Best Nikon Lens for Sports Photography
Sports photography can be incredibly difficult. Quick movement under huge floodlights can be hard to capture, and instead of a victorious snap of the winning goal, you might end up with a blurry photo that ruins the whole effect. A solid lens is the best thing that can improve your circumstances and hold you in good stead when you shoot sports. If you're using a Nikon camera and looking for the best Nikon sports lens for it, this article is for you.
In this article, apart from just providing you with my choices of the best lenses for this purpose, I've also come up with a buying guide so that you can consider those features and purchase the right lens accordingly. If you're new to this field, I highly recommend you to read the buying guide first and then see the list of lens options available.
In a hurry?! Here are my top picks of the best lenses for sports photography Nikon
REVIEWS OF THE BEST NIKON LENSES FOR SPORTS
1. NIKON AF-P DX NIKKOR 70-300MM F/4.5-6.3G ED VR - BEST BUDGET NIKON LENS FOR SPORTS
PRODUCT DETAILS:
This NIKON AF-P DX NIKKOR 70-300MM F/4.5-6.3G will cost you under 400$ but is the best Nikon DX lens for sports photography. Let's get to know why I've placed this lens in the first place on this list.
Firstly, Being a sports photographer, it's evident that you need to travel a lot. Trust me; this lens will become a favorite companion for travelers as it is a lightweight lens (0.91 lbs) with a plastic mount making it easy to carry around and put to use quickly.
Next, the lens must have a Vibration Reduction System to get stable shots while shooting handheld. And luckily, this lens has that.
Now let me go straight to its performance and to the technical specs:
As the tag indicates, the lens is equipped with a Pulsing Motor, fast but not as fast as a Silent Wave Motor (SWM).
The lens has a 4.3x zoom range, with accessible, well-placed zoom and focus rings for quick adjustments.
Internal focus works quickly and responsively and is great for tracking players across the field. The only thing you have to remember is that when you tightly zoom in to 300mm, the aperture would be at f6.2, so it's not recommendable for low-light sports environments.
Despite the low price, you also get very good results with bokeh when shooting on this lens. Thanks to the seven-bladed diaphragm.
Although it's an all-plastic lens, it's well-suited to DSLRs. All in all, you can't go wrong with this lens, considering how little you're paying for it. It's a bargain, and it delivers quality across the board. However, if you are fond of Nikon, make sure to check these top Nikon lenses that anyone would love to add to the lens collection.
What I liked about this LENS:
2. NIKON AF-S FX NIKKOR 80-400MM F.4.5-5.6G ED - BEST NIKON LENS FOR FAST ACTION SHOTS
Now that you saw a budget pick let's get on to a professional lens - The NIKON AF-S FX NIKKOR 80-400MM F.4.5-5.6G ED. This is one of the most favorite lenses, and my personal recommended one in this lens. I tested this lens with my Nikon D5300 camera, and it fulfills almost all the necessary criteria needed for sports events shooting.
The best part is that it has a good medium-telephoto focal length perfect for track and field games like running, javelin, and wide-field sports football, soccer, and related sports activities.
In terms of weight. Mmm, this lens is slightly bulky. It weighs 3.46 lbs. So, make sure you carry a tripod while using this on your camera.
There's a M/A switch that works very responsively while shifting from Auto-Manual Mode.
The lens mentioned above doesn't have an SWM motor, but this lens ensures that. For sports shooting, fast autofocusing is necessary, and I'm glad this lens fulfills that.
What next? The VR works well, so I didn't get any blurry shots when zoomed to the maximum.
That's all about this giant performer. If you have the budget to spend on a professional sports lens, please go for it. It's worth the price.
What I liked about this LENS:
3. NIKON AF-S FX NIKKOR 300MM F/4E PF ED - BEST NIKON LENS FOR OUTDOOR SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHY
PRODUCT DETAILS:
The second option for my professional sports photographers is this FX NIKKOR 300MM F/4E.
It is highly durable and is lightweight, so you can comfortably use it while you go for your sports documentary shooting. Do you hear about this earlier? This fantastic lens has earned the name "world's lightest 300mm full-frame lens".
I haven't got a chance to use it for a sports event shooting. But I recently used with my Nikon D7500 camera for a wildlife photography session and fell in love with the features of this lens. Now, I'll share a few features that could be useful for sports photography as well.
Firstly, this lens' AF is high-speed. I should say the fastest AF lens in this list. And this is a must for sports shooting!
Secondly, the focus is completely internal with this lens and provides instant focus from infinity to 8′ (.2m).
