Which lens to buy?

[baitcaster]

I am sure this topic has been brought up many times, but anyway I have a Canon XS with a 70-300 non IS lens. This lens came with the kit I bought a year ago. I use the camera for taking pics of my daughter playing hockey, softball etc. Mostly action shots. I am struggling getting clear pics whenever I am taking action shots. What lens do you recommend that will take crisp zoomed in action shots. I know there is something out there that can help me as I see others with other lenses that turn out far better than mine. Could be operator error, but I have taken a ton of pics with it. Thanks for your advice.

[MN Shutterbug]

If you would post a couple pics with the exif, we could maybe tell you if it's equipment or technique.

[yakfisher]

I may be just a matter of getting a tripod or monopod to steady your shots on that big zoom. Although if you are looking for more range a lot of the canon guys on here seem to love the 100-400mm IS.

I also saw a cheap IS/VR/VC system once. It uses a big 2 inch washer attached to a string tied to a nut that is screwed into the base of the camera. Basically you stand on the string and pull the camera to your eye tightening the string which then provide a dampening effect against camera shake. It looked like a cheap way to get some tension on the camera that should dampen out some shakes.

I'd definitely try the mono/tripod before forking out the cash for a new lens.

[baitcaster]

I am actually looking at stepping up into the L series of lens by Canon. Looking at either the 70-200 zoom or the 70-200 IS Lens which is more costly. Any advice on either of these lens would be great.

[Steve Foss]

BC, the lens you're using isn't the sharpest knife in the Canon drawer, but if you are shooting outdoors, your ISO is up around 400 or 800 and you are shooting wide open aperture in Av mode and use Ai servo focus mode with the center focus point selected, you should be able to get photos plenty crisp to suit you.

As XT said, if you post a couple examples of images you are unhappy with, we can give you much more valuable advice.

While the 70-200 series is one of the best in the world of photography, I'm not going to advise you on which of that series would best serve you until I've seen some sample images so I can be sure you would be well served upgrading lenses.

[Dbl]

I can't see with your present equipment that outdoors shooting would be a problem. You mentioned hockey and that is where you will start running into problems with your equipment setup. I've been in camera stores and listened to folks say what they want to shoot with their new camera...kids indoor sports and then almost fall over when the salesman tells them what it will cost!

Shooting indoors really requires some fairly decent equipment. The XS and the lens you are using are likely not going to be up to that task. So while posting some pictures will help I am certain that your indoor work will require some different equipment. It used to be until very recently that I would recommend upgrading your lenses to something that will shoot in low light. With todays camera bodies having the ability to shoot very cleanly at high ISO's it is almost to the point of upgrading the camera body first.

Let me just give you some examples.

70-200/2.8 IS $1800

70-200/2.8 $1300

70-200/4 $650

Used 50D $900

Buying a used 50D will give you a camera body that is capable of shooting high ISO, much faster autofocus system in other words a camera that is much more suited to shooting action like you mentioned.

Pair that used body with a 70-200/4 and you would have a combination of body and lens that will cost in the same ballpark as one new 2.8 lens. And with that new 2.8 lens you still will be using a slower focus body that is not capable of shooting at high ISO. So even the 2.8 lens will not help you here.

That is a start of a few things to start mulling over. It would help if you posted a few shots with the settings you used to take them. Keep in mind shooting indoors with marginal equipment will require you to do everything almost perfectly to get even decent results.