Prime for d 7100? (Page 2): Three things - - Image Quality - read the advice and draw your own conclusions. Or, look at some of the test sites, such as DxO

BboH Loc: s of 2/21, Ellicott City, MD

Three things -
- Image Quality - read the advice and draw your own conclusions. Or, look at some of the test sites, such as DxO
- Field of view and reach - go to Nikon's Lens Simulator site here

http://imaging.nikon.com/lineup/lens/simulator/

You can put the lenses you are interested in on your camera body and you can see how they work - both the FOV and reach

- Third thing - an FX lens works nicely on a DX body. I have booth the D7100 and the D810 - I use all of my lenses on either body.

I like Nikon's 70-300mm 1:4.5-5.6 G - its light enough and with VR you do not need either a tripod or a monopod and, it focuses fast.

glblanchard

DWilling wrote:

I am a new amateur and have gotten a Nikon D7100 a... (show quote)

You are getting some good advice here. Don't forget that you can boost the ISO in your 7100 to gain two or three stops without much grain.
Good Luck!

DWilling

Thank you. The Lens Simulator was new to me and very interesting to compare the choices.

cjc2 Loc: Hellertown PA

Honestly, for the kind of money you have to spend, take your camera and lens with you and enjoy the show. Your vantage point from the stands is not going to be great for whatever you can afford to buy as you really need a lens way out of your price range. The best lens you can use is the one you own.

tusketwedge Loc: Nova Scotia Canada

DWilling wrote:

I am a new amateur and have gotten a Nikon D7100 a... (show quote)

The d7100 is quite goood in low light.If I was you ,put the 55-300 on the camera and try and find a place that would have basically the same lighting as were your going. Any arena would be very a close match.

Push the ISO to 600-800 , try F8 to 11 and see what the results are. If it's not fast enough go to the lowest no.f-stop and see what you get.
Then if your not satisfied I would look into renting a 70-200 f2.8 for the venue. Don't know what the price is in the U.S for rental ,know that we can rent on here for 180.00/wk.
Good luck and goog shooting, enjoy.

Nukepr Loc: Citrus County, FL

I have a D7100 and recently bought the Nikon 50mm 1.8d lens from B&H for $117. It is a great little lens and I shoot a lot with it. As some have noted, it is an fx lens so it has a 75mm equivalent field of view on a dx camera, but it is still a 50mm lens. That may be a bit short, but why not buy this one, and also carry the 55-300 you own and see how it performs. Also, as others have suggested, experiment with how high an ISO you can set and still get acceptable photos under the lighting you are expecting to have at the show. And good luck whatever you choose to shoot with.

DWilling

Again, thank you all for your welcome advice.

I was reading on the Nikon site, I believe, about the newer 50mm f1.8. Under negatives,it said not good for moving things, or something like that. Is there an especially good low f (1.4, 1.8 or2.8) that is good for moving objects like jumping horses? Or is that getting into professional grade stuff?

Nukepr Loc: Citrus County, FL

DWilling wrote:

Again, thank you all for your welcome advice.

I was reading on the Nikon site, I believe, about the newer 50mm f1.8. Under negatives,it said not good for moving things, or something like that. Is there an especially good low f (1.4, 1.8 or2.8) that is good for moving objects like jumping horses? Or is that getting into professional grade stuff?

Stopping action is more a function of shutter speed than the specific lens. The advantage of a fast lens is that it allows you to get enough light for proper exposure while still having a fast shutter speed. This is also achieved by raising your ISO, which reduces the amount of light required for proper exposure. Also for action shots, you need to set your autofocus for action shots rather than stills. There is good information on setting autofocus modes in the D7100 manual (page 71 and following).

tusketwedge Loc: Nova Scotia Canada

DWilling wrote:

Again, thank you all for your welcome advice.

I was reading on the Nikon site, I believe, about the newer 50mm f1.8. Under negatives,it said not good for moving things, or something like that. Is there an especially good low f (1.4, 1.8 or2.8) that is good for moving objects like jumping horses? Or is that getting into professional grade stuff?

You keep coming back to the 50.Unless you are at the rail you wont be getting good clear up close shots of the horses. If you are in the stands you might be able to see the action inthe images but don't hope to see the riders faces ,per say. For that you will need something that has a long reach,like a 200 and up.

sonic Loc: chesterfield UK

If you are using the lens mainly for horse i would say get the 85mm or 105(bit expensive)
I have the 50mm and 85mm and because of the shortening you can get with the 50mm , making the horses head look out of proportion (large) I prefer to use the 85mm

cjc2 Loc: Hellertown PA

As I indicated earlier, there are no lenses in your price range that are going to be of much help. The 50 range is already covered by the lens you have. If you do want a PRIME, other than new, there are a couple of used choices and one is within your budget. KEH, which is a well respected seller of used equipment, has the older, D versions of both the 50 1.8 D and the 50 1.4 D both of which are good lenses, even by today's standards. The 1.8 is about $ 100, and the 1.4 is about $ 250. Now you have some options. Good Luck and let us know how things went!

brent46 Loc: Grand Island, NY

I have a D7100 and use a 50mm 1.8D on it frequently. It works great in low light. It will be a 75mm equivalent in the DX mode. If you shift to the Crop mode it will be equivalent to a 97.5mm lens. With the camera set at fine and large jpeg the crop mode will give you a 10mb file. Great lens for under $100 used.

Mrsmoses Loc: Oregon

I also shoot with a D7100 and my go to lens is the Sigma 70-200 f/2.8. I shoot a lot in indoor arenas as well as outdoor and I find that with the terrible lighting of halogen or vapor lights this lens is the only one I use..
Good luck what ever you get..sounds like my kind of photo shoot..