Advise on lens please

dreamer_ire

I have a Nikon D60 and today I was at the Ulster A v Munster A match. I used my 70-300 (it doesn't have AF) in aperature mode and I was really disapointed with the results. It was a dull day and I couldn't get it below f5... even at that my shutter speed was too slow. To make a long story short I'm going to Edinburgh for the Irish match tomorrow and I was considering picking this lens up in Edinburgh tomorrow.

http://www.jessops.com/online.store/categories/products/Tamron/28-300mm%20f3.5-6.3%20XR%20DI%20(Nikon%20AFD)-29449/Show.html

Will it be good enough for me to get a few good shots at the game? I'm very much a newbie btw and really don't have big money to spend on a lens.

Thanks

GhostInTheRuins

I don't shoot sports but anyhow; I presume you will need to use the lens at the further end (ie 300mm), if that is the case your 70-300mm is faster than the one you are looking to buy (Your 70-300 has a maximum aperature of f5.6 at 300mm and the 28-300mm is f6.3 at 300mm)

challengemaster

What ISO were you using?

Decent sports shots means forking out the big bucks. There's no two ways about it really. You're talking about f/2.8 for low light situations... even then, high iso too..

jimbellows

Man I wish shooting sports shots was simpler

SBPhoto

To get any decent shutter speed you need a f2.8 lens and high ISO in this dull climate, The f5.6 at the 300 end won't be enough to give you the shutter speed you need

Zillah

Wait...I'm really surprised that you couldn't get a decent shutter speed at F5.6 during the day, even if it is overcast. Did you try increasing the ISO?

Also, as said, the lens you're looking at does not have a better aperture, it's just a lot wider at the low end. However, it is designed for film, which means the DSLR sensor is gonna crop it, which means the focal length is an effective 44-465mm, which is pretty cool. But it won't help shutter speeds.

RichyX

SBPhoto wrote: »

To get any decent shutter speed you need a f2.8 lens and high ISO in this dull climate, The f5.6 at the 300 end won't be enough to give you the shutter speed you need

I've taken a few sports shots at 300mm f/5.6.
Managed to get a decent shutter speed without bumping up the ISO too much.
Conditions vary a lot from day to day so sports shooting is possible, even with mediocre equipment (Tamron 70-300 in this case).

Borderfox

Really depends on the budget.

SBPhoto

I did not mean that you could not get a decent shutter speed at f5.6. but in very dull overcast weather its hard to do so. Its just that a f2.8 lens could be the difference in getting the shot or not. especially if you are working for the media.

dreamer_ire

Thanks folks, I decided not to buy it cos it was a spur of the moment thing. Maybe it's time to start saving!