Equestrian/Horse Shooting Help

[blyst99]

I just bought the Canon Digital Rebel SLR. This is the only digital SLR in my price range at the moment. My main uses for this camera will be shooting different equestrian sports.

Does anyone have any suggestions on what would be a good lens choice for this camera? I want to be able to shoot action such as horses jumping, galloping, etc. Most of the time I cannot get close and have to use a zoom lens, and I do not use a tripod because I am usually moving all the time to different spots. I have looked at several of the Canon lenses, but am not sure what would be best for what I want to do.

Thank you in advance for any suggestions.

P.S. Does anyone know of any good websites with information on shooting horses?

Thanks!

[Photo-John]

How far from the horses will you be? Is this rodeo/barrel racing or show horses? I think the Canon 28-135mm IS or the 70-200 f/4L would be your best choices. It sounds like budget is a consideration so it might help if you told us how much you have to spend. Sometimes getting the job done is more important than actual lens quality. If that's the case, take a look at third-party lenses by Sigma, Tokina, and Tamron. But you will be sacrificing autofocus performance with third-party lenses and I think that's important for any kind of action.

As for shooting technique, there's a sports photography forum here. I don't think shooting horses in action would be much different from shooting mountain bikes or team sports. You should be able to get some good ideas there. And buy horse magazines and study the photos for angles and shooting styles. That will help a lot. If you have questions about how to achieve certain affects, we can help you figure out the techniques on the sports forum.

[blyst99]

I'm looking at spending no more then $500. How close I'll be really depends. I only shoot outdoors and usally have to be a few feet away from the jump or arena.

I want something that can capture the action clearly.

I have been around horses all my life and have learned how to capture them at the right point in their stride or the right point during a jump, but would like to learn what the best equiptment would be. Keeping in mind it needs to under a thousand at this point in time. I want to get the most bang for my buck.

I have read the reviews on this site and they are helpful.

[Peter_AUS]

Gee why post this exact question in two places, see my reply in the other forum you posted please. It really isn't proper to post things over the forums as you get similar replies that take up webspace unnecessarily.

Take Photo-Johns advice, very much similar to my answer to you.

[JSPhoto]

I just bought the Canon Digital Rebel SLR. This is the only digital SLR in my price range at the moment. My main uses for this camera will be shooting different equestrian sports.

Does anyone have any suggestions on what would be a good lens choice for this camera? I want to be able to shoot action such as horses jumping, galloping, etc. Most of the time I cannot get close and have to use a zoom lens, and I do not use a tripod because I am usually moving all the time to different spots. I have looked at several of the Canon lenses, but am not sure what would be best for what I want to do.

Thank you in advance for any suggestions.

P.S. Does anyone know of any good websites with information on shooting horses?

Thanks!

I forgot in the other thread on this same subject (Sports Photography) to say that instead of a tripod you can use a monopod, I use one and they are great. You can get cheap ones but the better versions cost a bit and they are not as flimsy. I use a "cheap" one at the race track, if it gets damaged big deal, $10 gets anotherone at Wal Mart.

John