Which 70-200mm?

[JJphoto]

In the debate body vs glass

No debate here, we all agree with John's "standard rule"


because the price of T2i and the 50D are almost the same, I think 50D should be a better choice. I would not doubt that you can get pretty good pictures with your T2i for sports, but I also believe that you have missed some good pose/moment/shots because of the longer shutter lag and slower burst rate. oh, and slower speed of AF of your T2i.

and your budget ask for the versatility of a zoom lens.

that's very reasonable and understandable, but as a prime guy, we don't think that way, for sports indoor and outdoor, I 'd go with 85mm1.8 and a 200mm 2.8 for a given price. we think our feet are the best zoom.[]

My second choice would the 100 f2.0

if you need 100mm focal length, the 100mm 2.8 macro seems give you more stuff/dollar?[]

[Richard Lane]

Hi Baker,


If you need a 70-200mm zoom, then the f/4L IS is probably the best choice for your budget. Just keep in mind that the f/4 aperture is too slow for indoor sports and the 200mm focal range is a bit short for outdoor sports. So, you will also need to consider purchasing a 1.4X extender ($300) for outdoor sports, however this will also decrease IQ, decrease AF speed by 50%, and decrease your background blur and subject isolation. I feel that if you were starting with a 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II, then add the 1.4X, then this IQ loss would be acceptable, but it's not acceptable when starting with the f/4 version of this lens. Essentially, this lens will now become a 98-280mm f/5.6 IS.


The 85mm f/1.8 ($380) or 100mm f/2 ($435) would be a good choice for volleyball, basketball and portraits and I would also like to recommend a 300mm f/4L IS ($1250) for outdoor sports such as Football and Soccer. The 300mm f/4L is sharp, fast, has IS and "L" build quality as well, and is long enough for outdoor sports on a crop body, "without" adding a 1.4X extender which would cause you to give up 1 f/stop as well as the above mentioned decrease in autofocus speed by 50%. This lens is not weather sealed, but neither is your Rebel.


If you also want to shoot portraits in the house then the 85mm f/1.8 would probably be a better choice than the 100mm, because the 100mm can be a bit too long for inside the house, especially for shooting more than 1 person in the shot. The 100mm would probably be better for Volleyball and basketball, depending on your court access. The 85mm would probably be better for all around use.


The Rebel Body is fine, I also agree that you should focus on glass for now (pun intended).


<span style="font-size: 11.6667px;"]Rich

[Baker]

If you also want to shoot portraits in the house then the 85mm f/1.8 would probably be a better choice than the 100mm, because the 100mm can be a bit too long for inside the house, especially for shooting more than 1 person in the shot. The 100mm would probably be better for Volleyball and basketball, depending on your court access. The 85mm would probably be better for all around use.

I can usually get right up on the sidelines so I'm thinking that the 85mm will be what I get.

[scalesusa]

I assume you are shooting college sports indoor and outdoor. Any of the lenses will be excellent in the hands of someone who knows how to use them, pay more, get more. F/2.8 would be needed for indoor sports, you need a fast shutter speed, and f/2.8 may be marginal.


No need to get IS for sports, due to the fast shutter speed used to freeze action. If you want handheld photography with a T2I, IS is very helpful to avoid blur at low shutter speeds.


I found the lenses at maximum aperture in order of sharpness to be:


1. 70-200mm f/2.8 IS mk II


2. 70-200mm f/4 IS


3. 70-200mm f/2.8 NON Is


4. 70-200mm f/4 NON IS


5. 70-200mm f/2.8 IS (had 5 of these)


All lenses are at least very good, and the top two are extremely good.


As noted, a 85mm/1.8 will be excellent for less $$, add a 70-300mm IS (non L) for outdoor sports and tou will have a excellent combo.

[Baker]

I just got back from a volleyball tournament and thought I would post some pics I took with the 24-105mm f/4 that I am currently renting. Hopefully they will give you a better idea of what lens would work for me. Also I noticed that my T2i was only having bursts of 2 pictures in continuous mode =/


1) f/4 - 1/320 - ISO 3200 - 80mm


[img]/resized-image.ashx/__size/550x0/__key/CommunityServer-Discussions-Components-Files/8/0675.IMG_5F00_0321-_2D00_-Copy.JPG[/img]


2) f/4 - 1/320 - ISO 3200 - 70mm


[img]/resized-image.ashx/__size/550x0/__key/CommunityServer-Discussions-Components-Files/8/6557.IMG_5F00_0424-_2D00_-Copy.JPG[/img]


3) f/4 - 1/400 - ISO 3200 - 70mm


[img]/resized-image.ashx/__size/550x0/__key/CommunityServer-Discussions-Components-Files/8/8182.IMG_5F00_0453-_2D00_-Copy.JPG[/img]


4) f/4 - 1/400 - ISO 3200 - 60mm


[img]/resized-image.ashx/__size/550x0/__key/CommunityServer-Discussions-Components-Files/8/2768.IMG_5F00_0520-_2D00_-Copy.JPG[/img]

[neuroanatomist]

Nice shots! Definitely suggests that at least in this venue, the 85mm focal length will work for you. Having a lens that's &gt;2 stops faster will mean ISO 800 for those shutter speeds, instead of ISO 3200. Assuming the noise on the T2i is similar to my 7D, I find ISO 800 acceptable, ISO 1600 tolerable, and ISO 3200 marginal.

Also I noticed that my T2i was only having bursts of 2 pictures in continuous mode

Hmmmm...the T2i is rated for 3.7 fps. Of course, that's the maximum, but you should be close. RAW file sizes at ISO 3200 are a little larger than at lower ISOs (2-5 MB larger than lower ISOs), but that shouldn't cut your frame rate to nearly half the maximum. What type/speed of SDHC card(s) do you use?

[DavidEccleston]

One thing that can kill bursts is RAW+JPG. Choose just RAW and you will hopefully see a jump. If you go to Canon

[JJphoto]

it looks like you can get really close, so shorter focal length should not be a problem


1/400 seems a little bit slower as you can see some motion blur in the pictures.


noise is acceptable even with ISO 3200


bad isolation due to smaller aperture and shorter focal length.


so I think with 50D and 85mm 1.8, you can get a lot of improvement, on the other hand, if you only can have one lens, a f2.8 70-200mm will cover indoor and outdoor( not sure if it

[Baker]

I was actually shooting these in JPEG because I just upgraded to windows 7 and have not yet reinstalled my photo programs and what not. I started out using a sandisk extreme class 10 and when that was full I used a sandisk ultra II class 4 but both gave me the same burst rates.


I wanted to use a faster shutter speed but then I would have had to increase the ISO to 6400 and that was just too much for me.

[Richard Lane]

Nice Shots Baker!


The 85mm f/1.8 would work well for this. If you shoot at f/2 you would be able to double your shutter speed and cut your ISO in half. That sounds pretty good to me. The other benefit would also be a more blurred background at the wider apertures as well as a more compressed background with a longer focal length, this way you would be able to cut down on background distractions. Certainly f/2.8 would work well in this setting too. I think that a shutter speed of 1/500sec is a good minimum, however, 1/640sec to 1/800sec would be a nice goal for your new lens, and 1/1000sec would be ideal for serving and spiking, but that