Lens recommendation for "sports" or "action" shots

bcarlson87

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Looking for a lens that isn't going to cost an arm and a leg that would be good for capturing sports/action shots. I currently have a Nikon D7200 Body. I have 4 lens currently but none seem to be good for action photos.
 
What lenses do you currently have?
What is your budget?
what type of sports/action; indoor/outdoor; kids/adult; small/large events?
 
Looking for a lens that isn't going to cost an arm and a leg that would be good for capturing sports/action shots. I currently have a Nikon D7200 Body. I have 4 lens currently but none seem to be good for action photos.

When you say your current lenses aren't "good" for action photos do you mean that you can't seem to zoom in close enough, or is it something else that seems to be preventing you from getting good shots?

Action photos generally require a higher shutter speed and depending on the background they can also be quite challenging to your camera's autofocus system. But these are problems that can be addressed by your settings, they don't really require a new lens.

If it's a matter of not having a telephoto that gives you enough reach, that can be addressed by a new lens but your best choice in lenses will depend a lot on what sort of action photos your taking and what the lighting conditions are. Indoor venues are generally not well lit and will require faster glass, which of course is more expensive.

If your shooting outdoors in good lighting then slower glass can usually handle the job just fine provided your using the correct camera settings.
 
I currently have:

Nikon 35mm
Nikon 18mm-55mm
Nikon 55mm-200mm
Sigma 70mm-300mm

I have played with the settings on my camera but images still seem to be blurry. Maybe i'm doing something wrong there. This D7200 is still "new" to me as I recently upgraded.

We own a disc golf business and I'm trying to take disc golf action shots. But I can get a clean crisp action image.
 
I currently have:

Nikon 35mm
Nikon 18mm-55mm
Nikon 55mm-200mm
Sigma 70mm-300mm

I have played with the settings on my camera but images still seem to be blurry. Maybe i'm doing something wrong there. This D7200 is still "new" to me as I recently upgraded.

We own a disc golf business and I'm trying to take disc golf action shots. But I can get a clean crisp action image.
Can you provide a couple sample shots that are blurry
also what the settings are: Shutter Speed, aperture, ISO values of those shots ?
Also what Focus mode & area settings are.
 
I currently have:

Nikon 35mm
Nikon 18mm-55mm
Nikon 55mm-200mm
Sigma 70mm-300mm

I have played with the settings on my camera but images still seem to be blurry. Maybe i'm doing something wrong there. This D7200 is still "new" to me as I recently upgraded.

We own a disc golf business and I'm trying to take disc golf action shots. But I can get a clean crisp action image.

If your using the auto modes for your D7200 that's most likely the issue - auto modes, even the "sports mode" usually keeps the shutter speed low so it can keep the ISO lower. As a result you often end up with motion blur on the final image.

I'd recommend you start with Tv mode - Shutter priority. Start with a shutter speed of 1/500. If you are photographing someone say, mid swing you might need to increase that to avoid blur at the end of the club, etc.
 
It may have more to do with focus settings. I use a D3300. For sports I use af-c, dynamic 3D, Matrix, ISO 100-1600 but 7200 probably go on the higher ISO side, sun to my back, and at least double the shutter speed of my focal length. Of course, apeture is dialed in for proper exposure. I usually choose the WB or the days condition but auto works fine.
 
Don't take the pictures at midnight :02.47-tranquillity: (hey, that's the only time we would play disc golf around the college campus).

A 70-300mm lens should work for outdoor daytime sports shots. Eliminating blur is usually a matter of using a faster shutter speed as noted already. I am looking at a few shots from a regular golf tournament, I was at ISO 320, f/5.6, 1/1000 and ISO 320, f/6.3, 1/1250. At 1/640 sec shutter on another shot there is blur of the golfers arm on the swing. And even at 1/1250 there is blur of the golf ball coming off the club. On the d7200 you can go a lot higher than what I was using on the ISO.
 
... Eliminating blur is usually a matter of using a faster shutter speed as noted already.
That depends on the "Sport". I seldom use anything faster than 1/160 second shooting motorsports, and the majority of the time shoot at 1/125 or 1/100, because I want motion blur in the background, tires, etc.
 
You'll need a sharp lens. Usually a fast shutter speed is used for most sports to 'freeze' action (shooting a smaller fraction of a second of time/movement). Blur could be from shutter movement or camera movement.

It takes knowing the sport (I've mostly done hockey) and being able to anticipate the action. Go early, take pictures at warmups etc., and get in some practice.

Use an aperture (try starting at a midrange setting) that's enough to allow for all the players in the scene to be in focus. Subjects could appear to be out of focus if the aperture is too large for the field of vision.
 
If outdoors in daylight, your 70-300 lens should be good enough.

But if you are indoors or in dim light, then you'll need something faster so I'd take a look at the new Sigma 50-100 f/1.8 Art lens or maybe something longer like a 70-200 2.8 from Nikon or Sigma.
 
I bought the Sigma 50-100 f1.8 and I'm in love with it!
 
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I managed to make sharp images of people (children) running around using nothing but manual focus. Mind my success rate was abysmal, below 10% - but its possible. In fact because they've been bright prime lenses high shutter speeds have been no problem, after that one "only" has to nail focus ... for that I had to rely on pure luck. Still it worked sometimes.

Thus if you cannot get sharp images of sport at all then very likely your shutter speed is too low. Sport is photographed at typically about 1/500 to 1/1500 sec shutter speed.


Theres also panning, which was already mentioned here. You follow your subject with the camera at relatively slow shutter speed - and if you manage that well enough the subject is sharp while the background is blurred. But panning only works in certain types of sport; basically the subject has to be static (racing car or motorbike works, but a running sportler obviously will still blurr) and has to move in a straight line.


And I have to simply state: I have no clue how ANYONE can end up buying the current, top of the line semi-pro APS-C camera from Nikon - and then only give it the cheapest glas availble instead of something appropiate.

Quite frankly thats like buying a $10k stereo with only $200 speakers.

Personally I would have much rather bought the already very competent predecessor of the D7200, the D7100, and then the brilliant Nikkor AF-S 35mm f1.8 DX, but after that I would have for example bought the Tamron 17-50mm f2.8 VC (or a used Nikkor AF-S 17-55mm f2.8 DX from eBay) and the Tamron 70-200mm f2.8 VC (which is so good some people prefer it over the much more expensive Nikkor AF-S 70-200mm f2.8 VR2).
 
if you can zoom in close enough with the lenses you now have you probably just need a faster shutter speed to stop the motion. sounds like you may just be getting motion blur.
when photographing birds in flight I find I need at least a 1/1000 shutter speed or i often get a blurry subject or at least blurry wings. even at 1/1000 the wings still blur sometimes on birds that flap their wings fast and a shutter speed of 1/2000 or faster works better.

a fast shutter speed stops motion and a flash can also help stop motion.
 
FYI, OP hasn't been back since Aug 25th ...
 

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