Best low light (gymnasium) Nikon

1st time poster and I'm looking to purchase a Nikon DSLR. The main use will be to photograph my sons baketaball games. The gyms they play in are not well lit. Budget for the camera will be up to $1k for the body, with another $1k for lenses. Looking forward to hearing everyone's suggestions. Thank you.

Best low light body you can get in that price range is a D90. Look for a refurbished unit. The D300 would be better due to more focus points, bigger viewfinder and FPS, but is probably too expensive even used or refurbished. A D200 does not have the high ISO capabilities and is not as good a choice as the D90.

Next is the lens. Indoor basketball has some pretty low light, so you are going to need fast glass. You are also going to need some reach and the ability to change the focal range, so that means a telephoto zoom to me. Here are some suggestions:

1. Nikon 80-200 f/2.8 two ring model. or the afs model.

2. Sigma or Tamron 70-200 f/2.8. The Tamron is reputed to be sharper. Both have reports of struggling AF in low light.

3. Sigma 50-150 HSM II - This lens will be a little short at 150mm for the far end of the court. but it is fast focusing and is pretty sharp. You may have to stop down at 150mm to f/4 to get better sharpness.

Then you will want a nice flash unit like the SB600 and a good set of rechargeable NiMH batteries. Shoot rear curtain.

You may be doing more burst shooting to catch the action, so invest in the SanDisk Extreme III (30MB/sec) cards. These cards almost double the number of shots you can cram into a 30 second shooting marathon.

A monopod may help to steady the camera and help in the low light conditions. You are still going to need a high shutterspeed to stop action, but the monopod helps you keep steady.

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Catallaxy

I've seen D300s (bodys only) for about $1600 on adorama or B&H. Maybe get a $180 walk around 18-135 5.6( if you want to shoot other things than hoops) and look at the Sigma 70-200/2.8 (around $700). Like me, your probably not allowed to shoot with a flash or the D90 would be more than enough. So, really more like $2500 would get you some super results withe a D300( maybe a refurb) or the new D300s.

rwbuck said:

The main use will be to photograph my sons baketaball games. The gyms they play in are not well lit. Budget for the camera will be up to $1k for the body, with another $1k for lenses.

Click to expand...

Here is how I would spend $2k in your situation (prices from B&H)
D90 + 18-105 VR ($1030)
50 mm f1.8 ($120)
85 mm f1.8 ($450) - optional
SB 600 flash ($220)

I've shot in alot of school gyms that my kids play in. I would recommend getting the 50mm immediately and then get the 85mm if you find that you need a little more reach. Some gyms may be so dark that flash will be required.

If your son also plays soccer or baseball, then consider the 70-300VR in place of the 85mm.

I shoot a lot of indoor sports in my small town gym. I can always sit close and can easily get by with my 50mm f/1.4. It worked well on my D50, and will work even better on my D90. If I can't sit in the first couple rows I use an 85mm f/1.8. I can use this lens even from the back row of our local high school gym, and haven't needed my Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 for any indoor shots. That is a good football lens though. I would never personally use a flash at any indoor sporting event as in my opinion it's distracting to the players. That's a personal call for you to make. You should be able to buy the D90 and these two lenses for around $1,600.00 from B&H. Good luck.

PS. I have tons of indoor sports shots on my Smugmug site that were all taken with the above lenses if you'd like to check them out.
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Lens Creep

http://allmeans.smugmug.com/

In US and Canada , price of D5000 has dropped quite a bit. D5000 with 18-55mm is $200 CAD cheaper than a D90 body. It makes the D5000 a lot more competitive than it is first debut. Worth a look!

D5000 has near-identical low light performance. In fact, the D5000 seems to have a slight edge in DR.

The D5000 does not have an internal focusing motor so the 50mm f/1.4, 50mm f/1.8, and the 85mm f/1.8, lenses won’t AF. These three low light lenses probably represent the best options for the OP considering the budget constraints. As Brad has already posted the 50mm and 85mm are generally all you need in most gymnasiums. No budget worries and the 70-200mm f/2.8 probably becomes the front runner and the D5000 is probably an option; personally, seeing as there is only a $120 difference between the two cameras ($680 for the D5000, $800 for the D90 at B&H) I’d go with the D90.
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While amateurs change the camera’s settings; many Pro’s prefer to change the light.

Brooks
http://bmiddleton.smugmug.com/