Shutterbugrainey Loc: Lowndes, MO

I have an indoor event with low light, lots of action. Would a EF 50mm f/1.8 be a good lense to use? Or any suggestions. Thank you :D

Shutterbugrainey Loc: Lowndes, MO

No advise, it seems..... So I will tell the pushy salesman...No Thank You

larrycumba

What kind of event? Will you be able to move around? Can you use a flash? Do you have other lens available? Are you looking to purchase another lens? If so, how much do you want to spend? If your camera full frame or crop?

JimH Loc: Western South Jersey, USA

The 50mm 1.8 is just barely there when it comes to low light, and a lot depends on the event - if it's a slow moving kind of thing, you might just be ok if you ramp up the ISO and make some test shots.

If it's a poorly lit, fast-moving kind of thing like HS Basketball or whatnot, you might not have enough glass...

Shutterbugrainey Loc: Lowndes, MO

Thank you.... Being a NEWBIE I am learning as I go.... I would be attending a Bull Riding, with low light. I will shoot with a Canon Rebel XTi I have a few other lenses like 18-55mm ~ 35-80mm ~ 55-250mm ~ 75-300mm ~ 80-200mm

But, I was told a 50mm would be a good one for fast action/low light....That is why I was trying to get advise :D

JimH Loc: Western South Jersey, USA

You need a lens that will open up to under 2.8 if at all possible, the wider the better. The problem with the lenses already in your collection is that I don't think any of them are fixed aperture, so the farther out you zoom, the biggest aperture you can get increases - for example, the 75-300 opens to f/4 at 75mm, but when you crank it out to 300mm,it opens only to f/5.6. Sorry to sound so geeky but that concept is something you have to be able to grasp to advance as a shooter.

Canon makes three 50mm primes - the $125 50mm f/1.8, AKA "nifty fifty" or "plastic fantastic", the $400 f/1.4 and the erection-inducing f/1.2L lens, at a drop-in-the-bucket $1600 dollars. The latter lens will certainly do the trick for you.

I would slap the 1.8 on your camera, slide the ISO up around 400-800, and see what happens. Depending on how active your bulls are, you're probably looking at a maximum shutter speed of 1/250th or better, which means you gotta get a lot of light in.

Shutterbugrainey Loc: Lowndes, MO

Thank you so much for your help! :D
I hope to post pictures of the event

Bobbee

Just from experience, don't show up with out or flash. Had a assistant do a wedding with me and he did just that expecting his 1.4 lens to be 'it'. It wasn't.

I tend to have three flashes with me at all times. typically one on the camera on an extendable flip flash bracket. and the other two on stands with defusers coupled with Pocket Wizards.

ole sarg Loc: south florida

a 50 mm with f1.8 is plenty good. set iso to 800 and plan to shoot at about 60th of sec. you will be able to hand hold and stop the action. practice breath control and you can drop the speed down to 30th of a sec that is about the slowest you can hand hold. get a monopod and you can raise the speed to about 125 and that stops most action. you will be in good shape. remember the less glass you have hanging off the camera the better you can hold it steady.

At iso 800 or above at ISO 1600 you will get grain or noise as it is now called. i would shoot in b&w as it gives good effects in a rodeo and the noise adds drama. you can blow up the pics to about 8X10. If you get a fixed 200 telephoto with f2.8 lens you should be able to use a monopod and shoot at f2.8 at around 125th of a sec. or faster w/ISO at 800+

When you arrive at the rodeo shoot some pics of the crowd to see what you get at various f stops and speeds and adjust your camera to stop motion or blur. Do not use auto focus the action will be too fast so use your eye and focus as you shoot. In short, make your camera part of you. To try to use the screen would be futile in a sports situation. The advantage of a DSLR is that you can put the camera to your eye.

i have almost never shot with flash and started shooting in 1959. i find flash gives a very artificial feel to photos. flash is good at weddings and planned events because they are artificial by plan.

i learned to shoot in nam and we really did not use flash in combat and we did not always have the best of lighting even in day. I would take occasional light meter readings but basically set the camera at f2 at 125th of sec. we had manual leica M1 or M2 w/40mm lens don't remember to far back. we used tri x and rated it at ASA (ISO) 400.

in any event experiment. if this gets to you before the rodeo try going to a high school basketball game and sit in the bleechers and shot. see what you get at what aperture and speed. write down what you are shooting at. the advantage of dslr is that you can see your pics right after you take them.

Lastly, the wider the aperture i.e. 1.8 or 2.8 the less the depth of field. so you really have to focus on your subject.

Just some thoughts hope this helps

the ole sarg

Bobbee

Shoot in color, convert to B&W.

Paw Paw Bill Loc: d

Unless they let you into the arena with the bulls, you will probably be too far from the action for flash. Light will reflect off the ground nearby and the camera will close the shutter too soon, leaving the action too dim at a distance. You can adjust the compensation feature to bring the background up, but this results in a washout on nearby parts of the scene.

If you can get the settings right with a low light lens and no flash, you will have a better photo overall.

I really get a kick out of watching 10,000 flashes going off in a football stadium on some play on the field. If they would turn off the flash, the picture would be better. Normally, they get a well lit shot of the backs of the heads of 20 or so fans sitting in front of them.

Mudpuppy Loc: Michigan

This - that was my thought. With a 50mm f/1.8 prime lens you are going to need to ride a bull next to the bull to catch any action

BUT I would say if you want to get creative you can get some great shots with that lens - I would say something like the angry bull in the pen getting ready to charge out - get a vantage point where you can get a shot into the pen. Crowd shots are always good - expressions of kids as they watch the event. A rodeo clown leaning on a barrel. Stuff like that.

For action shots you would need to hit shutter speeds of 1/540 to 1/600 to stop the action otherwise you will just get blurred shots. Something like a 70-200mm f/2.8 would work but you would need a pretty high end body to go with it. Not sure the specs on your camera but I don't think it would make it. I tried that same lens on my D3000 in a basketball gym with fair lighting and I couldn't get it faster than 1/60. My camera body just isn't good enough to do it.

And the problem with the 50mm f/1.8 is you can't zoom in so either you need to get really close or you will get shots that look like you took them from a blimp. You can probably hit 1/100 shutter speed with that lens at a fairly low ISO (400 or less). So it will work well with low light. From what I am told you want to shoot at least 2x your focal length in shutter speed to get sharp shots for hand held - not saying I haven't got sharp shots shooting at my focal length or lower just a better chance if you can get at least 2x.

gessman Loc: Colorado

I'd rent or borrow a EF 70-200mm f2.8L IS. It'll give you more flexibility in distance and the IS will effectively equal the f1.8. I just Google Earth'd you and Lowndes, MO. Man, are you in the "boonies." I doubt you'll have a camera shop big enough to rent lens close to you. Check the biggest towns around you for a rental shop or Google it - there's online rental places.

WildBill Loc: South West Florida

50mm is a bit short for bull riding... 85mm f1.8 will reach out better on your crop sensor and is a low light sports lens, if you want to buy an excellent inexpensive lens.

Renting is always a good option for trying out different lenses so you can see the difference on your camera. Try before you buy.

DK Loc: SD

The dirt on the arena floor eats up a lot of light. I would never use a 50mm at a rodeo. You need a zoom. I'll go with the 70-200 2.8 and a higher ISO. You need to sit on the front row next to the arena and hope the bulls head your way. Just a funny story, a friend of mine sat next to the fence they used to divide the bull area from the rest of the arena. A bull came charging toward the fence, managed to get a horn through the fence and gouged an abrasion on his leg. Good thing it was a strong fence!! For some reason, he didn't get the photo.