Whats the perfect lens for sports photograpghy

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kac1992

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I was going to buy a 400mm sigma but i used my friends 600mm and i found it was pretty good. i just need a fast shutter speed with ideally, at the moment im 'surviving" off a 70-300mm nikkor but its really hard.

any suggests on the lens and rough price or if anyones selling ? :) ;):);):);):D
 
Which sport?

The "ideal" lens depends on the sport and to a certain extent the sensor size. For football or circuit motorsports, the preferred lens seems to be a 300 or 400mm. For rallying where you can get closer to the action you might only need 200mm

I would have that that a 600mm lens is a very, very specialised lens, useful mostly for cricket.
 
kac1992 said:
I was going to buy a 400mm sigma but i used my friends 600mm and i found it was pretty good. i just need a fast shutter speed with ideally, at the moment im 'surviving" off a 70-300mm nikkor but its really hard.

any suggests on the lens and rough price or if anyones selling ? :) ;):);):);):D
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prices
http://www.camerapricebuster.co.uk/

As mentioned above, really depends what you want to photograph and your budget. 200-400mm f4 £4800, 300mm f2.8 £4000, 400mm f2.8 £6700, 500mm f4 £5900

Sigma 300mm f2.8 £2200 Sigma 400mm f4.5 £3500 or sigma 120-300mm OS f2.8 £2000

Budget ?????????????????
 
Hiya my budget would be about £3000-£4000 tops, im pretty open to prices (won some money on the lottery :), but i don't necessarily need the lens new. Sorry the sports that im photography is track cycling with an average speed of 40-70 kph my current lens don't really hit the mark ive got 70-300mm, 18-135 and 80-200mm a 35mm and 50mm with is obviously so far off the mark. I need a more specialized lens to capture the magic.
 
Sorry my camera is a Nikon D90 with the hope of investing the D3X very soon.
 
Have you thought of a D3s instead of the D3x? Simply because the iso and fps on the D3s.
 
yeah i did look into that but effective mp are so much higher, i know if you buy a decent lens it sorts makes up for the fact you have a lower effective mp camera, but i did read alot of views that was an issues but so many people said it wasn't that bad.
 
If you are into track cycling you'll probably want the the D3S over an X, as it can be quite dark in Velodromes.

And if you are getting just inside the Cote D'Azur (you'll probably need e.g. press pass) something like a 70-200mm would be your best bet.
 
I mean the iso is be better on the dxs but i like the feel of the dx3. no i mean your right though im definitely considering the dxs not saying ive completely made my mind up. i use fl of 300mm nearly all the time with take pretty close up shots of the face im targeting "expression". i don't currently have a press pass but im shooting at the velodrome stratford the lightly is spot on, if you've been to Manchester and it may be dark at different sides of the velodrome its completely different in the stratford velodrome.
 
From what I have been reading on the forum and elsewhere I would look hard at the new Sigma 120-300mm OS f2.8 along with the 1.4x and 2x teleconverters.

Does seem a lot of lens for the money when you compare it to Canon/Nikons offerings and the image quality seems to be there as well.
 
kac1992 said:
I was going to buy a 400mm sigma but i used my friends 600mm and i found it was pretty good. i just need a fast shutter speed with ideally, at the moment im 'surviving" off a 70-300mm nikkor but its really hard.

any suggests on the lens and rough price or if anyones selling ? :) ;):);):);):D
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There isn't a best lens for sport... the best is a combination of two cameras and two lens.. field sports a 400mm f2.8 and a 70-200 f2.8 will cover the whole pitch... I have two cameras (3.8k and 2.8k).. a 6k lens and a 1.8k lens.... so over 14k just for camera and lens...
 
thank you, i think this lens is excellent, im definitely looking in to it :)
 
As its mainly Velodromes you taking images from, the best advice is look at your images and check what focal length the majority were taken at. This would then determine what lens you required. A lot of friends who shoot indoor sports actual use primes rather than zooms, have 2 bodies and 2 lenses to capture all the action. Something like a 200mm f2 and 135mm f2 might suit your situation.
 
