D5100 lens for kids football???

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Boberto

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Hi all,

Can anyone suggest a good lens for my D5100. I bought it last year and have been very pleased with it and the 18-55 kit lens that it came with.

My son plays for a local kids football team and I have used the "sports" function on the camera to take some cool action shots of him while playing as well as team photos too. Where I find I am lacking is the zoom of the lens can't get close on him if he is the opposite end of the pitch so I am guessing I need a bigger/longer lens which can cope with this?

At a recent tournament there were a professional company taking photos of the kids that you could buy afterwards. The lens was white and I remember being told these are £1000s of pounds. My budget won't allow for this but I can spend a few hundred. I would like something that could produce as good as possible because I am thinking of getting the permission of parents to photograph his team mates and get the pics printed off and framed and sell them at training for a couple of quid profit to raise funds for the club.

Is what I am asking for make sense and seem realistic with my budget? Obviously the lens would need to be compatible with my D5100.

Sorry for all the questions - I am a newbie. Thanks for reading :)
 
The one you have seen is most probably a Canon lens, for a couple of hundred you might get an used Nikon 70-300 VR and that's maybe the best choice in your case :) And if you are going to take sports seriously you should start using the shutter priority mode :)
 
As I'm quite bad at explaining things, in the manual for the camera there should be a section about it and I'm sure it is better explained than I can ever do.
 
Also, that Nikon 70-300 - does is restrict me if I am close to the action? By that I mean is it good at zooming further away but if the object is a few yards away would it not zoom back out as far?
 
It would zoom out to 70 which is still a bit more than the 55 zoomed in end of your current lens. How many shots are you taking where your current lens is not fully zoomed in?
 
Yesterday I was positioned behind the goal so when the action was in front of my - no prob but when the action was up the other end it was a pitch length between me and them. Bare in mind this is kids football so its not a full sized pitch.

Plamen, I have the "Dummies" book for the D5100 which I will take a look in to read about the shutter priority. Thanks for bringing this to my attention.
 
plamen_gb said:
And if you are going to take sports seriously you should start using the shutter priority mode :)
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The majority of (non-wheeled) sport is shot using Av or M, not S/Tv!

Boberto said:
Sorry mate - can you explain shutter priority please?
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Boberto, please don't take this the wrong way, but before you start spending money on kit and contemplating selling your photos, learn how the camera works properly first. That means getting out of scene modes and using the PASM settings appropriately.
 
plamen_gb said:
nd if you are going to take sports seriously you should start using the shutter priority mode :)
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good grief where did you get that from? probably my least used mode.. I will use all or any mode as the situation requires.. but for football almost never this mode..

to the OP you dont say what age your son is and thus what size pitch.. is it a full size football pitch or the smaller junior size ..half or less.. this is important info before people starting handing out advice :)
 
You are most likely to be shooting in decent light conditions photographing kids footy so the need for a faster aperture lens and the fact it's for more of a hobby will aid the wallet.

Therefore another vote here for the Nikon 70-300 VR, stunning images from a fairly cheap lens in comparison to others. I don't shoot sport but have used it in the past for footy as a favour to local junior team.

Just my 2penneth. Kippax etc will provide you with more technical help.
 
OP posted while i posted I think.. so now we know its a smaller pitch.. a 300 will be plenty.. Also you dont have to worry about the fstop on kids playing pitched in fact f5.6 on a sunny day is good... backgrounds usually miles away.... so that lens sounds ideal... i have never used one myself so cant say.. but sounds ideal :)
 
Boberto, please don't take this the wrong way, but before you start spending money on kit and contemplating selling your photos, learn how the camera works properly first. That means getting out of scene modes and using the PASM settings appropriately.

Its a fair comment. I don't plan on setting up a business doing this. Just flogging them as a momento to parents for a few quid to raise a little funds for the club. I agree that the PASM settings are the way to go rather than automatic.

to the OP you dont say what age your son is and thus what size pitch.. is it a full size football pitch or the smaller junior size ..half or less.. this is important info before people starting handing out advice

Kipax, apologies. He plays at under 7s (under 8s next season). Pitches are small and its only really when the action is at the opposite end my 18-55 struggles.

Hope this is of some help and thanks for everyones help thus far :)
 
KIPAX said:
OP posted while i posted I think.. so now we know its a smaller pitch.. a 300 will be plenty.. Also you dont have to worry about the fstop on kids playing pitched in fact f5.6 on a sunny day is good... backgrounds usually miles away.... so that lens sounds ideal... i have never used one myself so cant say.. but sounds ideal :)
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Thanks mate :)
 
My vote would go to the Tamron SP 70-300mm F/4-5.6 Di VC USD Lens, purely on a basis off a video on youtube and the pictures on flickr taken with it when compared to the pictures taken with the Nikon 70-300mm VR.

Here's the flickr link for the Tamron http://www.flickr.com/groups/tamron70-300vc/pool/

Here's the flickr link for the Nikon http://www.flickr.com/groups/nikkor_70-300mm_vr/pool/

here's the Video on Youtube that makes me want to buy the Tamron http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZS-aMQKOFMc
 
Can anyone point me in the direction of the best deal for a new Nikon 70-300mm VR lens in todays market please?
 
Camera pricebuster is a website that compares uk stock prices. Then the usual grey import suspects (digital rev/panamoz).

Second hand stock, look at mpb, aperture, grays, fjords and in sure there are a few more.

The nikkor 70-300 was a beast of a lens, especially in good light. Fast af. I loved it.

Hope that helps

S
 
Can someone give me a link to the actual lens on Jessops or Amazon etc so I know which one everyone is referring to. I've seen 2 new ones and they compare a lot ion price. One is £360 ish the other £180...?!
 
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