Which lens for kids soccer?

RattyMouse · Aug 4, 2016

My son is starting up high school soccer this year and I'd like to get a lens that can photograph this from the sidelines. I dont want a super telephoto lens unless I have to go that deep into it. I was hoping that a 200mm f/2.8 L lens would work, or even a 135mm f/2. Would either of these give decent pictures of the action?

The camera I intend to use is a Canon 1V.

On another note, how difficult is it to manual focus a telephoto on soccer action? I have a Nikon FM2N and could go with 300+MM lenses with that camera.

Thanks.

faberryman · Aug 4, 2016

I would recommend a zoom in the 80-200mm range.

RattyMouse · Aug 4, 2016

faberryman said:
I would recommend a zoom in the 80-200mm range.

I should have mentioned, I don't do zooms. Ever. So prime recommendations are all that I'm looking for.

faberryman · Aug 4, 2016

RattyMouse said:
I should have mentioned, I don't do zooms. Ever.

Interesting comment from an aspiring sports photographer.

Neal · Aug 4, 2016

Dear RattyMouse,

I spent several years photographing my friend's son playing soccer in high school and college. Fortunately for me his position was goalkeeper allowing me to know where he would be. When I could stand close to the sidelines, the 135mm worked quite well. Adding a 2x teleconverter was handy at times. When the only access was from the grandstands, a 300mm lens and even a much maligned 500mm mirror lens got me through. Now for the bad news. Film advance speed was my problem. Quick 2 or 3 frame bursts are almost a necessity. The winder for my Contax RTS was handy but slow. I purchased a Canon Elan 7ne and a converter for my Contax lenses to solve that problem. Later on, a Nikon F100 and a 70-300mm zoom made life easier.

You will be in the fortunate situation that you will have many games to determine what works.

Good luck,

Neal Wydra

Ian Grant · Aug 4, 2016

The quality of the higher end zooms is so good I'd suggest a re-think of "I don't do zooms".

The problem is a fixed focal length is less than ideal for framing with sports photography, I know that from experience many years ago. I've used Vivitar S1 70-210 zooms for many years my current one is f2.8-4, quality is outstanding, manual focus hasn't been an issue. I wouldn't dream of using a fixed focal length.

Ian

jsouther · Aug 4, 2016

In my experience with high school soccer I had hopes that the 200mm 2.8L would be a go to lens. I found that much of the game it wasn't close enough for my liking and found the 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L indispensable.

I tried for many years using manual focus primes for my kids sports events and while it really helped hone my focusing and predicting action, my hit rate was no where near what the 100-400mm L will deliver.

RattyMouse · Aug 4, 2016

faberryman said:
Interesting comment from an aspiring sports photographer.

I'm not a sports photographer, I"m a dad.

RattyMouse · Aug 4, 2016

Neal said:
Dear RattyMouse,

I spent several years photographing my friend's son playing soccer in high school and college. Fortunately for me his position was goalkeeper allowing me to know where he would be. When I could stand close to the sidelines, the 135mm worked quite well. Adding a 2x teleconverter was handy at times. When the only access was from the grandstands, a 300mm lens and even a much maligned 500mm mirror lens got me through. Now for the bad news. Film advance speed was my problem. Quick 2 or 3 frame bursts are almost a necessity. The winder for my Contax RTS was handy but slow. I purchased a Canon Elan 7ne and a converter for my Contax lenses to solve that problem. Later on, a Nikon F100 and a 70-300mm zoom made life easier.

You will be in the fortunate situation that you will have many games to determine what works.

Good luck,

Neal Wydra

I dont know what position my son will play, but because he is so tall (14 years old, 6' 2") he might be a goalie. That would make things easier.

I just checked, the 135L is twice the price of the 200mm L!!! Rats.

EdSawyer · Aug 4, 2016

HS soccer fields are pretty big. No one lens will cover it all adequately so you have to decide where/how you want to shoot. A long tele like a 300 will do well at some points but be too close at others. I've shot soccer with the 135L, 200L, 300 2.8L.

AF is a big plus, it's hard to MF fast enough to really cover the action well, unless you can pre-focus, and even then it's still iffy. I shoot a 1VHS also.

Might be worth having 2 or more cameras with different lenses mounted, as the action can move around the field pretty quickly. Covering it well is a lot of work, I find it one of the harder sports to shoot. (vs. say skiing, auto racing, baseball, etc.)

Paul Howell · Aug 4, 2016

For the price of L glass, get couple of Minolta AF bodies, 800SI or 7SI, a 1352.8 for close the other 300 4 or 5.6 for long, fast film, look for a Tonkia or Sigma as Minolta G glasses is as pricey L glass, if you can overcome your zoom phobia a 70 to 200 F4 beer can or 70 to 300 4.5 both under a $100.

jsouther · Aug 4, 2016

RattyMouse said:
I dont know what position my son will play, but because he is so tall (14 years old, 6' 2") he might be a goalie. That would make things easier.

I just checked, the 135L is twice the price of the 200mm L!!! Rats.

If he plays goalie, I bet you'd be happy with the 200mm L.

RattyMouse · Aug 4, 2016

jsouther said:
If he plays goalie, I bet you'd be happy with the 200mm L.

