People are different..

And it depends on the wind, on whether you are standingup or sitting down or lying down..

The rule of thumb is, for 35mm cameras, most people can hold a lens that is equal in focal length to the bottom of the shutter speed fraction. So, 1/250 of a second for a 200mm lens..

Depending on the camera and the film or sensor size, the math changes..

With a Nikon, where that lens gets less on the sensor than on 35mm film, camera shake means a larger percentage of the subject moves, meaning you'd need, ballpark again, 1/500 of a second..

Remember for sports, VR or IS or OS or whatever doesn't help if the subjects are moving..

BAK..

Yes you can. The main rule is to use at least as fast shutter speed as your focal length; meaning 1/250 s works well up to 250 mm focal length. If you develop a stable shooting technique (rifle shooting) this can be improved..

Handheld sharpness is a relative thing. Strictly speaking all such pictures are blurry, but so little you wont notice it unless you try to extreme enlargements. A monopod is quite flexible and could help you out during evening games..

Erik..

Thanks very much guys. A monopod is a great idea to help things along..

John..

JohnnyB2 wrote:.

I was planning on the 80-200 2.8 for night football andindoor basketball..

You might find f/2.8 too dim for indoor basketball, and much of the focal length range not suitable. 85mm f/1.8 is a less expense, faster, and just about right in focal length..

Seen in a fortune cookie:Fear is the darkroom where negatives are developed..

The rule-of-thumb has been that in order to get acceptably sharp images (without the benefit of image stabilization) the shutter speed must be at least 1/focal length. In other words for a 200mm lens, you would need a shutter speed of at least 1/200 second in order to get "acceptably" sharp images..

This rule-of-thumb is not carved in granite and has many variables..

First: It works better for full frame cameras because the full frame image would not need the degree of enlargement required by a 1.6 format.

Second: It is the "minimum" required by most persons, not the shutter speed which will work for all photographers. The 1/FL shutter speed doesn't take into consideration many variables which will impact the shutter speed required such as:.

1. General health and age of the photographer - since I have grown older and have developed arthritis; I tend to need a shorter shutter speed (more like 1/2 x Focal Length) in order to achieve sharp imagery with any consistency..

2. Time of day and physical exertion previous to shooting - if a photographer has been carrying a load of gear (like a heavy 70-200mm f/2.8L lens plus other equipment) all day long, muscles might be a bit tired. Also, if the photographer has done some running, climbing or other exertion just prior to shooting the shutter speed might need to be shortened for best results..

3. I tend to be able to hold shorter lenses effectively at closer to the 1/FL speed than I can hold longer lenses. However, that becomes a point of diminishing returns with super wide angles such as 12mm. I have a bit of a problem holding a 12mm focal length at 1/12 or 15 second and prefer to hand hold no lower than 1/30 second - no matter what lens I use..

Finally: I love IS and I wish that I had IS in every lens or wish that there were an effective in-camera IS available in the canon line..

Retired Navy Master Chief Photographer's Mate. I was a Combat Cameraman, Motion Picture Director, and a Naval Aircrewman. I also had experience in reconnaissance and intelligence photography. I have had considerable commercial photo experience in weddings and advertising photography. I am fully retired now although I dabble occasionally in dog portraiture. I presently use Canon DSLR cameras...

With image stabilization I can take a handheld picture as far out as 500mm at a speed as slow as 1/8s. That's six stops of stabilization..

Image control:Zoom outZoom 100%Zoom inExpand AllOpen in new window.

But look at the background. That blur is a guy slowly riding a bicycle across the plane of the sensor..

Your problem for night sport is not going to be camera shake at 200mm, but rather subject motion. And that's going to depend on how fast your subject is moving across the plane of your sensor..

Try an experiment. Hold up a finger at arm's length from your eyes, and move it 1" from left to right. That's the equivalent of using a short lens - everything seems far away..

Then hold your finger close to your eyes and move it the same distance and at the same speed as before. You cross a much bigger part of the sensor field in the same amount of time. This is the equivalent of a long lens that makes objects appear closer..

So the answer to your question will depend on the speed of the subject across the plane of your sensor. If it's really slow, like the sleeping man in my photo, then you can slow down the shutter speed to the point where camera shake becomes the problem..

But in sports you'll probably be wanting to capture the action. For that you'll want a pretty fast shutter speed, so fast that camera shake won't be an issue. More likely you'll have to boost up the gain and select a more noisy ISO setting to ensure you get a fast enough shutter speed to capture subject movement..

So for night sports you should be looking for a camera that at high ISO gains, yields low noise without sacrificing a lot of detail..

Hope that helps..

Dennis..

As others have stated, VR does not isolate a moving subject. It only isolates camera movement. If the athlete is coming at you, you can use a relative slower shutter compared to a athlete crossing your field of view. And the closer they are, the faster the shutter speed. If you are at 1/250, I'd increase the ISO to get 1/320 or fasterWarm regards,DOFThere is no satisfactory substitute for excellenceDr. Arnold O. Beckman..

I found that if you want to freeze the actions, basketball or football, you'll need at least 1/400s. If there's enough light, I even go as high as 1/800s. Below that is ok, but there'll be blurry hands, feet or ball..

When you do use 1/400s, camera shake will not be a problem at 200mm. No need for VR and no need for tripods. Just get the widest aperture you can find. F2.8 might not be enough for indoor basketball, unless you don't mind the heavy grain of ISO3200...

Great example..

I've been to a few sports events where I thought the players were asleep..

BAK..