sigma 170-500 or 50-500 APO ??

[steelersfanincal]

Which is a better buy for nighttime football games? or what would be a good lens without spending to much?

[rawpaw18]

I do not think that either of those are going to give great results, unless there is a lot of light on the field. The 170-500 starts at f/5 and the Bigma at f/4 at the wide end.

I would think you need a faster lens like the Sigma 70-200, Nikon 80-200 f/2.8's. Certainly does not have the reach of a 500mm, but you are probably going to need the extra stops of light.

Sigma also has a constant f4 100-300 for about $900 US, not sure if that will give you enough light or not. I have not used any of these lenses, just putting in my two cents.

[pagnamenta]

I have shot plenty of low light football games at night. You definately need at least a maximum aperature of f4. The 2.8 is ideal. If you really need the extra 100mm from the 100-300, go for that. If you won't miss it so much, buy the Sigma or Nikon 70/80-200mm. You'll really love the results.

[steelersfanincal]

what about the nikon or sigma 80-400mm with f/4.5-5.6?

[rawpaw18]

what about the nikon or sigma 80-400mm with f/4.5-5.6?

My guess is no, but is there a place nearby where you can rent a lens like this? Then you will be able to try it out first, I think it is just not going to be fast enough to stop sports in low light/night conditions. Are you shooting at pro venues (most light), high school (Less light) or little league(not much light at all)?

[rawpaw18]

steelersfanincal
Go over to pbase and check out the samples from lenses you are considering purchasing there. You may have to look through quite a few images but I have found it to be very helpful.



Steelers vs. Skins hmm, could be fun! See ya at the big show.

[steelersfanincal]

steelersfanincal
Go over to pbase and check out the samples from lenses you are considering purchasing there. You may have to look through quite a few images but I have found it to be very helpful.



Steelers vs. Skins hmm, could be fun! See ya at the big show.


what is pbase? and where do i look?

what about 100-300mm with a f4 only? shooting at high school fields.

[Rex914]

You are going to need a f/2.8 lens at the minimum to freeze the action and let in sufficient light. The Sigma 70-200/2.8 is a good zoom for the job at a moderate price. If you need something longer, you'll be looking at a prime instead. If you need up to 300mm and f/2.8, there's nothing on the market that's budget friendly. The cheapest solution is the Sigma 120-300/2.8, and that goes for $2500+.

[rawpaw18]

what is pbase? and where do i look?



pbase.com
Here is a link to the Sigma samples.... http://www.pbase.com/cameras/sigma

Go into the camera database a choose the brand you want to look at, and then select the exact lens. There are a lot of useless and useful shots to go through, but you can get an idea of what kind of results to expect from that lens.

[wh0128]

yes the 2.8 is very ideal. I was shooting on a film camera with 80-200 f/4.5 @ a highschool football game and at 4.5 the fastest shutterspeed I could use was 1/8 or 1/15, and I know that it probably blurred the players. A 2.8 on my 50mm was easy to use at a shutterspeed of 1/60 or 1/125, and this was at 9:00 pm! Rawpaw, thank you for showing where pbase was, i had the same question and thought it was on this site. Now I can look at lenses and what quality of photos they take.