Which camera for sports-daytime and low light??

[flmomx5]

Advice please!!! Ok, I need a camera and lens to take action shots (my kids playing soccer) in both daytime and low light situations as well as everyday indoor shots. I'm upgrading to a DSLR, starting from scratch. The salesman at Best Buy told me the Canon 50D would be best for me, and that was the camera I liked the most and felt comfortable in my hands. It came with the standard 28-135 lens. However, I recently spoke with a sports photographer who told me that the Canon 50D wouldn't be able to give me the low light shots I was looking for. He recommended buying a used/refurbed Nikon D300 along with a Nikon ED AF-S VR Nikkor 70-200 f/2.8 lens and a Nikon SB-800 flash. I'm not a professional, nor do I plan to be, at least not yet and don't have a huge budget, but I do want to get what will work best for me. Can anyone offer me advice on what I should do?? I would really appreciate it.

 

[Formatted]

Nikon D300 along with a Nikon ED AF-S VR Nikkor 70-200 f/2.8 lens and a Nikon SB-800 flash

That is what I was going to suggest.....

 

[flmomx5]

OK, I just looked at that particular lens on Adorama....I don't have that kind of money. What would be the next best option for me??

 

[Derrel]

Selling a 1.6x camra with a 28-135mm lens that dates from the film era is Canon's new idea of a way to get rid of old stock lenses. In Japan and Europe, Canon is not selling the 28-135 as a bundle with *any* digital bodies, but in the USA, there's a push on by Canon USA, in which the old 28-135 lens is bundled with newer Canon bodies.

A slow, consumer-grade 28-135 zoom lens is going to be a poor choice for low-light sports outdoors, and an absolutely horrible choice for indoor sports. Either a Canon or a Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 lens would allow you to do some decent sports photos; the thing is, the 70-200 lens is quite expensive, and the body to go with it is also somewhat expensive, so you're looking at a fairly costly setup to do really good low-light shots.

What kind of budget do you have? The actual budget will determine what you can buy,and sports photography is one of the areas where the **right** equipment can make all the difference in the world. Equipment that is usable for daytime,afternoon soccer games is not the same as soccer games at night, under the lights at youth-level fields, which typically have horrible lighting. And, can you manage to get to a real camera store instead of the Best Buy? Stores like that are responsible for a lot of bad camera and lens recommendations.

 

[flmomx5]

I was trying to stay around $1000, which I know is going to be quite a difficult task. Adorama had a refurb D300 for $400ish. What are your thoughts about a Sigma or Tamron lens? Their 70-200mm f/2.8 would keep me close to my price range. Saw some used ones on ebay.

 

[flmomx5]

Also, what is a decent lens for traveling? Going on a cruise in Sept. Don't want to lug along a big sports lens??!!

 

[flmomx5]

Nevermind, my mistake it was a D3000 that was $400ish. Uggghh!! Just don't know what the best option for me is at my budget!

 

[gsgary]

Nevermind, my mistake it was a D3000 that was $400ish. Uggghh!! Just don't know what the best option for me is at my budget!

Keep saving, low light sports shooting does not come cheap

 

[usayit]

He recommended buying a used/refurbed Nikon D300 along with a Nikon ED AF-S VR Nikkor 70-200 f/2.8 lens and a Nikon SB-800 flash.

Good suggestion.

I wouldn't recommend going to a regular retail electronics shop for advice nor simply going with the kit lenses. The 28-135mm IS is a good general lens but a bit long on a crop camera.

Of course the equivalent Canon would be to purchase the 50D with the 70-200 f/2.8L IS which is still out of budget but cheaper than the Nikkor but Derrel is a bit biased towards Nikon (honestly... a bit tiresome). Choice in body is a very personal one. You should go to a real camera store and try a few camera out (Canon and Nikon but there are others too). Once you made your choice, I would push to hold off and keep saving. Low-light sports demands fairly expensive equipment.

 

[TJ K]

Nevermind, my mistake it was a D3000 that was $400ish. Uggghh!! Just don't know what the best option for me is at my budget!

Keep saving, low light sports shooting does not come cheap

+1 go ahead and brag about that 300 2.8

To the OP I would say at a minimum you want to get the D300. The fast fps and good ISO is good for sports. You will want a 70-200 2.8. There are also 3rd party lenses like sigma and tamron that make 70-200 versions for around 800. That's a lot better than 2300 dollars. Keep saving, quality gear will last for ever.
TJ

Edit*
You said you liked the feel of canon more which is honestly the most important thing today when cameras from both canon and nikon are so similar(even though Nikon is better ). For Canon you could check out the 7D for sports with a 70-200 2.8 sigma or canon version. Canon does make 4 versions of the 70-200 so you may find something you can afford.

 

[usayit]

Is 200mm focal length long enough for soccer? You might also want to consider that. Maybe rent a lens or borrow.... I used to shoot Polo, 200mm was pretty short for that sport.

 

[TJ K]

Is 200mm focal length long enough for soccer? You might also want to consider that. Maybe rent a lens or borrow.... I used to shoot Polo, 200mm was pretty short for that sport.

Well if would have to make due because I think the OP buying a 300/400 2.8 is way out of budget and renting would get wayyyyy expensive as well because i'm sure the games are often. The 70-200 is the best bet for the price and length. She can always crop a tad if necessary.

 

[gsgary]

Is 200mm focal length long enough for soccer? You might also want to consider that. Maybe rent a lens or borrow.... I used to shoot Polo, 200mm was pretty short for that sport.

200mm is a bit short for football (soccer) but you can wait for the action to get closer

 

[Derrel]

He recommended buying a used/refurbed Nikon D300 along with a Nikon ED AF-S VR Nikkor 70-200 f/2.8 lens and a Nikon SB-800 flash.

Good suggestion.

I wouldn't recommend going to a regular retail electronics shop for advice nor simply going with the kit lenses. The 28-135mm IS is a good general lens but a bit long on a crop camera.

Of course the equivalent Canon would be to purchase the 50D with the 70-200 f/2.8L IS which is still out of budget but cheaper than the Nikkor but Derrel is a bit biased towards Nikon (honestly... a bit tiresome). Choice in body is a very personal one. You should go to a real camera store and try a few camera out (Canon and Nikon but there are others too). Once you made your choice, I would push to hold off and keep saving. Low-light sports demands fairly expensive equipment.

Please note I suggested that EITHER a Canon or a Nikon 70-200 lens would be quote good. And it's true the 28-135 is "a bit long" on a crop body camera. The 28-135 kit pairing Canon is doing in the USA is because customers in other markets around the world are too savvy to fall for a 12-13 year old lens design that's a horrible match on a d-slr with a 1.6x crop sensor body. But then, in the USA, we have many big-box retail stores where uneducated sales associates try and prey upon uneducated customers like the nice lady who started this thread.

 

[flmomx5]

Thank you to all of you for your suggestions. In actuality, I wouldn't mind getting either a Canon 50D(6.3fps), T1i (3.5 fps-liked the way it felt but the focus ring felt chinsy and didn't like that it was on the end of the lens) or the Nikon D90(4.5 fps). I kind of liked all of them in their own way. I thought about getting one of those with their lens kits for everyday, nothing special shots and then saving up to eventually get that 70-200 f2.8. Build up my arsenal, I don't have to buy everything all at once. Most of my shooting is during the day anyway. What does that mean when you say that the 28-135 is "long on a crop body"? And the whole reason I came on here was because I'd rather get the opinions of you all who USE this equipment and are much more knowledgable about it instead of the people that work at Best Buy. I simply went to Best Buy to handle and play with the equipment!! Then make my purchase on Adorama!