Posted on 09/19/2017 11:49:05 AM PDT by TermLimitsforAll
So I'm looking at getting another lens for my Nikon D60. I don't have anything other than a working knowledge of the camera with zero formal photography classes. I have the original lens that came with the camera and a 70-300 zoom.
What I shoot a lot of is elementary and middle school football games and sideline cheerleading. I was thinking a wide angle lens would be a great addition but don't know where to begin. I was looking at this lens AF-S DX NIKKOR 10-24mm F3.5-4.5G ED but didn't want to spend the 900.00 for a lens that might not suit what I'm shooting. Especially since there would be a 15% restocking fee if I return that lens. Any help from the photagraphy gurus is appreciated.
One suggestion is don’t do business with any one that has a restocking feee.
To many other firms out there.
Photog Mag has loads of vendors with in
Look up B&H Camera in NYC.
They have a toll-free number and can advise you over the phone.
I’m a Canon fan and have bought and upgraded cameras and lenses over the past 15 years with B&H.
Don’t call late Friday or all day Saturday.
Good luck.
Find a local photog shop who will rent gear.
Find what works before you buy.
Your 70-300 zoom should serve you well for sporting events. If you require good depth-of-field, use 100 ASA or slower with a high shutter speed on lower end of the zoom to give you good light at higher shutter speed.
I used an 80-300 zoom for may sports shots and did well...especially for quick high-to-low zooms at somewhat slower shutter speeds to get a distorted look that simulates motion very well...imagine focusing on the football at 80mm, down the line of scrimmage, right before the snap...then snapping the shutter and zooming up to 300mm right at the snap. A very cool effect.
I also used a nice 135mm telephoto lense to good effect. Mostly for stills and portrait type shots. But for sports, I got the most use out of the 80-300 zoom.
If your standard lense is a 55mm, as are most, that should serve you well as a mostly wide angle lense. And don't forget to use skylight filters on all your lenses!
Good luck and good shooting!
You might consider a 35-85 zoom to complement your 70-300. 10-24 is really wide, probably wider than you need. IMHO. YMMV. IANAL.
#1. Only buy from Adorama or B&H for hassle-free, cost free returns if you are unhappy.
#2. Nikon lenses are forever. Nikon digital camera bodies are obsolete in 18-24 months. Therefore, spend as much as you can afford on lenses - a lot of them go up in value over time.
#3. Your D60 uses DX lenses. Wide-angle lenses are not good for sports.
#4. If you can’t shoot fast enough with your 70-300 wide open, you may be asking more from your D60 than it can deliver.
Hope that helps.
We have the same camera but just got it and haven’t really played around much yet. You may want to consider renting a lens. There’s a place called lensrental.com or something like that. No idea of costs etc.
I’ve never seen the value of wide angle lenses for most sports photography. I shot a bit of HS football for a local paper years ago. Almost everything I shot was with A telephoto or zoom lens. A normal lens will cover most of a football field while the wide angle will reduce the players to almost invisible specks.
I think you’d be better served with another zoom telephoto perhaps up to 500-1000
One of my cameras is a D-90 which is also a DX format sensor like a D-60.
The 70-300 you have shoots like a 105 to 450 on a full frame format. So you have no lens for a normal view, 40 to 60.
I would suggest first getting a 35 mm Nikon lens which will shoot like a 50 mm would on a full frame. It will also gather light in low light conditions and allow you to shoot without flash more effectively. Under 200 is what I would budget. I will post an additional comment about super-wide later.
See here:
https://www.adorama.com/nk3518u.html
If all you have is a 70-300, get something in the 18-55 range.
Forget the wide angle for now.
I loved my old pentax 135...
If you are shooting these games at night, you’re going to have trouble with a F/3.5-4.5 lens. It just won’t collect enough light for any kind of action shots under field lights. The D60 isn’t really know for its low light ability.
If the games are during the day, that 10-24mm F/3.5-4.5 will probably work fine for you.
If you don’t want to spend a lot of money on a wide lens, look at the Tokina Lenses. Tokina has a 11-20mm F/2.8DX lens for Nikon that probably does decent in low light conditions.
I have a Tokina 16-28mm F/2.8 lens this is glued to my Canon 6D(full frame camera). It is very crisp. I run a bunch of different zooms on my Canon 80D(APS-C crop sensor), but I use the 18-135mm F/3.5-5.6 as my “walk around lens”
If you are interested in learning, looking up Tony and Chelsea Northrup on YouTube.
My follow up is on a completely different tool — a super wide. A super wide does not take in a large area view in the manner we think it would — like a 28 or 35 on a normal full frame.
Instead, a super wide allows you to get very, very close to your subject but still put it in context. Inches can matter with a lens that you shoot a foot or three away from your subject. For less than the nikon, I have the following:
https://www.adorama.com/tn12284nkaf.html
purchased with a Nikon mount. Adorama offers returns.
In getting a super wide you need to be careful of the following:
1.) Quality, Many photo blogs like the quality of this Tokina when used on a Nikon.
2.) Not fish-eye — normal view.
3.) Read up on how to shoot “super wide”
4.) You can get a 11-16 or 11-20 which shoots a tiny bit wider still a savings over the Nikon 900 buck but my choice will let you shoot more at the normal view without changing lens. Remember the 12- 28 will shoot equivalent of a 18 to 42 on full frame. The 42 is close to the 50 which is “normal” (neither wide or tele)
All that being said, I still think a good Nikon 35mm lens is the #1 tool you need to start as I gave in my first answer.
I go with NorthMountain.
Wide angles won’t do much for you at a football game. (Except make the cheerleaders look fat.)
A standard lens that most closely matches the human eye is 55mm. So, an intermediate zoom would probably be the most useful to you considering the lens you already have.
Having a zoom that crosses below the 55mm middle ground to a slight overlap of the zoom you presently have would be most versatile.
Then get a wide angle zoom for a third lens later.
Generally, a lens with a wider aperture would be a better quality lens. If two zoom lenses are for sale side by side, go with the one that stops down to 3.5 rather than the 5.6. That will get you one step up in shutter speed that will stop action better. It will lose you some depth of field though.
It may be easier for you to buy a small camera that already has a short lens. That way you don’t end up switching around and losing good shots.
I have three cameras for that purpose.
There are some great mirrorless cameras with wide angle lenses. Do your homework.
By the way, I just purchased Canon’s M6 camera. It’s got a great rebate going on right now.
I have never purchased a camera from them but B&H have served me very well with multiple buys over the last 10 years. I just received my latest from them 3 days early on the shipping!
You wont be disappointed shopping here.
Agree with everything you said, especially that it is not the best for low light shooting.
Also the 10mp sensor is more than adequate but some of the newer inexpensive models have more pixels without sacrficing speed.
Some of the more expensive models have ridiculous ISO but if you get to the very high ones you sacrifice some quality.
I would look at Adorama or B&H used dept and get another body before getting another lens. I would not go below an excellent condition rating unless the price was really low. They do describe them fairly.
They are not the same quality as Nikon but I have had really good luck with Tamron, Tokina and Sigma lenses.
I guess I didn’t ask what the other “original” lens was that you have. Even if it covers the normal view, if it is a zoom I would still get a fixed, inexpensive large light-gathering Nikon 35mm just so you see how much better you will like normal view with its optics and ability to shoot at higher speed.
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