[GlennG]

I shot soccer with my DA 55-300, but needed good day light to do it. I also found that I had to zoom out a bit in order to capture a play fully in the frame. Mostly, that meant I had to crop more later. Regarding DoF, I also found that I would use the lens at about 6.3 to 8 to gain the necessary DoF for an appropriate photo. I believe the image quality of the more high end lenses mentioned above would be more pleasing, as well, though I was relatively happy with what the DA 55-300 delivered. I used the DA 55-300 inside for volleyball and the results were horrible - either way too dark, or way too blurred, or both. I used the DA 55-300 for a day major league baseball game and got some relatively good results, as the plays in baseball are more predictable at the bases.