Lens dilemma, advice needed

[DJTHEMAC]

Howdy All!

I didn't quite know where to put this, so bear with me. I am planning on taking pictures of my sister and putting them together in an album as a graduation gift, and I am at a crossroads over which glass i should buy.

I currently have a Canon XTi with a 17-85mm F4-5.6 lens. I can get decent shots with this lens but I think i would like some additional reach when i am taking shots of my sister playing sports (lacrosse/volleyball/Dance Team), and perhaps some senior portraits.

The three lenses I have been looking at are the canon 70-200 2.8L IS, the 100-400 F4 L, and the 29-300L

I was originally going to go with the 100-400, but i dont know if I'll need the extra reach, and its not a particularly fast lens.

The 29-300 seems like a good choice for an all around lens, but image quality is subpar compared to dedicated close range, or zoom lenses

The 70-200L seems to be the best choice in my mind, but I am wondering if it will give me that much more reach over my current lens, and if 70mm is to narrow to get good portraits with.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!! :D

[ziggy53]

Of those lenses, the Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L is by far the one I recommend first. It really can do double-duty as a portrait lens, although perhaps not ideal.

There is no single lens that will cover all shooting situations so you will eventually need more lenses if that is your goal, but do start with the Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L as a quality sports lens. The speed and accuracy of autofocus and the ability to allow shots in indoor and night conditions are the primary benefits.

[Shizam]

Totally what he said.

[Richard]

Totally what he said.

Yep. While not a perfect portrait lens, the 70-200 f/2.8 is fast enough to use indoors. You just may need a little more distance from the subject. The difference between 85 and 200 is major for sports at the far end, but if you need more, you can pick up a 1.4x teleconverter to get to 280 and still be at f/4.

[claudermilk]

I personally wouldn't recommend using a TC on the 70-200/2.8 if you have to run it wide open. IMHO the results are not worth it from my experience. The examples that have been shown to me to refute that opinion have universally been in excellent light allowing use at about f8--in which case the combo works fine. If you need longer reach at those speeds, you need to cough up for someting like the 300/2.8 or 300/4.