Lens Recommendation- Rebel T3

[Ballmom89]

Hi All! Looking for recommendations for my camera. I am not a photography buff, but am interested in learning. I primarily would like to have a good sports lens so I can take photos of my son and his team from the dugout during baseball games. 

edit: looking to spend less than $500. But willing to go above if it’s necessary

[deebatman316]

How far will you be from the action and what is your budget to spend on a new lens. DSLR cameras have been replaced my mirrorless cameras. The AF systems in mirrorless cameras have greatly surpassed DSLRs in AF performance and low light performance. Canon has been rapidly discontinuing lenses and bodies in favor of mirrorless cameras. Most other camera manufacturers have completely dropped their DSLR lineup of cameras and lenses. Production and development have stopped for Canon. All Canon is mainly selling is exist products on shelves everything has shifted to mirrorless now.

• EOS: Electro Optical System (What EOS stands for)
• EF: Electronic Focus: lens mount ALL EOS DSLRs & Film SLRs use (original EOS Mount) (Red Circle Mounting Index, 12 o’clock position)
• EF-S: A separate lens Mount designed for APS-C DSLRs NOT compatible and won’t mount to any Full Frame Digital, 35mm Film SLRs or APS-H DSLRs. Note this is a DSLR Crop Sensor ONLY Mount. (White Square Mounting Index, 1 o’clock position)
• EF-M: Lens Mount for EOS-M series Mirrorless cameras. Incompatible with DSLRs or EOS Film SLRs & EOS R Series. (White Circle Mounting Index, 11 o’clock position) (2012-2023, DISCONTINUED). 
• RF: Lens Mount for EOS R series Mirrorless cameras. ALL RF & RF-S lenses use focus by wire for Full Time Manual Focus. Regardless of USM or STM in the name. Incompatible with EOS DSLRs or EOS Film SLRs. (Red Oval Mounting Index, 12 o’clock position)
• RF-S: Lens is optimized for EOS R series APS-C cameras. Can be used on EOS R series Full Frame cameras but the image is cropped to the APS-C image circle. Note this is NOT a separate lens mount.
• Full Frame Digital: Image sensor is the same size as a single negative of 35mm Film which measures 36x24.
• APS-H (Advanced Photo System Half Frame): Image sensor is 1.3x smaller than 35mm Film. An APS-H image sensor measures (27.7x18.5). This format was previously used by Canon in older 1D series cameras.
• APS-C (Advanced Photo System Classic): Image sensor is 1.5 or 1.6x smaller than 35mm Film. An APS-C image sensor measures 22.6x15 Canon uses a 1.6x crop factor.
• L: Canon's professional grade lenses only available in Full Frame lenses NO APS-C lenses available. Lens has a RED ring on the lens barrel. (EF 100-300mm F/5.6L first "L" lens in the EF lineup)
• DO: Diffractive Optics uses Fresnel lenses. Lens has a GREEN ring on the lens barrel.
• I, II, III, IV, V: Some lenses, speedlites & Teleconverters have multiple revisions such as the EF 28-80 F/3.5-5.6 V USM (ONLY lens to have a Version V), Speedlite 430EX III-RT (ONLY Speedlite to have a Version III)
• Ring Type USM: AF motor type. Provides fast focusing stands for Ultrasonic Motor. Ring Type USM is the original USM AF motor. Shaped like a ring inside the lens. Allows Full Time Manual Focus either Focus by Wire or mechanical. EF 300mm F/2.8L USM (First Ring Type USM lens) ALL RF Mount lenses use focus by wire for Full Time Manual Focus.
• Micro Motor USM: Cheaper and slower AF Motor doesn't allow Full Time Manual Focus. Lens uses gears to adjust focus. EXCEPT for the EF 50mm F/1.4 USM lens (refer to Ring Type USM Mechanical Focus override). EF/ EF-S Mount ONLY. (1993-2008 retired, replaced by Nano USM)
• Nano USM: Combines STM and Ring Type USM technology for fast AF. Allows Full Time Manual Focus is Focus by wire. (EF-S 18-135mm F/3.5-5.6 IS USM first Nano USM lens) (2016- Present)
• STM: Stepper Motor for quiet AF. Allows Full Time Manual Focus which is Focus by Wire. ALL EF-M lenses used an STM AF motor. RF 10-20mm F4L IS STM (First L series lens to use an STM AF Motor) (2012- Present) RF 28-70mm F/2.8 IS STM (First constant aperture STM zoom lens)
• AFD: Arc-Form Drive original EOS AF motor. No longer in use was replaced by Micro Motor in 1993 for new lens designs. No Full Time Manual Focus. ONLY used in the EF Mount NO EF-S, EF-M or RF Mount lenses. (Retired 1987-1992)
• Micro Motor: Older least advanced AF motor slower AF used in cheaper lenses. No Full Time Manual Focus. ONLY used in the EF/ EF-S Mount. (Retired, 1993-2012) Replaced by STM in 2012.
• VCM: Voice Coil Motor provides fast AF. The RF 35mm F/1.4L VCM is the first lens to use this new AF motor.
• IS: Image Stabilization available in the lens.
• IBIS: In Body Image Stabilization available in select EOS R Series cameras.
• Macro: A macro lens with 1:1 magnification
• Compact Macro: Lens is able to focus closer than a normal macro lens.
• MP-E: Manual Focus only electronic aperture control no focus to infinity.
• TS-E: Tilt Shift lens with electronic aperture control no Autofocus. 
• Soft Focus: Lens is designed to provide a creamy bokeh effect.
• PZ: Power Zoom lens. Only 1 lens released with this feature. Only the EF 35-80mm F/4-5.6 PZ lens used this. 
• TTL: Through The Lens Flash metering. Flash system relies on light reflected off the film. NOT compatible with EOS Digital cameras.
• A-TTL: Advanced Through The Lens Flash metering system in EOS film bodies released in 1986 with the FD Mount T90 SLR. Replaced by E-TTL in 1995. System uses a pre-flash measured by a sensor on the speedlite itself. NOT compatible with EOS Digital cameras. Uses EZ series speedlites.
• E-TTL Version 1: Evaluative Through The lens Flash metering system. System uses a pre-flash measured by the camera body to calculate flash exposure. System also relies on AF point selection too. Compatible with EX or EL series speedlites. Replaced by E-TTL II in 2004.
• E-TTL II: Refer to E-TTL Version 1. System was released in 2004 and works similarly to the original E-TTL. But uses focus distance information from the lens. Via a distance encoder in the lens. E-TTL II doesn't rely on AF point selection. Note E-TTL II is IMPLEMENTED in the camera body NOT the speedlite. Speedlite 380EX first E-TTL compatible speedlite released in 1995.
• EOS M Series: A discontinued APS-C mirrorless lineup of cameras (2012-2023). Replaced by EOS R Series APS-C cameras in 2023. EF-M lenses CAN NOT BE ADAPTED to EOS DSLRs or EOS R cameras.
• EOS R Series: Originally released in 2018 with Full Frame cameras only. Later in 2023 with APS-C cameras. New APS-C lenses were released. 
• Z: Lens has an optional attachment to allow power zoom. RF 24-105mm F/2.8L IS USM Z (first lens has this feature).
• Automatic Brightness Adjustment of LED AF Assist Beam: Feature IS NOT SUPPORTED on the R3, R7 & R10 camera bodies when the speedlite EL-5 is used. LED AF Assist Beam is projected at FULL BRIGHTNESS ONLY. Or will switch to Intermittent Flash Firing. All other cameras with a Multi-Function hot shoe will automatically adjust the LED AF Assist Beam depending on the ambient brightness.

