Is this Canon EOS 20D package a good purchase?

[boucher28]

I am on the ground level and want to shoot sports photography. I just saw this ad locally and was wondering if this would be a good purchase. I would like to shoot football, basketball, baseball, golf...both action and still shots. His asking price is $1,150. Is this a good price and would it give me what I need or would I need to purchase more accessories to be able to shoot as described. Thank you.

**********************************************************
Immaculate and well cared for Canon EOS 20D DSLR. One owner Condition Mint. No scratches, scruffs, etc. It is in perfect cosmetic condition. Includes all original materials, accessories, (still in plastic wraper, manuals, software, paperwork), original box, and even the original receipt. I am a professional photographer and this camera has just sat in my secondary SLR bag. So you can say it was my 3rd backup camera. I never take my second SLR bag on location with me so it has just sat on the shelf.
Accessories it comes with:
Lenses: Canon Wide Angle EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM (67mm) - comes with lense hood
Canon 75-300 f/4.5-5.6 IS USM (58mm) - comes with lense hood
Crystal Vision DSLR Pro MC AF Digital Wide Converter w/ Macro 0.5x 67mm (this is not shown in photo, never used)
(Lenses have been used as much as the camera and comes with original boxes)
Pro Filter Kit 67 mm (3 filters)
Pro Filter Kit 58mm (2 filters)
Compact Flash (512 MB & 128 MB)
Canon BG-E2 Battery Grip for Canon EOS 20D
BP 511 High Power Lithium Batterys for Canon (6 batteries)
Battery Charger
Canon EOS Strap
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[JimmyO]

Well its a darn good thing you didnt post this in the other thread you just made

 

[boucher28]

Well its a darn good thing you didnt post this in the other thread you just made

I'm assuming your reply is sarcastic? I did post it in the other but posed as a question to a specific person who was giving me advice. I started a new thread just for this specific question, in hope that I might get a broader range of response. I apologize if for some reason that upset you. I am brand new to the forum, just trying to get some help, so I'm sorry if in doing so, I broke some sort of silent rule here.

 

[iAstonish]

http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/...hotography-beginner-start-up-help-please.html

Read

 

[JeffieLove]

don't worry boucher I did it too when I was new and got a bunch of crap for it

As for your question, I have no idea Just wanted to offer some moral support

 

[Early]

I am on the ground level and want to shoot sports photography. I just saw this ad locally and was wondering if this would be a good purchase. I would like to shoot football, basketball, baseball, golf...both action and still shots. His asking price is $1,150. Is this a good price and would it give me what I need or would I need to purchase more accessories to be able to shoot as described. Thank you.

**********************************************************
Immaculate and well cared for Canon EOS 20D DSLR. One owner Condition Mint. No scratches, scruffs, etc. It is in perfect cosmetic condition. Includes all original materials, accessories, (still in plastic wraper, manuals, software, paperwork), original box, and even the original receipt. I am a professional photographer and this camera has just sat in my secondary SLR bag. So you can say it was my 3rd backup camera. I never take my second SLR bag on location with me so it has just sat on the shelf.
Accessories it comes with:
Lenses: Canon Wide Angle EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM (67mm) - comes with lense hood
Canon 75-300 f/4.5-5.6 IS USM (58mm) - comes with lense hood
Crystal Vision DSLR Pro MC AF Digital Wide Converter w/ Macro 0.5x 67mm (this is not shown in photo, never used)
(Lenses have been used as much as the camera and comes with original boxes)
Pro Filter Kit 67 mm (3 filters)
Pro Filter Kit 58mm (2 filters)
Compact Flash (512 MB & 128 MB)
Canon BG-E2 Battery Grip for Canon EOS 20D
BP 511 High Power Lithium Batterys for Canon (6 batteries)
Battery Charger
Canon EOS Strap
********************************************************

I'd be willing to bet you can do lots better.

 

[Big Mike]

Price seams OK, not outstanding, but not a great kit for sports IMO.

A 20D should go for $350-$400 or thereabouts.
The 17-85mm is an OK lens, but not pro level and not great for sports. Used, it should be worth about $300.
The 70-300mm IS, is another OK lens. I'm not sure what the used value is, maybe $350-$500. But not great for sports.

For sports, you want lenses with large max apertures which can help you get faster shutter speeds.

 

[NateWagner]

yeah, I agree, it's probably ok... but definitely not great.

On Amazon, the 75-300 IS is 400 used, so that plus the 17-85 plus the 20D (I think you can get it for around 300 and if it were close to 400 I would say spend the extra hundred and get a 40D for 500ish). Body and lenses you're looking at about a value of 1000 and then the other add ons might be worth around 150, I suppose.

The question to ask yourself though is this. Is this the equipment I would want. For example, you could go out and get a
20D (we will say around 350)
70-200 2.8 (sigma ex) or 4 (canon L) both around 450ish
you could get a teleconverter if you needed (not useful for basketball but, baseball/football maybe)
and possibly a third party (sigma/tokina/tamron) 16/17/18-50 2.8

Getting these and ignoring the extra addons (in my opinions filters etc aren't really worthwhile) would run about the same price and would handle your sports much better IMO.

 

[wanamakerphotography]

Having shot sports myself with the 20D, I can say that it is a good starting point but the camera and lenses do not always focus quick enough to catch the action you want. When we used the 20D for football and soccer, we found that the camera would capture every second or third action shot. It did help when we moved to the 70-200 2.8 as that lens focuses very quick - but with just getting started, the 20D and the 75-300 should do just fine. Night or evening games are going to be a little tough for you as well.

As for the price, it seems a bit high to me - especially for used gear. Keep checking around as you might find a much better deal! Maybe look into the new XSi ...