Need opinion on sports photography

[praetorean]

Hi,

I'm seeking 2 cents here...
We'll be taking a trip to Malaysia on October 3 to check out the Malaysia Open (ATP World Tour 250 event), and some of ATP's top 20's will be playing there and we're looking at taking action shots...

with budget constraints, we're looking to rent a nikon 70-300mm vr to use & we got the premium seats. I believe we may be 10-15 feet from the court... the 70-200 is just too pricey and heavy too... additionally, we'll touring around too

so, my queries would be as follows:
1- would the nikon 70-300mm be good enough for action shots, in an indoor courts?
2- guess, this'll have to do for touring around too, no wides though coz i'll be zoomed in at 70mm already (i'll just bring along my 18-55mm kit, for wides)
3- or would the 18-200mm be good enough? guess the priority's the action shots hehehe

thanks y'all

 

[Rashkae]

10-15 feet? I think you may need a wider lens too. And if it's indoor, I'd look to rent a 70-200 f/2.8

 

[praetorean]

not sure about the distance, i think that'd the the front row seats... the farthest maybe 25ft... 70-200mm's too pricey...
i'll just have to compromise here; so, i guess i'll still be able to take the shots i guess...

i'll take the lens for a test run before we go there so i can get used to it

thanks

 

[flipfreak]

which nikon body are u using and is it good enough to capture tennis?

 

[praetorean]

body's a D90

 

[praetorean]

which nikon body are u using and is it good enough to capture tennis?

body's a D90

 

[flipfreak]

body's a D90

ic. not sure what kind of lighting u are gonna get but since u cant use a flash, u will be required to bump the iso to a rather high level to freeze the motion. u need to be sure not only your af can track fast enough, your fps too. and your lens is not too slow as well. a 70-300mm at 300mm can be abit too slow for sports. i think u might be looking at shutter speed of more than 1/250 easily.

 

[praetorean]

ic. not sure what kind of lighting u are gonna get but since u cant use a flash, u will be required to bump the iso to a rather high level to freeze the motion.

for sure, the place'll be adequately lighted... but yes, will have to up the ISO...

a 70-300mm at 300mm can be abit too slow for sports. i think u might be looking at shutter speed of more than 1/250 easily.

i'll take my chances on this... it's ok, i understand i'll have to do a mix and match on the ISO and shutter speed... learned this with i took some pixes sometime ago
i forgot to use the flash and i still didn't know how to mix up the iso's and shutter speed... but there're always room to improve on hehehee

thanks

 

[flipfreak]

for sure, the place'll be adequately lighted... but yes, will have to up the ISO...





i'll take my chances on this... it's ok, i understand i'll have to do a mix and match on the ISO and shutter speed... learned this with i took some pixes sometime ago
i forgot to use the flash and i still didn't know how to mix up the iso's and shutter speed... but there're always room to improve on hehehee

thanks

no worries. just sharing some concerns on it. have fun!

 

[Reportage]

Hi,

I'm seeking 2 cents here...
We'll be taking a trip to Malaysia on October 3 to check out the Malaysia Open (ATP World Tour 250 event), and some of ATP's top 20's will be playing there and we're looking at taking action shots...

with budget constraints, we're looking to rent a nikon 70-300mm vr to use & we got the premium seats. I believe we may be 10-15 feet from the court... the 70-200 is just too pricey and heavy too... additionally, we'll touring around too

so, my queries would be as follows:
1- would the nikon 70-300mm be good enough for action shots, in an indoor courts?
2- guess, this'll have to do for touring around too, no wides though coz i'll be zoomed in at 70mm already (i'll just bring along my 18-55mm kit, for wides)
3- or would the 18-200mm be good enough? guess the priority's the action shots hehehe

thanks y'all

practically, the 18-200mm would be the better choice if you are on the move most of the time. Just up the exposure when you adjust the shutter to catch the player movements...try not to mess with the iso unless unavoidable.

 

[praetorean]

thanks guys... guess there'll be only 1 way to find out ;-)

@Reportage: yeah, i think an 18-200mm would probably suffice here. i'll just try to rent out the 70-300; and bring along my kit 18-55mm. been wanting to get the 70-300 anyways and renting it gives me a chance to give it a test run before buying (since it's cheaper than 70-200 or 80-400 ) them.

my next to rent out on another day would be the 18-200...


@flipfreak: no worries...

 

[Reportage]

thanks guys... guess there'll be only 1 way to find out ;-)

@Reportage: yeah, i think an 18-200mm would probably suffice here. i'll just try to rent out the 70-300; and bring along my kit 18-55mm. been wanting to get the 70-300 anyways and renting it gives me a chance to give it a test run before buying (since it's cheaper than 70-200 or 80-400 ) them.

my next to rent out on another day would be the 18-200...


@flipfreak: no worries...

the 70-300 is good if there are photographers in front of you. Just grab a step ladder and a monopod, should be good for just about any shot. Might want to check out affliated magazines to see what kinds of photos are sell-able. but take note that the D90 autofocus may be a bit slow so try to take 2 or more shots per scene if possible or manually if really need the speed.