Does anyone here do sports or soccer photography? Can you guide me on how to get the best pictures with a Canon Eos 600D? I'm using a 18-135mm lens.
Sports photography.
- Thread starter miracaffrey
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I do quite a bit on weekends when I play soccer and go for other trainings.
The 18-135 is likely too short for you to get pro-like close up shots with nice background separation. Especially since you would be shooting from the sidelines or behind goal. Every bit of reach would help you capture action taking place in the far corner or even in midfield.
Either that or you can crop your images when using the 18-135 which is not unthinkable if your body is a fairly modern one.
As a minimum you'd need a 70-200. F2.8 is needed for the background separation although again it depends on how close you are to your subject. However since im an amateur, I cant justify a telephoto f2.8 lens so im using a f4 zoom.
I think any way you can get to 400mm would help a lot, so 200mm is really not a luxury. If you are not on a budget, you can look at the 400 f2.8
else you can consider the 70-300 f4-5.6 IS or 70-300 4-5.6L IS.
As for the camera body, you may want to consider learning the AI servo function and shooting with the outer AF points first. If you feel after testing them out and the gear is limiting your ability to get good shots, you can consider a 7D, 70D or even one of the older 1D bodies. These have stunningly good abilities to capture many frames at one go, lock on AF quickly even on the outer points and track your subject.
Shutter speed is obviously something you must keep high. I usually go 1/200 to be safe although this is pretty subjective.
The 18-135 is likely too short for you to get pro-like close up shots with nice background separation. Especially since you would be shooting from the sidelines or behind goal. Every bit of reach would help you capture action taking place in the far corner or even in midfield.
Either that or you can crop your images when using the 18-135 which is not unthinkable if your body is a fairly modern one.
As a minimum you'd need a 70-200. F2.8 is needed for the background separation although again it depends on how close you are to your subject. However since im an amateur, I cant justify a telephoto f2.8 lens so im using a f4 zoom.
I think any way you can get to 400mm would help a lot, so 200mm is really not a luxury. If you are not on a budget, you can look at the 400 f2.8
else you can consider the 70-300 f4-5.6 IS or 70-300 4-5.6L IS.As for the camera body, you may want to consider learning the AI servo function and shooting with the outer AF points first. If you feel after testing them out and the gear is limiting your ability to get good shots, you can consider a 7D, 70D or even one of the older 1D bodies. These have stunningly good abilities to capture many frames at one go, lock on AF quickly even on the outer points and track your subject.
Shutter speed is obviously something you must keep high. I usually go 1/200 to be safe although this is pretty subjective.
You could also have a look at our section for Sports: http://www.clubsnap.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=31
Many people post the details of their equipment.
Many people post the details of their equipment.
Other than equipments mentioned above, would also remind to get a good spot.
Most of the heart-stopping actions happen within or around the penalty area, so you might want to camp not to far away from there (also depending on your equipment). If you can camp not far from the goal post, 18-135mm on APSC is just nice.
Also, might be good to sometimes spot the skillful players and video-record them. Some skills are better enjoyed in motion
Btw what kind of soccer do you play ah? Full-size? If mini soccer then 18-135mm focal length should do
Most of the heart-stopping actions happen within or around the penalty area, so you might want to camp not to far away from there (also depending on your equipment). If you can camp not far from the goal post, 18-135mm on APSC is just nice.
Also, might be good to sometimes spot the skillful players and video-record them. Some skills are better enjoyed in motion
Btw what kind of soccer do you play ah? Full-size? If mini soccer then 18-135mm focal length should do
The most important before u go out and shoot is to read up your manual and understand your camera features. As for the lens u mentioned, I would say since u are not sure if the lens is suitable then u should bring it along and try it out to see what u are missing. Because if u asked about the lens,I would say any lens can be used and its up to u on what kind of shots u want to achieve. There is no right or wrong.
I take photos of my boyfriend playing soccer with his colleagus from work. Sometimes they have friendly games with other companies and from what i understand there is a tournament coming up.
I doubt i'll be able to get a new set of lens soon but i'd really like to know whats the price like for a 70mm-300mm at least. I have been thinking of getting new lens for sports photography and also portraits. Thanks for the advice guys!
I doubt i'll be able to get a new set of lens soon but i'd really like to know whats the price like for a 70mm-300mm at least. I have been thinking of getting new lens for sports photography and also portraits. Thanks for the advice guys!
