Lens for Sports Photography


big_lan

Senior Member
Mar 15, 2003
515
0
16
Visit site
Hi,


I'm interested in indoor sports photography (badminton, table tennis, netball, gymnastics) and after working with an 80-200mm f2.8, i've decided to upgrade to a telephoto prime lens for my nikon.

the usual one's i was looking at were the 180mm f2.8 and the 200mm f2.

180mm f2.8

200mm f2


However after heavy consideration (price was a factor) i came across the 180mm f3.5 Macro from tamron.
Tamron -180mm F/3.5(Model B01)

my question is, would the tamron be able to give decent images for indoor sports? i've looked at it and it seems to be largely used in macro.

any constructive comments would be welcome!
 

For indoor sports, normally you will need a fast lens; i.e. f2.8 or wider

Macro lenses are not suitable for sports as it focuses much slower due to the long focussing throw.
 

Hi,


I'm interested in indoor sports photography (badminton, table tennis, netball, gymnastics) and after working with an 80-200mm f2.8, i've decided to upgrade to a telephoto prime lens for my nikon.

the usual one's i was looking at were the 180mm f2.8 and the 200mm f2.

180mm f2.8

200mm f2


However after heavy consideration (price was a factor) i came across the 180mm f3.5 Macro from tamron.
Tamron -180mm F/3.5(Model B01)

my question is, would the tamron be able to give decent images for indoor sports? i've looked at it and it seems to be largely used in macro.

any constructive comments would be welcome!

slower AF, only one focal length, and a smaller aperture... What do *you* think?
 

Another question to TS would be... when using the 80-200mm lens... which focal length do you normally shoot in? if you shoot at 80-100mm range, then all the 180mm and 200mm prime lenses are not useful to you.

Normally I will not use macro lens for sports, like what others said... AF speed might be too slow... also a macro lens had higher magnification, and a slight move might cause blur to your photo.
 

I usually shoot at 180-200mm which is why i decided on the 180mm.

but you have a good point about AF speed which i have not really considered. thanks for highlighting!

rhino123, thanks for the comment! btw, what do you mean by "macro lens have higher magnification", does a 180mm non macro lens function differently from a macro version?
 

Why not consider the 135 DC ?