low budget dslr for wakeboarding

beach · Sep 30, 2010

I'm looking for a cheap dslr that would be good at taking wakeboarding/snowboarding/landscape shots. I know a camera with a really fast shutter speed, high fps, and an 70-200 f/2.8 lens would be ideal, but I can't afford that. There's a lot of used D40s around me, but I don't know how well it would do. Thanks. Any lens reccommendations would be great too.

There's also a refurb body only d3000 for $300. I was thinking about getting that and a 55-200 vr lens for 150. Would that work for wakeboarding? I've read that there's a problem with grain above iso 800 with the d3000. Would that effect sunset shots? does have one that can say if it is noticable? It does have more autofocus pts, but I don't know if I need those since the rider is always a constant distance away. It would be nice to get the refurb with a warranty vs buying one used without a warranty. Sorry for all the questions, I just don't want to make a mistake. Thanks for any help.

Bram · Sep 30, 2010

Alright you got alot of info here, If you were to shoot wakeboarding shots and you're just beginning I recommend shooting in the sport mode where your fps is at it's highest and you can do a continuous shoot. The D3000 I have never used but my D40x has never let me down, i've wanted to upgrade yes but really it's an awesome little gadget for the price and you can't go wrong with it.
The 55-200 VR I also have and it's quite good too. For the sunset photos use ISO 100 (on the D40x) and set it on a tripod, always come out solid.
Hope this helps!

If you have questions just PM me.

bazooka · Sep 30, 2010

A fast shutterspeed isn't going to be the limiting factor. Even if you had a 1/bazillionth shutter speed, you wouldn't be able to use it unless you were using a spotlight mounted on the back of the boat.

What's going to help you is a good, sharp, long lens and a CP filter. 200mm on a cropped body is perfect for getting the entire ski'er in the shot. I recently shot skiing/wakeboarding with my 70-200 F/4 and it did well, except for some focus issues I was having. It's difficult to get accurate focus while bouncing around in the back of a boat @ 320mm (200 cropped).

Image stabilization would be a bonus, but your still going to be shooting at high speeds anyway and it's expensive, so I don't think I'd put my money into it. And most landscape stuff is done from a tripod so it doesn't factor in there, unless you plan on handholding your landscapes.

DennyCrane · Sep 30, 2010

For that, you might want to consider a high end point and shoot over a low end DSLR.

SrBiscuit · Sep 30, 2010

these were taken with a d40 and the nonVR 55-200...(by my wife who i believe used full auto mode)
they are underexposed, and not as sharp as a fast lens would get, but i didnt think they were bad for a cheap set up.

Bram · Sep 30, 2010

Nice shots SrBiscuit, Another good example, Just a D40 or even D40x both you can get nowadays for less then $300.00 get the used 55-200 VR or non VR for $200 or less. Great deal right there for a beginner rig.

beach · Sep 30, 2010

Thanks for all the help. I'm leaning towards a refurb D3000 and a refurb 55-200 VR.

From what I've seen it's similar to the D40, but newer so I can get it refurb with a warranty for slightly more $. Any feedback?

DennyCrane said:
For that, you might want to consider a high end point and shoot over a low end DSLR.

I'm in college, which is why I have the low budget. I want a dslr so I can pickup a 70-200 f/2.8 when I graduate and take even better pictures. Plus I usually try messing with exposure and iso, so I wanted to get a dslr so I have more control over photos that I take and get some practice taking photos with a dslr.

Thanks for all the help so far.

Bram · Sep 30, 2010

I personally think the D40x would be a better option then the D3000 just from what i've experimented with, my buddy has the D3000 and I got the D40x, we switched and immediately he wouldnt give it back. Hah. The decision is yours I mysefl am saving for the 70-200 2.8, it's a dream lens for sure.

beach · Sep 30, 2010

Bram said:
I personally think the D40x would be a better option then the D3000 just from what i've experimented with, my buddy has the D3000 and I got the D40x, we switched and immediately he wouldnt give it back. Hah. The decision is yours I mysefl am saving for the 70-200 2.8, it's a dream lens for sure.

The D40x is $30 more(refurb too) and didn't have the dust cleaner and had an older autofocus. What about it made it better than the D3000?

Bram · Sep 30, 2010

The D40x is alot more user friendly you can switch your controls like ISO and exposures at the touch of a fingertip without having to go into menus. The D40x is a small compact with alot of cool features, I didn't have time to look through or examine the D3000 I have just seen better reviews for the D40x. Like I stated in the previous post: The decision is yours my friends. Whichever you choose know you'll have fun with it. So get out there and start shooting.

Village Idiot · Sep 30, 2010

You can get a used Canon 30D for under $400 and a used 70-200 f/4L for about $500, iirc. Probably the best cheap setup you can go with. The 70-200 is extremely sharp and there's not much else that can touch it for the price. The 30D does at least 5FPS too. If you can spare and extra $100 on the camera, you can look for a used 40D which does 6.5FPS.

DennyCrane · Sep 30, 2010

beach said:
Thanks for all the help. I'm leaning towards a refurb D3000 and a refurb 55-200 VR.

From what I've seen it's similar to the D40, but newer so I can get it refurb with a warranty for slightly more $. Any feedback?

DennyCrane said:

For that, you might want to consider a high end point and shoot over a low end DSLR.

Click to expand...

I'm in college, which is why I have the low budget. I want a dslr so I can pickup a 70-200 f/2.8 when I graduate and take even better pictures. Plus I usually try messing with exposure and iso, so I wanted to get a dslr so I have more control over photos that I take and get some practice taking photos with a dslr.

Thanks for all the help so far.

That's a good strategy, but be aware, a better P&S gives you full manual control over aperture, shutter speed, and ISO.

beach · Sep 30, 2010

I decided on the d3000. I went to a store and like the feel of it and the menus. Plus three fact that it was less expensive and had a warranty sealed the deal for me. Hopefully I'll like it. I guess I'll be back in a bit to post bad pictures to critique.