mstrjoseph

I am new to the photography scene, so I appreciate the input.....I have the Canon 80D , what lens would you suggest to take pictures of my son playing basketball? Something that will not break the bank...

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Welcome to the forum.

d3200prime

I'm a Nikon guy. Maybe one of the Canonites will help you . Glad you're here and good shooting to you.

SharpShooter Loc: NorCal

Welcome to the Hog!
Take a look at the Canon 85mm f1.8.
It’s different shooting because it’s not a zoom but fast and sharp enough to land killer tight shots from a close distance!! Good luck
SS

Jim Bob

Agreed. Great recommendation.

Joe Blow

I would recommend the Canon 18-135mm, f3.5-5.6 IS. It is a little on the slow side, but the 80D has decent lower light imaging compared to most APS-C cameras.

The range covers a large area from wide angle to moderate telephoto that will come in handy for other photo shoots as well. This lens has been around long enough that there are some used ones available. $180 used at Adorama, https://www.adorama.com/us%20%20%20%20962704.html?gclid=Cj0KCQiA_JTUBRD4ARIsAL7_VeW0dfXuJ39IlGqMpKYaCq649ayllXB9K0ghlTWhqfVZgI3YMuaF5SsaAhvAEALw_wcB

Or around $600 new.

mstrjoseph

Thank you everyone for the feedback!

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Welcome to our forum!

Used or refurbished will save you money. There should be lots of light available, so a fast lens shouldn't be necessary. I would use my Nikon 28-300mm, b ut the Canon version would break many banks, so look at the Tamron 28-300mm.

https://www.adorama.com/us%20%20%20%20957745.html?gclid=CjwKCAiAn5rUBRA3EiwAUCWb28E7PeM1AmDQ1FBXkerVuQmqtrP_nvXMxuOCYW3vuHwPfi33ZZHhoRoCYI8QAvD_BwE

jacklewis014

Welcome to our forum. Great place to get great information and a very fair price!!
I shoot a lot of sports and most gyms, including colleges, don't have the kind of light that will allow you to stop fast action (shutter speed at least 1/800 sec) unless you have a f2.8 or better lens.
That said, if you pick your shots when your son tends to be moving around a little less, you'll still capture the memories you want.
Looking for a used or refurbished lens will ease the strain on the wallet.

dsmeltz Loc: Philadelphia

An actual budget would help more than "not break the bank" I have no idea what your "bank" is. However, an EF 70-200mm f/4L USM Refurbished runs around $520.00 and would serve you well. The same with IS is more like $950.00.

ebbote Loc: Hockley, Texas

Welcome to the Hog Joseph, enjoy.

djlouden Loc: Ocala, Florida

Welcome from another Canon shooter. Enjoy your 80D.

Happy Shooting

kdogg Loc: Gallipolis Ferry WV

If you are an a budget check out this site. It has reviews of current and discontinued EF and EF-s lenses. I have used it to get the best bang for the buck while still getting a good lens. https://www.the-digital-picture.com/

YeloCab1

Welcome!!

(Download)

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

Hi and welcome to the UHH forum and photography in general!

Your Canon 80D probably came with an EF-S 18-135mm f3.5-5.6 IS USM lens which would be fine for outdoor shooting and many purposes... but might not be ideal indoors where fast-action basketball games are played under typical gym lighting. For that, you need a lens with a larger and non-variable aperture. The lens also should have high performance USM or similar ultrasonic drive, to be able to acquire focus quickly and effectively track movement. Lenses that are at least f/2.8 or larger allow your camera's AF system to work at it's optimum. Some of the more affordable options are:

Primes ($1000 max?):
Canon EF 24mm f/2.8 IS USM... $550 (+ $45 hood)
Canon EF 28mm f/1.8 USM... $510 (+ $25 hood)
Canon EF 28mm f/2.8 IS USM... $500 (+ $45 hood)
Canon EF 35mm f/2 IS USM... $550 (+ $45 hood)
Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM... $350 (+ $25 hood)
Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM... $370 (+ $25 hood)
Tamron SP 85mm f/1.8 Di VC USD.... $750 (incl. hood)
Canon EF 100mm f/2 USM... $500 (+ $25 hood)
Canon EF 135mm f/2L USM.... $1000 (incl. lens hood)
Canon EF 200mm f/2.8L USM... $750 (incl. lens hood)

Zooms (few f/2.8 are under $1000, so some a bit more expensive are incl.):
Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM... $830 (+ $25 for lens hood)
Tamron SP 24-70mm f/2.8 DI VC USD... $800 (old version, $500 discount, stabilized, incl. hood)
EF 70-200mm f/2.8L USM... $1300 (non-IS version, incl. hood)
Tamron SP 70-200mm f/2.8 Di VC USD G2... $1300 (stabilized, $100 mail in rebate, hood incl.)
Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 EX DG APO OS HSM... $1300 (stabilized, $100 mail in rebate, hood incl.)

There are others, but I've tried to stick with the "more affordable" possibilities that have fast ultrasonic focus drive and f/2.8 or bigger aperture, which will be necessary... image stabilization would be nice, too, if possible.

A tip for using your 80D under typical gymnasium lighting, you might need to use your camera's Flicker Free feature. Fluorescent, sodium vapor and some other types of lighting actually cycle on and off rapidly... many times per second. Our eyes don't see it, but our cameras sure do! The result is a lot of badly underexposed and color shifted images... maybe half or more of what you take... unless you use this new feature on Canon cameras. Introduced on the 7D Mark II, when it's enabled Flicker Free will detect the cycling of the lighting and time shutter release to coincide with the peak output of the lights. You don't really notice it most of the time, but it makes a big difference.... far fewer badly underexposed images!

Depending upon the lighting, you also might want to set a custom white balance. That will generally make for the best color rendition possible under gym lighting. It's especially important if you are shooting JPEGs (RAW files have a lot more latitude to adjust them later in post-processing).

Hope this helps!