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Sports lense. Looking for great indoor lense!

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George Payne Jr

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MD, US
My daughter is in cheer/gymnastics and all of her compititions are held in large gyms (Cole Field House, Univ. of MD) or convention centers. I'm looking for a lense that works great in lower light conditions as well as being fast (F2.8 or better). Anyone have any experince with such a lense or have any recommendation? Thanks so much!
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D-50, D80
18-200 VR, 50mm 1.8
SB800
 
There is a new Sigma 50-150 f2.8 lens that just hit the stores. I haven't read any reivews on it yet.

Is the 70-200 VR within your price range? Quite expensive, and very large in size, but astonishingly sharp, very fast, and VR!

The Nikon lens forum will flood you with suggestions if you don't get any luck here.
I think there's a Tokina coming out soon that may also interest you.
 
If you can get close enough the cheap, but excellent Nikon 50mm f/1.8 works great. My daughter plays basketball in some gyms with very poor lighting, and this lens works great if I can get court-side.

I have a 70-200 f/2.8 VR, but in some of the locations she plays in, it is still not fast enough.

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Ernest
 
It all depends on two factors. How close you can get and therefore how much zoom you need and the lighting in the gym which makes a huge difference as far as how big of an aperture you'll need to achieve fast enough shutter speeds to freeze the action.

If you can get into the gym ahead of time to do some test shots it would tell you the answers. The biggest question is whether or not f2.8 is fast enough. If it is, then you have a lot of choices.

If you can get close, the 50mm 1.8 is around $100 and very good. The 50mm 1.4 is faster and still reasonably priced. The 85mm 1.8 is also good and not too expensive. The 85mm 1.4 is legendary but also very expensive.

If 85mm isn't enough and f2.8 isn't fast enough then you're in trouble.
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Bryan V.
P.S. I've had amnesia for as long as I can remember.
 
I'm not close at all. This is not like sitting in a high school gym.....I'm sitting in bleachers in state college gyms or convention centers. I have a 50mm lense.....no where near close enough.
--
D-50, D80
18-200 VR, 50mm 1.8
SB800
 
George Payne Jr said:
I'm not close at all. This is not like sitting in a high school
gym.....I'm sitting in bleachers in state college gyms or
convention centers. I have a 50mm lense.....no where near close
enough.
Click to expand...
In that case, you probably need a 200mm zoom. The next question is whether or not f2.8 will get you an acceptable shutter speed. If so, get a Nikon 70-200 f2.8 VR (about $1,600) or a Sigma 70-200 f2.8 HSM (about $850)

If f2.8 isn't fast enough a Nikon 200mm F2.0 will cost about $4,000.

Good Luck,
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Bryan V.
P.S. I've had amnesia for as long as I can remember.
 
Should consider either the 85mm f/1.4 or 1.8 but it may not be long enough for you. From the bleacher, my preference would be the 135mm f/2 DC. Obviously, the 200mm f/2 VR would be ideal but.....$$$$.

Regards,

Willie
 
If you want to go light you can also consider the Nikon 180mm f/2.8.
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A man is only as big as the dreams he dares to live.
 
180 f/2.8 on a monopod, you'll be fine, much smaller, lighter, cheaper than the temptress (70-200 VR).
--
Som Prasad
WSSA member #65
 
I asked a similar question last baseball season regarding shooting outfield shots that were beyond the reach of my 18-200.

Someone suggested just using it and cropping in later. I tried it and it worked well enough!

Perhaps an 85mm 1.8D and then cropping appropriately might be a lower cost idea.
 
Do I really need the VR. I have read other posts stating that the VR is not necassary.
--
D-50, D80
18-200 VR, 50mm 1.8
SB800
 
The VR will definitely reduce blurring caused by camera movement when shooting at slower shutter speeds. It will not help if your subject is moving.

In your case, you need a fast shutter speed to freeze the motion of your subjects and the VR won't help.

If you think you might use the lens for other things the VR might be nice.
--
Bryan V.
P.S. I've had amnesia for as long as I can remember.
 
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