Need lens advice

[aka_tinman]

I am shooting a Sony A100, i need a lens to track and field events. I usually have access to the field to i dont need large telephoto, Currently have been using a Minolta "beercan" 70 -210 F4. I cant decide if i want to get a fixed 50mm F2.8 or a 18 - 110 .. F2.8 -3.5 lens ,, any input would be welcome

[OldClicker]

It depends on what you want to do. What can't you do with the beercan? - Terry

[Greg McCary]

I don't think I would shoot sports with a prime. I would vote for the 18-110mm.

[SmartWombat]

The beercan is about my ideal focal length for middle distance shots.
Either on a full frame or on a crop sensor like the A100.

At f/4 it's only 1 stop off the speed of my 70-200, and while there are times I want that wider aperture to separate the subject from the background, to avoid motion blur it's simple to shift the ISO speed up a stop.

I prefer to use a zoom lens if what I'm shooting is unpredictable, particularly with sports there's not often time to zoom with your feet.

For me 18-110 is rather a wide zoom range though, I'd be concerned about image quality at the wide and long ends of the range.

I'd be looking for something in the 24-70 zoom range for closer action.

[Photo-John]

What's your budget? I've been using the Sony A55 with the Sony 70-200mm f/2.8 and it's a serious lens - about as good as the Nikon and Canon equivalents as far as I can tell. Continuous auto focus performance has been excellent (that's the camera as well as the lens) and the image quality is wonderful. However, that lens sells for $1800. Since my experience with the Sony gear is limited, I can't really recommend anything else. Like SmartWombat said, I think the 18-110mm is a bit short. I'd want to shoot telephoto for most track and field photos and 70-200mm is the perfect zoom range.