Is this a good lens to take indoor basketball photos in a high school gym? I have a Nikon D7000. If this is not the best for the price, what is?
141798
I've used this lens on a D7000 for middle school basketball with pretty good results. You'll need to set the aperture for 4.0 for all focal lengths. I use Auto Area (Auto A) or use Auto with 9 focus points and follow the action. It focuses fairly quickly. I needed to shoot at ISO 3200 on Aperture priority to get a decent shutter speed. You'll need sharpen the files slightly due to the high ISO. You can see examples here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/60554852@N07/
1759794
Oh, I'll add this:"Great for indoor" yeah that's matketing lingo for "this lens has a big, fast maximum aperture of f2."All lenses are mostly "good for outdoors/broad daylight". But faster max apertures can suck in more light than others which is particularly useful A) if you want amazing bokeh and shallow depth of field (B) you're inside and have horrid light and the extra 2-3 stops will get you the shot.
2064344
Thanks for your reply. I need a good lens to photograph swim meets and football, both for children. Maybe I should consider the 70-300. I want sharp pictures.
505453
A quick internet search says the lens is compatible with the Nikon D80. As for high quality photos indoors-- the focal length of the lens is great for indoor rooms (not sure what you mean by small). High quality depends on your skills ;o
1429331
Yes, I have used this lens for all of those purposes and it performs well. Although you might want the faster f2.8 lens if the indoor performances don't have adequate lighting. I have not regretted buying this lens at all.
1576863
If you are taking indoor architectural photos, it's a must. I use it for taking architectural photos for my job. I work for a construction company and at 11mm it takes the entire room. I use it with my Sony ALT65 and I love it. 18-250 isn't wide enough. You won't regret having the 11mm. It takes awesome pics, I set my focus to manual and set my lens at infinity and it focuses on the whole room. You won't regret getting this lens.
1185802
Yes. This is my "go-to" lens for landscape and close-quarters indoor work with the D700 and D800E. The only precaution I can think of is that it will block the built-in flash on these cameras at wider angles.
990745
Congrats on the D5000 (and both great lenses you have). Be sure and get that 35mm down the road, believe me it will probably be the best 200$ you'll ever spend if you do any shooting indoors. I have tons of other lenses (including a 50mm f/1.4) so I held off for a while on getting the 35mm f/1.8, once I did finally get it I was kicking myself for not getting it sooner, it's that good. Happy shooting.
496024
Paul,This is a good lens but the lack of zoom may be a problem for basketball depending on where you are allowed to photograph. The F4 is not as problematic with cameras such as the 6D and 5D MarkIII. Those cameras handle higher ISO with much less noise than others. You will be pushing the 7D with ISO 6400 in some gyms. Newer Gyms with good lighting should be fine at F4.0. It also depends on how high you like to run your shutter to stop action crisply.
1028371
This is a great lens, but sports is not really it's thing. Out it might do alright. Sigma has always been the winner for sports, either the 50-150 2.8 or the 70-200 2.8. Don't just take my word for it. Look at the Pentax forums website under the tab lens database. Real helpful reviews.
736775
The 70-200 f4 IS can used in lowlight situations if you have the right camera. Indoor situations with this lens require high ISOs in the range of 800-3200 to get decent fast enough shutter speeds to prevent subject blur. Camera shake blur is handled pretty well by the lens image stabilization when handheld but care must be taken to keep camera as still as possible when zoomed in. This lens has worked well for me in concert band situations with low light even using the Rebel XSi cameras max ISO of 1600. This lens begins to fall down if you try and use it for indoor sports action.
2059968
It is an excellent lens for close ups and distances when there is good light environment, but not for low light situations, unless you have a flash. For indoors would be better a f/2.8 lens or less (f/1.2 or 1.4).
386985
I get that same problem (I also have a D7000). However, on mine that is only for close-up macro-type images (when I snap the photo, the focus seems to be farther than where I focused - I lost out on some neat bug photos because of it, and did a lot of testing compared to other lenses). It does OK at distance. My adjustment is less than that (I don't remember it), but I don't use it much for close-ups. I use it mostly for wide shots and landscape work, and also inside museums. In a perfect world, I would buy the 24-70mm f/2.8 Nikon, but this is a third of the price, and for my application is fine. However, if you are shooting people at closer ranges, I can see where it might be an issue. That far off, and it might be worth talking to Sigma about it. They might be able to either fix it or replace it.
1354104
Sorry to hear about your loss. I hope you had insurance. You can easily add a rider to your home insurance and it's not that expensive.Get the 85mm f/1.8. Lots of excellent used ones on the market, now that Nikon has announced the new 85 f/1.4. I use it for basketball, along with a 50mm f/1.4 and 35 f/1.8, but I work from the floor, not the stands. In action sports, it's all about speed. You can always use a set of close-up extenders for macro, and you'll like the extra working distance you'll get from the 85.
987396
I think it would be great on a D700 given it is a full frame sensor. It might be hard to keep moving children in sharp focus with the aperture wide open but if you do it will give great portraiture shots with a great bokeh effect. This is truly one of my favorite lens now even over my 70-200/2.8. It gives that professional look.
496026
Your biggest issue here will be light. F4 isn't the fastest glass for basketball, but if you up your ISO to the 1600-2500 range you should be OK. Remember you only have 105 as the longest zoom, but if you multiply by your crop factor you'll get decent reach. I would also suggest a tripod/monopod.
1150473
Get a Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM Medium Telephoto Lens for basketball photos, the one and a half stops makes all the difference, and you wont be able to tell the difference between photos taken with it or your L glass.