Lense Advice

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desc
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Lense Advice

Post by desc »

Hello,
I have a Nikon d5100 and am beginning equine photography as a hobby
I have a number of larger lenses however i am looking for a small lense to use for indoor events in low light and fast action.
I would like the jump and horse to be in focus rather than the "sport effect" where it shows the speed. min f2.4

I have been looking at a number of lenses, but i want some advice of any products people have used?
I am also curious on peoples opinions of zoom.... for indoor events obviously the horse and rider are not far away.. so it is worth splashing out the extra money for zoom.. or is a standard 35mm (for example) do the job when cropped?


Thank you in advance for any advice

loz
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Re: Lense Advice

Post by Kevang »

I would say lens length will depend firstly on the resolution of the body, secondly on how much detail you want in the finished product. With 16Mp you should be able to get away with shorter focal lengths and still produce reasonable quality even in larger arenas. I use a D700, & primarily use only two lenses; an AFS24-70 & a VR70-200. At 2.8 both are fast enough for indoor work, but I find I use the 24-70 more often. I set the ISO just high enough to let me shoot at least 1/125 at f4, 2.8 if it's darker (but the 24-70 starts getting soft below f4, the 70-200 gets really soft below 5.6). Either works well for freezing the action in dressage or jumps, but not as well for faster moving subjects such a barrel racing or pole bending.

If you can find one, an f/2 135 DC is just about the best lens Nikon ever made for sharpness & speed. They're like unicorns though, they're out there, somewhere ...

The 24-70 is light & very easy to pack around for the day, whereas the 70-200 can get a little tiresome about halfway through the afternoon classes! Several pros use a monopod under much larger glass & seem to do just fine. Maybe they have bigger muscles than I though ...

Last I checked the 24-70 went for around $1500, the 70-200 will relieve your bank account of about $2200 that you didn't know what to do with ...
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Re: Lense Advice

Post by carolcoronios »

Hello, Laura - and welcome. You will find more info/experience/sharing on this forum than you'll be able to absorb!

The lens question has been discussed frequently. I'd suggest doing a search on lenses - or narrowing it to Nikon lenses.

One thing you will want to keep in mind is the distortion of large objects inherent in a shorter lens - unless you're standing exactly perpendicular to that object. I believe you'll find that most of us, regardless of Canon/Nikon preference, feel that the 70-200 2.8 is our 'go-to' lens. This lens is not too big for an indoor, unless you're shooting in an indoor roundpen.

Good luck - let us see some of your work!

Carol
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Re: Lense Advice

Post by BarbYoung »

Laura, this is the Open Forum, open to everyone. If you are an EPNet member, scroll down on the main Index page to the General Members Forum, and ask your question there. You will get better, more specific answers, most likely.

Minimum mm for shooting horses is over 100mm. A short lens will distort the big body of the horse, i.e. head bigger than body, or rump bigger than body and head very small, depending on your perspective. For indoors you'll need a shutter speed of at least 500 and aperture is best at 2.8, or 4.0 at most. ISO depends of course on the amount of light, but should be pretty high. Indoor arenas are tough, and experience is very desirable. Carien has a Basics of Equine Photography class (go to above black strip and click on Courses) in the spring that is fabulous, and the General Members Forums are an amazing resource. Another great idea is to go through your camera manual page by page and actually take photos for each item explained. It will give you a great idea of how your camera works under what circumstances.
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shapack
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Re: Lense Advice

Post by shapack »

Ditto what Carol and Barb said. If your shutter speed is slow due to low light, there are certain moments in the horse's stride at which to take your photos without showing motion blur. It is common for me to photograph at 1/250.
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patmarsalese

Re: Lense Advice

Post by patmarsalese »

I have been using 80-200mm lens without Vibration Reduction (Nikkor). B&H has a big promotion going on right now & I've decided to purchase the newer 70-200mm with V.R. II. I have learned to turn off the VR when using a Tripod, but to keep it on when using a Monopod. I've just read on B&H to turn off the VR when using a Monopod. What are most of you doing?
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Re: Lense Advice

Post by shapack »

I never use image stabilization shooting action with or without monopod. I only turn it on when I am shooting in one shot to compensate for camera shake caused by my unsteady hands.
Sharon Packer
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patmarsalese

Re: Lense Advice

Post by patmarsalese »

Thanks Sharon.
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Re: Lense Advice

Post by ChristieB »

I am wondering why you (Sharon Packer) never use VR for the sports shots? I am finding problems with my OS (Sigmas version) when aiming my focal spot at the shadows of the subject. It seems that the automatic focusing can not see and is slow to focus thus I take the shot before the lense has focused and the photo is slightly fuzzy. Has anyone else had this issue?
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Re: Lense Advice

Post by shapack »

The image stabilization on older canon lenses when shooting in AI Servo with the IS set in position 2 rendered more out of focus images than turning off IS. I am finding that the new Canon 70-200 /f2.8 L II works well in AIS and IS position 2. I have always used IS one when shooting in One Shot as I use much lower ISOs and shutter speed and want to reduce camera shake.
When you focus on the dark spots try to put your focal point on the white saddle pad or a section of light and dark.
Sharon Packer
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