sports settings

[jrtf]

Hi - I am new to sports photography.  Can anyone give me some suggested settings on action shots for cloudy or early evening hours?  I am going to a football game friday and was asked to take pics of a friends son.  I have a rebel xi and a tamron 18-270 lens

[ebiggs1]

Are you opposed to buying used or refurbished?  You could probably stay pretty close to the $500 price point.  Maybe just a tad bit more.  Canon "L" glass is a very good buy on the used market.  Third party lenses not so much, so beware.

From what you have it will not be difficult to get better lenses.  Sorry to be so blunt but a $350 dollar lens is just that a $350 dollar lens.

[cicopo]

Before I make my recommendation I do want to point out I have owned & shot the original version of the Tamron 18-270 & got good results shooting action & this summer I borrowed (from a friend who had just bought it) the new version to shoot on my 7D2. I had a hard time telling which I shot with the Tamron & which were from my L series lens when viewed on a high quality 24 inch monitor & they could very easily have been sent for publishing even after cropping. That said it wouldn't be my low light lens on any body so I'd recommend looking at the Canon 70-200 f4 L (the non IS) as a start or a prime that's even faster than f4. Otherwise your AF will struggle on action when the light goes away.

[ebiggs1]

"Otherwise your AF will struggle on action when the light goes away."

It is one of the slowest focusing lenses ever tried. Definitely not a good choice for poor light or sports.  When its good it is OK but when it's not, it's not.  IMHO, of course.