Basketball lens query

Chipper

Chipper

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Linda
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I am hopeful that I will be able to get back courtside next weekend if the BBL does restart. My shoulder gives me stick so lifting a 70 -200 is very difficult and painful for me over any length of time. I have read that an 85mm is used for close in shots by one long time pro sports photographer in the US. Where I shoot has variable low light and I am often at 5 or 6000 on the ISO with a 1DX2..

Do any of you use a Canon 85f1.4. - is it responsive? Can it cope with the demands of a fast moving sport. like basketball in low and variable light?

Thanks
 
Thanks. I am very tempted to pull the trigger.... just not sure if I can get courtside and I don't do portraiture so... I am not sure when this coming week I will hear about it. Ah well, patience.... anybody else out there got any experience of this focal length please?
 
It depends where you can sit and the lighting.. I presume the latter is bad... yes 85mm is a good focul length but 1.4 or even the 1.8 that i have used is unforgiving... I for light use I ahve used 2 bodies with a 50mm 1.8 for this end and a 135mm f2 for the opposite end... Of course the best lens is all round 70-200 .. any fixed prime is going to be hard work and you will miss some shots (players too close ect)

@GooGaBu is our resident professional basketball photogrpaher so he will ahve tried every elsn possible :)
 
KIPAX said:
It depends where you can sit and the lighting.. I presume the latter is bad... yes 85mm is a good focul length but 1.4 or even the 1.8 that i have used is unforgiving... I for light use I ahve used 2 bodies with a 50mm 1.8 for this end and a 135mm f2 for the opposite end... Of course the best lens is all round 70-200 .. any fixed prime is going to be hard work and you will miss some shots (players too close ect)

@GooGaBu is our resident professional basketball photogrpaher so he will ahve tried every elsn possible :)
Click to expand...
Yes... I miss shots because of this shoulder injury. I do have a 50 so I will pack that too. I am not sure how close to the court we are going to be [and if we are all going to be able to shoot] so I will take my 70-200 and a monopod with a Kirk ballhead - also tricky but better than nothing. Thanks - it has stopped me hunting for a lens on a maybe. I chatted with GooGaBu on here earlier in lockdown; he has switched to Sony now. I am in two minds about whether an R5 would be a help or less. One of the Canon guys said the R6 would be better in low light [same MP as my 1DX2] but that is also a lot of money on a maybe so patience is required here on my part.
 
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Well, assuming that nothing prevents the match, I am going to be courtside on Saturday. I think I am going to see what space and conditions are like there before I do anything else re lenses. Who knows, they might even be enough space for me to actually take a tripod and stick my wimberley on top! Patience....
 
Chipper said:
might even be enough space for me to actually take a tripod and stick my wimberley on top! Patience....
Click to expand...

Good grief I hope your kidding ? :)
 
I do not mean courtside. If the court has no seating pulled out from the walls and we have to be a long way from the court it isn't as daft as it sounds! Fear not; I am taking my monopod and Kirk monopod head on Saturday in case I have to be in the corner.
 
Few weeks in the wilderness without Internet.. so only seeing this now :)

For basketball - as you know @Chipper (and I am sure we've chatted many times in Worcester...) variety of lenses, gives variety of results.
Personally - fixed prime isn't what I love to go with in basketball. Too much movement around the court... but, having said that. There are times when I do love a prime to get certain results.

Without a question - the 70-200 is my go-to-lens in basketball.
Never leave to game without it.

When choosing a Prime lens - go through your own images and see in the EXIF info what sort of focal length your images mainly come from.
This helped me when I needed primes for some work..

For me - I found that the 135mm was too long, for what I liked/photographed.
So I went with 105mm f1.4 ... and that gave me versatility with both vertical and portrait orientation working nicely.

On the other end - I do have the 200mm f1.8 from Canon... so that gets and outing every now and then :)

Then .. as I forgot a certain lens (70-200) when going for a photoshoot, I needed to get a lens that morning (what better way to justify a new lens.. forgot something.. need a new one!!)
So I bout the 85mm f1.4 (I use Sony) ... and that is quite nice as well...

@KIPAX mentioned the 50mm ... and of course we all are individual photographers and use different lenses .. but for me, I just never got used to the 50mm range in basketball.
But that is more of a personal preference and stuff...

So me.. I'd go for the 85mm - 135mm range.
I know it leaves you too tight for shooting nicely under the basket... but you can't have it all when going with a prime.
 
GooGaBu said:
Few weeks in the wilderness without Internet.. so only seeing this now :)

For basketball - as you know @Chipper (and I am sure we've chatted many times in Worcester...) variety of lenses, gives variety of results.
Personally - fixed prime isn't what I love to go with in basketball. Too much movement around the court... but, having said that. There are times when I do love a prime to get certain results.

