A Good Lens for Football

CarlukeDave

CarlukeDave

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Looks like I may get the chance to cover some lower league football next year, nothing major and not a great deal of cash to be made from it!

I currently have a Tamron 70-300mm, not a great piece of glass but has done a job for me.

I'd have a budget of around £600, was looking at the Canon 70-200 f4 L, with an extender. Would that be a wise choice, or could there be something better for that money?

I know the extender would lose a f stop, would this be an issue? Also I'd be using it on a 40D body.

Cheers

Dave
 
I think you would benefit best from a 2.8 lens, especially if you will be doing work in the evenings! Might be worth saving just that little bit more, and getting a 2nd hand 70 - 200 2.8 and 1.4 extender.
 
As you know Dave Ive never shot this kinda thing, but my feeling would be that you'd struggle in lower light conditions at f4.....really a hunch more than from experience!

What about a prime? What about a 200mm f2.8 on the 40D and the 70-300 on the 350D? The last price list I got from kerso had it priced at £539!
 
Thanks for the advice people!

I agree that the f2.8 would be better and I will regret it if I go for the f4.

Has anyone got any experience of the Tamron 70-200mm f2.8, it's a good bit cheaper at around £500!

Dave
 
i've not got the tamron,but from what i remember reading..the tamron has slow AF and is also noisy(wouldn't be a problem at footy matches)but has excellent IQ.the sigma has better AF speed,and isn't as noisy..but IQ isn't as sharp as the tamron....

hope this helps :thumbs:
 
Thanks Stan, I'll continue to look into it!

Dave
 
with that budget i would deffo go sigma 70-200 f2.8 and forget the f4.. never mind night matches you would need 2.8 in our dark winter days :(

After starting with the UZI (pic as avatar) my proper setup was a 10d and sigma 70-200.. there are still posters on the clubhouse wall from that setup.. a good sigma can take really nice football pics.
 
Thanks Spencer and Kipax, would you recommend an extender ring for the Sigma Kipax?

Dave
 
I wouldn't reccomend football with 70-200 and 1.4 at all.. My biggest issue is that the tc slows the AF down... 99% of people will tell you thats not an issue.. but they aint shooting a sport that requires the fastest AF you can muster... I noticed a distinct drop when I tried a TC on the sigma 120-300 so can only presume same or worse wiht the 70-200
 
Forget the extender for the time being. By the time you have messed about fitting it you could have missed important shots. This is why most pro sports shooters use two body setup. I personally use 70-200f2.8 and 400f2.8, some may use a shorter prime such as 85 or 135 but will be f2.8 or lower. My advice to you if only using a one body setup is to look at the Sigma 120-300f2.8. I know Kipax use to use one and I know of a few others who started out with the same.

F4 would be ok in the summer but wont be long before you start struggling with the light and certainly no good fr evening games under floodlights.
 
If you accept that there will parts of the pitch that you cannot cover then a 70-200 on a crop body is fine. Just wait for the action to come to you. In 90 minutes there is usually plenty which will find its way into your coverage circle. No point in taking pictures were the players cover less than a third of the frame. If you can live with that limitation then a 70-200 is fine. It is a single body light weight set up that I use for less important matches where I just want to get a couple of action shots.

You will need f2.8 for football as soon as the days start to shorten and certainly for evening games.

A 1.4 converter will work fine on a good prime lens for daytime sport eg. 300mm f2.8 or 200 f2.8 and retain good AF speed.

A 200mm f2.8 prime should be within your budget and will get you reasonable coverage from the centre line of most non-league pitches. Stick a 85 f1.8 on a second body and you have a two prime light weight set up which will work well. The 200mm f2.8 will also take a 1.4 converter very well for sunny days if you want longer reach.

For a single lens solution save the extra and get the Canon 70-200mm f2.8 non-IS and use a monopod.
 
I Can't recommend using any lens for football.
The are not the right shape....
 
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