Choose the Right Lens for the Job

One of the questions I'm most often asked is, "What lenses do you use the most?" The answer depends on what sports event I’m covering. Different sports, with their different lighting conditions, require different lenses. If your sports coverage involves outdoor daytime events like golf, soccer, football or baseball, a telephoto or zoom lens with a focal range of 300mm or more and an aperture of f/4 or f/5.6 would be a good choice. If your sports are indoors or under the lights, a lens with a faster aperture—like an f/2.8 or even f/2—is a must. And sports don't always mean long tele lenses: there are plenty of opportunities for photos with shorter focal lengths; for instance, when players are gathered on the bench or in the dugout or doing a pre- or post-game interview on the sidelines. A wider lens, like a 17-55mm f/2.8 or even a 12-24mm f/4, can be used for personality-type images that capture a sense of person or place.

Here's a quick look at lenses that are right for some of the jobs I do.

10.5mm f/2.8G ED AF DX Fisheye-Nikkor
I’m always striving for something different in my images, and sometimes a different lens is the answer. When used properly, the 10.5mm Fisheye-Nikkor can draw the viewer into the picture like no other lens.

key to using any fisheye lens is to have the subject and the environment of the photograph work in harmony with the fisheye's view. Too often I see photographers using the fisheye's distortion as a gimmick. They let the fisheye effect overpower the subject. In the image of the start of the Kentucky Derby, the effect of the 10.5mm lens enhances the vanishing lines of the racetrack; it does not detract from my subject, the horses. Even though the grandstands appear to be tilting, the environment holds together with the starting gate acting as a balance. The scene is balanced and a key moment of the event is dramatized, and it's that combination that makes the use of the fisheye a good choice.

200mm f/2G ED-IF AF-S VR Nikkor
The general sports fan is used to seeing top sporting events televised from beautifully lit arenas and stadiums, but photographers know that perfectly lit sports events are far from the norm; we've all encountered dungeons and black holes—that is, situations in which the lighting is so dim that I wonder if the players can see the goal line or the basket. If this describes a venue you're familiar with, the 200mm f/2 VR Nikkor is the perfect choice. In fact, I'd say that anyone who covers high school basketball or nighttime football should consider this lens. The 200mm f/2G has one of the fastest apertures in the business, so it will allow you to use a high shutter speed even in poorly lit gymnasiums and at outdoor events at night. That's important because while 1/500 second used to be fast enough to freeze the action, today’s athletes are bigger, stronger and faster than ever and often require shutter speeds of 1/1000 second or faster—and this telephoto's f/2 maximum aperture translates to a one stop advantage in shutter speed, which in turn gives me an advantage in stopping the moment perfectly. And because this is a VR (Vibration Reduction) lens, it has an increased capability to make crisp, sharp images even in the worst of lighting conditions. It's the right choice for many of the Olympic sports I cover, like wrestling, gymnastics, volleyball, figure skating and ice hockey.

200-400mm f/4G ED-IF AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor
This lens is my favorite for photographing athletes and action, and it's perhaps the perfect lens choice for sports in general. It has tremendous focal length versatility and a fast aperture for outdoor, and even some indoor, events. I usually hand hold this lens, which gives me great mobility when I have to literally follow the action.

At its 400mm focal length I can reach out into the field of play and capture a tightly composed image of a competitor, then instantly pull back to 300mm and then 200mm as the athlete advances toward me. This guarantees me continuous coverage of each moment without having to switch to a secondary camera with a shorter lens. When this lens is used on the new Nikon D3 or D300, with their incredibly clean, high-sensitivity ISO capability (up to ISO 6400), it will be an ideal choice for indoor sports like volleyball and ice hockey as well as outdoor sports under the lights at high school track and field events or football games.

There are many factors to consider when choosing a lens, including size, weight, focal length, aperture and overall versatility. But thinking through the different scenarios of action and emotion that occur during the course of a game might be the key factor that'll help you make the right choice.

Note: More of Dave’s ideas and images are featured at his website, www.daveblackphotography.com. Be sure to check out his tutorial articles in On the Road and Workshop at the Ranch.