low light action scenes, zoom or aperture?

Hey everyone, when yall shoot action in low light do yall go with a higher zoom lower aperture or a larger aperture lower zoom? The reason I ask is, when I shoot moving objects with faster glass lower zoom the pics seem grainy when cropping the subject. Conversely when I shoot with higher zoom and lower aperture the pics are clear but dark...lol...I realize that there are large aperture zoom lenses however they are not in my budget currently And tend to be "one trick wonders"

Hi. In low light (indoor sports, concerts, etc) I shoot in manual.

I set the camera as appropriate for the conditions I'm in.

If you're shooting in manual with a variable-aperture zoom, you can cause images taken at the longest focal length to be darker because the aperture isn't as large at the long end as it is on the shorter end.

Lol...yes I shoot in manual or shutter priority and I full understand how the camera and lenses work including variable zoom with a variable aperture i.e. increase in zoom =decrease in aperture size. I'm just asking if you were faced with whether to use fast glass at a short FL or "standard "variable aperture with more zoom which would u choose. Since both have their merits. Ideally u shoot a long FL with a prime lens but not always possible.since using a longer FL you need to compensate with a higher iso. which creates grain in a photo. when shooting fast glass and short FL u need to crop to get the same photo "zoom".the cropped photo is softer (less sharp/crisp) I realize that ps can help with noise but can't really fix sharpness/soft edges in more than a slight way.

I don't know if this will answer your question exactly, but here is my approach shooting lower light sports.

I use the fastest glass I have (usually f/2.8 but not always) that will get me the zoom I need. If I am shooting low light, which is typically going to introduce some level of noise, the grains of noise are much larger relative to my intended target shooting without enough zoom. As I crop in/zoom on that target I am causing the grains to be larger as well. If I use a longer lens to get in on my target, at least the grains of noise are much smaller relative to my target.

My step-by-step

1. Lens length I need to get me reasonably close to my target.
2. Figure out the minimum speed I can shoot at. Often times it's 1/500, but can vary.
3. Widest aperture I can use.
4. Play with the ISO until I get in the neighborhood of what I want.
5. Adjust my exposure compensation to dial it in.

6. If I have lighting that can vary, or I am shooting with a telephoto where I will be moving in and out on my focal length I will kick it over to auto ISO. BUT, I shoot some test shots in the different directions to make sure that auto ISO and myself are agreeing on what I want it to do. If not adjust the exposure compensation again to get the camera back to what you wanted.

I don't know what camera you're shooting, it's not in your side profile or sig, but being familiar with how you camera lcd displays noise is valuable. My D7100 shows noise far worse than it really is. My D600 shows it accurately.

I don't know if this exactly answers your question, but maybe by sharing my approach you might extract what you're looking for.

You can either move closer, take photos at a slower speed then pan, use flash with a high guide number or up the ISO. That's the limitation of a variable aperture zoom lens. There is no perfect all around lens. There is always a compromise between performance, versatility, weight and cost.

Thanks for the replies. normally I shoot astrophotography so I'm good with low light but those are not "action"..last night we went to the circus which have variable lighting. I used my d5000 w 55-300 with avg of 200 mm and f/5.6? to take action shots but had to run 3200-6400 iso & 1/500-1/800ss to get decent shots of participants and motorcycle jumps. i just wondered while I was shooting which was the correct lens the "professional photographers" would use.. ...thanks again for your responses....always honing my hobbies

patrick in memphis said:

i just wondered while I was shooting which was the correct lens the "professional photographers" would use.. ...thanks again for your responses....always honing my hobbies

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A lens with a 2.8 aperture, focal length determined by distance to target, and full frame sensor for high iso.

Ok I guess I will keep "looking" for a longer FL fast glass lens in the near future...thanks everyone

I shot quite a few concerts with a 50mm & 85mm 1.8G on a D7100. Worked well while I saved for more reach.

carguy said:

I shot quite a few concerts with a 50mm & 85mm 1.8G on a D7100. Worked well while I saved for more reach.

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I use a similar set up for a few concerts aswel (50mm f/1.4, 85mm f1.4)l, should work well in a circus environment.

Ok so I guess what I was looking for was, shoot with your fastest glass regardless of fl.and save for faster glass w more fl.....unfortunately I had decided not to bring my bag o lenses...I have a 24mm f2.8 and 50mm f1.8......just not with me