canon 70-200 or 100-400 shooting soccer

BountyphotographerBountyphotographer Registered Users Posts: 413 Major grins
edited November 9, 2011 in Sports
Hello,
I'll be shooting a children soccer game Saturday outside with plenty of light.
Regardless the aperture should I rent a canon 70-200 or 100-400?
Isn t 400 overkilled? If I shoot by the sideline it seems like the 100-400 will not allow me to shoot that close?


Thanks for any feedback


Bounty
:photo

Comments

  • JSPhotographyJSPhotography Registered Users Posts: 552 Major grins
    edited November 2, 2011
    Either one will work. I have both, normally I use the 120-400(Sigma) for the extra reach. I like to stand behind/to the side of the goal so I get faces coming towards me. With the reach I can allmost shoot the full length of the field. I'll go to the 70-200 when the light level drops in the evenning games.
  • BountyphotographerBountyphotographer Registered Users Posts: 413 Major grins
    edited November 2, 2011
    JSPhotography wrote: »
    Either one will work. I have both, normally I use the 120-400(Sigma) for the extra reach. I like to stand behind/to the side of the goal so I get faces coming towards me. With the reach I can allmost shoot the full length of the field. I'll go to the 70-200 when the light level drops in the evenning games.



    Didnt think of staying by the goal to get facesheadscratch.gifscratch
    I usually run around with my 28-70 ( good sigma lens) and 75-300 (cheap lens that come with the kit) but am tired of running and want to have only one lens.
    So maybe the 100-400 will be just fine if I stay by the goalthumb.gifthumb
    :photo
  • johngjohng Registered Users Posts: 1,658 Major grins
    edited November 2, 2011
    if it's full size field you'll need every bit of 400mm. If it's little kids on a small field then 200 is fine. For what it's worth, 200mm is good for about 25 yards of reach and 400mm is good for about 50-60 yards.
  • BountyphotographerBountyphotographer Registered Users Posts: 413 Major grins
    edited November 2, 2011
    johng wrote: »
    if it's full size field you'll need every bit of 400mm. If it's little kids on a small field then 200 is fine. For what it's worth, 200mm is good for about 25 yards of reach and 400mm is good for about 50-60 yards.



    Thanks I think I'll go with the 70-200 since they are small kids and I'll shoot only from one half of the field having the kids coming toward me.
    :photo
  • b08rsab08rsa Registered Users Posts: 216 Major grins
    edited November 2, 2011
    Depending on the age group? My daughter plays U12 Select Soccer, and their field is like 50yds x 70 yds to 60 x80 yds. I perfer my 75-300mm Zoom over my 70-200mm. If this is U9 and younger , than a 70 200mm will be fine. If planning from shooting behind one goal line to the other, than the 200mm may be stretching it. Regardless, enjoy and have fun. I just love shooting youth soccer.

    DSC04108A1-L.jpg
    Sony A7ii, Sigma 24mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art Lens, Sony FE85mm f/1.8 Lens, Sony FE 28-70 mm F3.5-5.6 OSS Lens, Godox 860iiS Flash.
  • BountyphotographerBountyphotographer Registered Users Posts: 413 Major grins
    edited November 2, 2011
    b08rsa wrote: »
    Depending on the age group? My daughter plays U12 Select Soccer, and their field is like 50yds x 70 yds to 60 x80 yds. I perfer my 75-300mm Zoom over my 70-200mm. If this is U9 and younger , than a 70 200mm will be fine. If planning from shooting behind one goal line to the other, than the 200mm may be stretching it. Regardless, enjoy and have fun. I just love shooting youth soccer.

    DSC04108A1-L.jpg



    Good pic. Not sure if it's U12 or U10 but they play on a pretty large size field but again if I stay on one side only and shoot not from goal to goal but goal the mid field I should do fine. I don t want to rent a 100-400 since it s overkill in my humble opinion
    :photo
  • wmstummewmstumme Registered Users Posts: 466 Major grins
    edited November 6, 2011
    So which one did you end up going with and how did it turn out? Personally, I like the greater options with a zoom range of 300mm versus 130mm. On a bright day, I'll give up the aperture hit for the longer reach. Four hundred can be very useful--even up close...

