Which large telephoto to get?

First post here. Looking for some recommendations.

 

I shoot a sport called dragon boating. Generally takes place a fair distance offshore so that the water is deep enough for the boats. My current gear includes a D90, with a 70-300 VR lens, but I want to get a bit more serious, so I'm looking for a bit more reach to get closer to the action.

 

 

 

I've been reading a lot (maybe too much) with the various options I have, but I wanted to ask for some opinions of others.

 

My budget is about $1,500 to $2k max (but I could also rent if necessary). I've been looking at several options:

 

sigma 150-500

tamron 150-600

nikon 80-400

nikon 200-500

 

I even considered just switching my 70-300 for a nikon 70-200, and try to get into the race rescue boats to get closer to the action...but that's not always possible.

 

I'm looking for sharpness, but more importantly, I need a lens that can focus pretty quickly.

 

Any thoughts, or suggestions on which direction to go?

I would go for 200-500mm f/5.6 but is requires good light. Yes it is heavy but a monopod with a gimbal works very fine. if/when it is possible to get into the rescue boats then the 70-200 f/2.8 or f/4 will be great. these to lenses and when the budget allows it the upgrade the house to D500 or D7200 imho.

Another vote for Nikon 200-500mm. I have tghe Nikon 80-400mm AFS and really like it, but if you think about it, it's only 33% longer than what you already have.

 

 

Kent in SD

I think that D90 is your weakest link at this point. If you goto D500, all of your existing lenses will AF faster. Additionally, by going to D500, you'll get 24mp, which is probably twice of your D90 - which means you can crop (effectively increasing your reach) and still get higher resolution than your current body can provided.

 

While I don't own 200-500mm, I suspect it will focus rather slowly on D90, which will not meet one of your criteria.

 

Just think about that a bit before you decide....

Edited May 26, 2017 by mark_gonda

My experience with dragonboat racing is that it takes place in daylight - low light shooting isn't an issue. Maybe there's someplace that runs the races under the lights, but I've never heard of one.

 

If $2000US is feasible, I suggest a new D7200 plus a Sigma 150-600 Contemporary. It will give you all the reach you need from the shoreline including crop space in your images. If you get rescue boat access, try your 70-300 before you consider buying something else.

Since I grew up in Hong Kong, I am fairly familiar with dragon-boat racing. Those boats don't move that fast, compared to a race car or flying bird, and the course is predictable so that there are opportunities to pre-focus, unlike a bird that can fly in unpredictable patterns. I think the 200-500mm/f5.6 AF-S VR can certainly get the job done. However, that is a lens I mainly use for birds. 500mm seems to be too much magnification for dragon-boat races, especially on a DX body, unless you want to focus on a couple of rowers. Since the OP wants something longer than the current 70-300mm lens, 200-500mm seems to be a reasonable zoom range up.

 

Having said/wrote that, I think the D90 is probably the weak link here and perhaps upgrading it to either a D500 or D7200 (or D7500) maybe the better move. 300mm on a DX body should be quite long on large subjects such as those boats.

Edited May 26, 2017 by ShunCheung

If the 70-300 does not have enough "reach," the 200-500 zoom would seem ideal.

But just how much more reach do you need? Depending on where you are on shore and how far out the boats are, is 500mm OK ? A 500mm lens would be a quarter of your image size when the lens is set to 250mm (just divide the image in half V and H, and take one of the quarters).

 

Another option is long primes; 500 mirror, 600mm, etc. But they do not have the flexibility a long zoom has.

As Shun said they don't move that FAST, so even manual focusing should not be a problem. But then I grew up with manual focusing lenses, so to me, manual focusing is not a big deal.

 

I would shoot from a tripod, to steady the long lenses.

Rent and try before you buy. The Nikon lenses you are interested in are good, just a question of what is best for you, and meets your needs and budget. As Mark suggested, updating camera bodies wouldn't be a bad idea. That, of course is a different issue / cost factor. The D 90 was / is a capable camera, but there are a variety of affordable newer (obsolete?) used or refurb cameras that might serve you better. Something to think about. Best of luck, you have a fascinating photo subject.