Since it is cheaper I'll probably get that lens. A shame as I wanted the 135L but it's nearly twice the price. I can always step back a bit of 200mm is too much.

thuggins · Aug 4, 2016

A 200mm would be about the minimum length for these sorts of shots and even then it will often be too short. Manual focus will also be a problem. The old sports photographers would set the focus to a promising spot on the field and then wait for the action to come to them.

Your fixation on fast lenses is especially problematic as these will be heavier and more ungainly than a slightly slower lens with a similar reach. In this situation a large DOF is your friend. I would give serious thought to a 500mm catadioptric. These small, light lenses really shine in this type of situation. Shoot a minimum of ASA 800, preferably 1600, which will probably mean pushing by a stop or two.

jsouther · Aug 4, 2016

RattyMouse said:
Since it is cheaper I'll probably get that lens. A shame as I wanted the 135L but it's nearly twice the price. I can always step back a bit of 200mm is too much.

It might be worth considering checking out the field in advance, or watch a practice for a bit, to get a sense of the distances between the play and the sideline as a reference.

Alan Gales · Aug 4, 2016

RattyMouse said:
I should have mentioned, I don't do zooms. Ever. So prime recommendations are all that I'm looking for.

You need to rethink this. I have a love/hate relationship with zooms. I much prefer primes but when shooting sports, zooms are king.

I shot Select, High School, and College Fast Pitch softball back when my daughter pitched. I used an 18-200vr Nikkor Zoom lens. On my digital camera that would of course have been a 28-300m zoom on a 35mm camera. I had access the other parents didn't have since I was assistant manager of the select team. I'd use 28mm equivilant when shooting the dugout. I'd use 300mm equivalent when shooting the outfielders from the dugout hole in the fence and still have to crop a little.

I have also shot a little soccer at the CYC and REC levels.

You are not going to be as close to the action as I was for the select ball. In my experienced opinion souther's recommendation of a 100-400mm zoom lens is spot on.

RattyMouse · Aug 4, 2016

jsouther said:
It might be worth considering checking out the field in advance, or watch a practice for a bit, to get a sense of the distances between the play and the sideline as a reference.

That's a good idea. I'll hold off until after the first game/practice. Thanks very much.

RattyMouse · Aug 4, 2016

Alan Gales said:
You need to rethink this. I have a love/hate relationship with zooms. I much prefer primes but when shooting sports, zooms are king.

I loathe zooms. With a passion that cannot be described by any known language. I'd rather give up making photos than use a zoom. That's my preference. Others can feel differently.

Paul Howell · Aug 4, 2016

A little therapy might help say the following 100 times day.
Zooms are my Friends
Zooms are people too
Ask not what your zoom can do you, but what you can do for your zoom.

Colin Corneau · Aug 4, 2016

No point getting into zoom vs. primes battles...the OP says he wants primes, so...

Being a kids league, you probably can go anywhere you like, mostly, and I'm guessing it's not an Olympic sized venue, either So, I'd look for a 200mm prime to shoot from the sidelines...ideally you want to get them running towards you, so I hope you brought running shoes since you're going to be moving around to position yourself!
That focal length will eliminate the need for a lot of cropping. Alternatively, you could use the 300mm Nikon lens and shoot from one of the end zones/goal areas...get people running towards you that way.

Best of luck!

Alan Gales · Aug 4, 2016

Colin Corneau said:
No point getting into zoom vs. primes battles...the OP says he wants primes, so...

Being a kids league, you probably can go anywhere you like, mostly, and I'm guessing it's not an Olympic sized venue, either So, I'd look for a 200mm prime to shoot from the sidelines...ideally you want to get them running towards you, so I hope you brought running shoes since you're going to be moving around to position yourself!
That focal length will eliminate the need for a lot of cropping. Alternatively, you could use the 300mm Nikon lens and shoot from one of the end zones/goal areas...get people running towards you that way.

Best of luck!

It's not a kid's league. It's High School ball and they have strict rules. I shot High School fast pitch softball but not High School soccer. It would be a good idea to talk to a coach, official or at least another parent/photographer about where he can shoot from.

BrianShaw · Aug 4, 2016

RattyMouse said:
I loathe zooms. With a passion that cannot be described by any known language. I'd rather give up making photos than use a zoom. That's my preference. Others can feel differently.

Me too. I tried both zooms and primes. My boys played baseball and you'd think that would be easier to photograph than soccer... But after a few seasons of frustration I started sitting in the stands being loud (cheering, not jeering, of course) and eating hot dogs like the other dads. I won't even mention my experience when they played basketball! Over 6 feet tall at 14; wow, wow, wow.

Alan Gales · Aug 4, 2016

I was the assistant manager and unofficial team photographer for one of my daughter's select traveling fast pitch softball teams for several years. I also photographed her pitching in High School and College.

You don't want to photograph every game. Most of the time I didn't even bring a camera. Enjoy it while it lasts because it will all be over too soon.

Alan Gales · Aug 4, 2016

RattyMouse said:
I loathe zooms. With a passion that cannot be described by any known language. I'd rather give up making photos than use a zoom. That's my preference. Others can feel differently.

Then do it old school. Bring two camera bodies with two lenses. I don't know what lenses you own but I'd bring something long and something really long. After you attend a game you will have a better idea. Of course you will probably want pictures of your kid playing their first game so wing it the first time.

benjiboy · Aug 4, 2016

Under these circumstances I would encourage my son to give up soccer and join the high school chess team, problem solved

Which lens for kids soccer?

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