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Lens for D3100 Help.

post #1 of 16
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I bough a D3100 1 month ago and been using it daily. I am using Stock 18-55mm lens which came with the body. I was today taking some sport photos and noticed that the Zoom is not enough. From reading around it looks like i need a Telephoto Lens. The problem is that i have no clue which to get. Some are 200mm some are 300mm some are $400 and some are over $1K. This is purely for fun so cheaper the better.
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post #2 of 16
Nikon makes a 70-300mm 4.5-5.6 VR that would fit what you do greatly. The lens is fantastic and you get a solid telephoto for a great price. Also having the VR for the longer local length is useful.

I had this lens when I first started to get into photography and it served me well.

http://www.nikonusa.com/Nikon-Products/Product/Camera-Lenses/2161/AF-S-VR-Zoom-NIKKOR-70-300mm-f%252F4.5-5.6G-IF-ED.html

Ill add in that Nikon makes a cheaper 55-300 lens for DX(Your camera). And may be more appealing to you. If you feel like you would use your camera more with a telephoto then I would still recommend the 70-300 as it is a better lens in construction and optics. Link for the 55-300 is below.

http://www.nikonusa.com/Nikon-Products/Product/Camera-Lenses/2197/AF-S-DX-NIKKOR-55-300mm-f%252F4.5-5.6G-ED-VR.html#tab-ProductDetail-ProductTabs-TechSpecs
Edited by Kortwa - 6/15/12 at 10:04pm
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post #3 of 16
Thread Starter 
Thanks for the help. I will probably consider the cheaper model.
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post #4 of 16
more important is what sports are you shooting. i shoot sports semi-professionally, meaning i make a lot of money doing it but its not my only income source. depending on what sport you are shooting calls for what focal length and more importantly what lens you would need to do a decent job.

while 70-300 is a great focal range for sports that lens is not intended for sports use and therefore combined with your camera which i have not tons of experience shooting with might result in slow autofocus since the lens has a good amount of glass to move around.

55-250 will be a money saver and offer similar quality and easier to use.

also VR is worthless when shooting sports because your shutter speeds will be soo fast you dont have to worry about camera shake.

any of the cheap super zooms will work nicely but honestly at a certain point if you care about quality the camera body will be the factor that holds you back the money so honestly but the cheapest super zoom you can get for the money because quality wise they will all provide the same results.

in my opinion the 55-250 will be fine and just crop your images if you need to. unless you are shooting sports from the stands in which case i suggest just not shooting since that is a terrible angle for sports photography. unless you are on the field or court dont expect too many awesome shots. just being realistic.

here are some of the shots i have taken in the past. idk how much longer my free portfolio will be up but you might get some inspiration or something. http://brian_r.500px.com
    
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post #5 of 16
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Conspiracy View Post

more important is what sports are you shooting. i shoot sports semi-professionally, meaning i make a lot of money doing it but its not my only income source. depending on what sport you are shooting calls for what focal length and more importantly what lens you would need to do a decent job.
while 70-300 is a great focal range for sports that lens is not intended for sports use and therefore combined with your camera which i have not tons of experience shooting with might result in slow autofocus since the lens has a good amount of glass to move around.
55-250 will be a money saver and offer similar quality and easier to use.
also VR is worthless when shooting sports because your shutter speeds will be soo fast you dont have to worry about camera shake.
any of the cheap super zooms will work nicely but honestly at a certain point if you care about quality the camera body will be the factor that holds you back the money so honestly but the cheapest super zoom you can get for the money because quality wise they will all provide the same results.
in my opinion the 55-250 will be fine and just crop your images if you need to. unless you are shooting sports from the stands in which case i suggest just not shooting since that is a terrible angle for sports photography. unless you are on the field or court dont expect too many awesome shots. just being realistic.
here are some of the shots i have taken in the past. idk how much longer my free portfolio will be up but you might get some inspiration or something. http://brian_r.500px.com

This the kind of Photo i want to shoot.
400
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post #6 of 16
so sports photography. or only wide angle shots of sports. because if you are ok with the wide shot the 18-55 is fine. if you want closer shots then go 55-250
    
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post #7 of 16
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Conspiracy View Post

so sports photography. or only wide angle shots of sports. because if you are ok with the wide shot the 18-55 is fine. if you want closer shots then go 55-250
Thats what i used, I took that with 55mm. So you are saying 250mm will be enough?
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post #8 of 16
if you want a tighter shot thats closer to the action 250 will be much better.

i shoot soccer in the daytime with a 70-200 with a 1.4X extender and at night with just the 70-200 and pretty much stay at 200 all the time. as long as your shooting during the daytime you do not have to worry much about shutter speed but in low light with sports you really want at least 1/500 to freeze the action and with the desire to keep ISO as low as possible to get minimal noise it becomes a very fast battle with low light sports.

but basically daytime shooting of sports is no problem. if you are shooting under poor lighting which is anything that isnt daytime no clouds and you want a super clean image you need a nikon 70-200 f2.8 which is more expensive of course but other than that 55-250 will be fine since you do not need professional quality because i assume you are not selling your shots or making large prints. *i appologize if i have made the wrong assumption. if you need advice on professional gear for sports photography i can help you as that is my main photography i shoot
    
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post #9 of 16
Thread Starter 
Yes you assumed right. Its not for professional shoots. I was looking to find a 250mm Lens for Nikon but cant seem to find any.
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post #10 of 16
My mistake. Nikon makes the 55-200

Canon makes the 55-250, the 50mm difference will not be huge at that focal range
    
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