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alex sinclair

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I've got $1000- $1200 to spend on a DSLR. My needs are kid's sports (as many FPS as I can get). Good low light sensor and a user friendly camera,Without it being a ton of weight.What do we have? My experience is on the beginners side .Thanks
 
Will the low light shots include action? If so, you need to include a fast (meaning wide aperture) lens in your budget. Better to spend less on the camera and be able to afford the fast lens rather than be stuck with a slow kit lens if you be shooting any indoor sports. I'm a Nikon shooter and like its cameras, but the lower priced models (anything below the D90) doesn't AF with the less expensive Nikkor fast prime lenses like the 85mm f/1.8.

I also like the Pentax K-r two lens kits, but you may still need a fast prime if there will be indoor action shots.
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North Carolina
 
I would suggest the 60D with its kit lens to start. Awesomely enough, it is back on its incredible sale price at bestbuy again as I just checked. You wont find another camera of this class at this price that matches what you are looking for (weight, speed, easy to use). $1,107 at bestbuy for the 60D and the 18-135mm kit lens.

$850 for body only. The 60D with the kit should be a nice way of getting you started. Also if you decide you need extra range also, a nice affordable telephoto that usually goes for about $250 is the 55-250mm IS lens but I say check around to amazon or BHphotovideo.com because I am not sure if bestbuy will give the better price on this item (I doubt it thought). Good luck. Any memory card will do for the picture taking (because this camera has a large buffer to hold its own) but for video, you need a class 10. B&H has transcend card brands (nice brand) for very cheap. Good luck.
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Darkness is the monster and your shutter is your sword, aperture your shield and iso your armor. Strike fast with your sword and defend well with your shield and hope your armor holds up.
 
Sports, ouch! Save most of your budget for a nice high speed lens.

Let's say you purchased a Canon EF 100mm f/2.0, that is 1/2 of your budget right there. So we have around $600 to spend on the camera...

You can get a Canon EOS Rebel T1i for $625 (body only) at Amazon right now. I wouldn't normally recommend skipping the wonderful 18-55mm "kit lens" combo, but unfortunately that would cost $689 which is almost $100 over your $1200 budget.

Why do you need an f/2.0 or faster lens you ask? Sports is fast which means your shutter speed needs to be very fast too, and in order to achieve that without the help of a flash you need a lens f/2.0 or lower (e.g. f/1.8).

You could buy a 50mm 1.8, that is only $130. But another aspect of sports photography is that the action is taking place far away. Ideally you want 200mm or more, but that costs more than your entire budget combined, the best you can do is 100mm @f/2.0 which is a fine compromise.

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Canon-Lenses/Canon-Indoor-Sports-Lens.aspx
 
I'd go with a used Canon 40D body, $400-600. That gets you a pro-build camera with 6.5 fps. Then get a used 18-55mm for $100, and a used Sigma 70-200mm, $500-700. The standard zoom will cover your everyday needs, and the fast telephoto your sports needs.
 
A Sony A33 with 18-55 kit lens and a Sony 75-300 lens will cost you around $850 (US) and can get you started.

You can use this combo and shoot indoor sports and get acceptable results at high ISO (12,800).

Ad $100 and you can get the A55 that shoots at 10 frames-per-second, more megapixels and GPS tagging.

Save the rest of your budget and then add to it until you can afford a Tamron 70-200 f:2.8 ($780 US), and you'll have a good 7 frames-per-second low light sports shooter.

--
J. D.
Colorado


  • "If your insurance company tells you that you don't need a lawyer . . . hire a lawyer!"
 
Some will say you need a fast lens for sports. This is not entirely true. If your regular shooting times are during the day, fast (and therefore expensive) lenses are not necessary. But when it comes to sports, a decent body is. And older body counter acts the idea of the need for faster glass because they usually have a lower or less usable high ISO which defeats the purpose of having a faster lens for low light and a body that can't do low light as well. So I say just stick with the most modern, 60D because it gives you what you need at a great price. It has a AF system that is better than entry level, 5.3 fps, great cropping abilities with its 18mp sensor, a buffer that will allow you to shoot your jpegs non stop (with the right speed card).

Todays modern cameras can shoot fast shutter speeds for freezing action in over caste day time skies with regular, to slow speed lenses. The kit lens that comes with it (18-135mm) should serve you well to start off. do not get dragged into the hype of needing an expensive lens. Good luck.
--

Darkness is the monster and your shutter is your sword, aperture your shield and iso your armor. Strike fast with your sword and defend well with your shield and hope your armor holds up.
 
