Sigma Corporation

For action photography no lens gets more work than the venerable 70-200mm f/2.8. With the addition of built-in focus motors over the last decade (called USM by Canon, AF-S by Nikon and HSM by Sigma) as well as support for Teleconverters for extra reach it is a great "go-to" lens for action indoors and out. Show up with one at your kid's soccer game or swim meet and you're guaranteed to get jealous looks and more than a couple questions. And of course you'll get plenty of images that others with their slower kit lenses will miss out on….

I really enjoyed shooting with the Nikon 14-24mm AF-S f/2.8G ED lens which was released as part of Nikon’s foray into full-frame cameras along with the D3. It takes incredible images and was a pleasure to use. But for most of us it has several drawbacks which make it a difficult acquisition. First is price. At $1800 for the US version it is a large investment for a lens that typically gets used a lot less than a mid-range zoom. Second, it is large and heavy. If you lug your gear with you the 2.2 lb. weight and 4”x5” size create quite an impact on your photo pack. Finally the “domed” front makes it difficult and expensive to use filters with it (an expensive add-on adapter is needed).