The end of August my wife and I will be flying to Minnesotta to see our grandson play football. They play on Friday nights under the lights. I have received permission to be on the sidelines to photograph. When our sons were young I did sideline football pictures for the local high school, but these were day games so lens speed was not a factor. As I recall, I used two Nikkormat ELWs with motor winder. I think I mostly used a 200mm Nikkor lens.
I will be using a 1DS Mk III. I have a 500mm f4 IS (too heavy and too long), a 400mm f5.6 (too slow). I also have a 135mm f2L. With a 1.4X it will be a 189mm f2.8. I was considering picking up a used 200mm f2.8, but this is close to the 189mm obtained with the 1.4X and 135 lens, so this does not make too much sense. I also was considering a used 300mm f4L (either IS or non IS). To be honest, after I shoot the game, I'm not sure I would have too much use for a 300mm lens. Any suggestions from folks with night side line experience? Will f4 be fast enough? I don't care about noise (as I did not care about grain with pushed Tri-X). Thanks in advance.
Dave Gurtcheff
www.modernpictorials.com