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70-200mm VR for sports??

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mbraca

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Does anyone use the 70-200mm VR for sports photography? I got one a couple of months ago to shoot basketball with a D1H. To my surprise I have fewer photos in focus than when I was using MF lenses. At first I thought it was my non-familiarity with all the various modes (normally I shoot continuous servo with only the center spot active), but after shooting about 10 games, I am convinced that there is something wrong with the lens. It is incredibly sharp and quick focusing if you are shooting a non-moving subject, but if you are trying to track a moving person, it fails dismally to lock focus on him/her. I even tried it in single-servo "focus priority" mode, and sometimes you can't tell from the photos what exactly it thought was in focus when it finally decided to let the shutter fire. So, anyone having success?
 
mbraca said:
Does anyone use the 70-200mm VR for sports photography? I got one a
couple of months ago to shoot basketball with a D1H. To my surprise
I have fewer photos in focus than when I was using MF lenses. At
first I thought it was my non-familiarity with all the various
modes (normally I shoot continuous servo with only the center spot
active), but after shooting about 10 games, I am convinced that
there is something wrong with the lens. It is incredibly sharp and
quick focusing if you are shooting a non-moving subject, but if you
are trying to track a moving person, it fails dismally to lock
focus on him/her. I even tried it in single-servo "focus priority"
mode, and sometimes you can't tell from the photos what exactly it
thought was in focus when it finally decided to let the shutter
fire. So, anyone having success?
Click to expand...
I use it with an S2Pro with pretty good results. Lots of noise @ ISO 1600 which I clean up with NI. One problem with focusing is the low light conditions under which I'm working. The images definitly are not super sharp but they are resonable given the circumstances. HS gyms and football fields are not that well lit.
 
here are some of my shots with the 70-200 on the ski hill




jmills74 said:
SEMO said:
mbraca said:
Does anyone use the 70-200mm VR for sports photography? I got one a
couple of months ago to shoot basketball with a D1H. To my surprise
I have fewer photos in focus than when I was using MF lenses. At
first I thought it was my non-familiarity with all the various
modes (normally I shoot continuous servo with only the center spot
active), but after shooting about 10 games, I am convinced that
there is something wrong with the lens. It is incredibly sharp and
quick focusing if you are shooting a non-moving subject, but if you
are trying to track a moving person, it fails dismally to lock
focus on him/her. I even tried it in single-servo "focus priority"
mode, and sometimes you can't tell from the photos what exactly it
thought was in focus when it finally decided to let the shutter
fire. So, anyone having success?
Click to expand...
I use it with an S2Pro with pretty good results. Lots of noise @
ISO 1600 which I clean up with NI. One problem with focusing is
the low light conditions under which I'm working. The images
definitly are not super sharp but they are resonable given the
circumstances. HS gyms and football fields are not that well lit.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
do u have VR on?
SEMO said:
mbraca said:
Does anyone use the 70-200mm VR for sports photography? I got one a
couple of months ago to shoot basketball with a D1H. To my surprise
I have fewer photos in focus than when I was using MF lenses. At
first I thought it was my non-familiarity with all the various
modes (normally I shoot continuous servo with only the center spot
active), but after shooting about 10 games, I am convinced that
there is something wrong with the lens. It is incredibly sharp and
quick focusing if you are shooting a non-moving subject, but if you
are trying to track a moving person, it fails dismally to lock
focus on him/her. I even tried it in single-servo "focus priority"
mode, and sometimes you can't tell from the photos what exactly it
thought was in focus when it finally decided to let the shutter
fire. So, anyone having success?
Click to expand...
I use it with an S2Pro with pretty good results. Lots of noise @
ISO 1600 which I clean up with NI. One problem with focusing is
the low light conditions under which I'm working. The images
definitly are not super sharp but they are resonable given the
circumstances. HS gyms and football fields are not that well lit.
Click to expand...
 
mbraca said:
Does anyone use the 70-200mm VR for sports photography? I got one a
couple of months ago to shoot basketball with a D1H. To my surprise
I have fewer photos in focus than when I was using MF lenses. At
first I thought it was my non-familiarity with all the various
modes (normally I shoot continuous servo with only the center spot
active), but after shooting about 10 games, I am convinced that
there is something wrong with the lens. It is incredibly sharp and
quick focusing if you are shooting a non-moving subject, but if you
are trying to track a moving person, it fails dismally to lock
focus on him/her. I even tried it in single-servo "focus priority"
mode, and sometimes you can't tell from the photos what exactly it
thought was in focus when it finally decided to let the shutter
fire. So, anyone having success?
Click to expand...
--
http://SportscarImage.com

I am not a web page designer
 
Nice pics. Yes I have VR on. Have done one daylight football game, results were far superior to the night games. Did a drag boat race with very nice results all done with the same set up. Same with an airshow. If you've got the light you can get some good results even hand held.
 
well, don't forget the VR feature is usually used so you can shoot at SLOWER than normal shutter speeds.

so if you're shooting action sports at SLOWER than normal shutter speeds many shots will be out of focus.
mbraca said:
Does anyone use the 70-200mm VR for sports photography? I got one a
couple of months ago to shoot basketball with a D1H. To my surprise
I have fewer photos in focus than when I was using MF lenses. At
first I thought it was my non-familiarity with all the various
modes (normally I shoot continuous servo with only the center spot
active), but after shooting about 10 games, I am convinced that
there is something wrong with the lens. It is incredibly sharp and
quick focusing if you are shooting a non-moving subject, but if you
are trying to track a moving person, it fails dismally to lock
focus on him/her. I even tried it in single-servo "focus priority"
mode, and sometimes you can't tell from the photos what exactly it
thought was in focus when it finally decided to let the shutter
fire. So, anyone having success?
Click to expand...
 
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