# Lens for Canon 60D



## DR_Malibu (May 24, 2011)

I have a few lenses for my camera but I have been shooting a lot of sports lately. I have been noticing that they are some what out of focus or just don't look right. I was using my Telephoto 70-300mm lens. If anyone knows of a better lens for action shots or possibly what would be the best settings on my camera to do it at please let me know!! Any advice is greatly appreciated.


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## iCareMuch (May 24, 2011)

What settings are you using to shoot? Make sure the AF is set to AI SERVO and the Drive is set to High-Speed continuous so you don't miss any moments. 
If your AF isn't set to AI SERVO that would explain your OOF issue.


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## Big Mike (May 24, 2011)

Canon Telephoto EF 600mm f/4.0L IS Image Stabilizer 2534A002 B&H

Canon Telephoto EF 400mm f/2.8L IS Image Stabilizer 2533A002 B&H

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/183202-USA/Canon_2531A002_Telephoto_EF_300mm_f_2_8L.html

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM Telephoto Zoom Lens 2751B002


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## DR_Malibu (May 24, 2011)

So is the Tamron 75-300mm tele-macro lens not good for sports?


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## Big Mike (May 24, 2011)

You left out part of the name of that lens....it's the Tamron 75-300* F4-5.6*.  That means that the maximum aperture is F4 (at 75mm) and F5.6 (at 300mm).  

The maximum aperture is a rather important thing to consider, especially when choosing a lens for sports.  Using a larger aperture will allow you to get a faster shutter speed...and a faster shutter speed is essential when you want to freeze the motion of a moving subject.  Further to that, when shooting with the camera & lens in your hands, you will be subject to 'camera shake' which causes blur.  The longer the lens, the more blur...and again, faster shutter speeds will help to alleviate the problem.  

So when choosing a lens for sports, you will probably want to look at lenses that have a larger maximum aperture (lower F number).  The problem is that these lenses tend to get rather expensive...especially when we're talking about long lenses with large max apertures.  The average sideline photographer (for say football), is probably carrying around $10K to $15K worth of lenses. 
You didn't mention a budget (but with a name like DR_Malibu, I recommended the most expensive options  )

There are more budget friendly options, of course.  Canon, Tamron & Sigma all have a 70-200mm F2.8 that isn't all that expensive (compared to those other lenses).  Canon also has a version with IS, the newest version of which, is rather expensive.  

Of course, you can also get faster shutter speeds just by raising your ISO...but that also gives you more digital noise.  And there is still a limit to ISO, so a larger aperture can still give you a faster shutter speed.  

The key to all of this is light.  If you are trying to shoot sports in low light situations...you are fighting a loosing battle.  Better lenses and high ISO can help...but only to a point.  But when you can shoot in great light, you may find that something with a max aperture of F4 to F5.6 might be perfectly OK.  

And lastly, there is the quality of the lens to consider.  I think that the Tamron 75-300mm is a fairly cheap lens, so it's likely that the image quality isn't top notch..especially at the long end of the zoom.  Something like the Canon 70-300mm IS, is a higher quality lens....and I think they have a new 70-300mm *L* lens, which should be very good.


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## subscuck (May 24, 2011)

:addpics:

I suspect your issues with out of focus and not looking right are probably due to shutter speed issues. More than likely it's camera shake caused by shutter speed being too slow for handheld, as Mike said. Especialy if a large percentage of these shots are at the 300mm end. The rule of thumb for shutter speed: 1/focal length is the *minimum* shutter speed for hand held shots. So at 300mm, you'd need a minimum ss of 1/300 sec to counter camera shake. Post up some pics and it can be verified.


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## DR_Malibu (May 24, 2011)

Thank you now I am understanding it more. How do I post pics so people can see and comment?


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## subscuck (May 25, 2011)

Read the sticky posted in the beginners forum.


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## Big Mike (May 25, 2011)

Most people use an off-site photo host....Photobucket or Flickr, then you just copy the image URL onto this forum inside IMG tags.  (just click the 'Insert Image' button above).


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