Though the 200-500 is very nice (I have one and it works nicely on a D3200 and a D7100), given that the 70-300 VR is a good lens and focuses pretty quickly, it might be cheaper to get a newer camera and keep the lens. A D7200 has good focusing speed and a lot of room to crop, and a new one costs less than the 200-500 lens. A D7100 would do almost as well for less yet. Those cameras have a native 1.3x crop mode which results in an 18 megapixel file, increasing the perceived reach of a 300 to 390 millimeters, and speeding up performance too.

Thanks for the comments everyone.

 

Very good points about the D90. I hadn't really considered a body upgrade. The D500 is nice, but a little bit out of my budget. I might look at the D7200 or D7100, and then maybe rent the 200-500 when I need it for a race.

 

For those that asked if I really need the longer lens. My 70-300 has served me well until now (it's manages to get some fantastic shots). But, I'm looking for the longer lens so that I can actually focus in on single paddlers. Dragon boating is a pretty aggressive paddle sport and you can get some great facial expressions! Also, when I'm taking pics for people, they want full boat shots, but also close-ups of themselves paddling.

Jeff, The D7200 at 24 mp will allow you some room to crop if you upgrade your camera and stay with the 70-300 vr. Good hunting.

Rent and try before you buy.

 

sounds like a great idea to me.

 

If it's true that you can pre-focus, AF is not as much of a big deal. There are lots of decent to excellent older long telephotos (including catadioptric) for quite low prices, too.

If it's true that you can pre-focus, AF is not as much of a big deal. There are lots of decent to excellent older long telephotos (including catadioptric) for quite low prices, too.

 

There are some opportunities to pre-focus, but if I'm tracking a certain boat or paddler, the pre-focus is only good for the first couple of shots (race distances are usually 500 metres)

I'm new to the sports scene in general. As you describe things, you seem heading for a 2 camera setup? At which focal length (range) are your full boat shots right now? - Would 150 or even 200mm be short enough for them? Otherwise you probably need to keep what you have and add the longer lens you are dreaming of on a 2nd body since changing lenses wastes too much time.

From the reviews frontier: The Sigma seems to have a tiny edge over the Tamron but the latter is cheaper.

For myself I am pondering to get the 200-500mm Nikkor with a suitable DX body someday and stick to 70-200 on FF below it. - The gap should be big enough to permit camera switching.

I would not expect any miracles from switching to a 70-200mm You don't need it's extra speed (aperture wise), do you?

I firmly recommend staying away from manual focus on the long end for sports. It would take a lot of drill and exercises to make good use of it.

First post here. Looking for some recommendations.

 

I shoot a sport called dragon boating. Generally takes place a fair distance offshore so that the water is deep enough for the boats. My current gear includes a D90, with a 70-300 VR lens, but I want to get a bit more serious, so I'm looking for a bit more reach to get closer to the action.

 

 

 

I've been reading a lot (maybe too much) with the various options I have, but I wanted to ask for some opinions of others.

 

My budget is about $1,500 to $2k max (but I could also rent if necessary). I've been looking at several options:

 

sigma 150-500

tamron 150-600

nikon 80-400

nikon 200-500

 

I even considered just switching my 70-300 for a nikon 70-200, and try to get into the race rescue boats to get closer to the action...but that's not always possible.

 

I'm looking for sharpness, but more importantly, I need a lens that can focus pretty quickly.

 

Any thoughts, or suggestions on which direction to go?

 

I am going to offer what has worked well for me. I looked long and hard at super telephoto options for my D7000. The options were all too expensive, too heavy, or too lacking in image quality. I ended up purchasing a Nikon 1 J5 and the Nikon 1 CX 70-300 lens (full frame equivalent of 190-810 mm)and I've been delighted with the results. It is light and the IQ is good, the cost of roughly $1500 US was within my budget. I mount the whole thing on a monopod and get tack sharp images. It fits in my camera bag in the spot that used to carry my Tamron 70-300. My only worry is over the future of the Nikon 1 system, but it really doesn't matter.

A small dinghy would cost you much less than a decent long lens!

 

Just a thought.

A small dinghy would cost you much less than a decent long lens!

 

Just a thought.

LOL....I wish I could! regatta organizers get kinda crusty about other boats getting near their race course!