• AF Assist Beam: An AF Assist Lamp to aid the camera’s AF system in low light or low contrast situations.

• IR AF Assist Beam: A red grid pattern projected by the speedlite to aid an SLR/ DSLR camera’s AF system. Note this red grid pattern IS NOT Infrared. This AF Assist Beam type is compatible on all EOS SLRs & DSLRs. This type of AF Assist Beam IS INCOMPATIBLE with mirrorless cameras.

• Intermittent Flash Firing AF Assist Beam: Camera rapidly pulses the speedlite for AF Assist. This AF Assist Beam type IS SUPPORTED ON ALL EX & EL speedlites when used on the EOS R Series. Note speedlites that have a PERSONAL FUNCTION for IR & Intermittent Flash Firing. Always use Intermittent Flash Firing on the EOS R series regardless of the projection method. When set to Intermittent Flash Firing. If a color filter or flash diffuser is used. The camera body emits an LED AF Assist Beam on the EOS R series. Intermittent Flash Firing is DISABLED when a color filter or flash diffuser is used. Speedlites without a PERSONAL FUNCTION between IR and Intermittent Flash Firing. The speedlite WILL use Intermittent Flash Firing on the EOS R series. Note depending on the ambient lighting an AF Assist Beam may be projected by the camera body instead of the speedlite on the EOS R series. This AF Assist Beam type ONLY works on cameras released from 2007-onward. 
• LED AF Assist Beam: Bright white light (on a speedlite) or orange LED light (on an EOS R series camera body) that aids the camera for AF Assist. This AF Assist Beam type ONLY works on cameras released from 2007-onward. 

[Tronhard]

Hi and welcome to the forum:
First and foremost what $ budget are you prepared to invest in this lens?  It's extremely hard for us to suggest optics without knowing that information - it is very easy to spend a lot more money than you are prepared to.

[Tintype_18]

I take photos of baseball and cross country races with my T7. I find two lenses work for me: 75-300 and 28-135.

FWIW: A few years ago, my wife found a nice vest at Bass Pro for a couple of bucks. Good for an extra lens and battery.

[Tronhard]

Hi and welcome to the forum!

One of the most basic, no-technical but very significant questions to be answered is what is your $budget value? We can suggest a lot of gear that you will not or cannot afford to invest in.

Second, what lens or lenses do you have at the moment - please be specific and note down ALL the data listed on the front face of the lens as there are often multiple versions of optics and the can have significant differences: (e.g. EF-S 18-135 IS USM f/3.5-5.6 would be a good amount of detail).

Given you are not asking about a change of camera body, I will first leave to one side my colleague Demetrius' suggestion about moving to a mirrorless camera until you suggest a budget that can support that.  In that case, any EF or EF-S lens will work for your camera.

So, let's see how you respond with the questions I have posed (and others will have) and then we can get a viable solution for you.

[Ballmom89]

Thank you for all the info! I’d say less than $500. And as far as distance, no more than the length of the field which is 206 ft. I usually stay in the dugout though. 

[Ballmom89]

Sorry about that! I’ll edit the post with the amount. Less than $500 would be great.

[Ballmom89]

Thanks for the suggestions! I will look into all of these. The vest is genius! 

[Ballmom89]

I only have one lens 😣 it’s the EFS 18-55mm. I used it this weekend and couldn’t even get quality photos at the plate from the dugout which is probably <100 ft

[ebiggs1]

Best bang for the buck is one of the 150-600mm super zooms on the used market..  $500 should get you a nice used Sigma C model. If you have too much FL and don’t use it no big deal but if you don’t have enough FL and need it that’s bad.