Rakumi said:
Some will say you need a fast lens for sports. This is not entirely true. If your regular shooting times are during the day, fast (and therefore expensive) lenses are not necessary. But when it comes to sports, a decent body is. And older body counter acts the idea of the need for faster glass because they usually have a lower or less usable high ISO which defeats the purpose of having a faster lens for low light and a body that can't do low light as well. So I say just stick with the most modern, 60D because it gives you what you need at a great price. It has a AF system that is better than entry level, 5.3 fps, great cropping abilities with its 18mp sensor, a buffer that will allow you to shoot your jpegs non stop (with the right speed card).

Todays modern cameras can shoot fast shutter speeds for freezing action in over caste day time skies with regular, to slow speed lenses. The kit lens that comes with it (18-135mm) should serve you well to start off. do not get dragged into the hype of needing an expensive lens. Good luck.
Click to expand...
Apparently you've never shot indoor sports . . .

--
J. D.
Colorado
  • "If your insurance company tells you that you don't need a lawyer . . . hire a lawyer!"
 
Hi friend,

Wow, you have a high budget and you can get a really good DSLR.

Well, did you do any research on DSLR? If I were you, I will go for mid level camera now. Why? because you dont want to waste your money to get a lower spec camera, you can upgrade or shoot better picture in the future if you buy a higher spec DSLR.

If you do not hate or unlike any brand, why don't you go for Nikon or Canon?

But, my friend, remember one thing, number of pixels is not the most important to consider when you buy a camera.

Best Regards.

http://jiatphotography.blogspot.com/2011/05/understanding-number-of-pixels-and.html
 
That was my point... I was referring to outside sports. The typical sports parent shoots outdoors or indoors really bright indoor lights while it is light outside with windows. It is different when a professional says about doing sports shooting and a parent says about sports shooting. With parents, sport shooting will not encompass 100% of their shooting. Maybe 20-30% and more than half of that will probably be in day light or good light.

As a shooter, I am sure you have had your fair share of being surprised at what you can pull of with some lenses that are not super fast. My point is a person who is a beginner has different needs than a pro.

I shot in Madison Square Garden before with my 50D and f4 telephoto. My ISO was about 1250 and I was getting speeds of 1/500 (depending on the scheme of lights. They have multi color lights and sometimes gets all disco light like).
--

Darkness is the monster and your shutter is your sword, aperture your shield and iso your armor. Strike fast with your sword and defend well with your shield and hope your armor holds up.
 
My camera goes up to 3200 pre-boost ISO. Same as the 60D. Same sensor as the 60D too. Yet I'd still buy a nice fast lens for sports. To be honest the difference between a 60D and the 500D (T1i), 550D (T2i), and 600D (T3i) is minor. 60D has specific advantages but almost all of them have absolutely nothing at all to do with picture quality (i.e. ergonomics, rotating screen, LCD screen, "features").

I'd love to own a 60D, but don't imagine for a split second that it will improve my pictures. Not least of all because the sensor would be literally identical. The additional focus points are nice, no doubt, but that doesn't improve picture quality, just makes your life easier.

Bodies come and go, lenses are forever...
Rakumi said:
Some will say you need a fast lens for sports. This is not entirely true. If your regular shooting times are during the day, fast (and therefore expensive) lenses are not necessary. But when it comes to sports, a decent body is. And older body counter acts the idea of the need for faster glass because they usually have a lower or less usable high ISO which defeats the purpose of having a faster lens for low light and a body that can't do low light as well. So I say just stick with the most modern, 60D because it gives you what you need at a great price. It has a AF system that is better than entry level, 5.3 fps, great cropping abilities with its 18mp sensor, a buffer that will allow you to shoot your jpegs non stop (with the right speed card).

Todays modern cameras can shoot fast shutter speeds for freezing action in over caste day time skies with regular, to slow speed lenses. The kit lens that comes with it (18-135mm) should serve you well to start off. do not get dragged into the hype of needing an expensive lens. Good luck.
--

Darkness is the monster and your shutter is your sword, aperture your shield and iso your armor. Strike fast with your sword and defend well with your shield and hope your armor holds up.
Click to expand...
 
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