Nikon Lens advice needed - D40 Newbie

Hi - I just bought a Nikon D40 which comes with a kit lens 18-55mm.

I bought the camera for general personal use as I am moving up from a Minolta A1 that has served me well for the past four years.

I do intend to use the D40 often to shoot photos of my Daughter doing cheer at the University of Arizona. She does both football and basketball games. I am looking for a good lens for this, but I also want one that is not huge and would serve me well in general use besides the Cheer photos. For the Cheer photos I cannot normally get very close.

So here's my point of concern. The A1 I used with marginal success for Cheer photos had a relatively fast lens at 2.8-3.5 and 35mm equivalent 28-200mm. It has a 7X zoom. Over-all zoom was the lens issue, I could use more zoom than this lens provided.

I am interested in the Nikkor 18-200mm lens, with 35mm equivalent of 28-300mm. This gets great reviews and has the attributes of size I am looking for but is not as fast at 3.5-5.6 as the Minolta A1 lens I used to use. This lens has a 11.1 zoom and is stabilized. I know it's a bit hard to get and that I will likely have to wait to get this lens at a fair price.

Since I am new to DSLR's and the interchangeable lens setups, I could really use suggestions on if the Nikkor 18-200mm lens will likely do what I want or if it simply is not fast enough? The lighting is normally pretty good as these are Pac10 College games and first rate facilities but I confused on the speed issue.

One final thought; is the less expensive Nikkor 55-200mm lens worth considering at all? I am not inclined to go for it based on the versatility of the 18-200mm lens but again I am far from an expert...

Cost while a consideration is not my main concern; I am more concerned about being happy with the quality of the lens. I also realize there are other brands out there but so far have focused on the general quality of the Nikon brand. BTW I went with the D40 for size as one of the things I enjoyed about the Minolta A1 was the relatively small over-all package.

Thoughts and advice appreciated.

Regards,
Rick AZ

Congratulations on your purchase. This is my first DSLR as well and probably on the same boat as you are.

I am on the waiting list in a local shop for the 18-200 VR but I am kind of thinking about other lenses now.

From what you said, you might want to try the sigma 50-150 2.8 HSM which autofocuses with D40. If you need to go longer then they have an adapter to make up to 400mm. This I think will be better for capturing the games and cheers. From what I've read is not too heavy so it will be balanced with the D40.

I am currently pondering about this lens since it will be good for portraits as well...nice bokeh.

Your situation presents a difficult challenge but one thing to keep in mind is that with the D40, you can go up to ISO 1600 and produce good pictures. This probably buys you at least 3 stops over the Minolta A1.

That said, I have the 18-200VR and it is a very versatile lens that i use alot. I highly recommend it. But... it may not do what you need depending on the lighting conditions. For day football games i think the lighting will be good enough. I have shot softball with a slow 70-300 during the day and have had no problems. At night outdoors, it might be a problem but i don't have experience. I will say when i've shot baseball games under lights (pro stadium so good lights) there still was a substantial drop off in light from daytime.

Indoors i think you will have a problem with the 18-200. I shot basketball games and that lens is way too slow. In a well lit college gym you can probably skate buy with a 2.8 lens. I typically use the 85mm 1.8 but i can also get fairly close so i haven't had to get a fast super telephoto. That said the cheerleaders may not be moving as fast as the basketball players so a slower shutter speed would work.

Depending on what you are willing to spend you should consider 2 lenses (flexiiblity = the good and bad of an SLR). I'd suggest buying the 18-200VR because it will allow you to use the D40 much the way you did the Minolta A1 and because it will likely do the job at the football games. I'd also suggest tracking down a 2.8 lens. Unfortunately, those can be expensive at the longer focal ranges. The good value nikon 80-200 non-AFS won't work with the D40. An alternative is the sigma 70-200 or 50-150 that another poster mentioned.

That said, if you don't mind changing lenes based on need, get the sigma 70-200 first (don't worry about the 'hole' between 55 and 70). That should work everywhere for you and would complement the kit lens You could also look for a used AFS version of the nikon 80-200. I think they typically go for about $900. But it has to be the AFS version.

Good luck...
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Greg

Thanks for the inputs, you have provided some very good options and given me some ideas to consider. Much appreciated...

Regards,
Rick