Please recommend a good non-AI/AI telephoto for ...

[vick_ko]

Please recommend a good non-AI/AI telephoto for shooting a 3 year old

learning soccer. I'll be on the sidelines.

 

The likely cameras will be Nikon F or F2.

 

regards,

Vick

[Matthew Currie]

I think for that kind of action and distance the 80-200/F4 AIS zoom would be pretty nice. I find it balances nicely on an F, it's fast enough for the light you're likely to find on a soccer field, and gives you a pretty good range.<div></div>

[John Crowe]

I'd either go faster with a 180mm f2.8 AI or longer with a 300mm f4.5 AI/AIS each can be had for under $150 either from eBay or keh.com

 

 

Also depends how big the field will be and therefore how close you'll be. Three year olds are pretty small so I think you'll need the reach of the 300mm.

[carl_larocca1]

Soccer is probably the most difficult sport to photograph. The ball moves so far and so constantly that it is very hard to keep in focus. Use a moderate tele, even 135mm and prepare to enlarge. Use fast film

small aperatures. Try for easy focus situations like corner and free kicks, and if your kid is a forward move to behind his opponent's goal

in the middle of the second half. Even a missed shot from there can look dramatic. Sports photographers know that they can usually come up with something usable from behind the goal.

[dean_matsueda]

<p>Excuse my ignorance but will an AIS lens work? I really like my 180mm ED telephoto

on my F2AS and KEH has one for a good price:</p>

<p>

<a href="http://www.keh.com/shop/SHOWPRODUCT.CFM?

CRID=10553778&SKID=NK0699902945106&SID=newused&BID=NK&CID=06&SOID=N&c

urpic=0&dpsp=0" target="_blank">180mm f2.8 AIS ED</a></p>

<p>

I also have a 105 f1.8 AI... a littlle soft wide-open but it probably one of the fastest

manual telephoto lens for Nikons.</p>

[Matthew Currie]

An AIS lens will work fine on any F or F2 unless some previous owner has ditched or broken the meter prong.

[carl_larocca1]

Great lens--great vendor. They wouldn't sell it with a broken metering prong and they guarantee satisfaction for 30 days no questions asked.

[lex_jenkins]

You'll probably want to shoot wide open or nearly so to allow the use of the fastest possible shutter speeds. So how a lens performs wide open or stopped down slightly matters.

 

I recently tried an inexpensive AI'd Nippon Kogaku 300mm f/4.5, making several identical shots from a tripod throughout the full aperture range. Resolution wasn't as bad as I'd expected at f/4.5 but contrast was pretty flat. It wasn't any better at f/5.6. The slowest aperture at which contrast and resolution were good was f/11. Too slow for use with any but the fastest films.

 

One of the later model 300mm f/4.5 Nikkors would be a better choice, judging from comments I've read elsewhere.

 

I'd tend to agree with the suggestion to consider a 180mm f/2.8 Nikkor. As far as I can tell they're all uniformly excellent. Mine is the older pre-ED, non-AI'd version and it produces excellent images wide open. Great even for photographing kids' basketball in dimly lighted gymnasiums.

 

If you start out with a good, sharp photo, even if cropping is needed you'll probably like the results better than those taken with a more powerful but less sharp and contrasty lens.

[John Crowe]

Yes, shooting from behind the goal line is more dramatic. Just be careful not to distract the keeper and you don't really want to get hit either.<div></div>

[Matthew Currie]

"Great lens--great vendor. They wouldn't sell it with a broken metering prong and they guarantee satisfaction for 30 days no questions asked."

 

I agree that KEH is good, but if it's in "bargain" condition, it may well have a broken or missing metering prong. Some users who don't need them remove them or snap them off, and KEH probably won't replace it if it's a bargain grade lens. I got a "bargain" grade 400/5.6 lens from KEH, billed as engraved and dented, which also had a broken prong and the little setscrew in the mount that prevents reverse removal was also missing. It's of little consequence if, like that 400, it's a rare lens in good working order at a good price, but sometimes bargain means bargain.

 

By the way, we shouldn't forget in this discussion that the subject is "a 3 year old learning soccer," so I'm guessing that the distances might be shorter than those in an adult soccer match, and the action less difficult to follow, at least for a while.

[lex_jenkins]

Ditto - for 3-year-olds learning soccer the action is up close and parents are right at the sidelines. You won't need more than a midrange zoom. A maximum focal length of 105mm is fine.

[John Crowe]

You might be surprised, so do some research. Take your daughter out to the field in question. Stand her half way across the field, with you on the sidelines and see how she fits in the viewfinder with one of your existing lenses. There are going to be times when she is farther away or closer. If she ends up right beside you, you're not likely going to get the shot. If you shoot from behind the goal line you will likely need more length. For soccer you definitely do a lot of zooming with your feet! I'd still rather do soccer with a fixed length lens since by the time you zoom to frame your shot, the shot is gone. I tend to work better anticipating the image in the viewfinder at a set size. I usually do crop afterward to arrange a nice composition. Good luck!

[hil3]

I did this for years and years with my four kids. At age 3, I imagine the kids are playing on a small field, so a long tele shouldn't be necessary. At first I used a 75-150 Series E, but found it a bit short much of the time and it was always set at 150. Later on picked up a 200/4 and it was ideal. I used an F2AS or a Nikkormat and fast film so I could shoot wide open. A monopod is handy. Pre-focus on a spot and wait for the action to get there.

 

If I were to do it all over again, I'd pick up a film camera with AE and a decent AF mid-range zoom, and just concentrate on the action. (That's not true - I am a luddite at heart, when it comes to photography.)