Advice on finding the right DSLR

[Overread]

What's your budget.

We really need that info as there are a huge range of options and we can get very pricey very easily. Having a rough understanding of how much money you've got to spend is very important so that we can suggest systems and options that will suit your budget; or which you could save for in the near future for something really good.

Rather than suggesting things that might be way under budget (cheap sure; but not as god performance in general) or way over budget.



For what its worth low-light high ISO performance along with fast AF is a must. Even more so if you're on budget (high end lenses that let in a lot of light tend to be expensive). When I've shot showjumping in an arena indoors I've been at around:
1/640sec shutter speed - this is the slowest you can go without getting blur. Go down to 1/500sec and hooves/hair will blur although results are still pleasing for the main body. 1/500 is about the lowest you can go unless you want to do fancy blurry motion things.

- f2.8 aperture - widest you can go and honestly f2 is probably the widest (smaller f number = wider aperture = more light in the camera = less depth of field) you can go with a horse and rider. Horses and riders are deep subjects detail wise so really you can't go super-wide without risking miss focusing very easily.

ISO - has been as high as 12800 (highest my camera can go and rather ugly honestly noise wise)and still been underexposing in dimmer light indoors. So yeah high ISOs are important; outside its not as much of an issue but indoors it certainly is
This is especially the case because most won't let you work flash with horse riding on account of potential risk*


Focal length wise you want 100mm or longer for a horse. A horse is a very deep subject and if you go for a portrait or even full body photo with a lens shorter than 100mm and fil the frame with the subject you run a high risk of perspective distortion because of how close you will be to the subject. This is where you get enlarged aresa closer to the camera compared to areas further away - extreme examples would be those photos you can see (often on cards) where a horse has, for example, a huge nose compared to the rest of its head.
100mm or longer is ideal.

The combo of long focal length and wide maximum aperture make for an expensive combo; however you can work on budget and a 70-300mm lens would do you well outside for certain and in brighter indoor conditions.


*Although it is present at many professional venues so flash is not the devil; but like anything animal related it can be a risk factor to consider and most small venues won't let you use flash at all.

 

[mrsmc]

Budget: I really didn't know what to expect as far as price range, but I can go up to $700. I've held the D7100 and the next lower Nikon, but not the mirrorless. They I'll have to double check to see if the Best Buy near me carries the A6300 as a display.

For use: It will generally be well-lit indoor arena (mostly for lessons, not for shows) and with my own horse who is accustomed to flash. I avoid using flash indoor anyway because the dust is generally a problem. And outdoor arenas for my daughter's speed event shows once/month. I don't have any intention in wanting to photograph anyone else or sell anything, so it doesn't *have* to be super high quality - just better than what I have.

 

[budget cruncher]

"..I can go up to $700"

Nikon D7100

Nikon 35mm F/1.8

Nikon 50mm f/1.8G

 

[robbins.photo]

My recommendation given the budget, I'd go for a less expensive camera body and a decent telephoto lens to get the kind of shots you want.

Nikon D5200
Tamron 70-300 MM 4.5-5.6 VC

You should be able to find a used Nikon D5200 with the kit lens for around $350-$400, the Tamron 70-300 mm for around $250 or so used. This will cover most of the focal lengths you want to cover and give you a great starting point. Later on of course if you decide you can always add some lenses for better lowlight like say a 50 mm 1.8, but to start with given your budget and the likely need for some halfway decent telephoto range especially at the outdoor events, that would be the route I'd suggest.

 

[chuasam]

My Gf does equestrian photography. She uses mostly a D810 with a 300mm f/2.8 VR2.
For mid range you could probably get away with a D750 and a 300mm f/4 PF

 

[chuasam]

I've shot many, many horse shows and made hundreds of horse portraits. In your shoes I would opt for a mirrorless system with a zoom lens that goes from slightly wide to slightly telephoto. These systems can provide outstanding image quality, are easy to use, are light and small and have interchangeable lenses. There is no question that the DSLR's have more complete systems and capabilities but I tend to think you don't need all that. Give it some thought.

