p.1 #1 · Help me with picking a lens for horse shows...
Horse show season is coming up, and now that my mom's hip surgery has healed sooner than expected, she's gearing up for a few shows that start later this month going through the fall season.
It will be a mixed bag. Regular horse shows (dressage), as well as some carriage driving events. In the past, I had a 100-400 on my 30D that worked great, sharp photos, people loved them as much as I did. BUT, the kicker is that next year I may end up doing wedding photography so I'll need the 70-200 for it, either the 2.8 or the 2.8 IS.
Do you think I could get away with using a 70-200 for such events? Or will I probably need something with more reach? I've been shooting with a 5D which I know will make me lose some reach compared to the 30D.
Example from last year's Walnut Hill Driving Competition, 30D + 100-400:
p.1 #2 · Help me with picking a lens for horse shows...
I would think the Sigma 70-200 f/2.8 would work just fine for horse shows. If I were going to try double duty by also using a 70-200 for weddings I would probably opt for the Canon with IS (to capture those low light situation where a flash would be a distraction). YMMV
p.1 #3 · Help me with picking a lens for horse shows...
Depending on how far are you from the subject of interest, I have shot horse shows using from the 16-35mm (on remote cam) to the 500mm. Shooting from inside the arena (including stadium jumping), I usually use the 70-200mm 2.8 IS on one camera and 300mm 2.8 IS on another, and set up a few remote cameras with 16-35mm on several jumps. I think the 70-200mm 2.8 IS is a good start since you "may end up doing wedding photography" next year.
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