shooting sports with a prime lens

Rocketman766

I almost don't want to ask this for fear of sounding stupid, but as a newbie, still trying to learn. I am trying my hand at a few different lenses and I would like to try a Canon 135mm f/2L next to shoot my daughters cheerleading event. Basically my question is, for those of you who use primes to shoot sporting events, do you just get the shot that you can and then crop if needed in post editing? I will not be able to move around while taking the shots here, I will have to remain in one spot. The girls cover quite a bit of area so some shots may end up being just head/shoulders, others will have more in the shot than I want. I guess I am unclear how often people crop. I will also be taking a 70-200mm f/2.8 USM (non IS) with me. Its a 2 day event so there will be "a second chance".

ziggy53

Rocketman766 wrote:

I almost don't want to ask this for fear of sounding stupid, but as a newbie, still trying to learn. I am trying my hand at a few different lenses and I would like to try a Canon 135mm f/2L next to shoot my daughters cheerleading event. Basically my question is, for those of you who use primes to shoot sporting events, do you just get the shot that you can and then crop if needed in post editing? I will not be able to move around while taking the shots here, I will have to remain in one spot. The girls cover quite a bit of area so some shots may end up being just head/shoulders, others will have more in the shot than I want. I guess I am unclear how often people crop. I will also be taking a 70-200mm f/2.8 USM (non IS) with me. Its a 2 day event so there will be "a second chance".

The Canon EF 135mm, f2L USM is a wonderful sports lens in that the focus is generally fast and accurate and the lens can be used wide open which allows a faster shutter speed.

If you have to maintain a fixed position that will seem limiting with a fixed focus lens. If you have a chance to rent a second body for the duration and keep the 70-200mm on that it will give much better flexibility fairly rapidly.

I do often shoot sports fairly loosely in order to track the action better when the action gets wild and unpredictable. In contact sports it can often show relationships between competitors.

I suspect that in cheerleading shooting loosely and shooting very tightly and intimately are both required at different times during the routine, and sometimes those needs might even conflict. If you can videotape the rehearsals and study the motions and activity that would probably give you a very good feel for how to follow the action and what lens might be required and when it would be required.

catspaw

Crop as needed and lots of running around. get used to the running forward/running backwards dance

Rocketman766

new question same thread....
While reading some reviews of the 135mm f/2L, I saw this and would like to ask for a bit of clarification.
"Be aware that with a cropped sensor, effective length is nearly 190mm, forcing you to use support or shoot wide open at high shutter speeds, otherwise shakiness creeps into the image. My first session was shooting wildlife using a monopod -- the difference between the monoopd and the handheld shots was clear. Later, aware of this issue, I kept the aperture wide open, and the handheld images were sharp as well."

So if I want to see what items/people will look like (how much they fill the veiw finder?) with this lens, does this mean I should set my zoom to 190mm to get a comparison? Also, does this person mean by the "forcing you to use support or shoot wide open" that you have to keep it at f/2.0 while shooting? I will probably do that anyway with the low light conditions I will be shooting in.

While I have your attention, how can I maximize my focusing? ie, not end up with blury pics. I know thats vague, but I don't know how else to ask it. I think I figured out my first focusing issue, ( I set the AF point to the center, it was set to ALL/automatic)

If our uniforms are mostly white/green/blue, if I select the landscape mode of the picture selector, will that mess up the shots (indoors/people) or will it make the above mentioned colors stand out?

Sorry for the long post, if I violated some forum rule with this post, let me know and I will delete/edit it. Thanks everyone...

Ekaj

Rocketman766 wrote:

While reading some reviews of the 135mm f/2L, I saw this and would like to ask for a bit of clarification.
"Be aware that with a cropped sensor, effective length is nearly 190mm, forcing you to use support or shoot wide open at high shutter speeds, otherwise shakiness creeps into the image. My first session was shooting wildlife using a monopod -- the difference between the monoopd and the handheld shots was clear. Later, aware of this issue, I kept the aperture wide open, and the handheld images were sharp as well."

So if I want to see what items/people will look like (how much they fill the veiw finder?) with this lens, does this mean I should set my zoom to 190mm to get a comparison? Also, does this person mean by the "forcing you to use support or shoot wide open" that you have to keep it at f/2.0 while shooting? I will probably do that anyway with the low light conditions I will be shooting in.

