Originally posted by regken I hear what you are saying Lowell but I want to go the zoom AF route for this and want to be able to track as easily as possible. I've got the K10D and want something with better AF and tracking ability.
Maybe it's me but I don't understand.
I have shot sports, including indoor basketball, kids games, and gone to the ACC to watch the raptors. I have taken cameras to MLB and grapefruit league games. I have shot auto racing events.
I simply don't know how you are going to get close enough without going over 200mm?
Either I'm too cheap for my tickets, or you are shooting as a pro with a really good pass and access.
Also, and again this is an issue of distance, AF tracking is generally not an issue. I did a lot before AF existed. from the distances I could afford, MF was not that hard because nothing went from infinity to min focus that quickly.
The only time I shot with less than 200mm at any event was almost courtside at the ACC for the raptors, I took my 135 F2.5, but in the end found I came up short, because even with good seets, basketball players were only 1/4 to 1/2 the height of the frame.
I will now quote math, to help you think about your decision, because in the end it all comes down to how big an image you want.
Image size =
subject size x
focal length /
distance
you will find you will be disappointed in sports with a 200