Fast Motorsport Lens

[STIfree]

Hello,

I'm looking for some suggestions on a good lens to use for motorsport. I have a Nikon D7000 with a variety of lenses including a telescopic lens, 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 but looking for something a bit better. I'm attending all rounds of the British Drift Championship plus Le Mans 24hr and no doubt a number of other motorsport events this year so I thought I'd spend a little to capture my time there better.

I've had a quick browse myself but nothing stuck out to me as a good candidate, everything seemed to be £1000+. So that brings me onto my budget, ideally I would like to be somewhere between the £250-300 range but suppose I could go up to £400 or a little bit more (buy cheap buy twice is something I want to avoid). I don’t mind buying second hand as long as it’s from a decent shop.

So I hand it over to you clever people, what have you got and what would you recommend?

[jayemm89]

The only good fast zoom I ever had the pleasure of using was a Sigma 120-300mm but that's way beyond your budget.

I don't do Nikon, but I know from the Canon range no good, fast lens is going to be available at that price.

What sort of focal length do you need? Does it need to be longer than your 300mm, or is 300 fine and you just want something better?

[chopper602]

It might be worthwhile looking for an interest free deal - I got 10 months 0% with WEX when I got my 70-200 f2.6 and it's a really REALLY good lump of glass!

[STIfree]

jayemm89 said:

The only good fast zoom I ever had the pleasure of using was a Sigma 120-300mm but that's way beyond your budget.

I don't do Nikon, but I know from the Canon range no good, fast lens is going to be available at that price.

What sort of focal length do you need? Does it need to be longer than your 300mm, or is 300 fine and you just want something better?

300mm does get used a lot when I'm at my local tracks so I imagine I'll be using it at that this year so 300mm or larger would be great.

chopper602 said:

It might be worthwhile looking for an interest free deal - I got 10 months 0% with WEX when I got my 70-200 f2.6 and it's a really REALLY good lump of glass!

I had a feeling I wasn't going to get much for my budget
I'd be more than happy to get one on finance but I have zero credit history at the moment so struggle to get even a store card so would need somewhere that was a bit easier to get credit from.

[STIfree]

I've just thought, the telescopic lens I have now doesn't have VR so anything with VR would be an improvement.

Whats the thoughts on this 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6D?
http://www.camerajungle.co.uk/product/100324/nikon...

[Gemm]

Used Sigma 70-200mm f2.8 is around £350-£400, so you could search around. I've seen a few Canon ones but not Nikon.....

[tim-b]

Gemm said:

Used Sigma 70-200mm f2.8 is around £350-£400, so you could search around. I've seen a few Canon ones but not Nikon.....

Good shout. It's not quite as nice as the Canon equivalent (sorry don't know about Nikon) but it's 95% of the lens for a good deal less money.

[K12beano]

STIfree said:

Whats the thoughts on this 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6D?
http://www.camerajungle.co.uk/product/100324/nikon...

Slow to autofocus.
Not brilliant VR technology - has been significantly overtaken in last 15 years
Optically - average

Your better options would be:

HIRE - the new version of the above

Or

HIRE - a 200-400mm AF-S f/4...later version... Would be better focussing and even better optically

Ensure you have a good monopod

Ensure you understand EXACTLY how Nikon AF system works/is designed to work



(You'll even have some change from your budget)

[Simpo Two]

STIfree said:

I'm looking for some suggestions on a good lens to use for motorsport. I have a Nikon D7000 with a variety of lenses including a telescopic lens, 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 but looking for something a bit better.

Better how? You say 300mm is used a lot so I wouldn't put a 70-200 on the list (unless you need f2.8 which you probably don't in daylight at long range). By 'fast' do you mean f2.8 or simply faster focusing?

Which 70-300 lens do you have? If Nikon you say it's not VR so it must be G or ED - the VR will beat them both comfortably. Nikon 70-300mm VR would be my recommendation, and about on budget.