While I have your attention, how can I maximize my focusing? ie, not end up with blury pics. I know thats vague, but I don't know how else to ask it. I think I figured out my first focusing issue, ( I set the AF point to the center, it was set to ALL/automatic)

If our uniforms are mostly white/green/blue, if I select the landscape mode of the picture selector, will that mess up the shots (indoors/people) or will it make the above mentioned colors stand out?

Sorry for the long post, if I violated some forum rule with this post, let me know and I will delete/edit it. Thanks everyone...

Set your 70-200 to 135 to see what the lens looks like.

henryp

Rocketman766 wrote:

I almost don't want to ask this for fear of sounding stupid, but as a newbie, still trying to learn. I am trying my hand at a few different lenses and I would like to try a Canon 135mm f/2L next to shoot my daughters cheerleading event. Basically my question is, for those of you who use primes to shoot sporting events, do you just get the shot that you can and then crop if needed in post editing?

Once upon a time, when Tri-X ruled the land, we all shot with non-zoom lenses and either cropped later or made sure our composition was as elegant as possible given the limitations of the lenses and the venue. I'm old and spent 20+ years shooting sports with non-zoom manual focus gear. It's do-able.

ziggy53

henryp wrote:

Once upon a time, when Tri-X ruled the land, we all shot with non-zoom lenses and either cropped later or made sure our composition was as elegant as possible given the limitations of the lenses and the venue. I'm old and spent 20+ years shooting sports with non-zoom manual focus gear. It's do-able.

I'm not switching back to manual focus for sports. You can't make me, you "can't" make me. D

I'm old too and I hated those days, even though they were fun at the time. Knowing what I know now and having the equipment I have now there is no way I "wish for the old days".

(Panatomic X and Microdol for the fine stuff, Plus X and D-76 for normal shooting and Tri-X and HC-110 for faster shutter speeds in lower light.)

Just Bob

I shoot sports with a 135 2.0 all the time.

Hockey, soccer, basketball, theatre, bar bands, etc. Just great for low light or poor light. And razor sharp.

Just shoot the best composition I could get and crop afterwards. It works great.

Not to get into a prime vs zoom debate, but I have shot both and I just like the look of the images from the prime better. I think it's well worth the price of "moving around" to get the composition you want.

Heck, with the 70-200, I found I was usually at 200mm all the time anyway, so why not just shoot the 200 2.8 instead, and that's what I did.

The 135 could give you the best of both worlds for a cheerleading event. Enough reach to get close, and not too much reach allowing you to capture more than one person in the frame.

Best of luck,
Bob

b08rsa

Rocketman766 wrote:

I almost don't want to ask this for fear of sounding stupid, but as a newbie, still trying to learn. I am trying my hand at a few different lenses and I would like to try a Canon 135mm f/2L next to shoot my daughters cheerleading event. Basically my question is, for those of you who use primes to shoot sporting events, do you just get the shot that you can and then crop if needed in post editing? I will not be able to move around while taking the shots here, I will have to remain in one spot. The girls cover quite a bit of area so some shots may end up being just head/shoulders, others will have more in the shot than I want. I guess I am unclear how often people crop. I will also be taking a 70-200mm f/2.8 USM (non IS) with me. Its a 2 day event so there will be "a second chance".

Just remember that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
I do some croping in my sport shots, but when shooting a few hundred frames at a time, post editing can come overwhelming.

henryp

ziggy53 wrote:

I'm old too and I hated those days, even though they were fun at the time. Knowing what I know now and having the equipment I have now there is no way I "wish for the old days".

I recall the day I got my first car with power windows. A friend said it'd be very soon when what had been a luxury evolved into a necessity. Power windows are great and I wouldn't want to go back, but my elbows still work and i could roll down the ol' isinglass if I had to.

(That said, I am committed to indoor plumbing and 2-ply TP, so there's only so far I too am willing to venture in the Wayback machine, Mr Peabody.)

Rocketman766

Well, this time I went with the 70-200mm f2.8L IS USM (turn off the IS for the competition..) and I took a 100mm f2L that I purchased on ebay last week. I fell into a "groove" with the 70-200 on the first day so I used it again on the 2nd day. I did use the 100mm to get some other shots in some low light situations and liked what I saw. I will use the 100 at the next event or maybe another one that my daughter isn't competing at, this way I won't be upset if they don't turn out the way I want them too. I will be posting some of my second attempt for C&C after I get home from work.