High School football

[nikinic23]

Hello,  I am a hobbyist- I have a Canon 70d. I started out taking photos of my son playing football and it has kind of morphed into the informal team photographer. I use Canon 55-250 4-5.6. I rented the 70-200 2.8 but I didn’t notice a big enough difference to make me buy it. I am at the very top of iso at 6400 just to be able to have a semi-ok shutter speed - usually at 200. We are in a small town- so the field and field lighting aren’t great and most of the teams we play are in the same boat. The photos are still pretty under exposed and many are blurry but it’s the best I can do at this point. I started looking into upgrading my camera body, but after some reading it looks like I need to get a full frame which means I would also have to get another lens as mine is EF-S. So this would be a major investment. Any suggestions on bodies that handle high iso well? 

[Brian]

Oh, this is quite a rabbit hole to go down and your wallet will feel pain. LOL! 

There is a reason that sports shooters have a 70-200 on one body and a 600mm f/4 mounted on a Monopod with another body. I’m also pretty sure you aren’t interested in spending $25,000+

I’ve done this very thing and you are right, the 70-200 is a limited focal range when you want to shoot down the other side of the field. It’s great if they are in front of you though. Having a body that performs well in the 6400 - 25,600 ISO range is also key. Football stadium light is crappy light, it’s worse than Gym lighting.

 Even though the 55-200 and 70-200 lenses cover he same focal range, there is one key advantage, fixed aperture. Being able to use f/4 or f/2.8 at any focal range can give you one or two stops. Which can help raise that shutter to at least 1/500th. We really want to try and get 1/1000th.  Of course you could have been at f/2.8 and still had crappy light. With variable aperture zooms, as soon as you zoom out you are at f/5.6...period. So that’s the difference. 

You are also correct in that this will be a major investment if you decide to go full frame and will more than likely be spending around $4000 $5000...to start. Are you prepared for a cost like this? Would you consider switching to another brand, like Nikon or Sony?

One thing to keep in mind with full frame is you will lose that "Crop Factor / Angle of View Change." It's like having a built-in Teleconverter. Your reach at 200mm of FF will be more like 125mm on a canon crop body, so that's something to consider. 

Bodies for sports, you are looking at a Canon 5D Mark IV for Full Frame and a Canon 7D Mark II for a Crop Body. This is not only for ISO performance, but for the auto-focus systems as well. While you might be able to capture a scene at ISO 12,800, it won't do you any good if it's blurry.

Even though you didn't find the 70-200 useful, your EF-S lenses aren't meant for full frame and I really think you need to play with the Canon 70-200 f/2.8 L III lens a bit more and use the IS to your advantage. Other lenses to consider is the 300mm f/2.8L and 400mm f/2.8L. Possibly purchase a Canon Extender EF 1.4X III. You could try a Canon 100-400 L lens, though that is another variable aperture lens and won't help you with crappy light since you will be locked in at f/5.6 all over again. Oh, purchase a high quality monopod or tripod with ball head. It's only money, right?

I haven't tallied up the cost for all of this, but I can say with confidence that this isn't going to be cheap. "All I wanted to do is take better photos of my kids at ________________" is a very dangerous statement. I have the receipts to prove it. I'm thinking your best bet is to get a Canon 7D Mark II for around $1400 and then get a 70-200 f/2.8L III lens. Even though you weren't impressed, I think its because you were using it on a consumer-grade body. It's like having the most expensive tires mounted on a 4 cylinder beater-car from 1993. There is a difference with the larger bodies. Other than that, you don't have many options except renting lenses because a 300mm f/2.8L is around $5000 - $6000 these days.

[nikinic23]

Gah- I was really hoping you would have some magical answer that would solve this without me having to win the lottery- LOL!! 

I have contemplated an extender but from my understanding you lose a stop with them. 

I will definitely look into the 7d mark II and then try the 70-200 f/2.8 again on the better body. I have some time before football season rolls around again so I can save up some money. You know, sell a kidney or something?

If I purchase the camera/lens through the links you shared do you get credit or commission on the sale? I would be sure to buy it through them if that is the case.

Thank you for your time and you sharing your knowledge. I can’t tell you how much I have learned just reading through the posts on this forum. I don’t have anyone else to ask these questions- I don’t even have a camera shop anywhere near me. So , thank you!!

[Brian]

1 hour ago, nikinic23 said:

I have contemplated an extender but from my understanding you lose a stop with them. 

Yes...but wait there's more!! Not only do you lose a stop of light, you lose Image Quality! Umm, Yippee? That is why you pair a TC / Extender with a 300mm f/2.8 or 400mm f/2.8. Those Prime Lenses are the top of the line in terms of sharpness and IQ. Those lenses can take the IQ hit and loss of light. You could mount a 1.4 Extender on a 70-200, but...meh. I think it would be better to mount it on a 7D Mark II, get a 1.6 boost with the angle of view that you get with crop bodies, and not take a IQ hit or loss of a stop.

 

1 hour ago, nikinic23 said:

If I purchase the camera/lens through the links you shared do you get credit or commission on the sale?

Nope. Everything I recommend or link to, I don't get any kick-backs or affiliate money. I do have a "Buy Brian a Beer" Paypal Link if you are so inclined. 

I do this for two reasons, one PA Tax laws are really funny with affiliate links and I don't want to give the state any more money than I absolutely have to. Second, what I recommend is what I personally would buy with my own money and I like to be as honest/transparent as possible. I hate-hate-hate wasting money on this SH*T. I've done that lots of times and have learned the hard way to pony up the cash and get the good stuff, it will save you money in the long run.
 

1 hour ago, nikinic23 said:

Thank you for your time and you sharing your knowledge. I can’t tell you how much I have learned just reading through the posts on this forum. I don’t have anyone else to ask these questions- I don’t even have a camera shop anywhere near me. So , thank you!!

Glad to be of service!! That's why I'm here. Please, by all means hit me up for gear talk and tell your friends. Most of the time, crickets chirp here.

[Brian]

One more thing, the new Canon 70-200 f/2.8L Version III (The latest and the greatest version) is getting awesome reviews. If you do decide to purchase one, spend a little extra and get the Version III over the older Version II. Both versions are great lenses, but since you are around the $2000 mark, it's better to get the latest and greatest.

Second, DO NOT JUDGE A RENTAL LENS to make your final decision. Sure, it's a great way to test drive things but often rental gear is USED AND ABUSED. The "It's not my lens. I bought the insurance...I don't care what happens to it..." mentality is what kills equipment. You could have recieved a working-but-worn-out-copy, so take things with a "Grain of Salt" as the saying goes. Also, it takes a bit of practice, about a month or two, of fiddling with it and getting to know what the lens will do and what it won't do. Going in cold with a new piece of gear expecting your images to be #amazeballz isn't realistic. LOL!! I wish it were.

Fortunately, gear is on sale due to the Holidays. The 7D Mark II you can purchase now, it's on sale as I type this, and you can use all of your current lenses with it. Your main job is to learn ALL of the focus modes and AF selections. You are shooting sports, the camera's AF System you MUST master in its entirety. This way when you mount a 70-200, you can hit the ground running.

[colinarnoldjt13]

Really interesting! Thanks for the information.

[colinarnoldjt13]

Really interesting! Thanks for the information. I have recently started to take photos seriously, so I still have a lot to learn. However, I wish I had more time to practice it, but school is exhausting me because I have a lot of writing assignments and writing was never my strong point. So, this is why I have started to use an editing service which I have found after checking the Polished Paper reviews indeed.

Edited January 24, 2022 by colinarnoldjt13