[Yellabelly]

Agree with Simpo, I had the Nikkor 70-300VR and it was a cracking lens, can be had s/h for about £300. My lad uses a Sigma 70-200 f2.8 on his D7000 as well as now having bought my Sigma 150-500 and he gets superb results from both but they are a bit outside your budget, although the 150-500 on ebay is around £500-550 but it's a heavy beast.

I looked at the Nikkor 80-400 but as Beano states, it is slow and not that well regarded and again it is around £650. The new 80-400 is getting good reviews but at £2500+ so it should. I ended up with the Nikkor 300mm f4 which is really sharp but no VR and it is still quite expensive S/h.

YB

[droopsnoot]

STIfree said:

I've just thought, the telescopic lens I have now doesn't have VR so anything with VR would be an improvement.

Funnily enough I posted some motorsport photos I'd taken where I was unhappy with how many rejects I got, and one suggestion I got from a few people was to disable shake reduction because it's hard for it to cope properly with fast-moving objects. Also using manual focus was suggested, though I'm not sure my eyesight is up to that. This might be specific to my camera of course, which is a fairly low-end Pentax DSLR.

[Simpo Two]

DSLRs are not really designed for manual focus especially the crop-sensor ones. They lack the split-screen microprism malarkey of film SLRs. But sometimes using AF to get focus and then disable it can be useful.

[Craikeybaby]

Simpo Two said:

DSLRs are not really designed for manual focus especially the crop-sensor ones. They lack the split-screen microprism malarkey of film SLRs. But sometimes using AF to get focus and then disable it can be useful.

Back button focus is perfect for this - can you do that on the Nikon system?

[GravelBen]

I got a second-hand Nikon AF 80-200 f2.8 quite a few years ago and I've been very happy with it - it may not focus as fast as the newer AF-S 70-200 or have VR etc, but it is a whole lot cheaper and optically very nice.

Depends if 200mm is long enough for the circuits you're at I guess, I shoot more rallying than circuit stuff - though having said that, I tried a cheap 70-300 for a bit of extra reach at circuits once and got much better results by leaving it in the bag, using the 80-200 and cropping later.

Edited by GravelBen on Friday 4th April 13:12

[Simpo Two]

Craikeybaby said:

Simpo Two said:

DSLRs are not really designed for manual focus especially the crop-sensor ones. They lack the split-screen microprism malarkey of film SLRs. But sometimes using AF to get focus and then disable it can be useful.

Back button focus is perfect for this - can you do that on the Nikon system?

If you mean 'AF-ON', which activates AF from the rear, yes, though I prefer to do it with just one digit via the shutter release. However either method only works for one shot.

[ManFromDelmonte]

I would agree that the Nikon 70-300 VR is probably the best lens with your budget (or even one slightly higher)

[STIfree]

Thanks for all the replies. After some thought, I understand I may need to up my budget a bit. I dont want to spend £400-500 on a lens and everytime I use it think I should of just saved some more and not 'wasted' my money on a cheaper lens.

So that said, I'm looking at second hand AF-S 70-200mm f/2.8G VR IF-ED. So tell me, do I just hit buy on this for £999?
http://www.camerajungle.co.uk/item/201850/nikon-af...

[K12beano]

Good choice. Will be excellent with a TC14E as well.

I had a scruffy first gen 70-200m f/2.8. The first Mk I also benefits from focus lock buttons handily placed.

I sold mine for pretty much what I paid for it after three years (it 40% funded a brand new D800)

[Simpo Two]

STIfree said:

So that said, I'm looking at second hand AF-S 70-200mm f/2.8G VR IF-ED. So tell me, do I just hit buy on this for £999?

Well considering that you said '300mm does get used a lot when I'm at my local tracks so I imagine I'll be using it at that this year so 300mm or larger would be great' I don't see the logic in dropping a grand on something 33% shorter just because it's a pro lens. It's also probably twice the weight and bulk of your current lens, so be ready to carry it all day.

[K12beano]

Simpo Two said:

It's also probably twice the weight and bulk of your current lens, so be ready to carry it all day.

That won't be a problem for a PH Powerfully-Built Director....