I would go for 200-500mm f/5.6 but is requires good light. Yes it is heavy but a monopod with a gimbal works very fine. if/when it is possible to get into the rescue boats then the 70-200 f/2.8 or f/4 will be great. these to lenses and when the budget allows it the upgrade the house to D500 or D7200 imho.

 

This lens is not compatible with a D90, a D90 does not support "E"-type lenses which have an Electronic Aperture control, which requires a newer DSLR..

 

Here is a compatibility chart . : http://www.nikonusa.com/Images/Learn-Explore/Photography-Techniques/2011/Which-Nikkor-is-Right-for-You/Media/NIKKOR-lens-compatibility-chart.pdf

This lens is not compatible with a D90, a D90 does not support "E"-type lenses which have an Electronic Aperture control, which requires a newer DSLR..

 

Here is a compatibility chart . : http://www.nikonusa.com/Images/Learn-Explore/Photography-Techniques/2011/Which-Nikkor-is-Right-for-You/Media/NIKKOR-lens-compatibility-chart.pdf

Sorry my bad - I had no idea, as I do not have the D90; but I am happy that it is compatible with the cameras I have, because I had never check that before buying the 200-500mm!!

The D90 cannot control the aperture on E lenses, but IMO, it is hardly an issue for using the 200-500mm f5.6 on it. The aperture will be stuck wide open at f5.6, which is what I use the 200-500 at most of the time anyway, if not 99% of the time, perhaps at least 98% of the time.

 

I wouldn't hesitate to use that combo, but the D90 seems to be the weak link in the OP's set up, especially for sports photography.

This close-up shot could turn out quite challenging because (without knowing the sport I'm just commenting from the images) it appears the paddle and the arms go past the line of sight between the camera and the face of the paddler. So in practice the AF system is likely to get distracted by the paddle and is unlikely to be able to hold the face in focus without at least some jittering. This shouldn't be a problem for the shot of the whole boat but if your intention is to get close-ups of an individual in the boat, there might be some shots where the face is not quite sharp. I guess Shun would be in the best position to evaluate how realistic this kind of a shot is with a lens like the 200-500.

 

I know with the 200-500 the optics are very good but the zoom mechanism requires some effort to use. It is not so fast to switch between 200mm and 500mm. I think renting the lens would be a good idea because then you can evaluate how realistic this shot is without investing fully into the lens. I think maybe getting a newer body such as a D7200 would be a good idea as the AF would be better, the camera would be a bit faster and it would of course fully support the E lens as well, if you need to. The new D7500 is likely to be even better due to its larger buffer and higher fps but it is more expensive than a close-out D7200.

 

The 80-400mm AF-S has a lighter to operate zoom which is faster to use, and 5x range so depending on your distance to the boats, you may be able to switch rapidly between whole boat view and close up. However, I think the 200-500mm is sharper at f/5.6 and it is less expensive so if you need the longest reach this may be the lens to use.

I have to admit, that I also use my 200-500mm at f/5.6 more than 90% of the time, and that the D90 is the weak link, I mentioned previously suggesting the D7200

If the OP indeed finds the 70-300mm AF-S VR too short, I would at least move up to the 200-500mm to make some difference. 400mm on the 80-400mm AF-S VR is not a big enough difference IMO to justify the ~$2000 cost, which probably exceeds the OP's budget.

 

However, moving from a 12MP D90 with out-of-date AF to something like a D7200, D7500, or D500 will have a big impact. The higher pixel density may make the lens upgrade unnecessary. However, a 20MP or 24MP DX body will likely reveal the limitation of the long end from the 70-300mm AF-S VR.

Last year I tried to photograph the boat races in NYC with my D600 and 70-200 f4 and I needed at least 500mm to get the action shots. The pros were using their big primes from shore but the best shots probably came from this chase boat.

I was able to get shots of the boats when they paraded by shore after each race.

Like others have suggested you can update your camera, a new D7200 sells new for $1,000 and you can rent a 200-500mm for the race event.

I ended up buying the D7200. Took it out for a regatta, just using my 70-300 (was able to get into a chase boat) and while some pics were good, some weren't that great (contrast/metering issues, focus not as good as I would expect).

 

But, was my own fault, as I didn't play around enough with the camera beforehand, and I didn't change some settings to my liking. I've since spent more timing going through all the setting to get it more to my liking. So next time things should be better!