Best lens for Sports for the D60

[HoTDoGx]

i'm really new to photography as i got the camera just this past christmas, and i was wondering what would be the best lens for sports, as the AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-55MM F3.5-5.6 VR is not really doing the job because i can't get a close enough shot and would like to have closer shots. but my limit is about 450$. try not to overwhelm me with all this photography lingo as i won't understand it lol
thanks

Frank Dedam

[LarryRyder]

What sports? Indoors? Outdoors? Day? Night?
If indoors or at night you will need a 2.8 or better lens. Daytime outdoors a 70-300 will be ok.
A few years ago I picked up a Sigma 70-200 F2.8 for about $300 used. This would be an ok choice for a general lens.

[HoTDoGx]

yea it's going to be outdoors, like rugby, paintball and most likely hockey as well. so a 70 300, i found a used one. Nikon AF-S 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 G IF ED VR Telephoto Zoom Lens for 450$ wondering if this is a good deal and choice.

Frank Dedam

[DougAxford]

If you are shooting hockey in a normal arena you'll need at least 2.8 lens at 1600 ISO to get anything salable. A friend had a couple of students with him shooting hockey and they had cheap lenses and out of thousands of shots they took, there was a few dozen that were close to salable.

Even outdoors, there's a huge difference in the focusing ability of the camera/lens combo from a 2.8 lens to a 5.6 Cameras need that extra light to focus well in low light conditions. Outdoors on a nice day, you can get away with almost anything.

Your budget will buy you a budget lens and you will be wasting your money.

As stated by Jerry, this is not the run-of-the-mill forum. If you want real answers from real pros that know the truth, you'll need to adapt to our rules, otherwise try dpreview.

[Noel_Carboni]

I don't shoot Nikon, but a Universal Truth is that if you're trying to stop action a bigger aperture is better. This also provides you with opportunity to isolate the subjects from the background better, as a bigger aperture will yield a shorter depth of field.

Shooting moving subject material puts a huge demand on the camera and lens hardware to be fast and accurate at the same time, and this is where big $$$ are spent. Ever see the press corps along the sidelines of a sporting event (e.g., Olympics). Every one of them is carrying around $25,000+ in equipment, and some much more.

Good luck in your search for a great lens.

-Noel

[HoTDoGx]

well doug... i'm sorry i'm not a dumb professional asking these questions, i was just asking on what will be good for sports on a limited budget. but thanks anyways


Frank Dedam

[DougAxford]

Originally Posted by HoTDoGx

well doug... i'm sorry i'm not a dumb professional asking these questions

I don't ever remember a post by a regular member on this forum that differentiated between pro or amateur photographers and intelligent or dumb questions.

Originally Posted by HoTDoGx

what will be good for sports on a limited budget.

I think everyone answered pretty much the same, budget lenses will do a reasonable job in 'ideal' conditions but photographing many sports events is far from 'ideal' conditions. In those conditions, a budget lens or a budget camera is next to useless. We haven't even begun to discuss the knowledge of how to use either. I have a friend who shoots NBA games as a hobby and we sometimes get great seats for a game. He thought he was happy with his shots until he saw some of mine taken from the identical seat.

You're in the same situation that most of us have already gone through. We're simply trying to help you avoid the mistakes we've already made. If you were shooting Canon, I'd love to sell you a few of my mistakes.