Which lens for indoor sports photography

Orange Peel

Orange Peel

Messages
210
Name
Neil
Edit My Images
Yes
I'll be covering the last game of the season for the basketball club I play for. The game takes place in a typical indoor gym woth lots of tube lighting. I have complete access to all areas around the court.

I'll be using my Canon 40D and have the following lenses at my disposal.

Nifty 50
Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8
Canon 24-105mm f/4.0 L IS
Canon 70-200mm f/4 L
Canon 300mm f/4 L IS
EX430 MkII

I won't be using the flash during the game so what lens should I mainly use?

Also, any tips on how to get the best shots would be great. It's my first time doing anything like this!
 
nifty fifty is great for basketball

if you can get behind the basket then the 17-50 would be usable..

unless its a pro court used to hosting BBL then i wouldnt bother taking the f4 lenses. but saying that take the 24-104 just in case your lucky and its bright :)
 
I think you will need f2.8, but 17-50 seems a bit short to me.
 
Strangways said:
I think you will need f2.8, but 17-50 seems a bit short to me.
Click to expand...

but as he hasnt listed any longer ones then what would you suggest?

I ahve done quite a few basketball and some of my best pics are wiht the nifty fifty hence 50mm works.. what lens do you use ? I know the 85mm is the preffered lens for most basketball shooters...
 
These are shot at 50mm. I had to use f1.8 as the lighting was really bad

shot using nifty 50

giants_warriors_2.jpg



giants_warriors_3.jpg



giants_warriors_4.jpg
 
I did some indoor sport a little while ago and used the 135 f/2 and 50 f/1.8
As Kipax said the f/4 lenses would not have been any use with the lighting that they had so I would expect the 50 to be your main lens.
 
KIPAX said:
nifty fifty is great for basketball

if you can get behind the basket then the 17-50 would be usable..

unless its a pro court used to hosting BBL then i wouldnt bother taking the f4 lenses. but saying that take the 24-104 just in case your lucky and its bright :)
Click to expand...

I'll be able to get right beind the basket as there's plenty of room.

The venue is the Hermitage Leisure Centre in Coalville. I've only been there once before. It's quite well lit but not fantastic.
 
For indoor sports lenses, you really need f2.8 or faster.

The 50mm f1.4 or 1.8 one option, the 135mm f2 another great lens, another lens would be the 85mm f1.8 or 100mm f2

On the zoom front, 70-200mm f2.8, 17-55mm f2.8, tamron 17-50mm f2.8 or the 24-70mm f2.8 as other options.

F4 too slow for indoors......
 
KIPAX said:
These are shot at 50mm. I had to use f1.8 as the lighting was really bad

shot using nifty 50
Click to expand...

LOL and at ISO 2500! Try that on a 40D!

I am surprised the "nasty fifty" was actually able to nail the focus for a moving subject like that. What was the hit rate? Or were you on manual focus!
 
If you have complete access, then I think you'll be o.k with the 50mm f/1.8. But I'd advise you start playing with noise removal software! It's better to have a noisy shot than a blurry one!

I'd advise Noiseware community edition, because it's free! It's a little standalone thingy that isn't as quick to use as the paid-for plugin, but it's a lifesaver at times!

Spend the first bit of the match playing around, it's a bit of a steep learning curve if you've never done it before, so expect to be taking some real duffers at first, and don't let it get you down. Just keep reviewing your settings, and see what needs improving!
 
Thanks for all the advice :)

I'll be having a practice next week as I'm playing for my team. Will take a few shots while I'm on the bench :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top