p.1 #1 · Your Favorite Camera/Lens Combo For Indoor Sports?
Curious to know what your favorite camera/lens combo is for indoor sports (Volleyball, Basketball, Hockey, etc.)? I'm referring to stills captures, not videography.
p.1 #6 · Your Favorite Camera/Lens Combo For Indoor Sports?
I don't have a "favorite" -- never have, never will. I change lenses, focal length and positioning multiple times a game whether its pee wee or pro. So the choice is always circumstantial. It's not what I "like." It's what I need to get the picture.
p.1 #7 · Your Favorite Camera/Lens Combo For Indoor Sports?
PureMichigan wrote:
I don't have a "favorite" -- never have, never will. I change lenses, focal length and positioning multiple times a game whether its pee wee or pro. So the choice is always circumstantial. It's not what I "like." It's what I need to get the picture.
Awesome. So, what specific "tool" would you use to capture still images of an indoor basketball game? I'm sure that even the best, latest iphone won't adequately capture still images of players at an indoor basketball game. Granted, using AI to enhance iphone images might render them acceptable. However, most people on this forum enjoy photography; not just the abstract concept of photography, but also the gear we use to capture images. Key word = gear.
p.1 #9 · Your Favorite Camera/Lens Combo For Indoor Sports?
135 1.8 creates fantastic images, it's my favorite as an amateur, because I struggle with framing and rely on 1.8 to blow out the background Also excels in horrible lighting situations.
Otherwise, 70-200 on a capable body. I've been using an A7RV and getting by, but it's a little less than ideal compared to the R5s and R6s I've used in the past. I think the AF is better, but it's a lot slowerrrrrrr.
p.1 #10 · Your Favorite Camera/Lens Combo For Indoor Sports?
"Awesome. So, what specific "tool" would you use to capture still images of an indoor basketball game? I'm sure that even the best, latest iphone won't adequately capture still images of players at an indoor basketball game. Granted, using AI to enhance iphone images might render them acceptable. However, most people on this forum enjoy photography; not just the abstract concept of photography, but also the gear we use to capture images. Key word = gear."
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When I cover a college game -- or really any basketball game -- I go with a 200MM f2 (see review in this forum) a 85MM 1.4, a 24-70MM 2.8, and a rarely used but handy 16-30MM 2.8.
Use pie chart (and I know this from metadata) would be ~55% 200MM/ ~25% 85MM and split the remainder between the other two lenses. I'll occasionally swap something out or add something for variety --- but that's my core kit.
p.1 #12 · Your Favorite Camera/Lens Combo For Indoor Sports?
PureMichigan wrote:
I don't have a "favorite" -- never have, never will. I change lenses, focal length and positioning multiple times a game whether its pee wee or pro. So the choice is always circumstantial. It's not what I "like." It's what I need to get the picture.
What PureMichigan said. Seriously, too many factors come into play to answer such a generic question.
For basketball, I'd say the 70-200 gets the majority of the work, with a few images from a 24-105 and even a few more from a 300.
For volleyball, it often depends on the venue and where I can position myself to get the best images. I've used everything from 24mm to 400mm for volleyball.
Field sports like football, soccer and baseball...long glass is king and anything less than 400mm is just too short, IME.
p.1 #13 · Your Favorite Camera/Lens Combo For Indoor Sports?
Scott Sewell wrote:
What PureMichigan said. Seriously, too many factors come into play to answer such a generic question.
For basketball, I'd say the 70-200 gets the majority of the work, with a few images from a 24-105 and even a few more from a 300.
For volleyball, it often depends on the venue and where I can position myself to get the best images. I've used everything from 24mm to 400mm for volleyball.
Field sports like football, soccer and baseball...long glass is king and anything less than 400mm is just too short, IME.
So, neither of you use an actual camera? Just curious to know why you are both so aprehensive to mention the actual cameras that you use. This is after all a gear forum.
p.1 #14 · Your Favorite Camera/Lens Combo For Indoor Sports?
