RF 100-500 Sports

Fast action in high school (or lower) lighting is very demanding in terms of equipment. Long, fast lenses require a lot of glass and cost a lot of money.

I’m fortunate in terms of budget constraints, I use a 100-300/2.8 with a 1.4x TC in the daytime, and take off the TC under the lights. I can often get away with 1/250 - 1/320 s shutter speed for the movement I shoot, and at f/2.8-3.2 that works. There’s a reason the 400/2.8 is considered the quintessential sports lens.

Having said that, if you’re not already doing so, shooting RAW and processing with DxO PhotoLab or PureRAW is about the most cost-effective thing you can do. It will buy you 1-2 stops of high ISO noise reduction over other software, which is dirt cheap compared to an extra stop or two of light at 300mm or higher. Personally, I regularly go up to ISO 25600 on the R3. With the R1 and the latest version of DxO PL, I will be trying 25600-51200.

Pushing up the ISO, the RF 100-500 is among the best ‘affordable’ (using that term cavalierly) options. For birds, it’s an ideal choice.

xzebra007 said:

Do you honestly belevie this would be a satisfacity choice given my circumstance?

Click to expand...

I do, actually. Here's a shot with the RF 100-500 on the R3, from halftime at a high school football game (late October and well over an hour after sunset so it was full night, typical high school field lights). This is 500mm, 1/500 s, f/7.1, ISO 16000.

I have this lens as well and use it for track season, and I will use it for motorsports at some point. I agree with Neuro that it is a good lens. I have not used it on my R1 yet, but I will do so in the spring. I have also used it with a 2xTC to shoot pictures of the moon with some fantastic results on my R5.

To the OP, become friends with the coaches and get sideline access, even better, just go to the game while carrying your camera and go down to the field, I have never been stopped or questioned when carrying my camera to the field; just make sure you are not interfering with the event and no one typically cares. I do have credentials that helps as well but I only wear them from time to time. Reach out to your state's version of milesplit and offer to shoot for free for a credential. Wearing that to any event typically results in no one asking questions, plus it typically gets your free and preferred parking and free event entry with a little social engineering. "Hi, I'm media where can I park" I have yet to have to pay for parking since getting that, and they just point me to the preferred parking area, and off I go.