what is the best and fastest lense for indoor basketball. low light- using a canon 70D

[mariannemunn]

I shoot high school basketball games in small low lit gyms.  I use the Canon D70 with the Canon EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS.  This takes good pictures but I want sharper picture quality.  I need a fast lense!! I have been looking at the Canon 70-200 f/2.8L IS II (think 70-200 will limit what I can capture in my lenses because of space. Also looking at 24-70 f/2.8 L II but have read that the auto focus is a bit slow.  and last the Canon EF 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6L IS USM, but I'm afraid to go to the f/3.5-5.6. Because thats what I have now. 

Any advice would be great! 

[mariannemunn]

Awesome! Thank you for the feedback and your personal experience.  

[RobertTheFat]

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@ebiggs1 wrote:

By far your best buy is the 70-200mm f2.8 L IS USM II.  It is the best lens on the planet.  If it can't do it, it probably can't be done.  You can rent one from LensRentals and give is a go first.

... 

The purchase of the 70-200mm f2.8 L IS USM II is a lens that will stay with you no matter what other gear (camera) you may decide to upgrade and it will do so for years.  Sometimes it's best to buy the best.

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May we all live long enough to hear you make those exact same comments about the 70-200mm f2.8 L IS USM III.

[ebiggs1]

I hope so.

[RexGig]

A good 85mm, the best you can afford, that focuses quickly, is a good place to start researching. (The Canon 85 1.2L lenses do not have very fast AF.) Of my current lenses, my EF 135mm 2.0L would be my pick. I bought it, largely, to photograph my nephew's swim meets and JROTC events, not basketball, but the lighting conditions are equivalent. The 70-200mm f/2.8 choices are large and heavy; you may wish to rent before buying, to make sure it does not detract from your enjoyment of the game. (Your enjoyment of the game can e seen as a separate issue from the physical effort to handle the camera and lens; I am not questioning anyone's physical abilities.)

I will say that the 135L, when attached to an Extender 1.4x III, has notably slower AF than the lens alone; perhaps too slow for basketball. I knew this before trying it, so it was not unexpected.

This reply is to give you something to start researching, and move your post back to the top of the column, not provide a firm answer, as I have not shot basketball images, and the 70-200mm 2.8L IS II remains on my wish list.

[mariannemunn]

Thank you for your input.  I will continue to look at lenses.  

[TCampbell]

This video may help:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQ4KsGYDzgU

This is Scott Kelby - a well-known sports photographer and author of numerous popular photography books.  In this video he talks about the gear most commonly used in sports photography.  You'll notice that while he is mostly talking about outdoor / large-field sports, he does mention that for indoor sports (and I think he calls out basketball by name) he mentions a 70-200mm f/2.8 zoom lens is the key lens for "basketball".   

Interestingly, at the time he made this video Scott was a Nikon shooter.  Scott has since switched and today he's a Canon shooter.

The 70-200mm of choice would be the Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM II.  it's not cheap, but if you can afford it, it is certainly the "best" of the 70-200 lenses.  

[mariannemunn]

Thank you very much! That's what I have been leaning towards. I will just have to change where I sit in the gyms. Just take a Different approach! 👍

[ScottyP]

The 70-200 f/2.8 L IS mk2 is magnificent. They recently lowered the price from $2500 down to several hundred lower. Maybe toss back in $400 and also get the EF 85mm f/1.8. It is twice as wide an aperture so you can shoot twice the shutter speed to freeze game action at same ISO. Depending on how dim is your gym you might really appreciate that.

I have both and use both.

[UltraView]

Canon 200 f2.8L is my cost effective solution for an apc sensor if you want close up action? Light weight & excellent image quality. If a shallow DOF is acceptable use sports mode it will stop the action & select your iso for you nice. A refurbished one may set you back $630 + TAX & shipping. Sometimes even cheaper.

[ebiggs1]

Again............

"I would certainly forget any notion of a fixed or prime lens for BB."

A prime will work of course but the nature of a BB game and the usually fixed location of the photographer makes a prime less than satisfactory.