Which Lenses to Use

©ISTOCKPHOTO/TAN KIAN KHOON

When you're shooting sports, carrying a load of lenses and a big camera bag (even a camera backpack) will strain your back and just add to your frustration. Instead, go light with just two lenses:

1. A wide-angle lens (like a 1224mm zoom). You'll need these wide angles to capture full stadium shots, full court shots, close-up group shots, etc.

2. A 300mm or 400mm telephoto lens (or a 200400mm zoom). You'll be better off if you can spring for a VR (Vibration Reduction for Nikon cameras) or an IS (Image Stabilization for Canon cameras) lens, because you'll be able to hand-hold more shots in the lower lights of indoor events or nighttime events.

Again, you're not going to want to change lenses, so ideally you'd put one lens on one camera body, and one lens on the other. The only other thing you'll need to carry (besides extra memory cards and a backup battery) is a 1.4x teleconverter to get you even closer to the action (these magnify the amount of zoom, turning a 300mm telephoto into a 450mm). Note: Some pros advise against 2x teleconverters because they feel 2x photos are not as sharp and you lose up to two f-stops of light, making it harder to get the fast shutter speeds you need. To move all this stuff around with the greatest of ease, try a Tenba or Domke photo vest, or at the very least, keep your extra gear in a photo waist pack rather than a camera bag or backpack. You'll thank me later.