what lens for football photography

ok,
tomorrow is a big game for me,
herne bay v whitney bay,
as i said i have a 7D
but only a 70-300mm lens cheap,
only goes to 4.5,
its going to be cloudy tomorrow and the flood lights at herne bay are not good,

what the best setting's i can use with this len's with the bad light,
i know i my stuggle because i don't have a good lens.
will it be best it us av,
or manual,
or something else,
i know i will have to use a high iso,
but just want to inprove my photos,
have had some great advice on here so far
 
Ill probably get shot down but given you even need to ask the question id say just stick with AV mode with aperture wide open, you might find your exposure going all over the place if the lights have uneven coverage.

AV and set ISO accordingly to get a decent SS until youre more comfortable with how to use your camera
 
I would recommend shooting manual, keep the aperture wide open, shutter speed at a bare minimum 1/500th then adjust the ISO to suit. I would say the main steadfast advice in all of that is to keep the lens wide open. Obviously when the game kicks off you will have better light so can up the shutter and keep the ISO lower, but shoot on manual, you will get better results in the low light than on AV or TV
 
Gary Coyle said:
Ill probably get shot down but given you even need to ask the question id say just stick with AV mode with aperture wide open, you might find your exposure going all over the place if the lights have uneven coverage.

AV and set ISO accordingly to get a decent SS until youre more comfortable with how to use your camera
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AV for Game under floodlights? :nono:

Manual all the way, and if you can't shoot manual then you need to pick it up quickly
 
Rovers_Andy said:
AV for Game under floodlights? :nono:

Manual all the way, and if you can't shoot manual then you need to pick it up quickly
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Youre 100% right Andy but i just have a feeling the OP is very, very inexperienced and might struggle with under/over exposure problems if the lighting is patchy if he's not chimping/checking exposure, at least with AV he can keep an eye on his SS in the viewfinder and adjust ISO accordingly.

Like i say i know its 100% the wrong way but might be easier for the OP and he can pick up manual techniques on something less important than an actual game
 
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Either way if its a 3pm kick off he'll proberbly be stuffed by HT. F4.5 with that lens is only achievable at its widest (70mm?) setting after that it closes to f5.6. All you can do is try to compensate by increasing ISO as it gets darker.

If the game starts in daylight you could use Av but you'll have to keep an eye on the shutterspeed and switch to manual when it drops too low. Alternatively start in manual but either way you'll still need to watch the shutterspeed.
 
Gary Coyle said:
Youre 100% right Andy but i just have a feeling the OP is very, very inexperienced and might struggle with under/over exposure problems if the lighting is patchy if he's not chimping/checking exposure, at least with AV he can keep an eye on his SS in the viewfinder and adjust ISO accordingly.

Like i say i know its 100% the wrong way but might be easier for the OP and he can pick up manual techniques on something less important than an actual game
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i know what you mean Gary,but its the best way too learn, i made the mistake of shooting in AV for my first ever night match, thought i had a brilliant night, goals right in front of me, great action.....then i went through the pics, 125th and all blurred :(

Manual is the only way to go (for me personally) though i've seen some guys who have been shooting footy for years do night games in Shutter priority :wacky:
 
Rovers_Andy said:
i know what you mean Gary,but its the best way too learn, i made the mistake of shooting in AV for my first ever night match, thought i had a brilliant night, goals right in front of me, great action.....then i went through the pics, 125th and all blurred :(

Manual is the only way to go (for me personally) though i've seen some guys who have been shooting footy for years do night games in Shutter priority :wacky:
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I did say i would probably get shot down for suggesting it

I know a brilliant RL, Cricket and Football photographer who simply wouldnt shoot anything else other than AV and AWB regardless of the conditions/lighting and to be honest he produces spot on images every time.
 
thank you,
i will shoot manual,
i took photos in my last two games manual,

i will post photos tomorrow evening for people's comments if thats ok
 
With Andy on this one, best way to learn, shoot manual. If you have to chimp to check the exposure to begin with then do, but get to trust your skills. Best way to learn ist to make mistakes.

When I was starting I found it much harder to shoot AV or TV under lights. I found I was always trying to compensate for it messing up. Manual much easier.

You gotta learn at some point. Why not now when it doesn't matter too much.

It is going to be difficult when the natural light goes. I know that I'll struggle tomorrow with f2.8, where I am, that's why I'm going get as much as I can first half.
 
the average crowd for the kent league at herne bay is 150,
but tomorrow is a big game,
the club are saying there should be 1,000 people there,
my biggest game,
i can't wait,
 
i have photos on another thread kent league football,

any comments will be good,



thank you
 
It also costs about £3.8k second hand; ie £1.5k more than a 300mm f/2.8 IS and a whopping £2.6k more than the Sigma.
 
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Nope I mean the f/4 DO. The only one floating about on the main lists at the moment is in Jacobs London @ £3880.
 
You bring up an interesting point here Mark!, Will the increasing ISO capabilities of modern cameras over inflate prices on f4 + lenses eventually? or could manufacturers "increase the quality of elements used":cautious: & so push the price up via "the back door" as it where?.
 
Bluesman graham said:
You bring up an interesting point here Mark!, Will the increasing ISO capabilities of modern cameras over inflate prices on f4 + lenses eventually? or could manufacturers "increase the quality of elements used":cautious: & so push the price up via "the back door" as it where?.
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Thats an interesting point. For entry level do you invest in camera bodies with increasing ISO and buy less expensive f4 lenses or the otherway around, Faster lenses and bodies with lesser ISO?

Ideally you would want both but I am talking about initial entry for someone shooting lower non league.
 
I have raised the high iso need for 2.8 issue before and nobody took me on :)

As it is I have the camera with the high iso yet am still forced to use f2.8 iso 6400 and too slow shutter speeds at some none league grounds

however at the other end of the scale you can shoot night matches at premiership ground in f4 :)
 
Rovers_Andy said:
Ahhh of course i knew that :cautious: :exit:
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Sorry, didn't mean to sound blunt - I was posting from my iPhone. :)

The DO seems to attract much higher 2nd hand prices than the f/2.8 at times mainly, I suspect, due to the fact that it weighs less than the 300m f/2.8 even with out the TC that would make the 300 a 420mm f/4. That's based on paper reading not live experience by the way! :D
 
DemiLion said:
Sorry, didn't mean to sound blunt - I was posting from my iPhone. :)

The DO seems to attract much higher 2nd hand prices than the f/2.8 at times mainly, I suspect, due to the fact that it weighs less than the 300m f/2.8 even with out the TC that would make the 300 a 420mm f/4. That's based on paper reading not live experience by the way! :D
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I'd only just woken up and my brain read it as the 400 f/5.6, had completely forgotten Canon make the 400 DO :)
 
snapzz said:
70-200 f2.8 will give good coverage around the penalty area but struggle beyond espectially under poor floodlights. One possible solution could be the Sigma 120-300f2.8 but it is a bit of a compromise.
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Indeed, having used the Siggy 120-300 for over a year until very recently, it really should only be considered as a 'stop gap' lens.

Great, pin sharp images when well bright and sunny, not so hot under floodlights.
 
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