Nikon 70-300mm VR

<p>I have taken basketball and volleyball games of my oldest granddaughter from her 5th to 8th grade with a combination of the D90, D200, nikon 35mm f/1.8, sigma 17-50mm f/2.8, sigma 50-150mm f/2.8 and the old nikon 70-210mm AF-D. No complaints there. </p>

<p>There are times that I want to go lightweight. I tried a borrowed 55-200mm VR at a volleyball game and as expected, it was a disappointment.<strong> What do you think of the 70-300mm VR for at least a volleyball game?</strong> I don't have a friend who has that lens.</p>

<p>Is this indoors? That lens is longer and a bit sharper than the 55-200 but has the same disadvantages in indoor light.</p>

<p>I agree with Andy. I have this lens, like it very much for outdoors in good light, but I don't use it indoors. Your Sigma 50-150mm should be excellent for volleyball, and I don't believe it is all that much heavier than the 70-300mm VR. For sports, subject movement is more important than camera movement, so that you need large apertures to allow you to use high shutter speeds rather than VR or a tripod. If f/2.8 isn't enough, for around the same price as the 70-300mm VR, consider an 85mm f/1.8.</p>

<p>I have used both, owned the 55-200mm for more than a year, borrow the 70-300mm from time to time. I don't think your experience with the 70-300 VR will differ much from the one you had with the 55-200mm, specially after looking at your current lens line-up.</p>

<p>Right, as long as we are talking about INDOOR basketball and volleyball, you are talking about shooting sports under dim light. That is very challenging on the equipment. There is little doubt that you will be very frustrated when your lens maxes out at f5.6.</p>

<p>Thank you, all! Yes, indoors.<br>

I will have to see if the Nikon 70-210mm can keep up with my granddaughter's junior high school games. Yes, I can always crop shots from the Sigma.</p>

<p>Thanks again.</p>

<p>I have had mixed results with the 70-300mm even outdoors under the lights at a high school lacrosse match. For indoors it would probably be about the same. You really need f/2.8 for indoor action. Maybe f/4 on a 300mm lens would work as well.</p>

<p>doesnt make a lot of sense since the 70-300 is about the same weight/length as the 50-150, which is faster and better-suited for sports. if you need 300mm for volleyball, i would have to question your choice of shooting location. if you really want to throw $400-$500 at a non-existent problem which will only make things worse, go ahead. i would just make do with the 50-150, which is actually one of the better choices for that application, plus one you already have. that and the tamron 17-50, which you also already have, are all you really need as far as lenses for 80% of most shooting situations.</p>

<p>what would make a difference for sports is to save pennies for a used d300/d300s, which has much improved AF over the d90 and d200, or a d7000, which has an AF module which isnt quite as good as d300/d300s, but better high-ISO by about 1/2 to a full stop.</p>

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<p>For shooting volleyball indoors you need speed. You need lens speed, shutter speed, and ISO speed. I have the Sigma 50-150 f/2.8 and it's a good choice for indoor sports. You could go for a 70-200 f/2.8 but they are much heavier than the 50-150 f/2.8. That's why I got the 50-150. The 70-300 VR is too slow for indoor sports, and the VR won't help. VR lets you shoot at slower shutter speeds, but these slower shutter speeds can still cause motion blur the same as with a non-VR lens.</p>

<p>Use the 50-150 f/2.8. Set the camera to A and the lens to f/2.8. Raise the ISO until you get a high enough shutter speed to stop the action. Use the D90 as it has better noise control at high ISO's. Also avoid underexposure as underexposure brings up the noise level.</p>

<p>Thank you Douglas, Eric and Mark.</p>

<p>You will need a faster lens say a Nikon 80-200 2.8 or 70-200 2.8 as was srated already,the Nikon 70-300 VR is too slow for indoors.</p>