What Nikon D80 lens is best for action shots?

Question

I need a good lens for my Nikon D80 that is able to:
1. Take great actions shots.
2. Be able to take good action shot pictures without a huge flash outdoors and in poor or low light conditions.
3. Has to be able to take pictures from a fairly good distance away.
4. Has to be suitable for taking action shots of horses jumping and close ups of riders and horses.
I can't break the bank with this because the camera already cost so much. So I need a reasonably priced lens. Nothing super cheap but I cannot afford a $1,000 lens.

Answer 1

Actually, the Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8 probably is the right lens for you. This is a discontinued professional lens that can be found on the used market for as little as $600. This price is for an older version of the lens (with a push-pull ring to operate the zoom). It still still has auto-focus however, and it's a great lens. The latest version of the 80-200 had a twist ring for the zoom and it's a bit more expensive.
Nikon's current version is a $1600 70-200mm f/2.8. This lens is a tad better than the 80-200 and it adds VR (vibration reduction, i.e. image stabilization). Sigma has a 70-200mm f/2.8 lens for about $900. These prices are retail.
The main advantage of the 80-200 vs. the Nikon 70-300 is its constant f/2.8. When you shoot at 200mm, the 80-200 still offers f/2.8 but the 70-300 will have a maximum aperture of about f/5. This translates to a 3x faster shutter speed for the 80-200mm.
The fact that the 70-300mm lens has VR does not make it a better choice for action shots. VR only mitigates camera shake during relatively slow shutter speeds... the kind of shutter speeds you'll be forced to use with this lens. And it's great that VR minimizes camera shake, but by using a slow shutter speed, you WILL get tons of motion blur with fast moving subjects.

Answer 2

I would love to recommend the all-in-one Nikon 18-200 VR lens, but you can't find it anywhere and it would not be cheap if you could.

I have two lenses to suggest for you to consider. Both are pretty new and have the "VR" feature for vibration reduction. VR is a great aid to low-light shooting, because you can use slower shutter speeds and still get decent results.

First, there is the brand new 55-200 VR lens. I just bought this lens for my wife and it is a very nice lens, especially for the $250 price tag. The price is low because of all plastic construction. If it makes you feel better to call it "polycarbonate," go ahead. It's not built to stand up to the needs of a professional photojournalist, but most normal people would never know the difference. It focuses quickly enough for anything I can imagine at a horse event, especially if you are going to be at some distance from the horses.

http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/55-200mm-vr.htm

The other lens, which has a bit more reach, but might be too tight on the "wide" end, is the new 70-300 VR lens. Although I think 70 mm might be too much telephoto for the wide shots, others have suggested this range, so I'll mention a lens worth considering in this class. The only reason to think about this lens would be if you are going to be in the upper levels of some 15,000 seat arena, as the 70mm (105mm equiv) might not allow you to get a full image of some subjects if you are too close, as I expect you would be at an outdoor arena or more typical small indoor arena. The lens costs $480.

http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/70-300-vr.htm

Answer 3

In the used market you might be able to get an 80-200mm f/2.8 for just under 1K but that's if you're really lucky.

Otherwise, the new Nikon 70-300VR might be a nice option. Decent optics, not a really fast lens, but in it's price range there aren't really any fast telephoto lenses - but the good thing is that with VR you might be able to gain as much as 4 stops.

Another option cheaper than the Nikkor 70-300VR is the Sigma 70-300 APO Macro lens. Same zoom range, but no VR but it has a decent "macro" mode at the 200-300mm range. About $150-200 cheaper than the Nikkor 70-300VR.

The cheapest option is of course the Nikkor 70-300 G AF-D lens at about $150. No VR and is just as slow as the Sigma lens plus no useful macro mode either.

All of them should perform well at action shots IN BRIGHT DAYLIGHT. In low-light, the Nikkor 70-300 VR has the benefit of Vibration Reduction but will not always save the day. If budget is extremely tight, I would go for the Nikkor 70-300 AF-D G lens and then just jack up the ISO when shooting indoors and in poor light. (and save and maybe buy an 80-200 f/2.8 or 70-200 f/2.8 VR in the future) The D80 is pretty good in High ISO performance so you shouldn't have any problems except in extremely poor light with fast moving subjects.

Answer 4

Modulus gave you a very comprehensive answer. The only thing I would add is that the lights in a typical Little League field are not really very bright at all. Your best bet might be to get a strong flash like the SB800 (as he suggested) and get close enough. At ISO 1600, it is supposed to reach 66 feet.

Answer 5

I was going to suggest a 80-200 f2.8 ,but it's around $1,000 unless you can find a use one.