t2i/3i/4i and the 70-200mm IS II lens to shoot hockey?

Tom1911 wrote:

Anybody used t2i/3i/4i and the 70-200mm IS II lens to shoot hockey? I just bought the lens but need a body and don't want to spend too much (already spent on the lens .
BTW, I bought the lens to shoot pics for my son's pee wee hockey games. I have an old Canon 300D (6 MP) and I did try it with the 70-200mm IS II lens. The result is not very good - the highest ISO I can set is 1600 and this only give ma about 1/250 SS with 'correct' exposure which is still a little bit dark to me. I shoot with Av and already set the aperture to f/2.8 which is the widest.
Thanks in advance!
Tom

The 300D lacked in action shooting. You had to use sports mode but you could not use raw in Sports mode and there were quite a few other limitations.

Live used T2i for rodeo shooting at ISO 3200 and it looked great. I think any one of the 3 cameras you are asking about will definitely do great with hockey.

Great. Just ordered a refurbished T2i from Canon store for $336. Wish me luck

Thanks a lot for the quick reply!

Tom

Be curious as to your experience with the T2i and 70-200mm covering hockey.

FWIW, years ago I used a first generation Digital Rebel 300D with a Sigma 70-200mm 2.8 EX lens to cover all kinds of sports, including high school ice hockey.

1) No it was NOT the ideal tool for hockey.  : )

2) Best results usually required RAW, manual settings, ISO 1600. Helped if rink was well lit.  This was rare.

3) I never had much luck with any of the modes (sports mode, etc).  Best results I ever got were by using manual settings, or aperature priority  if lighting was decent (outdoors).

I eventually went over to Nikon's D300 for sports because of the AF and I'm waiting to see what is going to replace it now.  D400? D7100? Canon model TBD?   : )

Would love to know how you like the T2i as far as handling and AF for sports.  Are you able to get acceptable images?

I don't  see a T2i replacing my D300, but the Rebel line has always been fun to play with.  Have fun with hockey!

Thanks,

DL

007peter wrote:

Shooting hockey at 1/250s is asking for BLURRY PHOTOS.  Ice Hockey required a minimum of 1/500s for steady sharp photo, 1/1000s is highly prefered.

Your problem is that you set your iso way too low at 1600!

Don't be afraid to shoot at higher ISO.  It is far better to have NOISY SHARP photo than a blurry noise-free photo.

That is the highest I can set on my 300D

Hope t2i will help a little bit

Tom

Quicksilver wrote:

Be curious as to your experience with the T2i and 70-200mm covering hockey.

FWIW, years ago I used a first generation Digital Rebel 300D with a Sigma 70-200mm 2.8 EX lens to cover all kinds of sports, including high school ice hockey.

1) No it was NOT the ideal tool for hockey.  : )

2) Best results usually required RAW, manual settings, ISO 1600. Helped if rink was well lit.  This was rare.

3) I never had much luck with any of the modes (sports mode, etc).  Best results I ever got were by using manual settings, or aperature priority  if lighting was decent (outdoors).

I eventually went over to Nikon's D300 for sports because of the AF and I'm waiting to see what is going to replace it now.  D400? D7100? Canon model TBD?   : )

Would love to know how you like the T2i as far as handling and AF for sports.  Are you able to get acceptable images?

I don't  see a T2i replacing my D300, but the Rebel line has always been fun to play with.  Have fun with hockey!

Thanks,

DL

I am still waiting for my t2i at this moment. Will try it out as soon as I get it. And will let you guys know how it goes.

Tom

Tom1911 wrote:

I am still waiting for my t2i at this moment. Will try it out as soon as I get it. And will let you guys know how it goes.

Tom

Tom, I shoot rodeo mostly at ISO 3200 1/640s at f/4 with my 70-200L f/4 IS.

http://yiayia.zenfolio.com/p691273658

Olga Johnson wrote:

Tom1911 wrote:

I am still waiting for my t2i at this moment. Will try it out as soon as I get it. And will let you guys know how it goes.

Tom

Tom, I shoot rodeo mostly at ISO 3200 1/640s at f/4 with my 70-200L f/4 IS.

http://yiayia.zenfolio.com/p691273658

Nice! And thanks for sharing. The light in the hockey rink might be worse, but I hope my 70-200L f2.8 IS will help as well.

BTW, should I turn the IS off or set it to mode 2 when shooting hockey? Thanks again!

Tom

First of all, almost all non-pro hockey rinks are not well lit.

So, as others have said, high ISO is necessary.

There's a really valid, highly obvious, reason for not shooting in Av, and it's the same reason you have dark shots with your current camera.

I'll be back later today with the sanwer; just curious if anyone will add it here before I get back.

Anyway, the T2iand the 70-200 should be fine, as long as the lighting is OK.

BAK

Your camea's meter looksat whatever it looks at (there are several choices ofwhat to look at) measures the light in various parts of this area, and averages it out so that camera settings will provide a mid-tone exposure for the middle of the area being looked at.

With hockey, it will usually see a lot of white ice, and this will throw off the average, making the white ice in the  picture grey. And it you are standing by the boards, the camra islikely to see dark seats across the rink, and that will throw off the exposures the other way, making the dark seats medium, and the ice surface too bright.

So set manual exposures based on players. Be careful of black or white uniforms.

BAK