Express Action Sports

My goals: freezing the action of live performers even if the lighting is not too bright.

Additional: What lens should I be using? I prefer a zoom lens so that I could frame the subjects better.

First and foremost you’ll need a camera that allows you full manual control.

Freezing action is a function of shutter speed. Shutter speed is a product of light, lens aperture (f-stop) and ISO. In concert situations where the light is usually dim you’ll have to "open up" your lens and increase your ISO. As you increase ISO, image quality begins to suffer. Noise Reduction circuitry helps but its no cure-all. As you "open up" your lens, its performance declines – most all lenses give their best results at between f5.6 and f11. A lens wide open, say at f2.0 or f2.8 will admit the most light but the edges won’t be as sharp and you’ll see some light fall-off from center to edge. As in all things there are no solutions only trade-offs.

Turning now to my trusty FotoSharp "Day & Night Exposure Guide" we find:
Indoor sports, circus – floodlit suggests:
f2.8 @ 1/125 @ ISO 800
f4.0 @ 1/60 @ ISO 800
f2.8 @ 1/250 @ ISO 1600
f4.0 @ 1/125 @ ISO 1600

School stage/auditorium suggests:
f2.8 @ 1/30 @ ISO 800
f4.0 @ 1/15 @ ISO 800
f2.8 @ 1/60 @ ISO 1600
f4.0 @ 1/30 @ ISO 1600

About all you can do is decide what image quality is going to be acceptable to you. To get a zoom lens with a maximum aperture of f2.8 is probably going to be expensive. Sigma offers a 50-150mm f2.8 zoom for around $700.00 and a 70-200mm f2.8 for around $900.00. A Canon 70-200mm f2.8 is around $1,150.00

The Sigma 50-150 is only for use with cameras using the APS-C sensor. Its image circle is too small for a film camera or a larger than APS-C sensor.

A good monopod might help you go to a slower shutter speed but then you might not be able to freeze action as you said you wanted to.

I have a Canon EOS Digital Rebel with an 18-55 mm lens. I want to get a lens that will get me closer to the action for sports photos for example. I also will be using it for landscapes and other outdoor photos.

Your 18-55mm lens is a zoom lens, all it means is that the lens has a variable focal length between X and Y.

A telephoto lens is one that is greater focal length than the "normal" lens for a particular type of camera. On a 35mm, that is anything more than 50mm. On a 645 or 6X6, that is anything greater than an 80mm.

On your Digital Rebel with the 1.6x crop factor, it is anything greater than about 35mm. Your 18-55 is actually a short telephoto, with an equivalent field of view of approximately 29-88mm as compared to a 35mm camera.

What you can get to fulfill your need varies mostly with your budget. The Canon 75-300 III is the least expensive method to get a lot more reach, but is also the worst option. Better, yet still fairly low cost, is the Sigma 70-300 APO. Make sure it is the APO version, there are several.

Upping the budget a little, there is the Canon 55-250 IS, supposed to be a pretty good lens.

For another step up in price, there is the Canon 70-300 IS, which is an image stabilized version of the lens, but is a much better lens to begin with. For only a little more, you can get the Canon 70-200 f/4 L, a constant aperture zoom. Anything with an L in the name is a good lens. Even the 28-300 IS, even though it costs $2,300.

I’d like to take action photos as well as team photos for youth sports in my area. I will be purchasing a canon 7D in the near future and a letter board, but beyond that I don’t know what I’ll need. If anyone has advice I’m all ears. My budget is about $5000 after I buy the 7D. I want to make the most of my money without buying things I don’t need.

Thanks in advance,

For team photos, you would need a lens that is "normal". A standard zoom, in a range of like 24-70mm, works well. A prime lens, maybe a 35mm, also works well. Is it team and individual photos? In my area, these types of photos are usually taken indoors because weather in April is so iffy. If that is your case, too, you would need to invest in some lighting equipment as well.

For action shots. you’ll find that you can get the batter and the infield with a zoom that goes to 200mm. You’ll get the batter at full length with a 200mm. To get the outfield or to zoom to get more of a headshot of the batter, you’ll want a bit more. You need to be sure you get every player on a team when you do this (or you’ll hear about it!).

So if you really are OK spending $5000, the Canon 24-70 F2.8 is excellent, though you are probably get by with a less expensive lens if needed. It is around $1,200

The Canon 70-200 F2.8 is an excellent lens for sports. It is heavy, you’ll probably want to pick up a monopod. The F2.8 non-IS version is around $1,500 and the IS version is around $2000. There are good primes in the price range, too, look at the 300mm F4 (the 300mm F2.8 is a dream but $4,200). The Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM Lens is a good alternative with good range, but if you are going to do any night games it might be limiting (though the 7D has pretty decent ISO performance)

The lenses can be found at http://www.bhphoto.com

Look at AlienBees for lighting. You’ll need a couple of lights, lightstands, umbrellas and wireless trigger/receiver. http://www.alienbees.com. If you want to use them outdoors, they also sell the vagabond battery.