Without a question - the 70-200 is my go-to-lens in basketball.
Never leave to game without it.

When choosing a Prime lens - go through your own images and see in the EXIF info what sort of focal length your images mainly come from.
This helped me when I needed primes for some work..

For me - I found that the 135mm was too long, for what I liked/photographed.
So I went with 105mm f1.4 ... and that gave me versatility with both vertical and portrait orientation working nicely.

On the other end - I do have the 200mm f1.8 from Canon... so that gets and outing every now and then :)

Then .. as I forgot a certain lens (70-200) when going for a photoshoot, I needed to get a lens that morning (what better way to justify a new lens.. forgot something.. need a new one!!)
So I bout the 85mm f1.4 (I use Sony) ... and that is quite nice as well...

@KIPAX mentioned the 50mm ... and of course we all are individual photographers and use different lenses .. but for me, I just never got used to the 50mm range in basketball.
But that is more of a personal preference and stuff...

So me.. I'd go for the 85mm - 135mm range.
I know it leaves you too tight for shooting nicely under the basket... but you can't have it all when going with a prime.
Click to expand...



To clarify my post :)

135mm for opposite end
50mm for close up under the basket
85mm for attacking

But the optimum is the 70-200 for an all round lens :)
 
KIPAX said:
To clarify my post :)

135mm for opposite end
50mm for close up under the basket
85mm for attacking

But the optimum is the 70-200 for an all round lens :)
Click to expand...

For primes - I'd still like to add something wider than 20mm for the wide shot under the basket.
Anything from 11mm to 18mm ...
But even for this - something like 12-24mm is better than a prime.

If there would be a 50-220mm f2 lens... I'd like that very much for basketball :-=
But there isn't.. so as stated many times.. 70-200 is the go to.
 
GooGaBu said:
Few weeks in the wilderness without Internet.. so only seeing this now :)

For basketball - as you know @Chipper (and I am sure we've chatted many times in Worcester...) variety of lenses, gives variety of results.
Personally - fixed prime isn't what I love to go with in basketball. Too much movement around the court... but, having said that. There are times when I do love a prime to get certain results.

Without a question - the 70-200 is my go-to-lens in basketball.
Never leave to game without it.

When choosing a Prime lens - go through your own images and see in the EXIF info what sort of focal length your images mainly come from.
This helped me when I needed primes for some work..

For me - I found that the 135mm was too long, for what I liked/photographed.
So I went with 105mm f1.4 ... and that gave me versatility with both vertical and portrait orientation working nicely.

On the other end - I do have the 200mm f1.8 from Canon... so that gets and outing every now and then :)

Then .. as I forgot a certain lens (70-200) when going for a photoshoot, I needed to get a lens that morning (what better way to justify a new lens.. forgot something.. need a new one!!)
So I bout the 85mm f1.4 (I use Sony) ... and that is quite nice as well...

@KIPAX mentioned the 50mm ... and of course we all are individual photographers and use different lenses .. but for me, I just never got used to the 50mm range in basketball.
But that is more of a personal preference and stuff...

So me.. I'd go for the 85mm - 135mm range.
I know it leaves you too tight for shooting nicely under the basket... but you can't have it all when going with a prime.
Click to expand...
Hi.. good to hear from you - thanks for chiming in. I did take the 70-200 and was forced to use it by the limitations [for everyone's safety] imposed on the photographers. You will remember the arena - we are restricted to the side opposite the benches - and now have to plaster ourselves against the wall behind the advertising boards so no bobbing down right next to the basket where I love to be. I managed to use that longer zoom for about 70% of the time without it killing my shoulder [so an exercise my osteopath gave me a year ago appears to be helping.]. I have looked at the exif data [and did before the game too :)] and think I will take my 100mm next time which may be on Saturday if Joel comes through with the away club's documents. I am trying to get closer in so this is forcing me to do that albeit in not quite the spots I want to be. I took the 50mm with me but didn't use it being farther away from things than I want to be. I will persevere with the 70-200 for as long as the shoulder will tolerate it and have the 100 and 24-70 with me. I do have a fisheye but I am too far away and without the crowds I think it would just look like a big, empty sports hall.

I will hold off on the 85mm f1.4 - interesting that you have a positive view of it. The good news is I have overcome my GAS re the R5! If my shoulder lets me do more, I am going to be happy with the 1DX2.

Ciao.

PS have sent you a link
 
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DemiLion said:
Ah. I was wondering where the hell you were!
Click to expand...

You can see in the Landscape section a picture or two where I was :)

And it was a good 'COVID safe' place ahead of going into European Qualification 'bubble' next week..
Not much else than reindeers for company where I was...

Sometimes it is good to take time away from everything (so I have been told...)
 
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