Looking for a prime lens/telephoto lens?
I'm looking for a prime lens and/or a telephoto lens that will allow me to take pictures of pretty much any sport. I know that this is practically impossible. However, I know that there's a general lens that is good in any situation… I'm just having a hard time finding it. High School Football, lacrosse, soccer and field hockey are out because I have kit lenses that can take decent care of that. I'm debating between an 85mm and a 35mm prime lens for basketball, swim, volleyball, etc… What is a good lens for all of these sports under $500… Thanks.
Added (1). my camera is a ti3
I'm looking for a prime lens and/or a telephoto lens that will allow me to take pictures of pretty much any sport. I know that this is practically impossible. However, I know that there's a general lens that is good in any situation… I'm just having a hard time finding it. High School Football, lacrosse, soccer and field hockey are out because I have kit lenses that can take decent care of that. I'm debating between an 85mm and a 35mm prime lens for basketball, swim, volleyball, etc… What is a good lens for all of these sports under $500… Thanks. When shooting sports, I mostly use a Nikkor AF-S 200 mm f/2.0 or Nikkor AF-S 300 mm f/2.8
When shooting sports, you really need a long lens if you shoot any kind of field sports.
I also use those two lenses (plus a 24-70 mm f/2.8) when shooting basketball, volleyball and wrestling.
The one "odd duck" is the Nikkor AF-S 200-400 mm f/4 I use when shooting hockey
When I'm shooting volleyball, if find that the focal length I use most is 135 mm, so I use either the 70-200 mm f/2.8 or a 135 mm f/2.0.
Sadly, the 85 mm and 35 mm lenses are not going to do the job, although the 35 mm should work well when shooting basketball from the base line.
I hope you are beginning to see that $500 is NOT nearly enough for the lenses a sports shooter uses on a daily basis.
Here are two links
Once shows what various focal length lenses "see" and the other shows the list of all the lenses that are available for my Nikon D800e and D300
Canon has a similar lineup when it comes to lenses. Pentax has fewer available lenses but do have those necessary for shooting sports.
Visit those websites if you own one of those systems. It would really really help a lot if you tell us what kind of camera you have. I suggest to take "fhotoace's" advice and I would include researching and reading multiple reviews for lenses before purchasing to prevent buyers remorse. Sometimes it is better to save money over a few months (even years) to buy what you really want instead of buying something now that you will be unhappy with. On the other hand the sooner your out there taking pictures, the better you will get at it. There's no general lens for ANY or All situations. None whatsoever.
If you are satisfied with your kit lens for outdoor sports then it should also do for indoor. If you want to get nearer to the action, get at least 200mm with the lowest f/number you can afford.
It would really really help a lot if you tell us what kind of camera you have.
I suggest to take "fhotoace's" advice and I would include researching and reading multiple reviews for lenses before purchasing to prevent buyers remorse. Sometimes it is better to save money over a few months (even years) to buy what you really want instead of buying something now that you will be unhappy with. On the other hand the sooner your out there taking pictures, the better you will get at it.
There's no general lens for ANY or All situations. None whatsoever.
If you are satisfied with your kit lens for outdoor sports then it should also do for indoor. If you want to get nearer to the action, get at least 200mm with the lowest f/number you can afford.