Tonight I was shooting my daughter's softball game under the lights, and I had to shoot at ISO3200 with my 70-200 wide open @ f/2.8 to get a 1/400 shutter speed. But 200mm is hardly long enough to cover much other than 1st base and right field. Normally I use the 1.7TC and I can cover the entire field, but f/4.8 was impossible in this light. A 300 f/2.8 would be great (either the Nikon Prime or the Sigma 120-300) but I was hoping to avoid dropping that much cash on one lens. I guess I'll have to make due with cropping.

My accountant says I can get one of those Sigma 120-300 f2.8 lenses just as soon as I pick the right 6 numbers.

You need a D3 @6400ISO

Christian S wrote:
You need a D3 @6400ISO and a 400mm/2.8......

Or more light......

Or omnipotence.

"Frustration --- I need 300mm f/2.8"

Back in the day they used manual lenses and a manual Nikkor 300mm f/2.8 can be had for around $1000-1500. Nice fat focus ring and you can pre-mark the ring for various subject distances. For paid gigs naturally this is not going to cut it with Mr. ESPN next to you with a D3 + 300mm f/2.8 VR but could be a lot of fun for a non-paid gig.

I guess if you're going to plop down $1000-1500 you could also get a used Sigma 120-300mm non-DG for around $1500-1700.

Or, it costs about $100 to rent one of those 300mm VR for a day. How many softball games are we talking?

Use a monopod & crop.

White, Jack wrote:
"Frustration --- I need 300mm f/2.8"

Back in the day they used manual lenses and a manual Nikkor 300mm f/2.8 can be had for around $1000-1500. Nice fat focus ring and you can pre-mark the ring for various subject distances. For paid gigs naturally this is not going to cut it with Mr. ESPN next to you with a D3 + 300mm f/2.8 VR but could be a lot of fun for a non-paid gig.

I guess if you're going to plop down $1000-1500 you could also get a used Sigma 120-300mm non-DG for around $1500-1700.

Or, it costs about $100 to rent one of those 300mm VR for a day. How many softball games are we talking?


The renting idea is a great one, but there are no places within 100 miles that I know of that rent. Otherwise that's exactly what I would do for the few games I shoot under the lights.

Marc Kurth wrote:
Or more light......

Yea, I'll work on getting the town to 2X the lights just for me! I'm sure the town council will approve it.

K.P.K. wrote:
Use a monopod & crop.


Yep, that's what I'm doing.

hjanssen wrote:
Christian S wrote:
You need a D3 @6400ISO and a 400mm/2.8......



Yea, if I had that kind of money, this thread would not exist!

Right, you would have said....hey guys look what I got with my D3 and the 400 F/2.8

Look around for used AF-I 300 f/2.8 or siggy 100-300 f/2.8.

I feel the pain, the soccer field where my kid plays has just enough light for the kids to see the ball. And even then there are times I'm not so sure. I've thought about donating a couple hundred grand for more lights, but, well, I don't have a couple hundered grand.

I've not tried this myself, but there are rental services on-line that will mail you a lens for a few days rental. See for example here: http://www.borrowlenses.com/welcome It's a little more expensive than a local rental, but might still be worth checking out. One of the advantages of living in a big city, there are at least 3 places within 5 miles of me that carry that lens for rent.

steal one??

Neddie Seagoon wrote:
I feel the pain, the soccer field where my kid plays has just enough light for the kids to see the ball. And even then there are times I'm not so sure. I've thought about donating a couple hundred grand for more lights, but, well, I don't have a couple hundered grand.

I've not tried this myself, but there are rental services on-line that will mail you a lens for a few days rental. See for example here: http://www.borrowlenses.com/welcome It's a little more expensive than a local rental, but might still be worth checking out. One of the advantages of living in a big city, there are at least 3 places within 5 miles of me that carry that lens for rent.


May not be a bad way to go to see if such a purchase is worth it. Thanks for the link.

You could always ask if anyone lives nearby and is willing to lend the lens to you. Where are you located?

Bring lightstands and floodlights.

Cheaper then a new lens and will let the other parents with the 18-55 kit lens get great shots

WiPhotoguy wrote:
You could always ask if anyone lives nearby and is willing to lend the lens to you. Where are you located?


Maine

There's a bunch of manual focus 300 2.8's around for under $1000. Add a TC-16A and you get a autofocus 1.6 TC for another 100-200.
Not too bad...I'm thinking about it for a 400mm 2.8 manual focus which can be had for under 2G's

There's a Tokina AF 300mm f/2.8 at KEH for $1500. No experience with that lens though.

What about the Sigma 300/2.8 HSM? KEH lists it at $1500 in EX condition (canon mount), so I'm sure you could pick one up for less...

squeaky_clean wrote:
What about the Sigma 300/2.8 HSM? KEH lists it at $1500 in EX condition (canon mount), so I'm sure you could pick one up for less...




That's not a bad idea...for the same price I can get a 120-300 f/2.8 used. Man ... I'm tempted to pull the trigger but my wife will KILL me . I already spent $3500 this year on a D300 + 17-55 + accesories... that was fun!

Well, I talked to the wife about the 120-300 f/2.8 for $1500 and she gave me the middle finger .... I guess that means "NO".

Funny, because she had no issue with the $3500 for the other stuff I got this year, but I guess all things have a limit.