Help choosing a lense for sports! (Need zoom!) dynax 5D

[hypeman]

Hi everyone!

Very new to the photography scene, but I did manage to get my hands on a dynax 5D (konica minolta) also know as maxxum 5D.

I really want a lense for use in sporting events, particularly cricket (meaning i'll be very far away from the actually players). I figure this means, i need a lense with some good zoom power and also a pretty quick lense. As you can see, very new but will be reading up on it more.

I don't want to spend that much, but i did find a lense in my price range and just wanted to know if you could recommend it.

At the moment i'm using the stock 18-70mm lense which I use for portraits and taking photos of people at parties etc.

So here is the lense i'm looking at. Konica Minolta / Sony AF D 75-300mm f/4.5-5.6 Lens. Ok, firstly will this lense work with my 5D? From what i've read i'm pretty sure it will. And secondly, is this the right lense for the uses explained above (ie sports etc). Hopefully yes!.

Here is the picture.

http://img146.imagevenue.com/loc205/th_21633_P1020548_122_205lo.jpg (http://img146.imagevenue.com/img.php?image=21633_P1020548_122_205lo.jpg)

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I know its a lot to ask for, but hopefully i can get an answer tonight, just need it before tomorrow so i can buy this baby. What do you think?

[spartan sojourner]

Hypeman,

I am a canon user so I cannot speak to whether or not that lens will work with your camera. I can, however, say a little about what you are looking for in the lens, and I am sure others will correct and expand on what I say. The first thing that comes to mind is are you shooting indoors or outdoors, and if it is outdoors is it day or night? Outdoors in bright daylight, you should not have much of a problem with this lens. If you are shooting indoors or in lower light, you are going have a hard time getting a fast enough shutter speed to prevent the blur caused by camera shake. This can be offset by a monopod or a tripod if you are allowed bring one with you.

Another option to consider is looking at longer range prime lenses. You can usually get prime lenses that are faster then their zoom counterparts for less money, but the obvious disadvantage is that you cannot zoom out for a wider shot.

Hope this helps some!

~SS

[hypeman]

Cheers for that, great help.

I'm not sure if i mentioned, but it was for cricket which is an outdoor sport (sun needed) if you have not heard of it. But, yeah thats the main reason, maybe a bit of plant life/animal shots here and there, but mostly for sports.

As long as i get the speed thats required i'm happy. The other lense i found was a tamron, any ideas about it. TAMRON - (Minolta) AF Zoom 28-300mm 1:3.2(40) LD(IF)MAC. But its almost double the price (and since, I'm only shooting for hobby) so i think i'll just go with the cheaper alternative.

Yes, I might have a look at primes, but I think the shutter speed should be sufficient (then agian i need the fastest i can, considering i'm trying to take these action shots).

Do you think the minolta lense would be fast enough (in very bright sunlight, ie no clouds), to take some close up action shots? let me give you an example.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2004/20040214/s2.jpg

Thats the sort of thing i want, except i know these were taken by professional photographers, and I should expect mroe blurring etc. But i'm hoping to get that sort of speed. Also depends on the camera i guess, which is a decent speed under full light (from reviews and use).

Yeah, so probably will end up going with the minolta even though its definately not going to be as good as a prime or tamron, but for the price.. can't go wrong. Might upgrade later, if need be.

Thanks anyway.

[hypeman]

Also, just if anyone would know. Is there a major speed/quality differnce between the tamron and minolta i mentioned?

[Nicole]

Don't despair over lenses that aren't top of the line... The lens that you're looking at isn't particularly fast, but cricket is definitely a sunny day sort of game, so that shouldn't be much of a problem. The only problem you may have (not knowing that particular lens) is that telephotos can be kind of soft at 300mm, so you may have to sharpen your pictures in post-processing.

Suggestions for shooting would be to use the manual setting to set the aperture as fast as you can, and using a fast shutter speed. This way you'll be able to decide if you want to under-expose in order to get a little bit of extra speed. On a sunny day you should be able to freeze the movement pretty well. Like you say, you know it won't be as sharp as a prime, but it's a good start.
:) Hope you get some good pictures out of it.

[Nicole]

Also, just if anyone would know. Is there a major speed/quality differnce between the tamron and minolta i mentioned?

Pretty big speed difference between them. The Minolta has a wider aperture at the far end compared to the Tamron. The Minolta will give you a 5.6 at 300mm whereas the Tamron will only give you 6.3. Read this article on Wikipedia for a better understanding of how the f-number (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F-number) effects the amount of light getting in, hence making it a faster or slower lens.

[hypeman]

yep, i understood most of that. And that article, was pretty good thanks for that. So theoretically, the minolta being f5.6 will be faster, everything now makes sense (why the lower f-# = $$$). So i guess theres no real disadvantage with going with the minolta besides maybe the build quality and optics. So yeah, I think i'll try grab one of those.

Also, I think i understand what you mean by the softer images, but i'm sure it'll be fine :D. Even then, photoshop will sort it all out. Can't wait.

Thanks for the help ;).

[henryscat]

I have a sigma 70-300 f5.6-6.5 and at the 300mm end the images are soft as hell. This cannot be rescued by photoshop as the detail is not there to rescue! You will probably have the same problem with this lens but it is a good starting point.
I'm currently saving for a 75-200 f2.8 (a lot more dosh than my current lens)and will buy a 2x or 1.4x converter for it.