Do I have what it takes?

LouisianaShooter

I have a Nikon D60 with a 18-55 and 55-200 lenses, and I would like to start taking pictures at local sporting events. I have just started taking pictures within the last month and have learned so much from reading these threads on this site, and also taking tons of pictures of my wife and kid. Starting out I do not know what to do or if I have the equiptment to do it. I dont have the money to go out and buy anything else, so I need to make this work. Advice?

jeffreaux2

LouisianaShooter wrote:

I have a Nikon D60 with a 18-55 and 55-200 lenses, and I would like to start taking pictures at local sporting events. I have just started taking pictures within the last month and have learned so much from reading these threads on this site, and also taking tons of pictures of my wife and kid. Starting out I do not know what to do or if I have the equiptment to do it. I dont have the money to go out and buy anything else, so I need to make this work. Advice?

Id say yes...and no.

The camera should suffice.

You didnt say which sports though...

For little league baseball/ softball or soccer....daytime sports Id say you could get away with the 55-250. For indoor sports or outdoor sports at night, though, you will need faster glass.

Ideally, a fast constant aperture (F2.8 for example) would be the minimum you can get away with for varsity sports such as football or basketball.

Im not a sports shooter....really...but more into portraits. I do ,however, have tens of thousands of frames of experience shooting with my daughters who are involved in cheerleading and dance under the conditions you would expect for high school sports. I got great results with the Canon 85mm F1.8, 17-55 F2.8IS and 70-200 F2.8IS. Even with these faster apertures I commonly had to push ISO up to 1600 to get a shutter speed fast enough to freeze the action. Lighting can vary wildly from gym to gym or field to field in high school sports.

The other REALLY good advantage of a larger aperture is to use it to isolate your subjects with a shallow depth of focus.

LouisianaShooter

This is where I get lost, my lense I have is a Nikon 55-200mm 1:4-5.6G what does that mean? Remember I'm a newbie. I know everyone keeps saying glass speed that would be the lens correct?

waygard33

LouisianaShooter wrote:

This is where I get lost, my lense I have is a Nikon 55-200mm 1:4-5.6G what does that mean? Remember I'm a newbie. I know everyone keeps saying glass speed that would be the lens correct?

1:4-5.6 means that at your shortest zoom (55mm), your lens aperture ring will open up to a value of 4 (largest opening/most light enters lens). As you zoom out to the 250mm range, it becomes less capable of letting light in the lens as the aperture ring can only open to a value of 5.6. Only about 1/2 as much light can enter the lens at your fully zoomed out position.

A lens like the 85/1.8 is considered a 'Fast' lens because at a 1.8 aperture, lots of light is allowed in the lens and you are now capable of taking pictures of action (fast motion) inside a poorly lit building, like a gym.

I started out trying to shoot basketball with Canon's version of your equipment and those same 2 kit lenses. The pictures were terrible with those lenses. Just too dark, resulting in too slow shutter speeds. I quickly bought the $100 50/1.8 and shot a whole season with that lens. I have since bought the 85/1.8 (~$350) and like that lens even more.

Here's a sample of the 85...I wasn't even trying at this game. Just sitting in the bleachers, snapping quick pics when kids I knew were running by. Notice how the background is blurred, separating your player from the noisy background. I think I shot this at f2. Of course the ISO is up as well.



I've since upgraded to a 7D (took above shot) and sold my XSi to a friend. She is now struggling with the same problem as she tries to shoot her daughter at cheerleading. I keep telling her, the answer is simple...buy the 50/1.8 and go from there.

Good luck.
Wayne G

ziggy53

LouisianaShooter wrote:

This is where I get lost, my lense I have is a Nikon 55-200mm 1:4-5.6G what does that mean? Remember I'm a newbie. I know everyone keeps saying glass speed that would be the lens correct?

Yes, the glass=lens. A smaller aperture number lets in more light, so an f2.8 aperture lets in twice that of an f4, and f2.8 is 4 times that of f5.6. Your Nikkor 55-200mm f4-5.6G ED AF-S DX has a maximum aperture of f4 at the 55mm setting and a maximum aperture of f5.6 by 200mm. A "constant aperture" lens of f2.8 will support that aperture through the zoom range. This allows faster shutter speeds and/or lower ISO than a slower aperture.

Faster can also mean more responsive. A true sports lens and camera will have very good responsiveness in terms of AF speed and accuracy as well as reduced blackout times and decreased shutter lag.

