Express Action Sports

I have the Canon Rebel T1i, and I’m looking to take better pictures of outdoor sports as well as indoor events. I currently have the Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/1.4-5.6 IS, Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS, as well as a Canon EF 50mm f/1-1.8. Would a Speedlight be beneficial? Or more cost efficient?

It sounds like you have the lenses that should do the job. There are of course better faster lenses but they cost a ton of money. What I think you need to do is learn how to use your camera better. A good class in photography and some practice will improve your pictures.

The 55-250mm should do a fine job with outdoor sports during the day. You will have trouble with it indoors or at night because of the small aperture. The 50mm F1.8 should do a good job with indoor sports if you are reasonably close.

A flash is not recommended though. It would be completely useless with outdoor sports as the action would be too far away for the the flash to be effective. Indoors it would work if you were within about 30ft. but do you really want to be sending a bright flash in the athletes eyes over and over again. I think they might have a problem with that.

If you really want to upgrade lenses be prepared to lay out some serious cash. The 70-200mm F2.8 IS lens is nearly $2,000. A 50mm F1.2 is also nearly $2,000 and a 24-70mm F2.8 or 18-55mm F2.8 are over $1,000.

I have a Canon Rebel T3. I take a lot of sports pictures mostly basketball and volleyball so indoor sports. I have a 18-55mm lens and a 75-300mm lens.. I usually use the 75-300 and I get really good pictures! but I was wondering if there are better lens’ for sports that wont cost more then around 200 dollars or so. thanks so much! or any tips on getting better indoor sports pictures would be great too!

There’s really no good lens you can buy for $200. Unfortunately, the price is everything when it comes to lens. For fast action, you need a lens with a large aperture. Unfortunately, the larger the aperture, the more expensive, exponentially. Check out the pros with those bazooka style lens, that what it takes to freeze the action from far away. But those will cost you tens of thousands of dollars.

What you can do is try to get closer to the action, that way you don’t have to zoom as much. Also, try to pan with the action. With enough practice, you can actually get a nice focus shot of a moving object. So like when a basketball player jumps up diagonally, pan your camera in the same direction. You can get some cool effects with the player being in focus and the background blurred.

Hope this helps,
-Wei
www.artofwei.com

I love taking pictures and my brother has the nikon D40. I’ve taken lots of pictures and I really would like a Canon instead of a Nikon, I know the T1i has HD video taking option, but what is the big difference between the XS and XSi? Aswell I would like the cheaper one but I want one that can take good close up’s and I love taking action shots, like sports (hockey, skiing) What would you recommend? Pro’s and Con’s.

Real simple: Except for slight speed difference;
The XS is a base model with a 10.1MP CMOS sensor (better for low-light than Nikon D40/D40x/D60/D3000 – which all have a CCD)
The XSi adds live view ( but focus is much slower in LV mode) and 2.2MP more.
The T1i adds HD video but won’t AF in video mode, so you must focus before recording & hope your subject doesn’t change distance or manually focus. It also ups the resolution to 15.1MP.

The lens matters more than the camera (all three should work for you). I’d recommend getting it at a camera store as they will help if you have any problems (try getting photo help @ Walmart).

I am new to the advanced photography world, and I just purchased Canon Rebel XT because it seems to be a great entry level camera with good features. I am mostly interested in taking photos of dogs at dog park and events, etc. I want to be able to take clear photos of them running around. What are the lenses that would fit my criteria? I would like something on the cheaper side that does the job. Thanks a lot!

I’ll give you some criteria used in choosing a lens, and then suggest a few that I would use for this purpose.

1. Zoom or prime
Zoom lenses are lenses that cover multiple focal lengths. Prime lenses cover a single focal length. Zooms should NOT be confused with telephotos (lenses for shooting far away things), as telephotos can be either zoom or prime. Zooms give you greater flexibility, but primes offer superior image quality at a given price point. Primes are also available in larger apertures (see below).

2. Focal length
Remember that your DSLR is a "crop" sensor DSLR. This means that your sensor is significantly smaller than 35mm film, and only uses the center of the image circle created by a standard lens. The simplified result of this "crop effect" is that you need to multiply the focal length on the lens by 1.6 to get the effective length on your camera. (No, the lens doesn’t magically change, but the crop will make you move YOUR position, which will change the perspective rendered by the lens.)

The classic ranges for 35mm film are (give or take)
14-24mm = Ultra Wide Angle
24mm-35mm = Wide angle
40mm-70mm = Normal Perspective
70mm-135mm = Short Telephoto/Portrait
135mm-299mm = Telephoto
300mm + = Supertelephoto.

