gray_ghost2 Loc: Antelope, (Sac) Ca.

I have a 7Dmii with a Sigma 70-200, f2.8, a Sigma 1.4x & 2.0x extender. I'm aware that I will lose 1 & 2 f-stops respectively when the extenders are attached. Probably the best way to test will be to wait til season starts an shoot a Qtr each with straight lens, add the 1.4x then the 2.0x and see what I get. But I thought I'd ask to see if other photographers were shooting the straight lens or adding an extender. I will be sitting in the handicap section of the bleachers, front rail.

I got the 70-200 last season but had a 40D and couldn't get the ISO up to get better stop action. Just wanted to get a jump on the season. This will be my grandson final high school yr. I just want t be prepaired .

kels7200 Loc: Maryland, USA

I shoot pro women's soccer on a field that probably has slightly better lighting than most high school football fields. I use a 7DII and the Canon 70-200 f/2.8 and have a 1.4x extender. I only add the extender for day games because losing that stop of light at night really does cause problems. I shoot manual with auto ISO and have that topped out at 6400 (I can live with that much noise). I also try not to go under 1/800 for shutter speed since the ball especially gets motion blur if I do. But I'll drop it to 1/500 if I'm at another field where the lighting isn't as good. You can probably get away with a slower shutter speed since a ball thrown is going to be slower than a ball kicked. That might buy you enough light to think about the 1.4x. I doubt you'll get away with the 2x though unless the lighting is extremely good. But as you said give it a go. But make sure it's about as dark as it will get and try shots of different areas of the field as some areas are darker than others. Good luck!

LWW Loc: Banana Republic of America

Pretty much my tactic.

I would go to 1/500 or even 1/250 before I increased ISO.

Shooting wide open is also going to help of course.

AFPhoto Loc: Jamestown, RI, USA

I shoot HS football at night with a 5D III and the 70-200 f2.8 IS. I shoot shutter priority and try to stay at 1/500 or faster. I adjust the ISO to keep the aperture at a point where the DOF is not an issue. I am on the sideline and can be either at the line of scrimmage or offer in front of it. In the later case the action will be coming toward me very fast so I want as much DOF as is reasonable. Cropping in PP often yields great action shots.

Kaleva

Long ago, I shot HS football with film. Pentax Spotmatic and a 55mm lens. I had the advantage of roaming sidelines. Apart from the equipment issues, I recommend attending some HS practice sessions to become familiar with players and strategies. Your football photos will be improved by being able to anticipate plays and player actions: try to be focused on where the players and ball are going to be. It is difficult to get good sports action shots by following the ball.

pjarbit Loc: Detroit, Michigan

I shoot HS football. Canon 5DIII and 300 2.8. My recommendation is 1/1000 wide open (2.8) and let the ISO handle exposure. crop as necessary. With 200 from stands you will need a lot of cropping. If ISO to high you may need to step down to 1/800, but pics won't be crisp. I have tried 1.4 and 2.0 teleconverters, focusing is way to slow.

Some of my pics are at :

Www.wbhsfootball2017.shutterfly.com

photomarkz Loc: parma hts,ohio

Shooting with the 1.4 converter should help with having tighter shots.2x converter only with day games.

jr168

I think you will lose too much image quality with the 2x tele. I would try to concentrate the majority of your shooting in the early part of the season because you will have enough light early in the game to get shots with the 1.4x tele. After the 3rd week of football, you will be dealing with stadium lights that really don't help the situation. I am usually shooting at 1/800, f/2.8, and at ISO's ranging from 10,000 to 25,600. At the high iso's, you really want to avoid cropping because it just magnifies the grain. When you get to that point of the season, put the camera down and just enjoy watching the game instead of being frustrated with the results of the photos.

billnourse Loc: Bloomfield, NM

I shoot high school sports with a 5D mk4 and 70-200 f2.8. Night football will require a pretty high ISO under the lights as high school fields are usually poorly lit. You will have to stay at 1/500 or above to stop the action, and 1/800 to 1/1000 is better. I shoot shutter priority with auto ISO at no more than 12,800. I doubt you will have much luck with the tele converters because of the loss of light.

Bill

gray_ghost2 Loc: Antelope, (Sac) Ca.

Thanks for all the replies. The manual settings mentioned are what I work with but I have used manual ISO. This season I will try using the Auto ISO and let the camera do what it was design to do. Yeah, 1.4x possibly before the lights come on. 2x, daylight only. Thanks again.

trackmag

If you want to really have a challenge, try shooting night time horse racing. They do it three nights (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) down at Anaheim. With use a D5 Nikon and f.2-8 70-200. It was a lot more challenging back in the early 1970s with a Yashica or Pentax Spotmatic. It has always been fun. If anyone ever wants to do it the marketing guy there is Orlando Gutierrez and he runs the best press box in the world.

Grnway Loc: Manchester, NH

Very good points. For night HS football, I'll use 70-200mm equivalent lens for most shots. The 1.4X extender will only go on when I want to isolate specific players, or I'll even go to 100-400, but not for action shots, since it's too slow of a lens. I think the 1.4X would be a good idea for you.

Jeffcs Loc: Myrtle Beach South Carolina

First auto iso I’m manual top out iso at 12500 D5 has little noise I’d suspect you might prefer top out 6400 on your Canon lens wise it’s a toss up crop or 1.4 converter
Due to extream poor lights on most HS FB fields auto iso is a must as yard 10 has a different ev value than yard 30 than yard 50 you get the picture
500 shutter with f8 is what works for me
70-200 2.8 or 300 2.8 with 1.4

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

I get permission from the athletic director to photograph from the sidelines. Your 70-200 should cover enough from their. Don't be afraid to crank up the iso.

Toby

I agree with everything kels said and will add a few more points that others have missed. As for credentials, I have shot HS sports for about 8-10 years for local paper and for fun.
To bad you are apparently so far away from the field. You might be able to get closer to the field if you ask. carefully select your location and have someone with you that can move you quickly if necessary. Maybe offer to give any of your shots to the school free for their yearbook.
I don't think the 70-200 is strong enough from the stands. Use an extender and shoot every thing you can get in the first month or so when you may get a quarter or two of sunlight. Be sure camera is set to manual and when it begins to get dark take the extender off and set aperture to 2.8 speed to 1/320 minimum and ISO as high as you can and still get acceptable results. Remember a picture of your Senior grandson with some noise is tolerable because it is so special. Don't worry about having dark shots on you LED screen. If you do this right you can use LR or similar program to work miracles on what appears to be files that are too dark. There is a ton of info in a RAW files and you will be amazed what you can to with them. What you cannot do however is correct for speed blur. Set speed as high as you can, absolute minimum is 1/320 and try to shoot head-on rather than as he goes past you. Good Luck