I shoot a lot of Surfing. You need at least 400mm on a crop body, as the minimum on a calm day. A 300mm with a 1.4X extender works great too. Before or after a storm 500mm would be better since the waves start further out and then the shore break pushes me further inland, creating a greater subject to camera distance. A larger aperture/faster lens also works better in inclement weather, due to heavy clouds and less Sunlight. Obviously, try to get the fastest shutter speed that you could afford. Also, a lot of surfers like to surf before and after work, so there is less light.


I have surfing samples from Tropical Storm Earl that I could post if you like. I'm off to a BBQ now, so if you're interested I could post some later.


Rich