From your requirement above you will need at least a fast lens like EF 70-200mm f/4 L, the focusing speed is very fast. I had use Canon 75-300mm f4.5-5.6 and Sigma 70-300mm f4.5-5.6, the lens are very slow in focusing for sports, just hunting for distance object for seconds as the result miss the moments. At the long end 300mm the image is soft, and most of the time you are not sure if result from your hand shack, out of focus or ? etc. In B & S section the 75-300mm III are asking for $170 at the moment.
The EF 70-300 f4-5.6 IS (non-L) lens is going for about $400. The L version is about $1,100-$1,300. The EF 70-200 f4 IS is about $950-1,200.
You can try the third party versions too, such as the Tamron which is going for about the same price as the EF 70-300 (non-L) lens.
You may want to look at giving your current set-up a go, i.e. shooting with the 18-135 and switching the settings around first, before deciding on buying new lenses. Just so you would understand exactly what is lacking, such as skill, understanding of gear or lenses.
You can try the third party versions too, such as the Tamron which is going for about the same price as the EF 70-300 (non-L) lens.
You may want to look at giving your current set-up a go, i.e. shooting with the 18-135 and switching the settings around first, before deciding on buying new lenses. Just so you would understand exactly what is lacking, such as skill, understanding of gear or lenses.
Other than equipments mentioned above, would also remind to get a good spot. Most of the heart-stopping actions happen within or around the penalty area, so you might want to camp not to far away from there (also depending on your equipment). If you can camp not far from the goal post, 18-135mm on APSC is just nice. Also, might be good to sometimes spot the skillful players and video-record them. Some skills are better enjoyed in motion
What is APSC?
In short, your camera sensor physical dimension, width x height in cm (not megapixel).
The non technical explanation; http://alikgriffin.com/blog/jul/22/difference-between-aps-c-and-full-frame-sensors
For the sake of comparison, let's take 2 popular sensor sizes in dSLR world: Full Frame/FF (the bigger one) and APS-C (the smaller one). For sport & wildlife (especially when you have enough light), generally people prefer APS-C sensor size to get better reach as explained in the article above.. If you zoom in to 135mm on bodies with APS-C sized sensor, to get the same result, you'll need to zoom in to 200mm lens on FF bodies.
So in short, in your case, more "zoom" for the same lens <<< Yeah I know the technical purist will condemn & flame me, but this is the most simple term I can come up with.
If you like to read more technical details:
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image_sensor_format
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/35_mm_equivalent_focal_length
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Canon has two lines of lenses: The normal lenses for consumers and the high end lenses for professional photographers. The latter one have the famous red ring near the front element.
L lenses in general have a higher build quality, image quality and price tag. But there are L lenses that actually are not that great and there are non-L lenses that are on par with L models...
For the EF70-300 there are two models, one is L, the other one is a normal lens.
Comparison: http://www.canon.com.sg/personal/co...5-6-is-usm&product2=ef70-300mm-f4-5-6L-IS-USM
Just to chip in, I used to have the non-L lens which served me quite well image quality and general functions wise but the sounds of the lens focusing got to me after quite a while. I went for the L which is quite a fair bit more expensive and heavier. No complaints about it to be honest which I guess is good news for a lens.
However I would not advise on getting the 70-300L if you are not super into photography since one should not pay so much for a lens in most cases.
However I would not advise on getting the 70-300L if you are not super into photography since one should not pay so much for a lens in most cases.
My sincere advice for U is to read more articles on DSLR especially Canon since u are using and go out and shoot more then your knowledge will slowly comes to u. Sometimes spoon feeding answers doesn't beat what u learnt yourself
Fully agreed. There are still the options of renting different lenses, too.
TS: Check the Services section here for lens rental shops. It's better to rent a lens for $50 a weekend if unsure. You can try and test as much as you like without burning big holes into your wallet.
It would be good to read up on what are APSC sensors versus full frame sensors and what are crop factors. Then relate that information to sports photography, as well as what are the benefits of each kind of sensors, and consider which sensor may be more beneficial for your shooting, before deciding on which lens to get, which as Octarine suggested, to rent a lens to try before making a proper purchase. I hope this will give you some heads up and direction in searching for some relevant information.
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