Best lens upgrades for esports and other indoor photography?

[mozork1]

I am most definitely an amateur here, so I need advice.

I bought an EOS 250D in 2020 that I mostly used for photos of family gatherings, birthdays, etc. Last summer, I started shooting esports and other, darker indoor events that limit my ability to use flash. The EF-S 18-55mm lens that came with the camera was not sufficient for the low lighting, so I bought the EF 50mm f/1.8 STM lens. This helped quite a bit, but now I feel limited by the field of view. I also fight to balance the lighting with the graininess that comes with higher ISO. Part of this is my limited knowledge of the balance between shutter speed, ISO, and aperture.

What would be the best lens to upgrade to for this type of photography? Or am I limited by the camera itself? I've looked into the EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM Lens, but I don't want to commit if the camera itself is the limiting factor in the equation.

[shadowsports]

Greetings ,

The EOS 250d is approximately 6 years old and has a digic 8 processor.  It's an entry-level body with 9 point AF.  Best ISO performance for stills is about 1600-2000.  Above that and you are going to start seeing noise creep in incrementally.

The EF-S 17-55 f2.8 is one of Canon's best EF-S lenses.  While extremely versatile, it's not going to provide significant light gathering ability over a f1.8 lens (1 stop).

A constant f1.8 lens is really about as good as you can do for no flash, indoor shoots, but as you found, a full frame 50mm lens on a APS-C body can present an awkward working FOV.  

In this case, a long term goal might be to upgrade to a mirrorless body.  The R8 or R6 mkII would be excellent choices.  Either would provide considerable improvements in low light performance.  You also wouldn't have to deal with the field of view issues you experienced with the 50mm on the 250d.

I'm not trying to push or lock you into a camera upgrade, but if your 50mm f1.8 isn't meeting your needs and using a flash is not possible, only a higher performing body is going to help you achieve better image quality in low light (no flash) shooting scenarios. 

You could also use the EF50mm with the R8 or R6 mkII with a Canon adapter until such time you can migrate to RF.

[March411]

shadowsports makes a valid point. While there is still quite a bit of EF gear in the marketplace the reality is that it is becoming outdated. DSLR and EF lenses while plentiful are moving to end of life which means if you need to have something repaired you will need to find local support.

For indoors you will need at a minimum an f2.8 lens, faster would be better. Even the EF lenses you find now @ f2.8 or faster are going to carry a decent expense. I use my RF70-200mm f2,8 for most indoor sports. A good condition EF version, a used Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS III USM will run you somewhere around $1400 to $1700. 

With you Rebel SL3/Kiss X10 being a APS-C sensor will will have an equivalent range of 112-320mm but to shadowsports point, that body even @ f2.8, with the shutter speeds you to stop motion will likely be very noisy. 

If you believe your interests are long term the R8 or R6 MkII with a fast lens may be a better decision. 

[ebiggs1]

The best lens ever made for a Rebel is the Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8 DC DN Contemporary Lens. If it doesn't do the trick there are no other better choices because all photography gear has its limits.

2nd choice is the Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM Lens. These two are really all there is (in terms of being the best) as you have found a 50mil prime is not the answer.

[deebatman316]

The Sigma lens mentioned is NOT COMPATIBLE with DSLR cameras. It is designed for Mirrorless cameras hence “DN” in the name.

[March411]

If you are looking at third party lenses the Sigma 50-100mm f/1.8 DC HSM (A) is a premium, fast lens that is compatible but comes in at around $600/$700. 

It does give you a good indoor fast lens and better reach but do you want to spend that kind of money?

Sigma Lens Abbreviations

• Art (A) The fastest Sigma prime lenses to belong to this product line. The Art series is manufactured with a focus on sophisticated optical performance and significant power.
• Sport (S) This Series is for telephoto lenses created with sports and wildlife photography as it’s primary focus. Expect these lenses to be quite pricey and also feature relatively fast maximum aperture settings.
• Contemporary (C) – The Contemporary product line consists mainly of variable aperture zoom lenses for general use, such as standard and telephoto zoom lenses for APS-C cameras.
• DG ~ lenses compatible with full-frame sensor DSLR cameras.
• DC ~ lenses designed for APS-C DLSR cameras.
• DN ~ lenses designed for compact system cameras.

[ebiggs1]

Thanx for the correction it should be the Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM Art Lens for Canon EF.