DPReview.com is closing April 10th - Find out more

50 f1.8 STM for Sport?

Started Feb 15, 2019 | Discussions
Kent Ekasak
Kent Ekasak Contributing Member • Posts: 766
50 f1.8 STM for Sport?

Hi..

Can 50 f1.8 STM shoot indoor fast moving sport, like basketball or table tennis? I have heard the focus is quite slow.. Thank you..

 Kent Ekasak's gear list:Kent Ekasak's gear list
Panasonic Lumix DC-GX9 Sigma fp Panasonic Lumix DC-S5
Canon EF 50mm F1.8 STM
If you believe there are incorrect tags, please send us this post using our feedback form.
shk12
shk12 Regular Member • Posts: 431
Re: 50 f1.8 STM for Sport?

you'll want more reach than that, 50 won't get you close enough to the action.

 shk12's gear list:shk12's gear list
Canon EOS Rebel SL1 Canon EOS 80D Canon EF 50mm f/2.5 Macro Canon EF 70-200mm F2.8L IS II USM Sigma 50mm F2.8 EX DG Macro +6 more
Lars J Forum Member • Posts: 92
Re: 50 f1.8 STM for Sport?
1

Kent Ekasak wrote:

Hi..

Can 50 f1.8 STM shoot indoor fast moving sport, like basketball or table tennis? I have heard the focus is quite slow.. Thank you..

I have shot indoor sports using that lens, but on a crop body - the 80D. (Basketball and volleyball for a school yearbook)

Yes, It can be done, but the amount of light makes a huge difference. The focus is a bit slow, but if you stop it down to 2.8 or 4 a slight focus miss is ok. But it all depends on the light level and ISO you are comfortable with. I had to use ISO 3200 in a poorly lit gym.

As I said it can be done, but you need to take a lot of pictures as your hit rate won’t be great. But with some planning you can get decent results.

Obviously better glass like a fast focusing 2.8 L lens would be superior, but I was limited by my budget to what I had at the time. I assume from your question you are in a similar situation.

 Lars J's gear list:Lars J's gear list
Canon EOS 80D Canon EF-S 18-135mm F3.5-5.6 IS STM Canon EF 40mm f/2.8 STM Canon EF-S 24mm F2.8 STM Canon EF 50mm F1.8 STM +1 more
Kent Ekasak
OP Kent Ekasak Contributing Member • Posts: 766
Re: 50 f1.8 STM for Sport?

Thank you all for your kind recommendation.. Really appreciated..

50mm (or 80mm with 1.6x crop mode) is doable FL in my case since I always stand at the court side.. Just unsure about the focus speed, if it's fast enough.. Since 50/1.8STM is so cheap, perhaps I will get one first, and if it fails, I can go with 85/1.8, which is expected to be faster and has more reach..

 Kent Ekasak's gear list:Kent Ekasak's gear list
Panasonic Lumix DC-GX9 Sigma fp Panasonic Lumix DC-S5
akustykmagmanetpl Senior Member • Posts: 1,363
Re: 50 f1.8 STM for Sport?
1

Kent Ekasak wrote:

Hi..

Can 50 f1.8 STM shoot indoor fast moving sport, like basketball or table tennis? I have heard the focus is quite slow.. Thank you..

that's my brief experience, too. STM powered lens seem generally more optimized for accurate focusing in LV/mirrorless and less so for quick AF travel

 akustykmagmanetpl's gear list:akustykmagmanetpl's gear list
Canon EOS 10D Canon EOS 80D Canon 6D Mark II Canon EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM Canon EF 50mm F1.4 USM +9 more
Keyboard shortcuts:
FForum MMy threads