Nikon D40 Outdoor Sports/Action Lense?

[haveyourmile]

Hello everyone, I'm not only new here but new in the DSLR world as well. I've recently purchased a Nikon D40 that I will primarily be using for action/sports photography (at least for now). I coach/ref/play/watch/photograph water polo, so that is mostly what I'll be using it for. It's played outdoors usually between 3 and 4pm when lighting is good. I can photograph from any side of the pool so I'll never be too far away like you would be in football or sometimes soccer.

My budget is $500. I'd like to get good action shots but I'm worried about glare from the pool and because it's a D40, I'd like a lense that will autofocus.

I hope I gave enough information, thanks!

[TCav]

Have you tried using the kit 18-55 lens? Since you can get close, 55mm might be as long as you need. Getting a Circular Polarizing (CPL) Filter would take care of the glare, and since you'd be shooting outdoors in good light, the light loss from the CPL wouldn't be a problem.

Nikon's AF-S 55-200 VR ($225) is ok except for the vignetting, but the wide end might not be wide enough.

Sigma's 18-125 OS HSM ($340) also has a lot of vignetting.

Nikon's AF-S 18-105 VR ($355) might be a better range for you, but it also suffers from significant vignetting.

Sigma's 17-70 HSM ($370) is an excellent lens, but it might not be long enough (and it's not stabilized, though at the shutter speeds you'll be using, that probably won't matter.)

Tamron's 28-75 BIM ($455) is an excellent lens, but it might not be long enough.

Nikon's AF-S 24-120 VR ($590) might be the best choice, but it's a little over your limit.

Plus you still need the CPL.

[TCav]

You can tell what focal length lens you need by using the lens you have. If you take a shot at 55mm, and you would like to have taken a shot that is half the vertical resolution and half the horizontal resolution, a lens with a focal length of 110mm would give you that.