Best lens/TC setup for football game

[nickbj05]

I am looking for the best solution for shooting a football game. I will be shooting from the side of the field and end zones. My camera is a 5D MKII; I know not the ideal sports camera. I have a 70-200mm F/2.8L which I know will be too short. I was planning on renting the 400mm F/5.6L for some wildlife photos, but now I might need something more versatile. I am considering between the options below:

70-200mm F/2.8L with 2x TC III
100-400mm F/4.5-5.6L
400mm F/5.6L

Thanks for your recommendations.

 

[KreutzerPhotography]

I would try to pick up a used 7d and grab a 70-200 2.8 Non IS and a 400mm

Both lenses are needed for sports photography if you want short and long shots. Throw the 400 on the 7d and the 70-200 on the 5d.

 

[Loswr]

Get the 100-400mm. In addition to the IQ hit, adding a TC to your 70-200/2.8 will slow down the AF drive speed (by 50% with a 1.4x TC and by 75% with a 2x TC), and slow AF is not what you want, especially when shooting with a 5DII.

 

[awinphoto]

IF you are shooting day games, 5.6 will be more than enough and the 100-400L is a great setup... night games and it becomes a whole new ball of wax... Even shooting ISO 1600, with most college style stadium lighting, at 5.6, you are getting shutter speeds of 1/60 give or take. bumping it up to 3200 you may get 1/120. While it pains me to say, the 100-400 at 5.6 for night time games... unless you go real high ISOs, you are barely getting fast enough to cover camera shake let alone freezing action. NFL stadiums have better lighting but you may need a press pass to get in with a pro dslr and pro lens. You may want to shoot your 70-200 2.8 for night time games and crop if needed as you will need all the light you can get.

 

[dolina]

You may find the f/5.6 too slow 30 mins before sunset.

 

[awinphoto]

Night games are a pain... in high school stadiums or pop warner (assuming they got lights), the lights generally are closer to the action so you would think they would be brighter and more camera friendly... well grounds-crews throw in lower wattage lights as not to blind people and so they tend to be the same brightness as a division 1 college stadium with lights mounted on polls 5 stories high with massive lights in there... And so since the camera is reading reflected light, the lighting would be the same whether shooting from the stands or shooting on the field. Also be diligent for flare... Lens hoods are good but some stadiums have lights not only on the sideline bleachers but also on the end-zone bleachers so if you're shooting too wide you could get lights in your shot giving you flare... in night games use the biggest lens you can afford to buy/rent.

 

[helpful]

Whatever you do, don't use the 70-200mm F/2.8L with 2x TC III for shooting football, unless you just want portraits when there is no action happening.

It will be a slow and unwieldy f/5.6 combination that will be less-sharp than the other options. And f/5.6 with a TC is worse in autofocus and several other ways, than f/5.6 is with a single lens like the other two choices.

Like someone said, you won't be able to keep shooting much as soon as it gets near sunset, no matter which of these options you choose. If you get some afternoon games in late season you'll be fine and then my best option would be the 400mm f/5.6. You can wait in the corner about 75 feet back from the home goal line and two feet out of the boundary line, and pretty much cover every play in the field. You can still get tightly-framed pictures of plays near the touchdown line, and looser framed shots of everything else.

 

[nickbj05]

IF you are shooting day games, 5.6 will be more than enough and the 100-400L is a great setup... night games and it becomes a whole new ball of wax... Even shooting ISO 1600, with most college style stadium lighting, at 5.6, you are getting shutter speeds of 1/60 give or take. bumping it up to 3200 you may get 1/120. While it pains me to say, the 100-400 at 5.6 for night time games... unless you go real high ISOs, you are barely getting fast enough to cover camera shake let alone freezing action. NFL stadiums have better lighting but you may need a press pass to get in with a pro dslr and pro lens. You may want to shoot your 70-200 2.8 for night time games and crop if needed as you will need all the light you can get.

Thanks for the info. The scenario couldn't be much worse for me at this point. I was asked to shoot this 2 days ago, it is a night game, it is this weekend, and I don't have enough time to test the different lens options before the game. I've read reviews stating the 100-400 is terrible on a full-frame body for image quality. The 400mm F/2.8L is way out of my price range, even to rent. It sounds like the 400mm F/5.6 is going to be too slow. I could look at the 300mm F/4, but I don't know if that will do much better.

 

[nickbj05]

Thanks to everyone for the information so far. I should mention that I also have an original 5D that I could use with a second lens. I also have a 70-300mm F/4-5.6IS non L, but the photos seem significantly softer than from my 70-200 F/2.8L. BTW, the game is at night and this weekend. The only available options the local lens rental place has are the 2x TC III, the 100-400mm, and the 400mm F/5.6.

 

[DanoPhoto]

The 100-400 is a great combo with a 7D. You mentioned renting a lens, but why not rent the 7D as well?


Will deliver better results with higher fps, faster AF and 1.6x reach.


Of course, just someone else spending your money. ;D


Dan

 

[nickbj05]

The 100-400 is a great combo with a 7D. You mentioned renting a lens, but why not rent the 7D as well?


Will deliver better results with higher fps, faster AF and 1.6x reach.


Of course, just someone else spending your money. ;D


Dan

I've thought about renting the 7D; I even checked craigslist for used ones. Then I started to think about the noise levels from that camera at higher ISO. It turns out the local place is out of the 7D and the used ones are priced at the same as new prices right now. I remember before Christmas seeing the 7D for around $1200. I should have bought one new then. I don't see this shoot as important enough to spend more money than just renting a lens, but these are all good options. If only money wasn't an issue.