PLEASE help choosing a lens for sports shots!!!

Mlcarawan · Jun 8, 2011

KmH said:
Where will you be shooting from, the bleachers, or courtside?

Shooting action sports is one of the more difficult types of photography to do. As mentioned the camera doesn't see like you do and shooting indoors is considered a low-light situation.

That means you need a lens(s) that can open to a wide aperture, which is one of the factors that drives lens cost up.

For indoor court sports I use 2 lenses, and 2 camera bodies. I use the Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8G ED AF-S Nikkor Wide Angle Zoom Lens

and the Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II AF-S Nikkor Zoom Lens For Nikon Digital SLR Cameras

There are less expensive AF, but not AF-S, wide aperture lenses that can do the job, but they don't have a focus motor in them, and when mounted on your D3100 you would have to manually focus them. They will auto focus on the Nikon D90 and up, because those cameras have the screw drive that moves the AF mechanism in as AF lens.

Those are the Nikon 24-85mm f/2.8-4.0D IF AF Zoom Nikkor Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras

and the

Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8D ED AF Zoom Nikkor Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras

I'll be shooting from both. For school sports from the bleachers but for my daughter's club team from court side. The other thing I forgot to mention is that for her club ball no camera flashes are allowed.

subscuck · Jun 8, 2011

Mlcarawan said:
The other thing I forgot to mention is that for her club ball no camera flashes are allowed.

This is why you need fast glass.

gsgary · Jun 8, 2011

Your going to be asking a lot of your d3100 , you will probably have to change your body as well as lens, the cost of my indoor lenses come to more than £5000

Derrel · Jun 8, 2011

The D3100,and the other Baby Nikons, don't autofocus the expensive prime lenses that would be the most affordable choices for indoor volleyball and basketball...Nikon's fastest-focusing 50mm lens is the 1.4 AF-D, followed by the 50mm f/1.8 AF-D, which would allow you to shoot some basketball and volleyball shots from the stands. And 85mm f/1.8 AF-D would also be handy, but once again, that is a screw-drive lens that a Baby Nikon cannot autofocus.

Mlcarawan · Jun 8, 2011

Derrel said:
The D3100,and the other Baby Nikons, don't autofocus the expensive prime lenses that would be the most affordable choices for indoor volleyball and basketball...Nikon's fastest-focusing 50mm lens is the 1.4 AF-D, followed by the 50mm f/1.8 AF-D, which would allow you to shoot some basketball and volleyball shots from the stands. And 85mm f/1.8 AF-D would also be handy, but once again, that is a screw-drive lens that a Baby Nikon cannot autofocus.

Is there a decent choice that will autofocus? I played with my 18-55mm 1:3.5-5.6 af-s lens on continuos shot mode and got some that were ok. They were a little dark and not close enough though. I was able to correct the exposure with my editing software. (lightroom 2)

subscuck · Jun 8, 2011

Mlcarawan said:
Is there a decent choice that will autofocus? I played with my 18-55mm 1:3.5-5.6 af-s lens on continuos shot mode and got some that were ok. They were a little dark and not close enough though. I was able to correct the exposure with my editing software. (lightroom 2)

Sigma makes an 85 1.4 and a 50 1.4. Both very nice lenses, both will AF on your camera. The 85 is about $800 and the 50 is about $500. So, really, it depends on how much you want to spend. Not quite as easy as Asshat Kutcher makes it look in the commercials, huh?