lens recommendation soccer

[lux]

OK, this is an update; the fall season just ended.

For the most part I used the borrowed 100-400 with the 6D and during the daytime it was a great combination. For night games I put he 70-200 ii on and let the action come to me.

I did rent a 300 2.8 and it was a lot better...even took pictures at night but I don't have that kind of cash.

I did try to have two cameras going occasionally but it never worked for me. (though it does improve the chances of going anywhere you want on the field without anyone bothering you).

I'm sure a new 100-400 when it comes out will be great...it will also be 2500 and I can likely get a used 100-400 for 1000.

 

[bholliman]

OK, this is an update; the fall season just ended.

For the most part I used the borrowed 100-400 with the 6D and during the daytime it was a great combination. For night games I put he 70-200 ii on and let the action come to me.

I did rent a 300 2.8 and it was a lot better...even took pictures at night but I don't have that kind of cash.

I did try to have two cameras going occasionally but it never worked for me. (though it does improve the chances of going anywhere you want on the field without anyone bothering you).

I'm sure a new 100-400 when it comes out will be great...it will also be 2500 and I can likely get a used 100-400 for 1000.

I used my 70-200 2.8 II with a 2x III extender on my 6D to shoot a few of my nephews soccer games this fall and was happy with the combination. This lens is so good, even with the IQ and light loss with the extender, the quality is still very good. I've considered buying a 100-400, 70-300L or 400 5.6, but don't really use focal lengths above 200mm often, so had trouble justifying the expense.

 

[Eldar]

Soccer is difficult, because of the size of the pitch. There is no such thing as a universal lens to cover it all. If you try to shoot everything, you may end up with nothing.

I normally chose what part of the pitch I would be looking for pictures from. In your case, I am assuming you would want pictures of your kids, so it depends on which position they play. If you read the game properly, you should be able to get good shots with your 70-200, with the right shooting position. That's the one I used the most. An advantage of these kind of games is that you can normally move freely around the pitch and get the best possible positions.

If you win the lottery and can buy a 200-400 f4L IS 1.4x, that will do a better job for some parts, but you would still need to complement with the 70-200.

 

[Northstar]

If you're shooting for small prints and online, then the 70-200 or 70-200 with 1.4xiii should work well...just crop more. The af speed and accuracy, sharpness, and zoom range make the 70-200 the best sport lens ever. IMO

As Eldar wrote, you can't effectively cover the whole field, so just try to cover the side/area closest to you....and make those shots awesome.

Someday, when looking back on soccer season 2013, do you really want/need hundreds of decent shots or would you rather have a couple dozen awesome shots? My point is that the 7o-200 combo will get you more of the "awesome" images compared to the other combos you listed.

 

[GregW]

I have shot my kids playing soccer with both lenses mentioned, both on a crop body. My opinion is that it depends on the size of the field/pitch. The fields are generally much smaller for the lower age groups and I found the 70 end (effective 112mm on crop) to be too long for much of the field closest to me, especially if trying to capture multiple players in action, but imagine it would about perfect on FF.

The larger fields on which the U14-U16 teams play would render the 70-200 a tad short much of the time. That said, the shots I got with my 70-200 2.8 II were so far superior that I sold the 70-300 (non-L). As mentioned previously by others I found careful sideline positioning to be the best method for capturing what I was looking to capture. I am considering the 300mm L 4.0....

 

[ajfotofilmagem]

I live in Brazil, and I know well the difficulty of photographing football on a field official size (giant). The only option that allows decent pictures of your side of the field, and also on the opposite side, is use two bodies, and two lenses with focal length quite different. For example, 6D + 24-105 (closer to you) and other combination T2i + 55-250 STM (away from you). If have good lighting would not be a limiting factor to use dark lenses. Obviously, if the budget allows 70-300L will do fine on your 7D. Stay away from 75-300mm, it will surely disappoint you. I do not understand how Canon still manufactures such a lens, which was acceptable at the time the cameras were only 3 megapixel.