Archive 2014 · Action lens for D7100 Nikon

pixtaker
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Action lens for D7100 Nikon

I'm looking for a good actions lens for sporting events. One which will capture low light subjects both inside a gymnasium and outside during football games. No two places are lite exactly the same. Any sugestions would be appreciated.

Aug 16, 2014 at 10:35 AM

trenchmonkey
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Action lens for D7100 Nikon

Sigma 120-300 f2.8 OS "S"

(BTW, this should have been posted on the Nikon Forum)

Aug 16, 2014 at 11:13 AM

Lauchlan Toal
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Action lens for D7100 Nikon

I'd second Will's suggestion, the 120-300 sport would be my ideal lens for sports. On a budget, I'd go for the Tamron 70-200 f/2.8, but the reach of the 120-300 is ideal. If you go the Sigma route, be sure to get the USB dock as well, you can switch focusing algorithms to a faster (albeit slightly less accurate) mode, and also upgrade the firmware for faster focusing in any mode.

Aug 16, 2014 at 11:51 AM

Widgic
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Action lens for D7100 Nikon

With the crop factor of the D7100 (1.5x) I think (I am actually pretty sure!) that the Sigma 120-300mm will be way long for indoor sports. But... for the price of a new Sigma 120-300mm F/2.8 sport ($3600 on Amazon.com) here is what I would suggest:

I assume that you are going to shoot high school sports, with crappy lighting so I'll rule out any lens with an aperture smaller than 2.8.

If you are going to buy only one lens, I'd suggest a 70-200mm F/2.8. The best for you would be the Nikon ones You can find them used at reasonable prices and you can get the VR I or II depending on your budget.

With the D7100 crop factor that will give you a 105-300mm which might be a little long for indoors sports so you might want to complement it with a cheap 50mm (75mm effective) and you'll cover your indoor sports for reasonable budget.

If you feel a little richer, you can add the ubiquitous 24-70mm F/2.8 and you'll be pretty well set for indoors, short of the very wide angles. You might also consider the 17-35mm F/2.8 (25-50mm effective on your body) which might not be as bad on a DX body (distortion) as on a FX body at 17mm.

For outdoors, I'd just add a 1.4x teleconverter, which will give you 400mm reach) and if you want more reach, you can always use the 1.3x crop mode and shoot a 7fps! With the 1.4x TC you'll loose one stop, which will be a problem for night games, but that's a really cheap solution for what it will get you during day games.

Hope this helps.

Denis
www.widgic.com

Aug 16, 2014 at 07:37 PM

wsalopek
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Action lens for D7100 Nikon

I agree with Denis,

Yep...120-300 on a crop sensor is too much for indoor, and slower than 2.8 is too slow.

I find a 50mm 1.8 and an 85mm 1.8 good for indoor basketball when you can get close-ish (baseline, corner), and don't need shots all the way across the court.

Sigma 50-150 2.8 very nice as well...maybe $600 used?

As an alternative to the 70-200 VR, how about the 80-200mm f/2.8 AF-D ED Macro, about $600 to $800 used. Use the same lens for night time outdoor, and add a teleconverter for daytime outdoor sports.

--

Bill

Aug 22, 2014 at 11:00 PM

JimBowman
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Action lens for D7100 Nikon

Agree with Denis and Bill here but it really depends on your budget which we really don't know at this point. 70-200 VR is going to be great for outdoor night football. Indoors you are probably going to need something less 100mm.

Just a few questions that might help to guide you:

- What is your level of experience shooting sports?
- What is your budget?
- What type of access do you have to the field/court (sidelines/stands/on-court, etc)?
- What are your goals (ex. selling photos, taking for friends/personal use)?

You already have the best DX body Nikon currently makes. Basically you must shoot F/2.8 for night football games so there are scales of economy here on the different lenses available depending on what you are looking to achieve. Just try not to get caught up in the "must have X lens and X body" (been there done that...past that phase).

Bill and Denis gave lots of options and range of lenses for you to consider. Basically you have Nikon ($$$) and then 3rd party lenses ($-$$) most of which are more than adequate for most people.

--Jim

Aug 23, 2014 at 12:54 AM


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