new lens for kids football

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Louis
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hi i am currently thinking about buying a new lens to use mainly for photographing my six year old and his team mates playing football i was looking at a couple of lenses and wondered what other peoples thoughts were.
i have a limited budget and the lens will be mounted on my eos 450d the lenses im thinking of are
canon 70-300 is usm
canon 70-200 l (non is/ i cant stretch to the price)
tamron 70-300f4-5.6
sigma 70-300
i have been told is will not make much difference for the proposed main use of sports , i currently have canon 17-85is usm and an old canon 90-300 (the auto focus seems rather slow on this but it was a cheap option when i got it however i dont feel this is good enough for the football).
any advice would be appreciated.
thanx
 
As long as you have good light the 100-400 is probably your best bet (second hand as mentioned).
 
probably 70-200mm f/4. Being f/4 and with fast USM motor it is most likely to deliver. It could be a bit short, but there is really nothing else worthy for similar money. You could get 1.4x to go with it, but the speed will be lost.
 
i would think the 100-400 would be out of my price range guessing around £1000 second hand?? although it would be a fantastic focal range. i was slightly worried about the 70-200 lentgh but as they only play on small pitches and i am literally on the line it might just do especially if the quality is as good as people say with l glass. whats the 70-300is usm like?
 
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sigma 150-500 OS or 50-500 (with or without the OS)
 
Out of all the lenses mentioned so far the winner is easily the 70-200/4.

You can cover one end of the pitch to the other without the cropping compromising image quality and being lightweight it is fast to move around, which is needed when you're so close to the pitch.
 
300? 400? not for 6 yr olds.. get the 70-200 and it will be plenty enough for the size of pitch they play on.. I did a football tournament this morning on those pitches and they are quite small..
 
HI i am now edging towards the canon 70-2oo f4 however if i could pick one up how would the tamron 70-200 f2.8 or the sigma equivelent compare to the f4l would the speed outway the l glass or vica versa? sorry to be a pain!
 
Canon 70-200 hands down, perfect for shooting kids football. I used a 300mm once and its great for capturing the goalie at the other end of the pitch but you need to swap to the shorter lens pretty soon after as the acction moves towards you.
 
Little John said:
Canon 70-200 hands down, perfect for shooting kids football. I used a 300mm once and its great for capturing the goalie at the other end of the pitch but you need to swap to the shorter lens pretty soon after as the acction moves towards you.
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canon 70-200 isnt in the pot mate...

you dont need the f2.8 of the sigma or tamron if your shooting kids football daytime so the f4 canon 70-200 is best...
 
Thanx ill get looking for a canon 70-200f4. Will prob see if i can get one used before buying new. Thanx again for all the replies
 
For Kds football at that age and with a small budget in mind , why not look at the Canon 55-250IS lens? With the crop factor and the fairly small pitches that 6 year olds play on it should be just enough length.

Have also heard that the Canon 70-200F4 L is a great lens and you could save up for a convertor at a later data.

I have done quite a bit of footy pics for my son also with a Canon EOS450D and a Tamron 70-300, not the best IQ but it has served me well providing the light is okay and you dont shot to much at 300mm. I now have a Sigma 120-400mm and and that so far has been great.
 
I'm definitely going to bow to whatever Kipax says on this, but I was wondering if 70mm is going to be too long a starting point given this is for a crop body? Reason I ask is I was shooting a netball game once with a 70-300mm and it was a PITA at the short end. I figure a 6 y/o football pitch is probably a similar size.

Or was I just standing in the wrong place! :shrug: :)
 
You should be able to fit a whole 9 year old in at 5m at 70mm and a pair of 6yo's; and they aren't going to be hanging about in one place for that long!
 
I'd suggest the Tamron 70-300mm f4-5.6 SP Di VC USD if you can't get the 100-400 IS, it is an excellent lens IQ wise and really worth the money.
 
SixToes said:
I'm definitely going to bow to whatever Kipax says on this, but I was wondering if 70mm is going to be too long a starting point
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ooer preassure?

I did a junior football tournament wiht a 135 prime last week.. just put some pics onsite tonight... DISSCLAIMER these pics where never intended for putting onsite as I was sent by paper... then late on the organisors asked me to publish them... so they aint my best work.. but yes all done wiht 135 prime..

70 deffo long enough
 
Deffo Canon 70-200f/4
 
KIPAX said:
ooer preassure?

I did a junior football tournament wiht a 135 prime last week.. just put some pics onsite tonight... DISSCLAIMER these pics where never intended for putting onsite as I was sent by paper... then late on the organisors asked me to publish them... so they aint my best work.. but yes all done wiht 135 prime..

70 deffo long enough
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Well there you go. I'll get my coat. ;)
 
70-200 is fine now but what about next year and the year after? he will go upto 7 aside then 11 aside, i shoot under 9's and my 300mm on a crop sensor and that isn't long enough, still have to crop heavy
 
He can look to get a longer lens in a few years time.
 
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We shoot a big tournament in Surrey each year. We used a mix of the 70-200 & 70-300, both did the job perfectly but the latter is a quarter of the price :)

Just sold the 70-200 so next year it will have to be on the 70-300 :D
 
DannyDMR said:
70-200 is fine now but what about next year and the year after? he will go upto 7 aside then 11 aside, i shoot under 9's and my 300mm on a crop sensor and that isn't long enough, still have to crop heavy
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...and you'll find exactly the same thing with a 400, 500mm and (possibly) 600mm. Everybody crops and sub 500 it's always going to be heavy to reach the far end. That's exactly why a good quality camera and, far more importantly, a good quality lens are vital.
 
Aside from the focal length, I've used my 100-400 at f5.6 on a dark afternoon in February at a men's rugby match.

Had to bump up the ISO towards the end of the game but I think the f4 you get with the 70-200 will be fine :)
 
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