Need help with choosing a camera to buy

Paula67

TPF Noob!
Joined
Sep 28, 2016
Messages
2
Reaction score
0
This will be my first big camera purchase and I am totally lost. So many to choose from.

I will be using this camera for a lot of sports shots as I have one child very active in high school sports...football, wrestling, track. So there will be indoor/outdoor shots as well as having to be far away shots from the stands. With wrestling a lot of times you are very far away from the mat so
good zooming is a must.

I also have a child that does high school theatre/drama so there will be times when it is rather dark.

I am also wanting to use the camera to try doing their senior pictures as I have one who graduates next year.

Being able to upload directly to facebook would be nice as well but isn't not a must have.

I have seen where cameras come in bundles which have a 18-55 with image stabilization lens and a 75-300 lens but doesn't say anything about image stabilization. If I am doing far away shots wouldn't I need that? Or am I overthinking this?

I am wanting to stay below $1000 for the setup if this is even possible. Do you have any suggestions for me? I would greatly appreciate your advice.
 
Ok, well taking action shots in poor lighting is going to be difficult at best for most cameras in that budget range. My recommendation would be to look for something like a D5200 used, they are generally around $300-$400. Then look for a Sigma 70-200mm 2.8 HSM I. Your looking at probably between $400-$500 for that particular lens. It's not the latest and greatest of 2.8 zooms of course, but it does a pretty respectable job and will keep you within your listed budget.
 
Panasonic Lumix FZ1000
 
Panasonic Lumix FZ1000

Well I've never owned the FZ1000 but I did have the FZ200 and even with the constant 2.8 zoom it couldn't hold a candle to any of the APS-C sensor Nikon's I've owned for lowlight shooting. Have they improved the 2/3 sensors that much?
 
Panasonic Lumix FZ1000

Well I've never owned the FZ1000 but I did have the FZ200 and even with the constant 2.8 zoom it couldn't hold a candle to any of the APS-C sensor Nikon's I've owned for lowlight shooting. Have they improved the 2/3 sensors that much?
Fz1000 uses 1" sensor. They shoot very well up to about 1600 ISO
 
Fz1000 uses 1" sensor. They shoot very well up to about 1600 ISO

Interesting. Wonder how that compares in low light to a DSLR.
Not even close for a modern camera. It compares favourably to something in the D80/D200 era

Gimme a bigger budget and I say D500 and a 300mm f/4
 
Fz1000 uses 1" sensor. They shoot very well up to about 1600 ISO

Interesting. Wonder how that compares in low light to a DSLR.
Not even close for a modern camera. It compares favourably to something in the D80/D200 era

Gimme a bigger budget and I say D500 and a 300mm f/4

Well yes, granted a bigger budget would help. But having shot a lot indoors I think I'd prefer the D5200 with the 70-200mm. For most gyms you'll be struggling to get shots that aren't to noisy that way - so anything that can't at least match it for low light probably wouldn't be a good option.
 
I just hope the OP isn't thinking small and lightweight "pocket camera"

Generally when someone wants to jump into photography and do "everything" they'll have to consider
(1) budget
(2) size and weight
excluding experience/knowledge

The above is a great recommendation of the nikon d5200. But sometimes people bulk at the size & weight of the lens as recommended. And of course many people want "more" for their $1,000 after seeing all those Kits with various lenses and useless/junk accessories.
 
For your needs, I'd find a used/refurbished D600/610 and a fast telephoto like the 85mm 1.8G.
 
For your needs, I'd find a used/refurbished D600/610 and a fast telephoto like the 85mm 1.8G.
only if you want overall shots of the whole event rather than close up photos of her kids.
 
I'd rather have slightly wide (85mm is long) shots that have plenty of cropping leverage and Dynamic Range, coupled with a STELLAR sensor, than a camera that takes pretty sub-par images in direct sunlight, let alone >200 ISO. You could always try to find a 80-200 2.8 or sigma 70-200 2.8 if the 85mm is too short.

You need a fast shutter, and thus a fast lens, and still good ISO handling for the lighting conditions. The FZ1000 doesn't come remotely close.

I offered up a ~$400 fast lens option coupled on a $600 camera to meet the budget and shooting requirements. You offered up a camera to meet the budget only.
 
Last edited:
Nikon D5300 or even Nikon D5500 with 18-55mm kit lens and Nikon 55-300mm VR for telephoto (longer reach lens)
If you can squeeze then add Nikon 50mm 1.8G for very low light situation and portrait shooting
 
I offered up a ~$400 fast lens option coupled on a $600 camera to meet the budget and shooting requirements. You offered up a camera to meet the budget only.
Your image requirement is not always the same as hers. Often newbies only want to put the pictures at 4x6 or share them online. For that, a small 1" would suffice.
 

Most reactions

Back
Top