General 70-200 f2.8 or f4 to shoot a fitness show in a theater

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deleuze3

Well-known member
Hi,
i was wondering if i shoot a video of a fitness show in a theater, if i would really need 70-200 f2.8 instead of f4 on canon 60d?

I plan to plan the f4 version, but will i be able to get good image quality if i boost a bit the iso or should i opt definitely for the f2.8 ?
My main purpose is video.

Any advices would be welcome,
thanks.
Have a great day
 
since im on a budget will i be able to boost the iso or change shutter speed enough without deteriorate the quality much?
thanks in advance
 
The problem you will find with the 70 - 200 at f/2.8 is that it is really hard to hold focus on a stage. At 70mm, you have a couple of feet to work with, but by 200 you are going to be pulling focus anytime a person moves. I almost always shoot stage events at at least f/4. That being said, if you can swing the 2.8, it's a nice lens to have. One other thing to keep in mind is that the f/4 non-IS lens is supposed to be parfocal. For events, that can be extremely helpful. Of course, IS is usually more helpful.
 
I've found that some theatre stuff is quite brightly lit, where you could certainly get away with f/4 and ISO 400-800. The theatre group I shoot most often, though, tends to have quite dimly lit shows and I find it's been a challenge for 2/3" cameras and APS-C DSLRs.
 
I use an 80-200 2.8 often, shot a bunch of fashion footage with it on a T2i and then a D7100. The Nikkor, it's a metal beast of a lens.

#1 thing I found, get your camera on rails and use a support for the lens. Without a support it wasn't very useable. If the lens has a tripod mount, that may work. I really like having the rails and support make the camera body & lens one real solid unit though.

A good 2.8 at 200mm usually has such a nice mojo factor wide open that it's worth some focus effort. If you use a decent follow focus, and remember which way is back and which is close, you can keep things sharp for moving subjects with a little practice.
 
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