Lens for Nikon D700 for Gymnastics

MartinH32

MartinH32

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Martin
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Hello all,

Current camera set up is a Nikon D700 with a 24-70 f2.8 DG HSM Sigma lens. It works great for my wedding and portrait work. However following a number of drop in family portrait shoots for the local gymnastics club I've been asked to photograph the gymnastics Christmas display. The lighting is poor beyond belief, dark and the horrible sodium stuff, no out door lighting at all. I can handle the colour with correct white balance management but my main issue is obviously shutter speed against high ISO. The light is so poor i'm putting the iso up to 3200 and I barely get 200th of a second at 2.8. Clearly this isn't good enough for capturing work on the bars or tumbles.

Any suggestions, lens or otherwise?
 
Maybe a 1.4 50mm? Can't really think of any faster lenses avilable to you other than a 2.8 that you have.

If you've been designated as official photographer maybe they won't mind you setting up some lighting?
 
Agree with Cyclone 200mm f2 sounds good for you. Or if they let you get really close perhaps a 50mm f1.4?
 
Just re read the OP, for some reason I thought you wanted more length. If you don't then one of the 85mm primes are a lot cheaper than the 200/2.
 
You could rent a lens from lenses for hire. Either an 85 1.4 or 1.8. Around £50 for the week if I'm corrct.
 
Thanks for all your replies guys. I'm considering the Nikon 85Mm F1.8D AF.
It's a local gym club and they know me so I can get quite close to the gymnasts without too much of an issue.
Reckon this would be ok?
 
Would it not be possible to use flash at all, even on low power it could quite easily freeze the motion
 
Frenzied Dwarf said:
Would it not be possible to use flash at all, even on low power it could quite easily freeze the motion
Click to expand...

Already asked that question. It puts the gymnasts off and you can imagine how much it can hurt slipping off a beam or the bars.
 
I've done gym work like this - the D700 is fine at 6400 and even 12,800 - use it at that and f2.8 on a 70-200

Some people - togs mostly - want perfectly noise-free images but it's impossible in the gymnastics field as the least of their worries is light levels. Some noise/graininess is perfectly acceptable and f1.8 or faster lenses will lead to more OoF images then enough

Please remember we were using and selling images in the film days by pushing film to enormous lengths & grain. The D700/D3 etc/ type sensor is FAR better than film was/is - but an OoF image or one too blurred by motion blur as you were going to minimum noise/grain is just plain crap

Push the ISO - your camera is fine for it & the clients don't care/see it anyway :)

DD
 
Flash In The Pan said:
70-200 or 200 f/2 would be my choice
Click to expand...

Soz m8 - but having done it on someone tumbling towards me - a fixed focal length is just a waste of time as most images need a crop and for others you can't get them all in - zoom is the only way IMO

DD
 
We cover a fair bit of gymnastics at all levels and can offer the following advice:

- For good gymnastics action shots you will need to be shooting at 1/640 of a second or quicker, especially for bars and tumbling.

- In general we agree with DiddyDave that zoom lenses are best for gymnastics. However, it looks like you will need to go f/2 or f/1.8 in your lighting conditions, so that rules zoom out. As you can probably get quite close to the action, either an 85mm, 105mm or 135mm prime should do the job.

- We find that good shots of gymnasts during tumbles are the trickiest to capture. Shots of somersaults can also look strangely un-dynamic even when you get the subject in focus. Our favourite tumbling shot is of the gymnast coming directly towards you and just at the moment they raise their arms above their head to enter the round-off skill.

- If you want the best artistic pictures on the floor, be sure to capture the leaps and jumps that the gymnasts perform.

- If you do struggle to get the fast shutter speeds, don't despair! There are plenty of artistic moments in gymnastics that can be captured at slower speeds. Look out for poses and interesting body shapes that are worked into the choreography on the floor. Look out for the momentary pauses on the bars. Look out for the holds and balances in the pairs routines.

- Finally, if you want some inspiration then there is no better place to look than the website of the queen of gymnastics photography - Eileen Langsley (www.langsleysports.com) She uses a D700 too!
 
Good advice above - remember in every jump there is a moment when the gymnast is still - at the very top of the jump - before he/she comes down again! It's all about timing! Good luck and let's see what you get!
 
Thank you everybody for your input. Plenty to go on. I can get very close to the action so I'm not too concerned about needing a long zoom.

Thanks DD for the info on the ISO settings, guess I'm still one of these people who get the shivers anything over 800 even though I know the d700 can more than happily cope with it.
I think I will plump for a 1.4 for 1.8 prime at 85 / 100 / 135 depending on price. Then I should be able to get some reasonable shutter speeds.

cheers
Martin
 
I would go for either the AF 85mm f1.8 or the AF 135mm f2.0 DC both super sharp even wide open same goes for the AF 105mm f2.0 DC
Spoilt for choice now ? :)
 
Aside from the lens suggestions, and no matter how connected you are with the club, maybe worth covering your bases (clearly advertise who you are, etc.) in terms of who you are shooting and the use of such images, especially if the subjects are under 16.
 
x777 said:
Aside from the lens suggestions, and no matter how connected you are with the club, maybe worth covering your bases (clearly advertise who you are, etc.) in terms of who you are shooting and the use of such images, especially if the subjects are under 16.
Click to expand...

Thanks for mentioning this. I have already done this with the club, they've paid for my CRB, all the parents know me as the club tog and I have model release forms signed by the parents for any images I use. So hopefully I've got it covered. The compare at the event will also mention over the tannoy prior to the display starting that anyone that does not want to be photographed should make themselves known.
 
Flash In The Pan said:
70-200 or 200 f/2 would be my choice
Click to expand...

Agree; this would be my choice also, I use the 70-200 f2.8 on a 700 for minor league football, under some very poor floodlighting and although I have to pick the spot and time, get acceptable results. But I would also consider a fixed length lens due to the lost of aperture when at the higher ends of a zoom lens.

There certainly is some ‘noise’, but you can get acceptable images and on occasions some movement in the limbs can add to the images giving it an impression of speed and action.
 
I've had to think about price in my selection and I've gone for the longest focal length to light ratio lens I could afford. I can get close to the action (literally at the side of the aperatus if needed) so it made the choice easier. Also it may be a nice addition to the portrait shots I do.

In the end I purchased a Nikon AF DC-Nikkor 135mm f/2D (Defocus Control) Lens for £770 from One Stop Digital.

It seems people have varying success with different bits of kit and I've scouted around a few other areas on the web also.

Thanks everyone for helping.
 
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