTW, I use a 35mm prime lens in the gym for basketball. It is cheaper than a zoom, but not as flexible.
Go with the Sigma 17-50/2.8 zoom, if you can afford it. If not, then the 35mm prime lens.
This lens should work for you:

https://www.amazon.com/Yongnuo-YN35...id=1568957888&sourceid=Mozilla-search&sr=8-14​

 

[ronlane]

Welcome to the forum. There is plenty of advice given above as to what lenses and settings and low light and daylight. We all have started where you are at. I started with a Canon T3i and a 70-200mm f/4.

Lesson learned: That neither were even close to what I needed for Friday Night Lights here in Oklahoma.

One fact about sports photography: It's not cheap and it doesn't pay well.

I've worked my way up the ladder. T3i, 7D, 7D mk II, 1D mk IV with a 5D mk III as a second body. I started with the 70-200mm f/4 and then went to the 70-200mm f/2.8 and used that for a number of years and now I use a 300mm f/2.8 with the 70-200mm f/2.8 as my second lens.