Which lens for sunday football ?

nicknack

nicknack

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Im new to photography and did my 1st shoot watching my boy play his under 11s match. Most of what i have done so far is portraits of my kids....i really enjoyed yesterday. i was using a tamron 70-300 lens..now this is not the best lens i know...but i would like to invest in something a little better.

my budget is £500 so im happy to look for something 2nd too if it means i can get hold of something a little better.

Any ideas what i should go for?
 
Chris Primadona said:
If you really want to freeze the action you are almost into Canon 135mm f2.0 L prime territory (used)
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Why do you need that to freeze the action any lens /lighting/iso combination that gives a shutter speed above 1500th will freeze just about anything that happens on a football pitch,and a prime for a game that moves all over a pitch is much more restricting
On the budget I would reckon a 2nd hand Sigma or Tamron 70-200 f2.8 would be perfect
 
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CaptainPenguin said:
Why do you need that to freeze the action any lens /lighting/iso combination that gives a shutter speed above 1500th will freeze just about anything that happens on a football pitch,and a prime for a game that moves all over a pitch is much more restricting
On the budget I would reckon a 2nd hand Sigma or Tamron 70-200 f2.8 would be perfect
Click to expand...

I found that can be hard in overcast days at f4-f6+ without introducing a lot of noise. I really try avoid pumping up my iso unless I really need to. :shrug:
 
CaptainPenguin said:
On the budget I would reckon a 2nd hand Sigma or Tamron 70-200 f2.8 would be perfect
Click to expand...

The tamron has a micro-motor though instead of an ultrasonic, so it's AF will be a bit pedestrian compared to the sigmas and canons.
Not a problem for some things, but for sports I'd take the sigma instead any day.
 
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cheers for advice folks...im kinda swaying to the sigma..a photographer friend also recommended this lens to me :)
 
Why not just get the Canon EF 70-200mm f/4.0 L USM Lens over the Tamron/Sigma equivalents if you've got £500?
 
I think the sigma 70-200 would be a good choice. As kids football is normally played during daytimes and good light the canon f4 version would be perfectly usable, but I prefer the way a f2.8 helps to isolate the players from the background.

A shutter speed of 500s is plenty to freeze movement in football. I normally use manual settings, setting my lens wide open, iso400 and check that I'm getting a shutter speed of at least 500s for correct exposure (in good light very often shutter speed will be around 2000s or more). In overcast conditions I increase the iso to maintain a minimum shutter speed of 500s. Better a bit of noise than blurred pictures!

Image stabilisation is not really required for sports, and even when shooting with an IS lens I normally turn it off.
 
under 11s football pitch.. I have done many matches on small pitches with the 135 prime..

However to the OP .. I would definitely go for the sigma 70-200 f2.8 on your budget and would be perfect for your needs..shoot at f4 when possible.. but f2.8 is handy in winter when even the afternoons are very dull.

Be aware when he moves to full size pitch this will be too short..
 
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