So take the lens’s focal length and multiply by 1.6 to figure out how the lens will work on YOUR camera.

Note that EF-S lenses are lenses designed for your reduced image circle. This doesn’t mean that you gain any optical benefits (quite the opposite in most cases), but some of these reduced-circle lenses represent great values, or at the wide end (EF-S 10-22) offer perspectives not available in full-frame lenses.

3. Maximum Aperture
When you see a number like f/2.8 or f/4-5.6 on the side of a lens, it tells you the maximum aperture that the lens is capable of achieving. Larger apertures give you a few capabilities. They allow you to shoot in lower light without flash (more light coming in = faster shutter speed). This is VITAL for sports photography, or any situation where the subject is apt to be moving. Larger apertures also allow you to shoot shallow depth-of-field shots, where the background and foreground are blurred to isolate the subject. A larger aperture lens can be stopped down for more depth-of-field or slower shutter, but a "slower" lens cannot be opened up. Larger apertures also offer faster auto-focus (with a few exceptions), as lenses slower than f/2.8 disable some of the AF sensors on your camera.

4. IS
Some Canon lenses offer IS. IS is a gyroscopic device that lives in the back of the lens and tries to correct for lens movement. This is extremely useful when you are shooting hand-held, but still can be useful on a tripod or monopod (although some older lenses require that you disable IS on a tripod). IS is great for shooting STATIC subjects in low light, as it will allow you to use a slower shutter speed than you would otherwise be able to. Some IS lenses offer "pan mode" which will stabilize the lens vertically, but allow you to pan the lens horizontally (think racecars with the background blurring as they move). IS is almost useless for most sports, as the key issue is not camera movement, but getting a shutter fast enough to stop the subject’s motion.

5. Little red rings
The Canon "L" series of lenses is the "L"uxury lineup of optics, and they all have a little red ring around the front. In reality, this designation has more to do with being designed for professionals than for use as a luxury item. The L series lenses are *typically* of higher optical quality AND build quality than their consumer grade cousins. For zooms in particular, there are VERY few offering really strong quality in the consumer lineup (EF-S 10-22, EF-S 17-50IS, 70-300IS being the most notable exceptions).

6. Third party lenses
Tamron, Sigma, Tokina…. people take sides on the "are third party lenses ok" debate as vehement as their stances on major political issues. In my experience, some third party lenses offer an excellent value for the money. That said, ALL lenses have a certain variation in quality between copies of identical lenses. Test 3 copies of a Canon 50mm 1.4 in the store, and you will likely see a difference in performance. This tends to be even more pronounced in 3rd party lenses! So I recommend that you only consider purchasing a 3rd party lens from one of the three manufacturers I listed, and only if you can test it in store, or if the store has a fair return policy.

There ARE other concerns when buying a lens, but this should be more than enough to get you started.

That said… for your stated purpose:
You need a focal length where you can shoot at a bit of a distance… so telephoto is where its at here. If it were me, I’d be looking at the EF85mm f/1.8 or EF100mm f/2 primes for a value option with this purpose. If you feel you need more reach, the EF200 f.2.8L is superb and value priced at about $500. If you decide that you need a zoom, the least expensive telezooms I recommend are the EF70-200 f/4L or the 70-300 f/4-5.6 IS. The non-IS 70-300 is not very well built and offers a different (and much inferior) optical design from its IS brother.

My photography styles are :
– Action and Sports
– Portraits
– Landscapes

Which camera would be the best for me?
& my budget is around $350

Thankss

best one is the Nikon D3x which is $7000 without a lens

as for your budget, you can’t get any current-gen… or even last gen cameras for that much. The cheapest ones I recommend are the Nikon D3000 and canon Rebel xs which can both be found for $500

as for your photography styles, those three things matter on the lens you choose. For an Action Sports lens, you can probably get away with the 55-200 or 55-300mm lens which will cost in the neighborhood of $400

for portraits, you will need a portrait lens such as the 50mm f/1.4 or f/1.8. For nikons the f/1.8 version will fit, but you cannot autofocus with cameras the cameras less than $1000, the f/1.4 version will autofocus. the f/1.8 runs $100, and the f/1.4 costs apprx $300ish
as for landscapes, that calls for a wide angle lens, such as the Tokina 11-17mm lens. It matters what you get, but you can expect a decent wide angle lens to be $400+

my suggestion: save more money, get around $550-$600 and get the Nikon D3000 or Canon Rebel xs (or the next gen equivalents if they come out before you reach that budget point), and start with that.