You can use the lens for outdoor sports shooting, action sports photography. But I doubt it would perform that great for indoor sports, so I skip that part. If anyone of you has used this lens for indoor sports, kindly lemme know in the comments section 😉
For extreme long-range sports activity, you can also pair it with a 1.4x teleconverter. It will give you a very nice 420mm f/5.6 combination.
So, what are you waiting for? Get your hands on this lens if it satisfies your sports shooting requirement.
What I liked about this LENS:
4. NIKON AF-S FX NIKKOR 24-70MM F/2.8E ED - BEST NIKON LENS FOR FOOTBALL PHOTOGRAPHY
PRODUCT DETAILS:
The lenses listed above will be useful for outdoor sports shoots. But if you want to take your indoor sports shooting to the next level, you should definitely have your hands on this lens. You can use this lens for large sports fields; this wide-angle lens will perfectly cover the entire sports ground.
It has a fast maximum of f/2.8, allows you to take shots with faster-shutter speeds, and is also in low light.
This Nikon zoom lens for sports features VR up to 4.0 stops, which makes it a good option for handheld shooting.
The lens is built with minimal plastic elements and is weather-sealed against dust and moisture, so shooting in tough conditions will be fine.
The focus ring is smooth and responsive, and autofocus is quick and precise. With sharp clarity in your snaps and great color saturation, this is a top-notch lens and one of the best Nikon lenses for sports photography. At around $1.7K, it won't be too much of a pocket-pinch either.
Also checkout the NIKON NIKKOR Z 24-70MM LENS, if you own a Nikon mirrorless camera. It is the best Nikon Z lens for sports.
What I liked about this LENS:
5. NIKON AF-S NIKKOR 70-200MM F/2.8E FL ED VR - BEST NIKON LENS FOR INDOOR & NIGHT SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHY
Night-time running sports activities are difficult to shoot because you have to crave light in those situations. But no tension anymore as you have this 70-200mm f/2.8E Nikon lens.
The telephoto focal length and a fast maximum aperture will take your night sports shooting to the next level.
All the required camera controls (focus buttons) are rightly placed on the lens barrel. So you can easily activate the AF lock, full-time manual focus override, and other functions easily.
Lastly, the 4-stop Vibration Reduction works very well.
What I liked about this LENS:
6. NIKON AF-S NIKKOR 500MM F/5.6E PF ED VR - BEST NIKON PRIME LENS FOR SPORTS VIDEO
PRODUCT DETAILS:
I agree that this camera lens is expensive, but you’re a pro sports photographer or a videographer, you know that lenses run the gamut in terms of price point.
Let’s just say you’re going to get your money’s worth with this, even if it costs you upwards of $3K. Even when you’re shooting wide open, the quality of this lens will ensure that your footage is razor-sharp. Aside from having the usual ED elements, Super Integrated Coating and Nano Crystal Coating, this lens also has a Phase Fresnel element which makes it much lighter despite the focal length.
Now, I'll speak about my user experience with this lens. I was able to view every detail in high definition, from the feathers of a cork to the texture of the goal netting. So, I would not just consider this a great sports lens as it also works perfectly for wildlife shoots because you can guarantee that every detail of your subject will show up starkly.
The lens has a nine-bladed diaphragm that gives you a smooth bokeh effect, and the light build of the lens makes it very easy to shoot handheld with it.
Overall, an unbeatable camera lens, even though it’s not cheap, will improve your sports photography by leaps and bounds.
What I liked about this LENS:
6. NIKON AF-S NIKKOR 180-400MM LENS - BEST NIKON TELEPHOTO LENS FOR SPORTS
At roughly the $12K mark, I would suggest this lens for professionals who are serious about shooting sports.
Now, let me take you through the lens' top features that I found helpful for sports photography and videography. This is a pretty large lens, and it is also a bit heavy, so shooting on the handheld for extended periods might be a bit challenging (despite the VR feature). But the results are well worth it. The makeup of the lens ensures very few aberrations, which is necessary when you're zoning in on fast-moving footage.
The autofocus is quick and accurate. The lens easily captures sharp details from edge-to-edge of each shot and shoots well across frames, although it does get a bit less sharp at the minimum aperture of f/32.
With this super-telephoto lens, you can also take perfect macro shots as it can focus up to 6.6ft. The Sports Mode for VR gives you a firm base to shoot and works up to 4.0 stops. And its rugged build makes it great for tough shooting environments.
In sports photography, you need to capture shorts in precise color and contrast. Well, you can get that done using this lens. Adding to it, you also won't have any complaints on the optical capabilities front.
