Never miss a moment: best-buy lenses for action photography

Action photography is all about shooting subjects in motion, from pets at play to birds in flight, from athletic sports to ball games. Choosing the best lens for action photography can make a huge difference when you're trying to capture fast-moving subjects. As your subject is moving at speed it can be difficult to achieve the shot you're hoping for, but using the cameras and lenses best suited to capturing action will give you a great advantage.

In general, the most suitable cameras for action photography will have an advanced autofocus system with many autofocus (AF) points, helping you to accurately and continuously track subjects even when they're moving erratically. They should also have a fast maximum frame rate in Continuous shooting mode, with a sizeable memory buffer so you can capture a burst of more than just a few shots.

Ideal camera bodies for action photography include the full frame Canon EOS R6 Mark III and the APS-C EOS R7. Both feature sensitive and intelligent AF based on Deep Learning AI for tracking birds, animals, people and even vehicles, along with super-fast frame rates.

Speed is key when shooting moving subjects, and the extremely fast communication between Canon's RF lenses and EOS R System bodies brings a range of benefits, including the swiftness and accuracy of autofocus tracking, along with improved optical Image Stabiliser (IS) technology. Optical IS is extremely beneficial when shooting at long telephoto focal lengths, where the risk of blurred images due to camera shake increases significantly. An Image Stabilizer won't freeze subject movement, but it can help you achieve smoother panning shots when tracking action. It works by compensating for any trembling or irregularity in your panning movement, stabilising the image vertically as you pan horizontally and vice versa.

Action photographers aim to draw the viewer into their images to convey the experience of being courtside or sitting alongside a racetrack, so a lens with a long focal length – typically in the range of 70-200mm and beyond – will enable you to fill the frame with your subject. Telephoto or super-telephoto zooms are usually the best option if you're shooting from a distance but a standard zoom might also suffice if you know you'll be able to get a bit closer to the action.

A professional sports photographer is likely to use big, top-spec sports lenses including pro-grade zoom and super-telephoto lenses. However, Canon also offers entry-level telephotos that are still highly capable of capturing the action and delivering pin-sharp image quality. Here are the top options to suit a range of budgets.

• Best beginner lens for action photography
• Best entry-level action photography lens for APS-C cameras
• Best entry-level super-telephoto zoom lens for action photography
• Best entry-level super-telephoto prime lens for action photography
• Best telephoto lens for shooting action handheld
• Most versatile lens for action photography

A 75-300mm lens offers plenty of creative freedom when framing action shots. You can punch in on distant subjects at 300mm, then zoom out to 75mm to include more of the surroundings.

A key advantage of the Canon RF 75-300mm F4-5.6 is that it's also a remarkably compact zoom lens compatible with full-frame cameras. Measuring approximately 14cm in length when retracted and weighing a mere 507g, it's easy to pack away and comfortable to carry, giving you the freedom to follow the action for longer without feeling weighed down.

You effectively get more reach when the lens is used on an APS-C camera such as the Canon EOS R7 – equivalent to 120-480mm on a full-frame camera. This gives you more flexible framing options for distant sport and wildlife, without the bulk of a larger telephoto lens.

Another telephoto lens that won't slow you down is the Canon RF-S 55-210mm F5-7.1 IS STM. Canon RF-S lenses are designed to be a natural fit for EOS R System APS-C cameras, as they project an image circle that matches the smaller sensor. This means they can be made more compact and lightweight than lenses for full-frame cameras. As a result, this is a great APS-C lens for sports and action photography, especially when portability is important.

The RF-S 55-210mm F5-7.1 IS STM offers a powerful reach – with a full-frame equivalent focal length range of 88-336mm – yet it weighs just 270g and features an optical Image Stabilizer that provides up 4.5-stops of protection against camera shake. It can also work together with the In-Body image stabilisation found in some Canon EOS R System cameras for even more reliable results when shooting fast-moving action handheld.

Focusing is quick and quiet, thanks to the leadscrew-type STM motor, making it ideal when you need to stay unobtrusive – such as when photographing wildlife, tennis or golf.