If you're going full frame you'll want the 400mm f2.8 as your main telephoto lens. Add a 1.4x converter and a 70-200 f2.8 and you'll have most bases covered.

I used a similar setup shooting pro sports for years and found it covered 95% of action photos just using a couple of shorter fast primes for when I was right under the action such as basketball or boxing.
 
Why on earth would you even consider a D3X for shooting sports is beyond me, you need to clue up on gear before spending silly money on something which wont be fit for the job in hand

Forget what you think you might know about megapixels, theres absolutly no point having a 36 megapixel image which is OOF and too noisy if a 12 megapixel image is spot on.
 
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I believe the D3s 9fps and high ISO for 12mp is more then enough for sports photography. I personally will get the D3s because is cheaper then the D3x then use the rest of the money on quality glass.
 
Gary Coyle said:
Why on earth would you even consider a D3X for shooting sports is beyond me, you need to clue up on gear before spending silly money on something which wont be fit for the job in hand

Forget what you think you might know about megapixels, theres absolutly no point having a 36 megapixel image which is OOF and too noisy if a 12 megapixel image is spot on.
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agree totally:thumbs:
 
Ann, unless you know pretty much exactly what you want, because you've tried a few options in your own typical situation, then hire a few lenses first.

There are some very well qualified posters on this thread, but if you listen to everybody you might well end up with an expensive mistake.

FWIW, if money isn't too much of a problem (other than it appears to be burning a bit a hole right now ;)) then look at the new D4. In the same vein, maybe you could afford to jump ship and get a Canon 1DX - both fantastic sports cameras (don't worry too much about megapixels) and the Canon lens range has more long options.

www.lensesforhire.co.uk

Edit: eg, a velodrome is nothing like a football match when it's hissing down. Cycling is predictable, consistent (and dry) and if the light is decent, something like a Canon 7D and 100-400L - relatively small and light, about £2k - might be all you ever need or want. Or it might not be. Those big primes and pro bodies are massive lumps - absolutely wonderful gear if you need it, but a lot to lug around and the far side of £10k min. There's plenty of choice inbetween too.
 
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+ 1 on the D4 and 1Dx

With the money you paying for the D3x (approx £4-5k) you might as well wait a month or two and get a hand on the D4 and the 1Dx.

Those 2 is a mega killer machine for sports photography.
 
Just re-reading, I think the camera should be the starting point if you want those facial expressions you mention.

Bikes will be doing about 14m per second at 50kph, so even if you're shooting at 10fps that's well over a metre between frames. AF needs to be bang on, and you won't have much depth of field top play with if it's something like a torso shot.

Can be done with a top end body, but you'll also need a good lens to focus fast and accurately, as it's told. Sounding expensive but a Nikon D3s or Canon 1D4 if the D4 and 1DX aren't on.
 
The D3s or 1D4 or the D4 / 1Dx is cheap or almost same price to buy compare to the D3x.

Is a expensive bit of equipment so hopefully the OP will think about it.
 
kac1992 said:
Sorry my camera is a Nikon D90 with the hope of investing the D3X very soon.
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I would absolutely forget the D3x. It is a studio/landscape camera really. 10Mpix is enough for an A3 picture at high quality all this mega pixel malarky is ridiculous. The D700 would stuff the D3x in your chosen field and leave room for quality glass!

expensive body + cheap glass = rubbish

medium body + expensive glass = decent quality

If you stick a lens that is in kit lens territory on a D3x then the result will be nowhere near as good as sticking a decent lens on a D700 or D3s...

But as others are saying, a D4 is the place to go.
 
"Whats the perfect lens for sports photography"

I'd say it's a 24-500 f/1.8 that weighs less than 1kg. If anyone ever makes one do let me know.
 
Tobers said:
"Whats the perfect lens for sports photography"

I'd say it's a 24-500 f/1.8 that weighs less than 1kg. If anyone ever makes one do let me know.
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Maybe 20-500 to give you that little bit more width for big team photos :D
 
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