Indoor sports - Boxing/MMA/etc- lens question

<p>In the near future I will be taking pics of the local Boxing fights and MMA fights for a few startup websites. I have never photographed this type of event and I was wondering if anyone could suggest a few different lenses that might work good in this low light enviroment.Now, I have done searches on here and other sites and the very few topics that speak of Boxing/MMA have only mentioned two basic lenses.<br>

Now before I go any further let me tell you what I am currently working with:</p>

<ul>

<li>Nikon D300/D70(backup)</li>

<li>Nikon 80-200 f/2.8 ED</li>

<li>Nikon 16-85 f/3.5-5.6 ED (not fast enough) </li>

<li>Nikon 50mm 1.8D (obviously no zoom capabilities, otherwise great) </li>

<li>Tokina Fisheye 10-17 F/3.5-4.5 DX (probably would never use this for Boxing/MMA) </li>

<li>Tamron 17-35mm f/2.8-4 Di (f/2.8 but not thru all the focal lengths) </li>

<li>Tamron 18-20mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II (this lens is not the sharpest and is not fast for low light) </li>

<li>SB800(I know I cant use flash indoors) </li>

<li>a pack of Orbits Peppermint Gum (always good to have a pack in your case!) </li>

</ul>

<p>So now with that said... I already have one of the common lenses that is suggested which is the 80-200 f/2.8. But I need a fast wider lens. I see that in other post people suggest the NIKON AF-S 17-55mm f2.8 G IF-ED but that baby cost a whole LOTTA cash, even used on ebay.<br>

Im assuming that if Im away from the cage/ring the 80-200mm will be perfect but when i am up against the cage/ring I am gonna need a fast/wide lens... but I dont want to have to sell my car for that. Can anyone suggest a NON Nikon lens that can meet these needs?<br>

I see that Sigma has 18-50mm f2.8 EX DC Macro HSM, can anyone compare that to the Nikon 17-55mm that cost about 4times that of the Sigma?<br /> </p>

<p>All suggestion will be greatly appreciated.. as it looks like I only have to buy one GOOD fast wide/zoom lens to capture stuff upclose.<br>

If I gotta spend the cash for the 17-55mm I'll do it.. but I would really like to avoid laying down $1200.00-1500.00. So that why the Sigma is catching my eye! lol</p>

<p>Instead of the Nikon 17-55 f/2.8 you can opt for its cheaper cousins: Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8, Tokina 16-50mm f/2.8, or Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8. I have the Tamron version saved on my "to buy" list out of the three, but you should do your own research too.</p>

<p>Another alternative is try to get your hands on the Nikkor 35mm f/1.8 as well.</p>

<p>I shoot kickboxing and MMA regularly in a variety of venues. It's a bit hard to predict what you need, depends on the setup. If you are at ringside, you don't need the 80-200, and if you aren't at ringside, the cage will probably ruin your shots. I use a 24-70 and don't miss much. At the far end of the ring or cage, I may have to crop, but generally speaking, you don't have a lot of time to change cameras - you can miss the action. 2.8 is a requirement given that you don't know the lighting. When I shoot with a TV crew, I usually don't need 2.8, although I use the extra light for a faster shutter. Even with f2.8, I sometimes get motion blur due to the poor lighting.<br>

<br /> The best opportunity with a cage is if you can get on a riser or ladder. A lot of cages have them, especially if they have a TV crew. If you can't get on a riser, you want to make sure you can fit your lens through the cage. 80-200 may not fit. Be careful as the cage can snap back, even from the other side, depending on construction. I have had the camera smacked into my face.</p>

<p>I wouldn't recommend a fixed focal length for anything but non-action shots. You won't be able to capture what people expect. I use one for shooting fighters before and after the fight, but not for shooting the fight itself.</p>

<p>One other thing, since you haven't done this before, is to find a gym that will let you come in and shoot the fighters sparring. Generally they stop sparring the week of the fight. This will do far more for your photos than equipment. No lens will make up for not being able to anticipate the action. I always go to the gyms of the top fighters on any card a couple weeks before the fight and just shoot. They have to get ready, the photographer has to get ready too.</p>

<p>Take a pen and a small notebook. Note the time that each fight begins and mark it by fighter names. This will let you caption or keyword the photos and also track them down later. I also take a small flashlight, if you drop something like a flash card, it may be hard to find without light. Push your bag under the cage or ring when the fights start. There can be a lot of commotion and you don't want people stepping on your equipment, spilling water, or knocking it around. Last Friday night, a fighter came through the ropes (this was kickboxing so no cage) and landed on the officials' table next to me. If he had been a foot over, he would have been on my bag if it was out.</p>