I have to admit that I'm completely clueless regarding the mirrorless options. Any off-hand recommendations for where to start looking?

They're nice if you don't need fast autofocus.

 

[JacaRanda]

My Gf does equestrian photography. She uses mostly a D810 with a 300mm f/2.8 VR2.
For mid range you could probably get away with a D750 and a 300mm f/4 PF

Did you miss the budget of $700? Or, do you know something I don't know? I would jump all over a D750 and a 300f4 for $700.00

 

[chuasam]

My Gf does equestrian photography. She uses mostly a D810 with a 300mm f/2.8 VR2.
For mid range you could probably get away with a D750 and a 300mm f/4 PF

Did you miss the budget of $700? Or, do you know something I don't know? I would jump all over a D750 and a 300f4 for $700.00

Ahhh TL;DR
Didn't get to the post about the budget.
You can barely get entry level at that budget

 

[robbins.photo]

My Gf does equestrian photography. She uses mostly a D810 with a 300mm f/2.8 VR2.
For mid range you could probably get away with a D750 and a 300mm f/4 PF

Don't suppose you'll sell your GFs gear to the op for $700?

Sent from my N9518 using Tapatalk

 

[chuasam]

My Gf does equestrian photography. She uses mostly a D810 with a 300mm f/2.8 VR2.
For mid range you could probably get away with a D750 and a 300mm f/4 PF

Don't suppose you'll sell your GFs gear to the op for $700?

Sent from my N9518 using Tapatalk

No. USD 9,000 would be a fair offer for that combo

 

[robbins.photo]

My Gf does equestrian photography. She uses mostly a D810 with a 300mm f/2.8 VR2.
For mid range you could probably get away with a D750 and a 300mm f/4 PF

Don't suppose you'll sell your GFs gear to the op for $700?

Sent from my N9518 using Tapatalk

No. USD 9,000 would be a fair offer for that combo

Thought it was worth a shot. Sorry op, I tried. Lol

Sent from my N9518 using Tapatalk

 

[astroNikon]

My Gf does equestrian photography. She uses mostly a D810 with a 300mm f/2.8 VR2.
For mid range you could probably get away with a D750 and a 300mm f/4 PF

OP stated a budget of $700

 

[fmw]

I've shot many, many horse shows and made hundreds of horse portraits. In your shoes I would opt for a mirrorless system with a zoom lens that goes from slightly wide to slightly telephoto. These systems can provide outstanding image quality, are easy to use, are light and small and have interchangeable lenses. There is no question that the DSLR's have more complete systems and capabilities but I tend to think you don't need all that. Give it some thought.

I have to admit that I'm completely clueless regarding the mirrorless options. Any off-hand recommendations for where to start looking?

They're nice if you don't need fast autofocus.

OK. I've shot horse shows way way before autofocus existed. I see your point but the concern wouldn't have occurred to me. If an AF camera can keep up with manual focus, then it's fine for horse shows.

 

[EIngerson]

Take a look at some used Canons. I'm a Canon shooter so I can't speak about Nikon. Never owned one. There are some great deals on used 60 and 70D's that will leave you enough left over to look at lenses.

 

[chuasam]

I've shot many, many horse shows and made hundreds of horse portraits. In your shoes I would opt for a mirrorless system with a zoom lens that goes from slightly wide to slightly telephoto. These systems can provide outstanding image quality, are easy to use, are light and small and have interchangeable lenses. There is no question that the DSLR's have more complete systems and capabilities but I tend to think you don't need all that. Give it some thought.

I have to admit that I'm completely clueless regarding the mirrorless options. Any off-hand recommendations for where to start looking?

They're nice if you don't need fast autofocus.

OK. I've shot horse shows way way before autofocus existed. I see your point but the concern wouldn't have occurred to me. If an AF camera can keep up with manual focus, then it's fine for horse shows.

I've seen photos back from the pre autofocus days. They have a certain static sort of aesthetic that you embrace because you can't track a moving horse while keeping it sharp and wide open.
If you want to have the sort of images that were all the rage 30 years ago, by all means get a camera with slow auto focus.