Lens Questions

[Laxdad80]

I want to buy my first digital camera. I would like to use my lens from my old Nikon camera. I have a Tamron 28-200mm f/ 1:3.8-5.8. Is there any advantage to using new digital camera lens? Would this lens be good for sports photography (lacrosse)? Will it autofocus fast enough? If I were to buy a new lens for sports photography, what would you recommend?

 

[tirediron]

Depending on the body, this lens should auto-focus (D90, D300/300s, D700, D3/3s/3x), however on the entry-level bodies (D40/50/60 D3000, 3100, 5000) it will not. This lens will not especially good for sports photography, except out of doors in bright light as 200mm isn't all that long, and it's rather slow, especially at longer focal lengths.

A "Good" lens for sports really depends on your budget. My choice would be the Nikon 200-400 f4, however this is $6500 worth of glass. Assuming your is a hobbyist's budget, than I'd consider a used Nikkor 80-200 f2.8 (~$650) and a 1.4x or 1.7x TX giving you a 300m f4 or 340mm f4.5.

 

[djacobox372]

That's actually a decent all-around lens, comparable to the kit lenses that come with most new cameras.

It's a bit slow for sports, but it should be fine in daylight. The autofocus speed won't be as good as an af-s lense, how much slower will depend on the body it's attached to (beefier bodies focus faster).

It will work on any nikon with an autofocus motor, these include the d70,d80,d90,d100,d200,d300,d7000,d700,d1,d2,d3

It will also work on all the other nikon dslrs minus the autofocus.

The D80 is a steal right now on ebay, selling for as low as $300. D200 is dropping fast as well.

 

[Laxdad80]

Are these used cameras on ebay?

 

[Laxdad80]

What do you mean by a 200mm "is not all that long"?

You like a camera with f 4. Isn't that a rather small aperature for a sports lens? Would depth of field be ok?

 

[pgriz]

Um, you mean wide as opposed to "small". The wider the aperture, the higher a shutter-speed you can use, which is obviously beneficial for sports. As well, having a narrow depth-of-field (which goes with a wide aperture) means that while focusing becomes critical, this is balanced by the separation of the target of your shot from the background, making for a much better photo.

A 200mm on a 1.6x crop body will give a field-of-view angle of about 6.5 degrees. At 100 feet distance, this shows you about 11 feet horizontally. If you are trying to zoom in and catch facial expressions and the like, then a 200 mm lens does not bring you in close enough. If, on the other hand, you are OK with a 6 ft. person occupying only half the frame, then the lens at 200mm is fine.