Home Forums Gear Photography Nikon zoom for shooting soccer games

I'm just about to buy a Nikon D700 body but want to upgrade to a lens that will be used specifically for shooting Club-level soccer.

I've been thinking the best bang for the busk might be the 70-300 f.5/5.6 with vibration reduction. Comments about the this lens would be appreciated plus any other suggestions with respect to a better one.

Suggestion... rent one before you purchase one.

300mm might not be enough for soccer field shooting. Make sure whatever you buy you can use Nikon Brand 1.4 or 1.7 tele-converters with it...btw, you can not with the 70-300

I have the 70-300 VR which I used all this past summer on both a D200 and D300 body...its a great lens but it always seems to work out that it won't quite reach out far enough and the VR is not lighting quick which you need with sport shooting....

I rented the 80-400 VR, which is compatible with the converters but ended up buying the 200-400 VR...its a lotta fun, especially with either the 1.4 or 1.7....and you can actually get off a few shots hand-held before it breaks your arm...a Manfrotto 685B monopod corrected that...the VR or both these 2 lens is very very fast..

Another thought...Nikon's 80-200 AFS II (2-ring, not the slider) is a very neat lens and its fast and 2.8...and, its compatible with both those converters

Its my favorite go-to combo and now resides pretty much full-time on the D200...

http://alaskandave.smugmug.com/

Did you mean the auto-focus was fast?

yep.....I'd take the 80-200 I mentioned above over the 70-300 VR in a heart beat...no comparison period, especially coupled up to a D700 body...and its 2.8

that and the additional plus of being able to use both the 1.4 and 1.7 Nikon tele-converters with it...

If ya go looking be sure its an AFS II..which makes it whats commonly referred to as a "2 ring"....both the zoom and the manual focus are rings rather than the zoom being a slider

Picture...left side & right side

http://alaskandave.smugmug.com/gallery/4374247_XageG#279472006_Ekbme

http://alaskandave.smugmug.com/gallery/4374247_XageG#279471965_qFuBA

Holy Cow! I just found an AF-S (Silent Wave) 80-200 f2.8 in immaculate condition --- box, papers, accessories, hood, detachable collar mount, etc --- Double Holy Cow on the focusing speed.

The only downside, and it isn't bad on a good monopod, it's a heavy rascal but I do like the results.

I've got a 70-200 2.8vr that I use on my D3 and D200... (Yeah, it vignettes *slightly* on the d3 @ 70mm, but I shoot mostly portraiture, so that's not all that problematic...)

Bottom line, for that kind of shooting, it's a heckuva lens. I agree with Alaskan's comments on the 200-400, but that's quite a bit more $.

And +1 to the suggestion of renting before buying. Can and will prevent huge mistakes at some point. Lots out there but I've had best results with lensrentals.com. YMMV.

Here's a photo I took about a week ago. I got to the game late and as I was parking the car I saw the other team setting up for a corner kick and just grabbed by camera and lens and grabbed a quick hand-held shot from the parking lot of #2 (my grand-daughter) with some air under her heading the ball-- cropped to about30-35% of original image. I have a 16"x24" of it mounted and laminated on fibre board in my den and the quality, even cropped by 2/3's it's just what I hoped for when I bought this combination.

Her coach calls her "Mia Hampster"

Bill....you were able to locate & purchased a Nikon 80-200 AF-S..?

I see you are using a D40 & focal length 110mm on the picture above

Here is a recent out-the-window hand-held 80-200 photo...