What is the best camera for indoor and outdoor sports photography?

[CayleighJTurner]

Hello! Im currently a high school student and I have a Canon EOS R7 but my pictures come out grainy. I take a lot of sports photography and some of the sports end at night. My night pictures are usually grainy ones. Does anyone have any recommendations for an updated camera for my circumstances or tips on making my pictures less grainy?

Anything will help!

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1xZEThk_c8QaoIUH3-BRajvXA49vRYIXT?usp=drive_link This is a link to some raw pictures of mine!

[shadowsports · Accepted solution]

Greetings,

Can you please post a few raw samples for us to evaluate. You can upload these to a file sharing site and post links.  

What lens or lenses are you using?

If you want to stick with the R7, a lens with a faster aperture might help. 

If you're looking to move to a new platform, a full frame body will offer better low light performance. 

[shadowsports · Accepted solution]

Greetings,

Can you please post a few raw samples for us to evaluate. You can upload these to a file sharing site and post links.  

What lens or lenses are you using?

If you want to stick with the R7, a lens with a faster aperture might help. 

If you're looking to move to a new platform, a full frame body will offer better low light performance. 

[CayleighJTurner]

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1xZEThk_c8QaoIUH3-BRajvXA49vRYIXT?usp=drive_link 

[CayleighJTurner]

I will have to look at the lense I am using. I don't know off the top of my head. 

[wq9nsc · Accepted solution]

Those are not bad photos, you have a good eye for the sport!  The grain and loss of detail is typical with the combination of typical high school field lighting and a f5.6 lens.  You can try slowing your shutter speed to 1/640 which will sometimes introduce a little motion blur but will allow your camera to use a slightly lower ISO with less grain/noise.  Try this and see which results you like better.  Also try to position yourself and use your lens to maximize the size of the desired image at capture because the more cropping you do, the worse the appearance of noise.

I am fortunate to have f2.8 aperture lenses I use for sports and for night sports they are going to be wide open at f2.8.  I use manual settings (f2.8, 1/1000, with ISO set to auto) and I use a pair of 1DX III full frame bodies which have larger area sensors which are a little better for low light.  But your R7 is very capable and the lens you are using which is f5.6 at the telephoto end is the major limiting factor.

The attached photos were captured Friday night under typical "old school" HS lighting (not LED lighting) and with the cameras set for f2.8 and 1/1000, the ISO across the field varied from around 5,000 to 25,600 in the always poorly illuminated end zones (last image is at 25,600).

Rodger

1DX III EF 400 f2.8 1/1000 6,4001DX III EF 70-200 f2.8 1/1000 6,4001DX III EF 70-200 f2.8 1/1000 25,600

[CayleighJTurner]

The main lens I use is a Canon Zoom Lens EF 75-300mm 1:4-5.6

[CayleighJTurner]

The main lens I use is a Canon Zoom Lens EF 75-300mm 1:4-5.6

[wq9nsc]

Hi Cayleigh,

Even with modern cameras, a lens with a f5.6 aperture at the telephoto end is really limiting for sports and most of your sports photography will be at the telephoto end.  It will do OK for daylight use (for example if your school is in a region where soccer matches are typically played during the afternoon) but a camera equipped with this lens will struggle at night.

The Canon 70-200 f2.8 is my favorite sports lens and it is incredibly versatile.  It is expensive but you should also consider a used one in good condition and you won't need an IS version for sports.  I still have the Canon EF 70-200 f2.8 non-IS I bought with my 1D Mark II back in 2005, it is now a backup lens but I shot a lot of sports with it and it still functions perfectly.  So if you find a well cared for used 70-200 f2.8, that would be a great lens for you.

As an alternative, the 70-200 f4 is considerably lighter and less expensive.  I much prefer f2.8 capable glass but the 70-200 f4 would be MUCH better than your current lens because of the f4 aperture throughout its range AND the much better optical quality.

Good luck and keep photographing sports because you work will continue to improve with experience!

Rodger

[Tronhard]

As my colleague @wq9nsc pointed out the EF 75-300 is somewhat limited.  Not only does it have mediocre optics, and a slower aperture range, but it has no stabilization, which would be significant to overcome the slower aperture. You would find any of the EF 70-200 variants that have an IS (Image Stabilized) designation both for that feature to help you cope with slower shutter speeds, plus far superior optics and focusing system.

[CayleighJTurner]

I am just wanting a lens that will get shots from opposite sides of the field.