Definitely worth listing in the best Nikon lens for sports catalog!
What I liked about this LENS:
THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW BEFORE PURCHASING THE BEST NIKON LENS FOR SPORTS EVENTS
Now that you've got an idea of what lens you're going to buy. Just take two minutes more to read this buying guide and see if the lens you had in mind fulfills all the essential criteria needed for sports photography.
The first thing you need to keep in mind is what type of sports shooting you'll do? As a professional, you will be playing in all kinds of sports photography. But if you're a beginner, you will initially focus only on 1-2 sports. So at that time, keep in mind what focal range will get you very close to the subject and click the best shots.
For sports photography/videography, you definitely should look for a telephoto lens. A wide-angle lens can cover the entire sports field for indoor sports like basketball and badminton. However, for track & field games like running, javelin, large field games like soccer, football, and long-range sports, you need a telephoto lens with a focal range above 300mm. Only then you can zoom in and take shots of either the player or the team scoring the goal clearly.
Sports videography is all about tracking fast movements, so you need to be on your toes while clicking shots. That is why you need a wide aperture lens that will allow you to enjoy faster shutter speeds. A fast maximum aperture (wide-aperture) lens will also allow you to take brighter shots during indoor sports shooting.
Image stabilization is an important criterion for looking for a good lens for sports photography, especially while shooting handheld.
While zooming in, there are more chances of getting clear and smooth footage, and that's where Image Stabilization helps.
When IS is turned on, it will nullify the jerks and micro jiggles caused by the shaking of your hands and give you smooth shots.
If the lens does not have image stabilization, you definitely need a tripod.
If you're going to standalone sports photography, then it is better to keep the overall weight of the camera (along with the lens) as light as possible. This will help you get stable shoots when zoomed in.
Not only the size or the weight of the lens is all that you have to take note of. Also, see if all the important camera controls are easily accessible and within reach of your fingers.
The important thing in sports shooting is that everything is fast, and if you miss a second, you might miss the main shots. In that frustration, you might compromise on focus. But what is the use of getting blurry shots?
So why not purchase a lens that can handle fast but accurate focusing. Yeah, I'm talking about getting a fast AF lens.
FAQ
For sports photography, a zoom lens is better than a prime lens because the subject here is moving, and you need to zoom in and out the players often.
A lens with a wide focal length will be useful for large sports fields like cricket, soccer, etc. And for long-range sports, track and field games like running, javelin, etc., you need a telephoto lens that can get you close to the subject from far away.
Of course, yes, this focal length is the best for sports played in medium to big stadiums. I had reviewed the NIKON AF-S FX NIKKOR 300MM F/4E PF ED in this list. You can check that out.
For getting non-blurry sports photos, you must ensure these:
- Have a good camera. If you're a Nikon lover, you can opt for these: Nikon Z7 or a Nikon D850. If the camera you're using has similar features to these 2 cameras, you're good to go.
- Pair your Nikon camera with the right lens
- Turn on the Shutter Priority mode in your camera.
- Set the shutter speed accordingly. For capturing the best sports moments effectively, use a shutter speed at 1/1000
- Change the camera's focus mode to AI-SERVO.
- Shoot with the High-Speed Continuous shooting mode turned on.
You can check out this video for more information:
For daytime sports photography, professional sports photographers usually set the shutter speed to 1/1000 to stop motion.
Whereas for evening or night sports events, they prefer an even faster F stop to get the best shots.
For sports photographers, professionals take utmost care of the focal range and aperture more than the other features.
If you ask me what focal length sports photographers use, it depends on the type of sports shooting. Pro indoor sports photographers and mid-range sports videographers prefer a focal range between 70-300mm.
In case they are shooting a wide-range sports activity, people prefer a wide-angle zoom lens as it will cover the entire sports ground.
For extreme long-range sports, photographers use a telephoto lens with a max focal length above 400mm. Some sports shooters take a medium-telephoto lens and pair it with a suitable teleconverter to achieve the right focal length needed for them.
CONCLUSION
Aspiring sports photographers and videographers must invest in good, quality lenses to keep up in a competitive field. Even as a hobbyist, the importance of having a top-quality lens far outweighs the importance of having an expensive camera. So this list will serve as a great starting point if you’re looking for standout performers in the sports lens market.
Nikon’s success as a brand is well-known, so you can rely on their lenses to exceed your expectations. Buy any of the lenses on this list, and you’ll be snapping away close-ups of a team celebration or an action shot of a star player making a winning goal in no time at all.
