Friend of mine shoots a lot of horse racing and uses his 70-200 f/2.8 exclusively, so I would have to say that anything f/2.8 would be fine.

85mm AF-D should work

Godless said:
I need a lens that focuses fast on a moving subject with the d7000. Nice bokeh is nice, but not an absolute necessity in action shots. Low light is what we get here in Finland, most of the year.

I shoot racing horses, running dogs, some sports on the side.

Based on my experience with the excellent Canon 85mm/1.8 USM, I put a Nikkor 85mm/1.8D on order. If it´s not good I will return it and get something else (AF-s 85/1.4G?) instead. I hope the 85/1.8D works for me, that would save me a lot of money.

85mm AF-D should work(Both F1.4 and 1.8) you can skip the 85mm AF-S(IT actually focus slower than the AF-D).

If you are outdoors even 2.8 will work. I would consider a crowded bar low light. Anything in the day or under lights you should be good with almost any Nikon lens. Nikon AF system is much, much faster than Canon. (pro bodies aside) I have shot a Indy race with a Nikon 70-300mm VR on a rainy heavy overcast day and could easily focus on anything.

TaoTeJared said:
Are you needing fast lens for low light or are you looking for bokeh?
What subjects are you shooting?

I need a lens that focuses fast on a moving subject with the d7000. Nice bokeh is nice, but not an absolute necessity in action shots. Low light is what we get here in Finland, most of the year.

I shoot racing horses, running dogs, some sports on the side.

Based on my experience with the excellent Canon 85mm/1.8 USM, I put a Nikkor 85mm/1.8D on order. If it´s not good I will return it and get something else (AF-s 85/1.4G?) instead. I hope the 85/1.8D works for me, that would save me a lot of money.

My 85mm f/1.8 Focuses fast enough for a screw driven AF. My 105mm f/2.8VR focuses very fast but can hunt if there are many elements in the photo.

Most lenses that are F/2 are fast enough. If you set your AF to spot with tracking on you will be able to use almost any lens. I have not heard anything about the 105DC focus problems but then again most use it for portraiture - same with the 135 DC.

Are you needing fast lens for low light or are you looking for bokeh?
What subjects are you shooting?

Hi Godless
Check here bythom.com/lensacronyms.htm for information about which lenses work on which bodies and what all the letters mean.
The Nikon AF-S lenses are the fastest to focus because they have an in-lens focusing motor, in others the motor in the body drives the focus.
I've got the 85mm F1.4D and it's a great lens, I'm a music + potrait photographer not sports photographer but i'm sure it would cope brilliantly.

segura - maybe I have some extraordinary copy of 105/2.8vr but I'm able to catch birds in fly, see below:

d90+N105/2.8vr

No problems using 85 1.8D on D90 while taking fast paced action shots of volleyball or swimming in very dimly lit gyms. I have not used the other two lenses, so cant comment on focusing part but i feel that anything more than 85 would be too long for indoor sports.

The 105mm Micro does not focus fast . . . stick with the 85mm

The 85mm F1.4D does AF on the D7000, so no issues there. The 105mm F2.8G is nice too, and a little cheaper.

I like 105/2.8vr - it's a macro lens, but works nice for fast moving objects (animals in my case)

I have recently moved from the Canon camp to the Nikon camp.

I have ordered a 85mm/1.8D because it supposedly autofocuses fast with a d7000.
If not, I will return it to the store.

At first i thought getting a 105DC would be nice but then I read about possible AF problems with DX bodies.

Tell me which short tele prime around 85/105/135mm would you recommend for fast action and why? Primes only, please.