    This is 400mm from about 20 -30 yards...

    IMG3404a-L.jpg
    Regards

    Will
    ________________________
    www.willspix.smugmug.com
  • jheftijhefti Registered Users Posts: 734 Major grins
    edited November 6, 2011
    One trick that can give you a little more usable distance is to shoot with the 100-400mm from the baseline, and move back a ways when the game heads toward you. This will allow shooting right up to the goal, and still have the reach to get way out into the midfield.

    Alternatively, you could just focus on the activities near the goal with the 70-200mm, and get most of the interesting action. The one problem with shooting far out onto the field is that, more often than not, there is someone in your way.
    http://johnhefti.com/
  • BountyphotographerBountyphotographer Registered Users Posts: 413 Major grins
    edited November 7, 2011
    Thanks all for the info however it was raining too much Friday afternoon so I canceled the rental of the lens.
    Funny enough I was told at 7:00 AM the following day that the playoff were still on grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
    I shot the game with my 75-300 mm 4.5 5.6 cheap lens that came with the kit when I bought my Canon 30 D years ago.
    I found that the 300 mm was overkill most of the time.The lens was very slow to focus and it might be me but the color of the shirts of the player were washed out. I wanted to freeze the action with higher speed not sure what I did but the color of the shirts was gone in most cases.
    Look at my pics and tell me how bad they are I don t mind
    http://bph.smugmug.com/Clients/Soccer-palyoff-Vista-ca-40511/19926645_c7WpHC#1568426661_dzHtGnj

    Thank you and feedback are welcomed
    :photo
  • wmstummewmstumme Registered Users Posts: 466 Major grins
    edited November 8, 2011
    Bountyphotographer wrote: »
    Look at my pics and tell me how bad they are I don t mind
    http://bph.smugmug.com/Clients/Soccer-palyoff-Vista-ca-40511/19926645_c7WpHC#1568426661_dzHtGnj

    Thank you and feedback are welcomed

    Hard to get into a password protected gallery to give much feedback. Post some here and we'll tell you how you did...
    Regards

    Will
    ________________________
    www.willspix.smugmug.com
  • BountyphotographerBountyphotographer Registered Users Posts: 413 Major grins
    edited November 8, 2011
    wmstumme wrote: »
    Hard to get into a password protected gallery to give much feedback. Post some here and we'll tell you how you did...

    Sorry I forgot......... flashbacks is the password
    :photo
  • jheftijhefti Registered Users Posts: 734 Major grins
    edited November 9, 2011
    My first suggestion: put together a smaller set of your best shots if you want meaningful feedback. I know that when they're your shots of your kids, they're *all* good! (I feel a bit hypocritical giving this advice, since I so often don't follow it myself! It takes time to become a good judge of your own work.)

    Second, get down to the player's level (which you did on some of the shots), don't shoot from a standing position. Get yourself a camp stool or just kneel. You'll be amazed how much more punch a shot has when it is taken from the right height.

    Third, compose and/or crop much tighter. There is a lot of good action in this collection, which could be captured much better with the right crop.

    Lastly, timing is everything: try to get the kicks at the very beginning of the swing (i.e. the leg outstretched behind the player) or at the end when the ball is flying away from the foot. One trick I try to use in my sports photography--especially soccer--is to capture those off balance moments; a turn, a lean, air time, all of which suggest movement.

    ....and don't forget the FACT [Face, Action, Contact, Toy (ball)]

    Here's a shot from a recent highschool game that incorporates all of the above: http://johnhefti.com/p844124326/h18aef43a#h3527b00b

    Hope this helps!

    John
    http://johnhefti.com/
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