I mostly use my 70-300mm Lens to take youth sports action shots. Would I see much of a difference if I upgraded to the 70 – 300mm IS Lens? My Canon only has 8.00 mega pixels. I hear wonderful things about the Image Stabilizer.

That wouldn’t be much of an upgrade at all.

Your 8 megapixels are plenty enough, they are not the problem.

Your problem is a lens with the biggest possible aperture of f/4, which gets even worse as you use the zoom.
The IS isn’t going to improve that any at all.

You’d be better off with with an f2.8 lens, even if it was the shorter 70-200mm one. If you bought the L lens, you’d have the speed you need, plus the quality to allow you to zoom in.
Add a 1.4x converter, and you’d still have f4.0 all the way through the zoom, plus a 360mm equivalent lens.

I’m looking for a digital camera that takes awesome action shots for sports. I would also like to use it as an everyday camera. Was thinking about the canon rebel XTI anyone have any input on this. I would really like some HELP! An image stablizer would be nice, and one that will take photos in a gym without it being too dark!

You will not find any sensor based image stabilizing on Nikon or Canon DSLR’s … they do that on lenses, specifically designed for the length of the lens. The professionals that use Nikon and Canon cameras demand more performance from their cameras, so you will not see any "universal" fixes on their cameras (no one size fits all design).

That said, good photo taking techniques, fast lenses, IS or VR lenses and judicious control of ISO settings makes the success of shooting indoors higher than using a camera as an expensive point and shoot.

Next time you are watching a pro shoot an indoor sporting event, note their style of shooting and the equipment that is being used.

I don’t know what its called or where to find one! It’s like a long pole thing, lots of people use it to take action shots at football games and stuff, its for my birthday so i’d appreciate your help!

It’s called a ”mono pole”.
I never use one because you can’t follow the action very well. Unless you ae shooting at a very high shutter speed like 1/1000 of a second
or higher.

I am shooting with a Canon Rebel XT 350D. It is easy to stop action during the day, in the natural daylight. But what about when the sun goes down. I am finding it hard to stop action. The camera is not focusing as fast and my pictures are coming out blurry. So after a certain time I just quit shooting. What am I doing wrong. I have been using the auto/sport setting. And no I don’t have an external flash.

Try your ISO setting at 800 or 1600 if you don’t get to much noise at 1600. If you’re using the stock lens (17-85mm f/4-5.6) you are probably shooting at f5.6 depending on what sport you shooting; I am sure you’re zooming in. You may need to buy a lens with f2 or f2.8 (these may get expensive). As for your focus try different modes; the one shot AF mode may work faster than the predictive one. Ditch the flash also; I know you said you don’t have an external. I would not use an flash as depending on where the subject is your flash is probably not even getting there which will result in an under exposed shot. Also, if you are using the flash your out of focus may be due to the limits of the flash sync; the shutter can not exceed 1/200th so you will blur if you have a fast moving subject.

All in all, ditch the flash, use the widest aperture you have, and let the camera set the shutter speed (just watch out if there are big lights that you are getting in the shot; it will mess with the auto exposure and under expose you); or, get a meter and set the shutter speed yourself.

Hope this helps. Good luck!

I have a Canon Rebel XS and I want to start getting into snowboarding/ skateboarding photography. I take a film photography class in school, and I’ve had this camera for a while now so I know what I’m doing on a general basis but I just wanted to know what kind of lens is best for that kind of action sport photography? I have just a regular lens that came with the camera, its a 18-55mm zoom or whatever, and i got a cheap little fisheye I bought from amazon.com. For the best photos however, I was just wondering what kind of lens I should use? My camera fits 58mm lens.

And for all you photography experts out there, don’t try and sass me and tell me how I know nothing about photography, because I will learn. That’s why I’m asking this question. Don’t hate on rookies, you were a rookie once too. :p

First of all: your camera doesn’t use 58mm lenses, it uses EF/EF-S lenses. Your 18-55 just happens to take 58mm filters.

Your lens should help you decide what you need. If you are taking jump pics, you should be @ the 55mm end (and might need more like 85mm+. I shoot SB jumps from the top of the hill with my 60mm on my Nikon and it’s perfect. If I was riding along side someone doing tricks, I’d probably use something like a 10-24 (Canon has a 10-22 and Tamron makes an 11-16 that would be good).

Whatever lens you use, make sure it has a hood on to cut down on glare & give a little extra protection to the front of the lens if you go down.