What Leica lens setup would you recommend for me to take action photos of high school football? I was thinking of a nikon f100 with a 2oo mm 2.8 zoom.

-- Frank Martinez (fmartinez@wi.rr.com), December 02, 2001

Answers

Frank, You need at LEAST a 300mm lens preferrably 2.8f lens. You can even go to a 400mm lens if you have the bucks. MINIMUM focal length to get anything usable is 200mm. R6.2 with motor with LONG LONG glass. Good luck Matt

-- Matt Rainey (mvrainey@att.net), December 02, 2001.

Nikon or Canon. Don't think twice.

-- Mani Sitaraman (bindumani@pacific.net.sg), December 02, 2001.

I covered the Stanford game against Notre Dame, using a D1 and a 80- 200 mm lens. It was more than adequate.(of course, I was backing up 2 other people using D1s and 300mm lenses) Got some pretty cool shots, even though i probably looked kind of stupid next to all those AP guys with their mammoth lenses. ~ ken

-- Ken Kwok (kkwok@gostanford.com), December 02, 2001.

As long as you're allready thinking about using a n F-100, rent or borrow a 300-F/4 Nikkor AF. It's half the weight of a 300-F/2.8 and is tack-sharp. I do sailboaat-racing photography with an F-100 and have used the 300-F/4 and the 80-200 F/2.8. I just traded them both in for the new 80-400 VR-AF so that I only need one body and lens now. But my favorite is the 300-F4. Have fun with sports shooting.

-- Pat Dunsworth (pdunsworth@aryarch.com), December 02, 2001.

Ken:

Are you the guy I see down on the floor at Maples shooting the women's bball with the D1???

-- Jack Flesher (jbflesher@msn.com), December 02, 2001.

Hey Jack,

Nope, I'm just a part-time volunteer for the Stanford Daily. The person you probably saw was Keith Ito. He's one of the main sports guys at the daily.

Sorry, Ken

-- Ken Kwok (kkwok@gostanford.com), December 03, 2001.

Are you talking about soccer?; if so, what do you need to get?, if the other side of the field, then yes you may need a 400, but if you want to have the moment of gols, and understand a bit of the game, a 90 is enough, but near the gol-keper.

-- r watson (al1231234@hotmail.com), December 03, 2001.

Frank,

I would definatly go with a Nikon or Canon. As for the lens, it depends on how serious you are. I've shot games with my Nikon 80-200 2.8 before and you can get pretty good shots as long as you move up and down the side of the field with the players and they are on your side of the field. It also works if they are in the red zone and you go behind the endzone. While you will get shots, the action is often too far away. A 300 mm is a great lens. I would agree with Pat about the Nikon 300 f4 - a great, light, very sharp lens. And it's not too expensive either.

If you're going for the gusto, get a 600mm f4 and park youself in the endzone. While they cost about the price of a new car (at least the Nikon does) they are great!

Now that I think of it, the F100 w/ 80-200 2.8 and a 1.4 converter would be a good combo. Don't forget to throw you leica around your neck with a wide angle on it. I got some great post game reaction shots with my M6 and 35 mm last weekend and the University of Montana game (1 AA, but they're big around here!)

Good Luck, john

-- john locher (locherjohn@hotmail.com), December 03, 2001.

Frank, it looks like you're getting some good suggestions for your Nikon. Keep in mind that in sports photography, "autofocus is your freind". If you put a teleconverter on an AF-Nikkor, you will probably lose autofocus capabilities. Also, your depth-of-field is really small, so focusing is dicey. The 80-200/2.8 is an awesome lens, but if you want up-close action, you have to be patient. The AP photographers carry the big glass because their job is to get action rather than scenery, so I'd again suggest that you beg, borrow or steal at least a 300 if you want to see the whites of their eyes. Good luck.

-- Pat Dunsworth (pdunsworth@aryarch.com), December 03, 2001.

Sheesh, this is amazing. When I was in high school, I used a Speed Graphic 4x5 with standard 135mm lens, or a Nikon F with 85 and 200 mm lenses, or a Canonet QL17. Even used a Rolleiflex TLR for a while. Got some great pictures.

-- Godfrey (ramarren@bayarea.net), December 03, 2001.