If you really cannot afford anything better then I suggest you just try shooting with what you have. I agree with Jeff that you really do need faster lenses and one of the newer Nikon cameras with better low-light sensitivity (allowing higher ISOs). If you shoot daylight sports, especially in good light, you might be surprised with decent captures.

catspaw

I shot very well with 'slow' glass on my D50 for a full year (ok, so I was ready to dropkick it by the end of the year because of it's limitations, but still), but that is because I was shooting OUTSIDE in bright sunlight. You still haven't specified the type of sports you are looking to do, which will greatly affect the lens you need. In my case, I needed zoom abilities, so the 50mm 1.8 or 1.4 was never going to cut it since I was too far away, but the slower zoom (some Sigma $150 lens I have since sold to a friend just starting out) worked well enough since I had my timing down and the sun to help me out

jeffreaux2

...and...

If you decide to BUY a different lense you should be concerned with focus SPEED as well.

I had a Tamron 28-75 F2.8 that was too slow to focus for tennis but was otherwise an exceptional lense.

...and you don't HAVE to break the bank for a fast lense. A Sigma 70-200mm F2.8, for instance, can be had second hand for a song.

...again though, what type of sports?

LouisianaShooter

I would like to start shooting Baseball and Soccer, because that is what is big in my area. Soccer would be my biggest sport to shoot mainly because I played it for so long that I think I would know when and where to get a good shot.

So with the lens that I have what would be something good to shoot at? My wife would not be to happy if I told her that I cannot use my lens after we just spent 270$ on it. Is it more for still shoots?

LouisianaShooter

jeffreaux2 wrote:

...and...

If you decide to BUY a different lense you should be concerned with focus SPEED as well.

I had a Tamron 28-75 F2.8 that was too slow to focus for tennis but was otherwise an exceptional lense.

...and you don't HAVE to break the bank for a fast lense. A Sigma 70-200mm F2.8, for instance, can be had second hand for a song.

...again though, what type of sports?

Sigma 70-200 had for a song? Tell me where you are shopping, I looked this lense up on Ebay and the cheapest is $650.

catspaw

LouisianaShooter wrote:

Sigma 70-200 had for a song? Tell me where you are shopping, I looked this lense up on Ebay and the cheapest is $650.

Compared to the $1500+ for the nikon version of that lens, it IS a song

Any how, what you have now should work fairly well for sunlit baseball and outdoor soccer sports. You might find yourself running the sidelines to get closer for some shots, but go give it a try! The biggest issues will be deciding what sort of focus mode you want to use and just PRACTICE until you can see the shot you think you'll get and click at the right moment. When I get bored at horse shows I force myself to shoot NOT on continuous mode, just to keep the trigger finger in tune

jeffreaux2

LouisianaShooter wrote:

Sigma 70-200 had for a song? Tell me where you are shopping, I looked this lense up on Ebay and the cheapest is $650.

$650 for that lens wouldn't be an altogether bad deal....but I have seen them sell much, much cheaper. Be patient and keep your eyes peeled.

I paid $1600 for a Canon zoom in the same range so....

Mitchell

I shoot a lot of soccer. If you are planning on getting decent shots on a full size field, you need a minimum of 300mm for your D60.

I would suggest the Nikkor 300mm, f4 AF-s lens. This is a quality lens which you can find for a reasonable price ($1,000). I would also highly recommend a monopod.

This gear and a lot of practice should net you some decent, saleable shots.

Good luck.

angevin1

LouisianaShooter wrote:

I have a Nikon D60 with a 18-55 and 55-200 lenses, and I would like to start taking pictures at local sporting events. I have just started taking pictures within the last month and have learned so much from reading these threads on this site, and also taking tons of pictures of my wife and kid. Starting out I do not know what to do or if I have the equipment to do it. I dont have the money to go out and buy anything else, so I need to make this work. Advice?

All of the suggestions for faster glass and better lenses are dead on...'cept, you can't spend more...you have to work with your gear.

So learn ( read), shoot and learn some more...and do your best to make well lit exposures. Take the ISO up high enough to get decent Shutter Speeds in the 350-600 range for the big Zoom..and a little slower perhaps for the smaller lens....Just practice making good exposures with higher shutter speeds.

It is a Steep learning curve, and some folks make it seem easy..but they also have large scrap piles typically to prove how easy it was.

Good Luck~

waygard33

I shot some soccer with my XSi and kit lens 55-200 (similar to your setup) and I thought the shots came out pretty good. I was happy overall, although I did wish I had that 300mm lens much of the time. I did move around a lot to get closer to some kids and had to fight the focus a bit but overall, I was happy.

Wayne G