Hello all. I have an older 60D that I use. My daughter just started cheer comps and I'm looking for a lens that will do good with the 60d for those. Majority of the time they are fairly dark except stage lighting. Standing sometimes right at the edge of the stage/mat to 20-30ft away from the stage. We could be anywhere from the size of a college basketball arena to our local cheer gym. Open to not only lens suggestion but tips from anyone that's shot dance comps or low light concerts/comps. I've not had much experience shooting fast moving subjects but now is a great time to learn. As far as shooting modes, Are you all shooting in full manual mode, Av mode, or Tv mode?
Was thinking of a few lenses.. 70-200 2.8, 135mm 1.8?
The 60D is a crop sensor so your effective range is 1.6 of the lens mm. So your 70-200 gets you 112-320 which is a good range. Ideally most folks would want the 70-200 and a 24-70 or the like for wide angle shots but it's hard to beat a 70-200. The Canon EF 70-200 f2.8s have held their value well and still go fast when on the used market. You mentioned the 135 1.8 which isn't native to Canon in the EF lineup but the Sigma version is a very nice lens. The Canon 135 f2 is a very good lens and can be found used, most of the time lightly used for very little money. It's one of the most bangs for the buck really. On your body it would be like a poor man's 200 f2 which is saying a lot. I think if you can only afford one the 70-200 offers the most flexibility. If you are on a tight budget you might also consider picking up a used 1DX or 7D II.
Looking back at my old cheer photos and most if not all were shot with the 70-200 f2.8. Highly recommend this for cheer. This and get as close as you can to the action.
Unless you're talking about this lens from another manufacturer, the Canon f/1.8 is an RF-mount lens, which means it only works with the newer mirrorless Canon cameras.
The EF version is f/2.0. That lens would work with your 60D.
When I photographed cheer competitions in the early days of digital, we used a 70-200, 2.8 for the corners of the mat and if we had one person in the middle, a 24-70 and a 70-200. The wide lens in the middle can get the entire squad in formation. The longer zoom lenses are good for kids tumbling diagonally across the mat.
I can't stress this enough--bring foam ear plugs if you want to have a normal conversation the next day. During the 10-12 hour days where I photographed the competitions, they were louder than most rock concerts I've attended.
Fortunately, you're only concerned with getting photos of your daughter's team and not every team taking the mat every three or four minutes.
Also, if there is an official photographer there, you may not be allowed to get close to the mat. As a courtesy, follow their rules or, at the very least, purchase some images from them.