carl_g wrote:
I ended up buying a 400 f2.8 yesterday from the buy and sell forum. It is a US, A-FS II in mint condition, recently serviced . 😀 I got a great deal on it so now I need to figure out a new body.. I’ll pair this with my D4 for now. Thanks for all the great feedback guys!!!
-Carl
As nice as a lens as the Nikkor 200-400 f/4 is, the "look" that you get from the 400 f/2.8 shot wide open is unmistakable.
I want the main subject isolated from the background and other players and F/2.8 does that even though the depth of field is narrow.
The zoom capability is useful for some sports but for soccer and American football, I am at 400 most of the time.
I don't recall ever stopping mine down.
Hope that AFS 400 you were looking at is still available.
I agree. The 400/2.8 is the holy grail of big lenses. I would make that the highest priority.
[Well, second highest. Several years ago I'd saved enough nickles to get a 400/2.8. But before I could order one, I discovered a red convertible and realized that for me nothing was better than top-down cruising with my spousal unit on a warm summer night. ]
carl_g wrote:
I ended up buying a 400 f2.8 yesterday from the buy and sell forum. It is a US, A-FS II in mint condition, recently serviced . 😀 I got a great deal on it so now I need to figure out a new body.. I’ll pair this with my D4 for now. Thanks for all the great feedback guys!!!
-Carl
Shoot it with the D500 before you buy. Look up Peter Burke's racing images on Flickr. Here's an album from last year's Road America Indy Car race.
henry albert wrote:
Shoot it with the D500 before you buy. Look up Peter Burke's racing images on Flickr. Here's an album from last year's Road America Indy Car race.
Picked up a D5 with 1 shutter click for a really great price. I basically got a new (old)camera and a mint(older) 400 2.8 for less then the price of a z9 with tax. I also figured in the extra storage space and laptop upgrade I would need and the numbers didn’t make sense to me at this time.. I am happy and think the combo should suit me well for a while until I can budget for the z9 later down the road.
leewoolery wrote:
Carl:
Well...you have received lots of good advice but finding a Z9 may be as next to impossible as finding a very good deal on a used D6.
That D5 may be your best bet for the time being.
Hope you are able to come up with a satisfactory solution for your business.
Edit: I missed the second page on my small iPad, I see you made you choices.
If you are limited in budget to 1 body and 1 lens, I agree with your D5/400 f2.8 option. If you ever go to a 2-body set up, I might recommend a different combination.
I shot MLS, NFL, D1, etc. for years, upgrading bodies up to the D4S until I “retired”. I currently have both a D5 and Z 9. I shot 2 bodies, one with a 200-400 and the other with a 600. I realize that may not be close to your budget but there are great values for those lenses as many put them up for sale and upgrade to the 180-400 and Z 400 S f2.8, both with built in TC’s. A used 400 would not be a bad option either.
Most MLS and D1 stadiums are not an issue with f4 glass and I prefer the reach and bokeh of the 600 f4 to the 400 f2.8 in most cases, unless you can fill the frame with the 400 and on a large field, that doesn’t happen often or the 200-400 covers it with more flexibility. Do the math and the 600 has a shallower depth of field in most actual images taken during a game. I also have an older version of the 400 f2.8 but I rarely use it unless in a stadium with poor lighting. The new 400 with TC on a Z 9 would be very nice but I now have the new 180-400 with TC and still think a 600 would be a better compliment to it, granted a Z 9/Z 400 S w/TC minimizes that advantage.
I still love my D5 and while I would likely go to a pair of Z 9’s if I started shooting sports again, the D5 files are more forgiving and have some advantages when needing to quickly submit jpg images with very little editing.
All these were published, one on a national SI cover.
GeorgeR wrote:
Edit: I missed the second page on my small iPad, I see you made you choices.
If you are limited in budget to 1 body and 1 lens, I agree with your D5/400 f2.8 option. If you ever go to a 2-body set up, I might recommend a different combination.
I shot MLS, NFL, D1, etc. for years, upgrading bodies up to the D4S until I “retired”. I currently have both a D5 and Z 9. I shot 2 bodies, one with a 200-400 and the other with a 600. I realize that may not be close to your budget but there are great values for those lenses as many put them up for sale and upgrade to the 180-400 and Z 400 S f2.8, both with built in TC’s. A used 400 would not be a bad option either.
Most MLS and D1 stadiums are not an issue with f4 glass and I prefer the reach and bokeh of the 600 f4 to the 400 f2.8 in most cases, unless you can fill the frame with the 400 and on a large field, that doesn’t happen often or the 200-400 covers it with more flexibility. Do the math and the 600 has a shallower depth of field in most actual images taken during a game. I also have an older version of the 400 f2.8 but I rarely use it unless in a stadium with poor lighting. The new 400 with TC on a Z 9 would be very nice but I now have the new 180-400 with TC and still think a 600 would be a better compliment to it, granted a Z 9/Z 400 S w/TC minimizes that advantage.
I still love my D5 and while I would likely go to a pair of Z 9’s if I started shooting sports again, the D5 files are more forgiving and have some advantages when needing to quickly submit jpg images with very little editing.
All these were published, one on a national SI cover.
Awesome feedback and pictures.. Clint Dempsey, Bob Bradley, Marcus Mariota, and Peyton Manning.. some real nice models Thank you. My current plan is to use the D5 with the 400mm f/2.8 and a D4 with a 70-200 f/2.8.
I also pack a z6 with a 24-70 f/4 which I use for non moving type of stuff, team photos, crowd, wider angle type of things, ect….
I am saving up for a z9 and that will pair with the 400, D5 moves to 70-200 and the D4 retires
I have a game next weekend so I’ll post some shots post match.
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