<p>The tamron 17-50 2.8 is very highly rated. I bought it a yr ago and very happy with it. And, the price is right!<br>

Steve</p>

<p>You can get a used 17-55mm on eBay in the $800 range on occasion.</p>

<p>I assume you will shooting ring/cageside. Your best bet could possibly be to get the new 35mm f1.8. Although it is not ultra wide, lighting as the fighters get close to you is poor (faces will be dark) so your best shots may be when the fighters are further away from you.</p>

<p>Since you are shooting for the web, you will not have resolution issues if you have to crop extensively, especially with the D300. As you have two bodies, I would put a 35mm on one and your 50mm on the other and switch cameras as needed. If you find you prefer one lens over the other, I would put that on your main body (D300) and keep the other lens on your D70.</p>

<p>When I <a href="http://www.geocities.com/stalker+of+the+web/boxingmma.html" target="_blank">photograph Mixed Martial Arts</a> , It depends, on whether I am shooting caged matches or boxing rings. I generally shoot with these three lenses:<br>

Nikkor 70-200 f/2.8 VR, Tokina 28-70mm f/2.8, and Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8<br>

With cage matches I tend to shoot with the Nikkor 70-200 f/2.8 VR Bokeh with the Nikon D3, to blur the fencing when shooting through it. On my D2x I have the Tokina 28-70mm f/2.8 usually zoomed between 50-70mm range to remove the fencing.</p>

<p><a title="Wargods09072708 by FullMetalPhotographer, on Flickr" href=" title="Wargods09072708 by FullMetalPhotographer, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3210/2713541828_61ca45f61e.jpg" alt="Wargods09072708" width="500" height="446" /> </a> <br /> <em><strong>Nikon D3, Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 VR Cage Match</strong> </em><br>

For boxing rings I tend to use be at the 70mm range a lot. Since there is no fencing to deal with and I am shooting under the ropes. for 3/4 quarter body shots I tend to use the tokina 28-70mm f/2.8 a lot. I also use the Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8 for dramatic shots since I do not have fencing to contend with.<br>

Looking at your camera setup I would shoot the 50mm for the boxing ring setup and the 70-200mm f/2.8 for cage matches.</p>

<p><a title="PFC54071908 by FullMetalPhotographer, on Flickr" href=" title="PFC54071908 by FullMetalPhotographer, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3083/2712728385_8a3a6b18fa.jpg" alt="PFC54071908" width="500" height="350" /> </a><br>

<strong> <em>Tokina 28-70mm f/2.8 at the 70mm range. Nikon D3 </em> </strong><br>

<a title="PFC86071908 by FullMetalPhotographer, on Flickr" href=" title="PFC86071908 by FullMetalPhotographer, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2072/2712728347_90f5fa1758.jpg" alt="PFC86071908" width="500" height="331" /> </a><br>

<em><strong>Nikon D2x, 14-24mm f/2.8 at the 14mm range.</strong> </em><br>

Don't be afraid to use wide angle lenses for things like knock outs, especially if you are shooting at boxing rings. The Tokina Fisheye 10-17 F/3.5-4.5 DX or Tamron 17-35mm f/2.8-4 Di may surprise you with a dramatic non action shot.</p>

<p>I wanted to thank all that replied to my original post. After all this great info... I think im gonna go with the Tamron 17-50 for now. I do hope/plan on moving on to the D700 in the near future.. at least hopefully i do, and if so.. i'll just let go of my D70 and all the DX lens to kinda off set the HUGE D700 price tag (I'll keep the D300 as the backup). But for now.. the Tamron 17-50 f2.8 and the D300 sounds like a good marriage LOL. The Nikon Glass im sure i will get but not right now... for now the D300 is doing just fine until I can sell a Kidney for the D700! LOL<br>

I have a Jiu Jitsu/Grappling Tournament to cover soon, and im trying to get my foot in the door of a local MMA Fight. Lets see if I can manage to get some shots with my setup with Tamron im going to get! If i get any good ones I'll make sure to post them.<br>

And since I brought up the D700 topic.. I assume that it does even better in low light because of the full frame and if I use high ISO's noise is even less than the D300?</p>