@Hillera wrote:
Thank you for your reply, I truly appeciate it! Any recommendations for a some what affordable lense?
Before I could give you any advice, i would like to know what camera model you are using. Judging from your lenses, it sounds like you have a Canon Rebel.
Not every camera body is capable of capturing “clean” images at ISO 1600 or ISO 3200. Those settings push the limits of most Canon Rebel bodies. The definition of “clean” is pretty subjective, and can depend upon how you frame and compose the subject. Closeup shots tend to reveal more noise than more distant shots. The current crop of Rebel bodies are much better performers in this regard than their predecessors.
However, I can recommend one lens, which I think any Rebel owner should have in their bag, the EF 50mm f/1.8 STM Lens. This is a very affordable lens, actually the least expensive lens that Canon currently sells. But, it has surprisingly good performance at almost any price.
The wide f/1.8 aperture will come in handy in low lighting, and it will teach you a lot about photography. I think it is a better buy than a photography class in many ways. If you took a class, you would be encouraged to own a lens with similar performance, anyway.
As far as using a 50mm from the stands to photograph indoor sports, you will be disappointed with the results. You will discover that you are probably much too far away to capture much of the emotions on the faces of the athletes. You will need a “longer” lens. You would a telephoto zoom lens with a maximum focal length that is at least 200mm to 400mm. It really depends upon how far away you actually are from the action.
The problem with zoom telephoto lenses, or any lens for that matter, is that they fall into two basic categories. The first category is the budget lens designed to teach you about photography, and not so much for capturing high quality images, such as the lenses that were included with your Rebel camera kit. These are cheap throwaway lenses, which are not worth the cost to repair if they break.
The second category of lenses are designed to capture quality images. The quality of the images tends to go up as the price of the lens goes up. Lenses at the lower end of the price range can be throwaway lenses, too. A zoom telephoto lens tends to cost more than lenses with shorter focal lengths.
But, investing in at least one quality lens is what makes photography rewarding. I strongly encourage you to invest in the EF 50mm f/1.8 STM lens that I mentioned earlier. Your 18-55mm lens that came with the camera is designed to be something to use to teach you about DSLR photography. If it is the 18-55mm STM model, then it can capture images that are sharper than your average smart phone. The trick is to use a fast shutter to freeze your subjects’ motion.
A good wide angle prime lens is good to have in your bag, too. A prime lens has a fixed focal length, and cannot zoom. It used to be that primes had better image quality than zooms. Today’s zoom lenses have just about made primes obsolete. But, primes tend to have wider apertures than zooms, which gives them an edge in some shooting scenarios, such as your low light gym.
If you want a lens suggestion for shooting sports, then I would suggest a 70-200mm zoom lens. If there is such a thing as a general, all-purpose lens for sports photography, then a 70-200mm telephoto zoom would be it. Canon makes four of them.
https://shop.usa.canon.com/shop/en/catalog/ef-70-200mm-f-4l-usm
That is a link to the least expensive 70-200mm that Canon currently sells. It is a high quality zoom lens with a fixed aperture of f/4. It’s big brothers feature IS, Image stabilization, and wider f/2.8 apertures. This lens would work well with minimum shutter speeds of at least 1/200 to 1/400.
Of course, the faster shutter is usually better when it comes to sports photography. In this case, though, I recommend these minimum shutter speeds because the lens lacks IS. With your Rebel, you want a minimum shutter speed that is equal to 1 / ( 2 * FL ), where FL is the maximum focal length of the lens. This rule of thumb applies to any lens you might use, too, IS or no IS.
Again, I suggest that starting out with the 50mm and learning a bit more about photography. It will help you make smarter decisions when, and if, you decide to invest some money in a high quality lens like the 70-200mm that I suggested. You will better understand why I suggested it.
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