HELP ON BUYING MY FIRST SLR

[charlsy]

hi, i'm near on buying my first SLR camera and i've come to this final two options. oh well make it three (for the budget. haha),


i'm thinking of what to pick with this three nikon slrs.


NIKON D3000

NIKON D5000

NIKON D90


yes, ive read reviews and forums and they would all say go for the d90. but i want to clear some things. first of all, what i want for my first slr is the one that is good for


ACTION SHOTS - (like taking photos from a basketball game, baseball game, etc)

GOOD FOR TRAVELING

AND LASTLY GOOD FOR FAMILY SHOTS.


i really want a slr that COULD GET GOOD QUALITY ACTION SHOTS/PICTURES


oh well my budget is below $1000 and D90 is way too over the limit. so pls do give me a good advice. thanks

 

[Derrel]

Quality action pictures are easiest with a powerful AF motor in the camera, or with a lens that has a wide or wide-ish constant aperture (f/2.8 or in some cases, f/4), or with a camera that has a very capable and sophisticated autofocus system in the camera. I put the above in generalities because of the differences between the various brands--Canon has NO AF motors in its bodies, but pro Nikons and higher-level amateur/consumer NIkons have AF motors within the bodies. And, the professional L-model Canon lenses and the more-costly Nikkor lenses have the best AF performance. A pro-grade L-lens or an f/2.8 Nikkor lens will usually autofocus better and faster and more reliably time after time than will the consumer-level f/3.5~5.6 lenses like the 18-55 and 55-200mm "kit zoom" lenses.

If your budget is only around $1,000 you might want to look at a used body and a decent third-party lens from Sigma or Tamron. Basketball and baseball lenses are almost diametrically opposite things--baseball demands a much longer lens than basketball most all of the time. You might consider looking into a used Canon 30D or 40D and a decent but modest used Canon lens setup. $1,000 doesn't buy a whole heck of a lot these days...alas...

 

[flea77]

Derrel is pretty spot on except I think he is being a little too nice First thing is we need to clarify what "action shots" means to you. As Derrel said, baseball and basketball are completely different when it comes to the lenses you need, although both can use the same body. The ideal Nikon bodies for action start with the D300 as they are fast enough to capture the frame with the action in it more consistantly.

Can you shoot action with the models you mentioned? Absolutely, it is just more work. Here are the important details about these cameras:

D3000, CAM1000AF, 11 points, 3FPS, 3200ISO Max, 10.2MP, No internal motor
D5000, CAM1000AF, 11 points, 4FPS, 6400ISO Max, 12.3MP, no internal motor
D90, CAM1000AF, 11 points, 4.5FPS, 6400ISO Max, 12.3MP, yes internal motor

So all three use the same AF so we can ignore that. The FPS means as you are shooting someone batting at baseball, or catching the ball, etc etc, you will have a greater chance of catching the ball in the frame where you want it. The ISO rating is important to being able to shoot indoors or at night. The MP will mean you can crop more if you have a higher MP. This eliminates the D3000 right off the bat.

Now to choose between the D5000 and D90. The biggest advantage in my opinion the D90 has is that it can use D series lenses (lenses that are driven by the camera's internal motor). This means I can use a $1200 80-200 2.8 AF-D lens instead of a $2300 70-200 2.8 AF-S lens.

So to sum it all up, the D90 would be the best bang for the buck with what you have said so far. Unfortunately, the lenses required to shoot baseball and basketball games with any level of competence are far more expensive than the body will be.

Allan

 

[jdag]

You include family shots and travel in your wants. Are you looking to shoot kid's sporting events (vs. pro events). Speed of Kobe Bryant or a 6 year old!?!?

In any event, the D90 is wonderful, and, in my opinion, a significant upgrade over the D3000. I have not used a D5000.

My son had a D3000, and relative to the D90, is is a snail in terms of overall functionality (focus speed, frames per second, display of the shots on the LCD).

In fact, we recently sold my son's D3000 and bought him a D90, so we now have 2 D90s in the house and use them nearly every day.

I bought his D90 at at Adorama for $1,109 with a 70-300 VR lens. Both the camera body and the lens were new. I believe this price is still in effect. Even if you didn't want that lens, you could easily sell it for ~$450, making the D90 body net out at ~$650.

There are countless combinations of bodies and lenses. And as was mentioned above, lenses are really where you will find most of your cost. However, the used lens market is a fantastic way to try alternatives (even if you don't want to buy used, you likely will be open to selling at some point).

OK...my point...really try to go with a D90.

 

[BrianLy]

If you got the money go for the D90 since its up there, and the D3000 and D5000 is a little lower, I got the D3000 because I got it as a reward and I didn't want to ask for to much.