need some help

HammerHeadGym

Hi all. Firstly I tried my best to find the answer in the stickies but I am lost with all the technical Jargon (L lens, USM lens, etc.). I am trying to buy my wife a lens for a Cannon Digital SLR. She takes sports photos (specifically thai boxing, mma, etc) , indoors in (usually) dimly lit rooms. I am looking for the best lens for this. It.s between an 85 mil or a 50 mil.
Can someone please help me out?

Also, is a flash gun a good idea or no?

Thanks for any help you can offer

D

Flashgun would be a poor option as you probably wouldn't get away with using it very much for indoor sports (although this depends on what exactly the place you're shooting in is like - some places are strictly against flash).


L is canon's professional line of lenses. The quality of images is better, so you'd get 'crisper' looking photos with an L lens. However, that's a very general thing to say. Some non L lenses are amazing, too.

Depending on your budget, and the venue she shoots in, the Canon 70-200 f/4 L lens can be had for a couple of hundred euro (~€500). F/4 isn't amazing for low light (there's a f/2.8 one too, but it's about ~€1000) but at f/4 she'll have better chance of keeping both participants in focus and such.


70-200 f/4 has a bit of a 'zoom' built into it though, meaning if she generally photographs in smaller spaces, or is quite close to the action, it won't be much use.

In this case, the sigma 30mm f/1.4 is amazing for log light stuff, but this lens is not able to zoom in or out, so it depends on her shooting circumstances again.


If I were you, I'd say it to her that you want to buy a lens. Give her an approx budget you'd like to spend and let her look about herself. Half the fun of buying a lens is reading up on the choices and narrowing it down (in my opinion). Plus this way you won't her her something that's not suitable


(it does ruin the element of surprise though).

5uspect

What lenses does she currently have? Is she happy with those focal lengths?
Does she want to to zoom in more or get a wider shot?

Obviously low light is an issue, this means the maximum f-number of the lens has to be 'small'. So an f/2.8 lens lets in more light than an f/4 lens.

If you can answer both these questions then we can tell you where you want to be.

There are excellent 85mm and 50mm f/1.4 to f/1.8 prime lenses. These are super fast (good in low light) and super sharp. You can't zoom in and out with them tho, they're like your own eyes. If this isn't an issue then they should suit.

Also it you're concerned about cost a lot of use here use an importer based in the UK called Ian Kerr. His ebay name is 'Kerso' and he's usually good for price, in particular if you buy direct from him, away from ebay.
http://stores.ebay.co.uk/FLASH-CAMERA/CANON-SLR-LENSES-/_i.html?_fsub=5&_sid=5873291&_trksid=p4634.c0.m322

Borderfox

You could pick up an 85 f1.8 and a 50 f1.8 for under €500 depending on budget.

Tigger

HammerHeadGym wrote: »

Hi all. Firstly I tried my best to find the answer in the stickies but I am lost with all the technical Jargon (L lens, USM lens, etc.). I am trying to buy my wife a lens for a Cannon Digital SLR. She takes sports photos (specifically thai boxing, mma, etc) , indoors in (usually) dimly lit rooms. I am looking for the best lens for this. It.s between an 85 mil or a 50 mil.
Can someone please help me out?

Also, is a flash gun a good idea or no?

Thanks for any help you can offer

D

which dslr as the size of sensor would dictate

http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/digital-camera-sensor-size.htm

i'd go 50mil if its a cropped sensor or 85mil if its a full sensor
and f1.4

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EF-50mm-f-1.4-USM-Lens-Review.aspx


nice fast glass if its a cropped sensor

no flash needed with good fast glass

HammerHeadGym

Hi all, thanks for all the responses so far. It's been extremely helpful. I am going with a 50mm 1.2f. (this was the lowest number, which is a good thing, right??) Saw them for around 1200 bucks. If this is am awful idea, now would be a great time to tell me.

Well on the bright side, even if it is an awful idea, lenses generally hold their value quite well, so re-selling shouldn't be a major issue (you'll lose money, of course, but not a drastic amount).


That said, 1,200 is a LOT of money that could buy several other lenses and kit her out for a lot of other types of shooting. I'd revert back to my prior post about giving her a budget and letting her spend it.


That said, a €1,200 lens is a thoughtful present, and if low-light shooting is her thing, an f/1.2 lens is the cream of the crop, really.

Ballyman

HammerHeadGym wrote: »

Hi all, thanks for all the responses so far. It's been extremely helpful. I am going with a 50mm 1.2f. (this was the lowest number, which is a good thing, right??) Saw them for around 1200 bucks. If this is am awful idea, now would be a great time to tell me.

It's an awful idea. And I'll tell you why.

You said she was interested in indoor sports. Sports mean fast moving subjects and indoor means low light. The 50mm f1.2 hasn't a hope of being able to focus properly at speed indoors because the depth of field is too shallow.

I would recommend the 50mm f1.4 instead. The price difference between the 1.2 and 1.4 is not justifiable IMO unless you really really need that extra 1/2 stop of light.

For the same amount of money you were going to drop on the f1.2 version you could get yourself the 50mm f1.4, a 580EXII flashgun and a few flash triggers so she could trigger the flash remotely and use it up high etc. so the fighters wouldn't even notice it and she would also get much much better and higher quality shots as a result.

Your local camera shop will have all the items above as will Amazon, Ebay etc.

5uspect

HammerHeadGym wrote: »

Hi all, thanks for all the responses so far. It's been extremely helpful. I am going with a 50mm 1.2f. (this was the lowest number, which is a good thing, right??) Saw them for around 1200 bucks. If this is am awful idea, now would be a great time to tell me.

It's an awful idea, you're going to an extreme there. If you're willing to spend that much (lucky girl!) then get both the 50mm f/1.4 and the 85mm f/1.8.

FoxT

OP, any idea what the camera model is? This is an important factor in making the decision.

And, when she is shooting, how far away from the subject is she?