It's often the case in sports and wildlife photography that you simply can't get as close to the action as you'd like. Even a 75-300mm lens or the Canon RF 24-240mm F4-6.3 IS USM might not have enough telephoto reach. To cover the distance, you'll need a super-telephoto lens.

In these situations, a powerful telephoto zoom such as the Canon RF 100-400mm F5.6-8 IS USM can serve as an excellent Canon lens for wildlife photography, helping you capture distant subjects with clarity. The RF 100-400mm F5.6-8 IS USM gives you twice as much telephoto reach as a 70-200mm lens yet is relatively compact and particularly lightweight at just 635g. There's always a greater risk of camera shake degrading sharpness at super-telephoto focal lengths, but the Image Stabilizer ensures sharp handheld stills and smooth movies. The ultra-fast Nano USM autofocus is very adept at tracking the action and if 400mm still doesn't give you enough reach, the lens is compatible with the Canon Extender RF 1.4x and Extender RF 2x.

Telephoto and super-telephoto zoom lenses give you the versatility to adjust your field of view when you're limited to a single shooting position, for example when you're in a spectating area for a sporting event or in a hide for photographing wildlife. On other occasions, you'll need as much telephoto reach as you can possibly get, and a zoom range becomes superfluous. Typical scenarios include shooting birds in flight or wild animals in the distance.

The revolutionary Canon RF 600mm F11 IS STM is the ideal tool for the job. Thanks to a retractable design, the carrying length is less than 27cm, and the lens weighs just 930g. It's entirely manageable even for long periods of handheld shooting, in which consistent sharpness is assured by the 5-stop optical IS. Should you need it, the Canon RF 800mm F11 IS STM gives even greater reach and both of these lenses can be used with the Canon Extender RF 1.4x and Extender RF 2x.

Although there are times when the action happens nearby, you'll usually be shooting from a distance. This is especially true of spectator events from athletics to motorsports, where a telephoto lens for action photography helps you frame the subject tightly while keeping the background clean and distraction-free. By leaving wide-angle and standard focal lengths out of the equation, you can opt for a lens that devotes itself fully to telephoto performance.

The amazingly compact Canon RF 70-200mm F4L IS USM proves that telephoto lenses don't have to be big and heavy. Thanks to its retractable design, it packs away to less than 12cm in length for easy stowage and it only weighs 695g, despite featuring robust, weather-sealed L-series build quality, befitting a lens designed for professional users.

Performance highlights include a fast f/4 aperture rating that remains constant throughout the entire zoom range and blazingly fast AF based on Dual Nano USM motors.

If you have more money to spend and want a lens designed with no compromises for the most exacting professionals, the Canon RF 70-200mm F2.8L IS USM and Canon RF 70-200mm F2.8L IS USM Z are the most refined solutions. Their constant f/2.8 apertures enable fast shutter speeds even in low light, right throughout the zoom range. Another bonus is that you can isolate the main subject in a scene by blurring the background.

A common problem when shooting moving subjects is that you never quite know where the action will happen. Standing near the goalposts at an amateur football match, for example, you might be trying to capture a tackle down the pitch one minute, then nearby goalmouth action the next. Swapping between telephoto and wide-angle lenses could mean you miss the important moments altogether.

The generous 10x zoom range of the Canon RF 24-240mm F4-6.3 IS USM makes it ideal for this kind of shooting, delivering everything from wide-angle shots to powerful telephoto reach. Pairing this full-frame lens with an APS-C camera such as the Canon EOS R7 will in effect increase that reach even further, giving a view equivalent to a 38.4-384mm lens on a full-frame camera.

As well as tracking the action with its long zoom range, the lens also has an ultra-fast Nano USM autofocus mechanism and 5-stop Image Stabilizer, all packed into a comfortably compact and lightweight build.

The options we've covered here are all perfect for action photography: lightweight, easy to handle and suitable for a range of budgets. So, whether you're planning to stand on the sidelines at an amateur football match or capture a fast-moving athlete on the track, there should be a lens in this lineup that meets your requirements. All that's left then is to get out there, have a go and discover just what's possible.



Written by Matthew Richards and Marcus Hawkins