If I want to "step up" from a kit lens, there does not seem to be much of a choice.

It's either "$300 lens" or $"2,000 lens." There does not seem to be anything in-between. New, not used.

Zoom lens let's say 200-300mm. I understand the $2K lenses are F2.8, and the kit lens are like F4.5 so big difference.

Maybe I have not look hard enough.

 

what body?

 

Nikon D7200.

 

what will you be shooting with the longer focal lengths? If you don't need the aperture speed, Tamron has an 18-400mm lens that's $650 USD, but you're at F6.3 at the long end... It has "VC" which stands for "Vibration Control" It's Tamron's term for image stabilization... meaning you can shoot at slower shutter speed with the help of the image stabilization (to some extent), this is to compensate for the smaller aperture, thus letting in less light. For example, there's a difference between shooting a bird perched vs a bird in-flight where you NEED faster shutter speed. If you "need" faster shutter speed, and you have good light, like high noon sun with no clouds, you're still fine with that lens... lower lighting situations, that's going to require a lens with larger aperture.

By the way, the D7200 has a crop factor of 1.5x, so 400mm is equivalent to 600mm field of view

 

there's also the Nikon AF-P DX Nikkor 70-300mm F4.5-6.3G ED VR that's under $400 USD... something, you're at F6.3 at the long end, albeit it only goes to 300mm vs the Tamron at 400mm

Both of these are NOT full-frame lenses, so if there's any chance of you going full frame in the future, maybe reconsider

 

That is what I currently have. Kid's sports in the afternoon or evenings. So the shots are for personal photos. The auto ISO does bump me up a bit. It works 8 out of 10 times, as every high school field is lighted a bit different.

So if I want to step up from this lens, seems like the only step is something expensive like F2.8. I totally get the lens would be an investment, and I would love it. At the end of the day, it's something over $2K. Yes, I know, there are used lenses.

But as I shop around, I just don't see something like a 200-300mm at F4 or maybe F3.4, Maybe price at $1K?

Putting in Honda car terms, if I want a step up from a LX, I can go EX, EX-L, Touring, Elite. With lenses in this range, it seems like it goes from LX to Touring.

 

Yeah, since you're taking pictures of kids sports, you "need" the shutter speed to freeze the action, I still say F5.6-6.3 is fine if there's a lot of light but if it's a cloudy day, maybe it's closer to sunset, this is where you're going to deal with noise...
If you don't mind me making a suggestion of a different route... Check out the noise cleaning programs like Topaz DeNoise... It's like witchcraft, once you get used to the settings, the program cleans noise and retains sharpness, at times... It actually sharpens your images. It's the best $80 I've ever spent... I believe you get a free trial with no obligations
I took this at ISO12800! (But it was with a full frame camera)
The only downside is... It takes about a minute to do each picture or even longer if you have an older computer

 

Thanks. Awesome shot. I would never guess it was over 10,000. (I would guess maybe 800.)

Yeah, I'm sure lots more can be done during post-processing that I need to learn. Right now, my skill is at adjusting brightness and darkness.