AmyG wrote:.

I have just purchased the Canon Rebel Xti kit. I would really liketo purchase a moderately priced all round lens. I purchased thecamera in hopes of getting some great shots of my kids on the soccerfield and the basketball court. I am going on vacation for a weekwith a book on the camera so hopefully will learn some of theterminology, and features. I would really like the equivilant of a10x optical zoom, but do not know which lens that would be. I have aLONG way to go, hopefully I will take a class in the future. Thanksfor any help!..

Unfortunately, the lens for outside on a soccer field a long telephoto lens is best, a lot of the time is not the lens for indoors on a basketball court when a wide maximum aperture is needed to cope with the low light that is usuaul, unless the games are being televisied, which would mean bright lights..

BAK..

Amy, first off you made an excellent choice by buying the XTi. It is a very good "learning" camera that will gently indoctrinate you into dslr's. You can use the automatic settings as you start out and slowly work your way into the creative zones as you gain confidence. As for the lenses, ah, that is the question. I want you to understand that the two uses you are interested in, soccer and basketball, are very different situations and will require very different lenses to do each well. When you check out lenses you will see that the telephoto lenses (useful for the soccer games) are the ones that you will have to pay dearly for.

The basketball games can be comfortably covered with shorter lenses. I think that a very good lens for this sport is the Canon 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM lens. It is reasonably priced ($400- $450) and very versatile. You can use it for general work, portraits, and sight seeing purposes, in addition to shooting indoor sports. Your best options for shooting soccer games is to get permission to roam the sidelines and position yourself where you think (hope) the next action involving your little stars will be.

You best bet, without going into hock too deeply would be a Canon 70-200mm f/4L lens. It will run you a little over $600.00, I know that sounds like a lot of money, but it is really reasonable for an "L" lens. On your camera that would translate into a 320mm lens, not too bad if you can be in the right spot, but still a far cry from the kind of shots you are probably envisioning. Try asking some of the other soccer mom's what they are using and ask them to show you images they have taken. The important thing is to check out the kind of pictures you can expect with a given lens before buying one and being disappointed.Magic_Puzzle..

AmyG wrote:.

I purchased thecamera in hopes of getting some great shots of my kids on the soccerfield.

Assuming daytime games, any xx-300mm lens will do. Typically, the more you pay, the more you get. These lenses start at about $150 and go up from there. If you want a moderately priced lens with fast focusing, consider the Canon 100-300mm USM, which costs a bit less than $300..

And the basketball court..

School gyms are notoriously poorly lit, and as long as you can stand on the floor you don't need long focal lengths. You need a fast (i.e. wide aperture) lens. Best is the 85mm f/1.8, a bit more than $300. If your budget is tight, the 50mm f/1.8 will be OK, but you'll have to crop the images. This lens is about $75..

I would really like the equivilant of a10x optical zoom, but do not know which lens that would be..

Sigma 18-200mm (OS or not), Tamron 18-200mm, Tamron 18-250mm, etc. None would be great for either soccer or basketball. Focal length is too short for soccer, max aperture is way too slow for basketball..

I have aLONG way to go, hopefully I will take a class in the future..

That's the best place to spend money. The most important part of a camera is the nut behind the viewfinder....

Thanks for any help!.

You're welcome..

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

Magic_Puzzle wrote:.

The basketball games can be comfortablycovered with shorter lenses..

Agreed..

I think that a very good lens for thissport is the Canon 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM lens..

Disagree. I have this lens (bought it in the previous century), and while it is fine for many things (especially on 35mm format, where it has wide-angle), the max aperture is far too slow for indoor basketball. That is, unless you prefer the blurry slow-shutter effect..

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

I did lots of similar research recently and ultimately decided on the 70-200mm f/4L lense since I knew I would be focusing on outdoor sports initially (soccer & t-ball).If you order online, this lense is under $550..

It doesn't have Image Stabilization for that price, but for outdoor sports (faster shutter speeds) you don't really need it. If you are willing to spend close to 3 times that much, there is an f/2.8 IS version of that same lense. I personally didn't want to spend that much until I know much much more about photography..

Based on the recent experimenting I have done with the 70-200mm (I love it so far, by the way) I think I will purchase a much shorter focal length lense for indoor sports. 200mm (with the 1.6 "crop factor") seems excessive for the indoor sports I would be getting shots at (basketball, wrestling, karate, etc)..

Going with a shorter focal length will save some money and allow my to spend it on a wider aperture and maybe IS. Of course any L-series lense with IS costs a fortune, even the non telephoto ones..

After lots of reading I fully understood that the 50-200mm f/4L lense would not get any good indoor shots. I also fully understood that learning to photograph indoor sports will require a lot more reaserch and experimenting. This is why I chose to start with the "outdoor" lense..

To compliment this lense I went ahead and purchased the Canon 50mm f/1.8 (fixed focal length) lense. This lense is only $75 online and lets you use the camera to get some nice shots around the house and such without lugging around the giant 70-200mm lense- and having to back into a corner to frame every shot you take. The 50mm 1.8f lense may ultimately prove to have some indoor sports function as well, but I havent yet experimented with it in that respect..

Good luck.Photography Newbie..