Currently I use:
E-M1X or GH7
Olympus 40-150mm F/2.8 Pro (80-300 F/2.8 full frame equivalent) (often)
MC14 (sometimes)
Olympus 75mm F/1.8 (sometimes)
Pana/Leica 42.5mm F/1.2 OIS Notictron (sometimes)
Panasonic 35-100mm F/2.8 OIS or 12-35mm F/2.8 OIS (sometimes)
Kind of depends on distance, lighting, etc.
p.1 #15 · Your Favorite Camera/Lens Combo For Indoor Sports?
snegron7 wrote:
So, neither of you use an actual camera? Just curious to know why you are both so aprehensive to mention the actual cameras that you use. This is after all a gear forum.
I don't want to speak for others, but I have a feeling that the body doesn't matter for many of these posters as they are all using pro-level bodies Canon R1/R3/1DX-series, Nikon Z9/Z8 or D6/D5, Sony A1, A9 or A7-series bodies.
For me personally, the difference between my 1DX mk II and my R3 is not as big of a difference as say going from a 70-200mm to a 300mm 2.8/400mm 2.8/200-400mm/24-70mm 2.8/16-35mm 2.8.
To expound on that more, I am sure there are slight tweaks shooter may have where they choose one body over another depending on the sport or event being covered.
I have often times switched my bodies around so that the better focusing body is on one lens over the a different lens depending on my needs. Maybe that is the 70-200 because I anticipate that action in this lens' coverage area requiring better AF than that of a wider angle or telephoro lens' coverage area.
Likewise, I can flip that around. If I want the best possible photo of tight action where AF on the R3 will be the deciding factor (uneven bars in gymnastics, or blocking in volleyball) I may opt to go R3 plus 300mm 2.8 and change the 70-200mm to the 1DX mk II.
p.1 #17 · Your Favorite Camera/Lens Combo For Indoor Sports?
cocodrillo wrote:
Canon R3 and EF 200mm f2... but I tend to shoot very tight. I'm also a fan of the 85mm f1.2, but don't have the wallet or the need to own one.
I can't speak for your wallet, but that indoor T&F you do seems like it could benefit from f/1.2. If the lens' AF can keep up!
p.1 #18 · Your Favorite Camera/Lens Combo For Indoor Sports?
snegron7 wrote:
So, neither of you use an actual camera? Just curious to know why you are both so aprehensive to mention the actual cameras that you use. This is after all a gear forum.
Interesting. Technically, this is NOT a gear forum...there are other places on FM for gear posts. Having said that, there wasn't any intentionality in not mentioning the bodies I use. To some degree, it's irrelevant. Bodies come and go, but glass is forever. Get good glass that works for sports photography (generally, that means FAST glass) and a good photographer can put a film camera on good glass and capture compelling images.
But since you seem so hurt by me not mentioning it, I use Canon R3 bodies. Before that I used the 1Dx. Before those I used the 1DMk2/2n and before that I used the original 1d. In the past I have also owned a 7Dmk2, a 20d and a 10d (my first DSLR). Even when I started with the 10d, I used a 300/f2.8, 70-200/f2.8, 24-70/f2.8, a 15mm/f2.8, and made a ton of money shooting sports. Then when I had a 20d I used those same lenses and added a 400/f2.8 and a 120-300/f2.8. Then I've pretty much used that same general lens lineup ever since. Notice a pattern here?
p.1 #19 · Your Favorite Camera/Lens Combo For Indoor Sports?
I agree Scott. My lenses have seen quite a few camera bodies, but the fast glass is forever...until mirrorless and now I am slowly upgrading. I still have the EF 300 f/2.8 (with 1.4x for day games) and the EF 100-400, but when I can get away with it they are replaced with the 70-200 Z with a 2x extender. (5.6 is just unusable at some venues.) R3 is on my wishlist later this year...unless there is a Mk. II announcement.
Also excels in horrible lighting situations.