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Dave33 · Dec 7, 2012, 6:54 PM

My daughter has a Nikon D3100 and she's looking for a zoom lens which will also work well for sporting events. A sport/zoom lens I guess. Does anyone have any suggestions? Something in the $500 range. She's a novice taking photography in her first year of college. Thanks in advance.

TCav · Dec 7, 2012, 8:04 PM

The Tamron 70-300 VC USD is a good choice. It's a good focal length for most outdoor sports, it's sharp and focuses reasonably fast. Adorama has it for $349.

Dave33 · Dec 9, 2012, 7:07 AM

Thank you TCav. That looks like a great choice.

TCav · Dec 9, 2012, 8:14 AM

The Nikon 70-300 AF-S VR is better, but at $586.95 it's a lot more expensive, especially with Tamron's $100 mail-in rebate.

WCKSer · Jan 25, 2013, 11:06 AM

The Tamron 70-300mm VC is a good buy at $349, it can be used on full frame as well as APS-C cameras.

JohnG · Jan 25, 2013, 12:17 PM

what sports? In what capacity? The Tamron is a very sharp lens but useless for indoor sports (because of the f5.6 aperture). I'm not sure "relatively fast" is a good description for it's focus speed - it's not an AF speed that is great for sports. And, it's important to talk about how she's going to use it. If she's a student at a major college and plans on taking shots from the stands, 300mm is woefully short so you could be spending a lot of money for fairly poor results with any 300mm lens

Krichton · Mar 9, 2013, 7:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TCav

The Nikon 70-300 AF-S VR is better, but at $586.95 it's a lot more expensive, especially with Tamron's $100 mail-in rebate.

Agreed,, this is the better lens. I think you can get a used one for $150-200?

Dec 7, 2012, 6:54 PM	#1
Dave33 Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2012 Posts: 2	Need advice on lens purchase My daughter has a Nikon D3100 and she's looking for a zoom lens which will also work well for sporting events. A sport/zoom lens I guess. Does anyone have any suggestions? Something in the $500 range. She's a novice taking photography in her first year of college. Thanks in advance. Last edited by Dave33; Dec 7, 2012 at 6:59 PM.

Dec 7, 2012, 8:04 PM	#2
TCav Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Washington, DC, Metro Area, Maryland Posts: 13,713	The Tamron 70-300 VC USD is a good choice. It's a good focal length for most outdoor sports, it's sharp and focuses reasonably fast. Adorama has it for $349. __________________ The lens is the thing. 'Full Frame' is the new 'Medium Format'. "One good test is worth a thousand expert opinions." - Tex Johnston, Boeing 707 test pilot.

Dec 9, 2012, 8:14 AM	#4
TCav Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Washington, DC, Metro Area, Maryland Posts: 13,713	The Nikon 70-300 AF-S VR is better, but at $586.95 it's a lot more expensive, especially with Tamron's $100 mail-in rebate. __________________ The lens is the thing. 'Full Frame' is the new 'Medium Format'. "One good test is worth a thousand expert opinions." - Tex Johnston, Boeing 707 test pilot.

Jan 25, 2013, 11:06 AM	#5
WCKSer Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: SF Bay Area Posts: 2,857	The Tamron 70-300mm VC is a good buy at $349, it can be used on full frame as well as APS-C cameras. __________________ Canon 5D MKII, EF 24-105mm f/4L, EF 50mm f/1.8, EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro, Tamron 70-300mm f/4.0-5.6 SP Di VC USD XLD, Sigma DG 150-500mm f/5.-6.3 APO HSM. Canon EOS T3i, 7D and 70D EF 17-40mm f/4L, EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6, Sigma 18-250mm f/3.5-6.3 DC OS HSM, 430 EXII Flash. Sony A200, SLT-A58 System with HVL-F42AM Flash. Mirrorless APS-C camera: Samsung NX100, Canon EOS-M. M4/3 systems: Olympus OM-D-E-M5 and Panasonic DMC-G3.

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Dec 9, 2012, 7:07 AM	#3
Dave33 Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2012 Posts: 2	Thank you TCav. That looks like a great choice.

Jan 25, 2013, 12:17 PM	#6
JohnG Moderator Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 8,529	what sports? In what capacity? The Tamron is a very sharp lens but useless for indoor sports (because of the f5.6 aperture). I'm not sure "relatively fast" is a good description for it's focus speed - it's not an AF speed that is great for sports. And, it's important to talk about how she's going to use it. If she's a student at a major college and plans on taking shots from the stands, 300mm is woefully short so you could be spending a lot of money for fairly poor results with any 300mm lens