Football Lenses

tophatter

tophatter

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Dave
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I started as the official photographer of a non-league Football team a couple of months ago and i've been shooting with a Canon 70-200 2.8L IS II and a 50D

The club are having a really good FA Cup run and have now reached the 2nd round proper and have drawn a league side away (Crawley Town). I want to make the most of the opportunity I'm presented with and so I'm going to hire an additional, longer lens for this game. What do you professional guys recommend? 400mm f2.8, 500mm f4, 600mm f4 etc or even a different body?

I'd really appreciate you advice

Thanks

Dave
 
All depends what 2nd body your going for and what time the game will be. If its going to be another 50D or 1.6 crop body a 400 will be far too long. You would be much better with a 300.

In fact i'd say go for a 300 anyway, there aren't many places that will hire you a 400mm. Lenses For Hire are good, most places will ask for a "deposit" equal to the cost of the lens.

If you haven't used a 400mm before you'll spend most of the time struggling with the weight.

The other factor will be if the game is under floodlights you'll be much better with the 300 as you can drop your shutter speed lower than with the 400.


More importantly why spend hundreds of pounds on kit for one game? i'm assuming the club wont be paying for for the kit so you will be out of pocket for the sake of one game
 
just a side issue but if they are at crawley you may not get a pass due to DataCo so plan ahead.
 
Thanks Andy.

I've used Lens for Hire which I've found really good when you need I hire for a week but I can get a 300 2.8 for £53 for the weekend from Calumet (I know the deposit is quite high!).

I've got a mate who will lend me his 50d body so I may just use this to keep the cost down and have the use of two lenses - as you say, it's a one off game so I don't want to spend too much but I do want to get the best images I can as I probably won't get another chance to photograph at a league ground.

Thanks for you advice. I guess it's really a question for me now whether having a 300 a well as the 70-200 will give me much more. I think I definately need the 2.8 as most of the game will be under flood lights although I'm guessing they may be a little brighter than I'm use to at non-league grounds

Dave
 
blue marlin said:
just a side issue but if they are at crawley you may not get a pass due to DataCo so plan ahead.
Click to expand...

Yeah, our press officer is going to check this out for me. Not sure whether restrictions apply to the FA Cup and whether being the club photographer will help me get access.

Dave
 
I concur - a 300 2.8 on a 50D should do very nicely and turn in some cracking shots. Get a monopod for the 300 and practice swapping from one body to the other quickly and effectively. Dont forget that you can swivel the 300 into portrait mode as the players come in closer, particularly useful for single player shots.
 
Thanks guys. Think I'm going to give the 300mm 2.8 a go if there's still one available that weekend. I've already got a monopod but haven't really used it. Going to look to borrow my mates 50d to avoid swapping bodies though.

Thanks again

Dave.
 
If you can't get one from Calumet or Lenses for Hire, LensPimp may have one (more expensive I know, but worth a shot), and I've always found Adham really helpful. Delivery could be a killer though! Good luck with it!
 
Hi. My team played the creepy crawlies last year in the FA and had a return match there under floodlights at Crawley. I didn't encounter any licence issues then. Crawley politely herded my team supporters down one corner of the pitch, though! Quite a wide margin between barrier and touchline, lighting not bad but not wonderful. If you're driving yourself, get there early, the car park gets full. Have fun.
 
Photodiva said:
Hi. My team played the creepy crawlies last year in the FA and had a return match there under floodlights at Crawley. I didn't encounter any licence issues then.
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That's because they were a Blue Square Premier (non-league) team last season. Whilst there is a licence system at that level too, it's not quite as strict as some so I can see how this happens. They are now in the Football League after promotion and so fall under the licence regulations of Dataco, and I'm afraid they are very strict on making sure that only appropriate photographers are present (apologies if you were already well aware of this).
 
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Aperture87 said:
That's because they were a Blue Square Premier (non-league) team last season. Whilst there is a licence system at that level too, it's not quite as strict as some so I can see how this happens. They are now in the Football League after promotion and so fall under the licence regulations of Dataco, and I'm afraid they are very strict on making sure that only appropriate photographers are present (apologies if you were already well aware of this).
Click to expand...

I suppose they'll have upgraded their stadium and lighting, then?
 
Photodiva said:
I suppose they'll have upgraded their stadium and lighting, then?
Click to expand...
You'd think so, but you'd be surprised how weak the lights are at Hartlepool United, and they are an established team in the division above Crawley, heck, even the lights at the Riverside are disappointing! That's not to say Crawley's will be the same (after all they do have some rich men behind them) as I'm sure it's not the same for all league clubs, but just wanting to warn against getting hopes up too much.
 
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