The Importance of IS when shooting Hockey (2.8L 70-200)

TheCheesehead

Hi,

My next lens purchase after the 24-70 (just ordered on B & H for $1250 shipped) will be the 2.8L 70-200. I currently have the F4L 70-200, and it struggles shooting hockey...ISO maxed @ 1600 depending on the rink gets me 1/320th, sometimes 1/400. Pro rinks I can drop the ISO down to 800.

Sooooo...me wants the 2.8L version, and I'm wondering how important IS is. Does it really matter over 1/400...which I think is about the slowest I can get by with (unless shooting mites).

Thanks!

craig_d

If you don't have IS on your 70-200mm f/4L, and you don't miss it, then you probably won't miss it on an f/2.8L either. At 1/400, you shouldn't need IS. If your sports shooting is done tripod-mounted, then you really don't need IS.

IS is just a "virtual tripod", a way of making the camera seem more stable than it really is, to make longer exposures come out better when shooting hand-held.

If you might use this lens hand-held for things other than high-speed sports action, then IS might come in handy.

Also, keep in mind there's a new II version of the 70-200mm f/2.8L IS coming out (in April? I don't recall exactly). It's a few hundred dollars more, and it's hard to say how much better it is until some in-depth reviews are published and people get it into their hands and report their own experiences, but if it's within your budget you might want to wait to find out. In fact, the street price of the original 70-200mm f/2.8L IS may drop a bit in the coming months because of this new lens (if it hasn't already -- I haven't been watching).

TheCheesehead

Is
Yes, my F4 does not have IS. Sometimes I shoot with a monopod, and sometimes I don't, I guess it depends on the rink. My body is the Rebel XSI, and I am going to upgrade to the 50D or 7d probably in the next year, and I think the ISO quality is better in those cameras as well.

jonh68

For sports photography, IS or VR is not needed as your shutterspeeds are high enough, or should be high enough to freeze the action of the moving athletes. IS doesn't help with freezing action and can actually hinder AF as it pauses to get focus which can make a difference in capturing or missing peek action. Most sports photographers do not use IS or VR when shooting sports.

ziggy53

Optical IS is a mixed blessing. It does take a while for IS to "lock on", but once it does, AI Servo tracking can improve.

If you use mostly One Shot AF then you really should keep tapping the AF button halfway to keep the IS engaged.

Most of the time I suggest leaving IS off if you are in One Shot mode and the action is unpredictable.

The behavior may also change with the camera model and lens combination, so it's best to test all combinations and use the one which seems to yield the best keeper rate.

Some pertinent links:

http://digitaljournalist.org/issue1002/tech-tips.html

http://digitaljournalist.org/issue0506/tech-tips.html (Read the links in this article too.)

http://digitaljournalist.org/issue0901/tech-tips.html

TheCheesehead

Thanks!
Thanks for the tips!