Telephoto lens

[ghost1]

We don't know anything about cameras other than point and shoot. We are wanting to purchase a telephoto lens to take pictures of our granddaughter at soccer and not sure what size we need. Camera is a Nikon D3200 and the numbers on present lens are: Nikon DX AF-S NIKKOR 55-200MM 1:4-5.6G ED.
Thanks for any suggestions

 

[zombiesniper]

So you have one telephoto lens with the 55-200mm.
Where is this lens failing you? Does it not have the reach? Not enough light? Not sharp enough? Not fast enough?
Answering these questions along with budget will guide a more appropriate recommendation.

 

[spiralout462]

Your lens has plenty enough reach (telephoto) for children's soccer. Unless they play in a giant stadium.

 

[dennybeall]

As far as reach is concerned you have enough lens. On that camera a 200mm lens is the equivalent of having a 300mm lens on an old 35 mm camera. The difference being that is a less expensive lens. A more expensive one would be faster. Instead of a maximum of 4 a better lens would be 2.8. Part of having more light gathering ability is that it will also have better glass, so sharper images. Of course it'll be expensive...................

 

[ghost1]

Thanks for replies. I guess it doesn't have the reach. The subjects don't look large enough. This is high school soccer and the field is fairly large.

 

[goodguy]

Thanks for replies. I guess it doesn't have the reach. The subjects don't look large enough. This is high school soccer and the field is fairly large.

Then your only other option is getting either the Nikon 55-300mm VR or the Nikon 70-300mm VR
Both good even though the 70-300mm VR is slightly better but for you it doesn't matter, for a non serious photographer I would say get the 55-300mm because its a bit cheaper.
If will give you a bit more reach, anything with more reach and you are looking at expensive lenses and they will be very big and bulky too.

 

[ghost1]

Is vibration reduction necessary for action shots such as soccer?

 

[astroNikon]

So you are playing on a full size 100+ meter soccer field for High School. Ours doubles as the football field.

When I shoot soccer I'm using a 150-600mm lens, and I crop (enlarge) the images too even at 600mm especially if they are on the other side of the field.

But as mentioned they are BIG and BULKY and $$$.

There's not much you can do above a 70-300 lens other than to try and move closer and crop the images unless you really want to invest. Lenses above 400mm really jump in price.

 

[Ido]

I wouldn't take a super-telephoto lens without image stabilization, even if it's only used for moving subjects. YMMV.

I also don't think moving from a 200mm to a 300mm would make such a big difference for you. Take one of your shots at 200mm, and divide it into four equal parts. Each rectangle / quarter of the image, is what you'd get with a 400mm focal length. 300mm would give you something in-between the original image and a quarter of it.

 

[astroNikon]

Is vibration reduction necessary for action shots such as soccer?

In this case with fast moving subjects, I think your Shutter speed needs to be at least 1/400 if not at least 1/640.
Any slower shutter speed and you'll get motion blur. Most manufacturers at higher shutter speeds recommend turning off VR, but check with your manual for specifics.

 

[table1349]

Is vibration reduction necessary for action shots such as soccer?

For you situation and most sports situations NO. The one place IR can help is if the lens has a IR panning mode. That can be helpful when panning, otherwise what you need for sports is fast glass with reach. For soccer I generally have one body with a 70-200 f2.8 on it and the main body has a 400mm f2.8 on a monopod. Minimum shutter speed for soccer is 1/500th in general.

 

[Dave442]

I have the 70-300mm VR lens. It works for outdoor sports. As mentioned, there is not that much of a difference from 200 to 300mm. However, I would say this is a good lens to move up to from the 55-200mm. It is a bit heavier, but something that is easy to carry around for a day.

At 300mm and about 70 feet away for a horizontal shot works pretty good for keeping things in the frame and then just a bit of a crop.

 

[Designer]

Is vibration reduction necessary for action shots such as soccer?

My understanding is that the newer lenses with VR will help. If you pan, then the VR recognizes that you are panning, and will effectively cancel the VR in the vertical direction, making the VR respond to vibrations resulting from panning.

As always, VR is helpful if hand-holding the camera, and shock be turned off when mounted to a tripod.

What is your proposed budget for a new lens?

 

[ghost1]

Thanks for everyone's help

 

[table1349]

Is vibration reduction necessary for action shots such as soccer?

My understanding is that the newer lenses with VR will help. If you pan, then the VR recognizes that you are panning, and will effectively cancel the VR in the vertical direction, making the VR respond to vibrations resulting from panning.

As always, VR is helpful if hand-holding the camera, and shock be turned off when mounted to a tripod.

What is your proposed budget for a new lens?

Generally the newer lenses with VR that will help with panning shots have more than one VR setting. One if for panning, not really useful for soccer, football etc.