Which camera for sports-daytime and low light??

[inTempus]

I would love to see where it's written that a hobbyist shoots with any particular gear or in any particular place... as if there's some rule or law.

I'm a hobbyist and I shoot with a 1D Mark IV and 5D Mark II. I regularly push the limits of both cameras in both low light. I don't do anything special, I just use them. But I can assure you, I can and often do, use ISO 3200 and above. Shoot one concert or event where the lights are low and you'll wish you had that ISO 6400 without having massive noise in your images.

I know hobbyists that go to Antarctica. I know hobbyists that shoot weddings, concerts, sporting events, etc. The first time you shoot a high school football game at night with only stadium lights, you'll wish you had that high ISO to keep your shutter speeds up without wrecking your images with noise.

 

[MrLogic]

"simply great" maybe isn't the phrasing I would use. 3200 is a bit hit and miss. "usable" and "acceptable" come to mind, but it seems that for every one of these, there's at least one of these.

+1

The D300S and 7D both top the 50D. If buying a crop body today and if I didn't have an investment in lenses with Canon already, I would go for the D300S for the AF system, dual card slots and weather sealing.

But both the D300S and 7D best the 50D... pretty much at every measurable point. And in the AF department, there's no contest. The 50D is way behind the D300S and 7D.

Wait for it...

I agree. :thumbdown:



Though honestly... I kind of like DXO. Especially the "claimed" ISO vs. measured ISO thingy. Pure comedy. (Have these camera companies been lying to me?!??)

 

[cfusionpm]

The first time you shoot a high school football game at night with only stadium lights, you'll wish you had that high ISO to keep your shutter speeds up without wrecking your images with noise.

I'm just a hobbyist, and doing JUST THAT made me save up for a 70-200 2.8L after renting one for a night HS football game last November. Even at 3200 and 2.8, I could bearly get away with 1/320 and in some cases 1/250. My next investment will be a 7D, and I'll probably have one by Fall. I don't make money off my shoots. I do this for fun and enjoyment.

 

[inTempus]

I agree. :thumbdown:

Though honestly... I kind of like DXO. Especially the "claimed" ISO vs. measured ISO thingy. Pure comedy. (Have these camera companies been lying to me?!??)

I figured you would bring that up. It's true though. I would cite Clarkvision but their site and data isn't as user friendly.

 

[sanjeed1407]

I also know hobbyists on flickr with all high end bodies including 1DMkIV, 1DsMkIII and lenses like EF 800mm f/5.6L IS USM with host of other pricey brand glasses. However, majority hobbyists do not sprinkle money around like that if it's hard earned.

My subjects don’t run with the ball under flood lights. Rather they roam/play in our mangrove forests, African savannas, perch on trees, swim or play in water, relax and wait on the banks and fly in the sky. All under good daylights so, even my 450D captures these shots nicely.

For most of my BIF shots and speeding/playing mammals; ISO 400 produces sufficient speed to freeze action. When light is falling towards the evening; bumping it up to 800 serves the purpose pretty well. Therefore, having a range of upto 3200 is already much more than enough. Nevertheless, in extreme demanding situations once in a while, there are 6400 and 12800 to fall back on wherein I get huge noise but have the shot as well instead of not having it at all.

Therefore, I’m confident that my two great bodies EOS 450D and EOS 50D will take me a long way – at least towards the end of 2012 while I keep adding on lenses as per requirement.

Signing off. Happy shooting to all.