Nikon 300mm f/4D AF-S IF-ED

Joseph: I'm a documentary photographer with 14 years experience. While on assigment to cover cultural performances at a SF Giants game I used this lens to get in tight on subjects. I knew the F2.8 version of this lens was more expensive and slightly heavier. Shooting in day light is perfectly fine with this. Luckily I was able to get into the press box and cover the game later that night. Although I limited to F4, my camera was able to yield impressive results at ISO 3200. AF-S gives you ultra fast focusing. I don't think I ever missed a shot. Amazing value for those on a budget.

Clay: Great lens. Sharp sharp sharp and doesn't lose much with the TC-1.4 II. I used it to cover a rowing regatta. Shot wide open as much as possible to get out-of-focus sparkles off the water; I was never disappointed with the IQ, never missed a shot because of the lens. The only caveat: I'm no professional, so the short depth of field when wide open was a little challenging. At some distances the DOF is only a foot or two. I had to be careful of what to focus on to make sure I was getting faces sharp and hands fuzzy, not the other way around. If you haven't shot with it before, I recommend spending some time in advance shooting a similar subject and carefully reviewing the results before the big day. Lack of VR not a big deal in the daytime. Besides, VR only works on camera motion, not subject motion, so I was shooting at pretty high speeds when I could. A monopod was a big help in the early morning to keep things steady until it got light enough to bring up the shutter speed. (You have to pay attention to the ISO on a D80 to keep the IQ up.)