Nikon 70-200mm f2.8 VRII goes to the Ballpark
Nikon 70-200mm f2.8 VRII goes to the Ballpark
My wife and I came upon tickets to the last game of the 2011 Baseball regular game between the Houston Astros and St. Louis Cardinals. Though, I am from Houston, I was hoping to see the Cardinals win since a Wild Card Playoff position was at stake for them. Anyway, I digress but this was my first chance to take my Nikon 70-200mm f2.8 VRII lens to a professional sporting event. I also brought my Nikon TC-20EIII teleconverter to see how it might perform when paired with the 70-200mm f2.8 at such an event.
First, I would highly recommend that you check with any ballpark or stadium that you plan to bring any lens “larger” lens. Personally, I assumed that the 70-200mm f2.8 was not large enough to even attract attention by the “bag checkers” at the gates, but I was wrong. The lady at the bag inspection table actually said she would need to ask her supervisor if the lens was too big to all in the stadium. He said it was fine to allow in, but the fact that it was even in question makes me want to give this advice.
Overall, I was very pleased with the performance of the Nikon 70-200mm f2.8 VRII both alone and with the Nikon TC-20EIII teleconverter…at least for my purposes. Obviously, the teleconverter limited the acceptable shots to predominately stationary photos of players, but I also got several good action photos despite a slower shutter speed to compensate for the increased f-stop. You could probably get away with even a faster shutter speed with a FX camera that would allow for higher ISO.
Shooting conditions: Indoor stadium/baseball park with roof closed and stadium lights on
(BELOW) Nikon 70-200mm f2.8 VRII at 240mm, f5.6, 1/125 sec and ISO 400
(BELOW) Nikon 70-200mm f2.8 VRII at 200mm, f2.8, 1/200 sec and ISO 400
(BELOW) Nikon 70-200mm f2.8 VRII at 195mm, f2.8, 1/200 sec and ISO 400
(BELOW) Nikon 70-200mm f2.8 VRII at 200mm, f2.8, 1/200sec, and ISO 400
(BELOW) Nikon 70-200mm f2.8 VRII at 190mm, f2.8, 1/250 sec and ISO 400
(BELOW) Nikon 70-200mm f2.8 VRII with TC-20EIII teleconverter at 400mm, f5.6, 1/125 sec and ISO 400
(BELOW) Nikon 70-200mm f2.8 VRII with TC-20EIII teleconverter at 400mm,f5.6, 1/125 sec and ISO 400
(BELOW) Nikon 70-200mm f2.8 VRII with TC-20EIII teleconverter at 400mm, f5.6, 1/125 sec and ISO 400
Feel free to leave comments or your experiences…
-Kyle
KSQ Photography Blog 
Thanks for the post. The images look really good. I’m impressed with the one’s with the teleconverter.
It’s not bad. rather good quality.
Tomorrow I’ll get this converter