Low Light Sports Lenses for a newbie

[Fahrenheit]

Hi all, Ok before anyone states the obvious yes i would love to buy the 70-200 f2.8 is canon L series lens but i cannot justify that sort of layout as yet.

The shots i take are ringside and up to 5 metres away of wrestling matches.
I know i need the power of a f2.8 lens but am unsure of the realistic options i have available to me. Image stabilisation is a definite yes as the action is very fast at times.

I am looking for realistic suggestions of lenses that i know will not be of the quality of the canon but will be a good step in the right direction and will not be totally unusabe in the future.

I am guessing the sorts of zoom range i am looking at is anywhere from 17 - 125mm please help!

(canon 500d)

[miketoll]

IS is there to reduce camera shake but it does nothing to reduce blur from fast action. You need high ISO and wide apertures to give high shutter speeds. Which camera do you have, crop camera or full frame as that affects choice? I presume you have Canon or you would not mention the Canon lens.

[Fahrenheit]

Sorry i have a canon 500d 1.6 crop sensor

I am aware that i need to use high iso, its more the use of the words blur and shake - apologies. I have been shooting with the kit lens 18-55 at iso 1600 with ok results but having to do alot of post production.

[surfg1mp]

I am a nikon owner but also looking for a fast lens, im going to get the Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 17-55mm f/2.8G IF-ED Lens which is expensive but ive seen them second hand for a reasonable price.

This does'nt help you but i was also looking at cheaper alternatives and the Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 Lens for canon seems to fit the bill. Alot of people on flickr seem to rate it and can be picked up for £250 on ebay.

[miketoll]

Obvious question, price range?

[Fahrenheit]

At the moment anything less than the canon.

I really am open to all options

Additional info i plan to make up my complete kit with other lenses as follows

sigma 18-250 f3.5 - 6.3 superzoom
or rated 70 - 300 zoom must go down to at least f3.5
50mm 1.8 prime lens

and........ your recommendations
for the fast lens

initial thoughts are 17-70 f2.8 sigma or tamron
canon 24-70mm
but please tell me lenses you have used or are using as a newbie i know i will buy and upgrade when the time is right

thanks in advance

[Alex1994]

What about a Canon 135 or 200mm prime lens? Both open up to f2.8

[Fahrenheit]

think these will be too big as i can be as close as 1metre from the action so i believe these are too big and better for portraiture

[Alex1994]

OK, grab the 100mm then ;-) Or even the 50mm prime should be fine really.

[Fahrenheit]

50mm prime being purchased as we speak, but what about a lens with the advantage of zoom?