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robbins.photo · Jan 4, 2014

Ok, so based on everything we have these are a couple of options for you:

A used D300 (not the s model), and a couple of older AF-d lenses. Ok, the disadvantage here is that the D300 has a 12 mp sensor and it is an older camera, however they still produce very usable images. Also note that the D300 (non-s version) uses a CF card as opposed to an SD card. The advantage is that they are fairly inexpensive used if you get them from an Ebay auction, and since they have an autofocus motor built in so you can use the older AF-D model lenses which are usually cheaper than the newer AF-S cousins that have the autofocus motor built into the lenses. If your carefuly and watch the auctions you could probably get a D300, a 50 mm 1.8, and a 70-200 mm F2.8 which would be good for your night auto races.

Option 2, a used D5100 or D5200 - body only. A 50 mm 1.8 AF-S G lens, and a used 70-300 mm AF-S G 4.5-5.6 VR telephoto lens. The D5100 has a 16 mp sensor as opposed to the D5200's 24 mp, but it still produces great images and they are quite a bit cheaper which will leave you more to spend on lenses and accessories. I use a D5100 myself, if you'd like an idea as to image quality they produce you can click on my flicker link in my signature line. The advantages here would be higher image quality than what the D300 can produce, however the disadvantage is that shooting car races at night won't be easy depending on the lighting. It can be done but it will require some practice, and of course you can always save up and get a faster telephoto lens later.

Option 3, a used D7000 and a 50 mm 1.8 AF-D lens, and whatever is left over you can probably get an older 300 mm zoom lens of some sort. The D7000 also has a built in focus motor so you can use the older lenses with it, but it's going to be more expensive and as a result your telephoto lens probably won't be that great to start with and you'll most likely need to save up some money and replace it at some point with either a faster 2.8 or the better Nikkor 70-300 mm. Or you could wait on the telephoto. The D7100 also has the 16 mp sensor so image quality wise it will be about on par with the D5100.

robbins.photo · Jan 4, 2014

Well KEH offers used equipment, and they are a very reputable site so I wouldn't have any problems buying from them. Truth be told almost all of my equipment is used or refurbished, the only exception being the flash unit. It's been my experience that if you purchase from Ebay, as long as you buy from sellers with 100 or more feedbacks and as long as you are careful to ask the right questions you won't have any problems. The thing to look for in used equipment is the description, for example if they describe the camera body but don't really specify if there are any scratches on the LCD screen, send them a message through Ebay and specifically ask if the LCD is free of scratches. Basically you get everything in writing before you bid. With most sellers that have over 100 feedback and if all of it is positive you'll find if there are any defects at all they will make a big point of telling you about them in the description.

But I've always had great luck with everything I've bought of Ebay just by reading the descriptions carefully and if anything that I care about isn't specified in the description, I ask - as a result I've gotten some really great deals and saved myself a boatload of money by buying used.

Brooklyn_Diesel · Jan 4, 2014

Well Craigslist was a waste people are just trying to sell for what the site are selling for and at least the sites have them refurbished.

And the lowest I see 746 with the 18X55 and KEH has it for 620 with some extras but it was in like new condition? No idea what todo from here. But I guess it must be better then buying from craigslist

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robbins.photo · Jan 5, 2014

Brooklyn_Diesel said:
Well Craigslist was a waste people are just trying to sell for what the site are selling for and at least the sites have them refurbished.

And the lowest I see 746 with the 18X55 and KEH has it for 620 with some extras but it was in like new condition? No idea what todo from here. But I guess it must be better then buying from craigslist

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I do not recommend craigslist for camera equipment. I'd recommend either Ebay from a seller with a lot of feedback (the vast majority or preferably all of it positive) or from a reputable outfit like KEH, Adorama, Cameta Camera, or B&H Photo. If you look around I'm guessing you can get a 70-300 mm AF-S G for right around $300 or so used, so if you can keep the cost of the body and the 18-55 at or below $700 you should be able to keep within your $1000 budget. If KEH rates the camera as "like new" condition then odds are very good it's seen very little use, they are pretty picky about ranking so if there were any wear on the buttons, etc - odds are good they would not list it as "like new" unless it was in pretty much pristine condition.

Brooklyn_Diesel · Jan 5, 2014

Ok so I'll ether get it from KEH or B&H in a few weeks

But I'm shocked at the prices of the cards I thought prices went down not up do better cards really make a difference?

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robbins.photo · Jan 5, 2014

Brooklyn_Diesel said:
Ok so I'll ether get it from KEH or B&H in a few weeks

But I'm shocked at the prices of the cards I thought prices went down not up do better cards really make a difference?

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Well if by cards you mean memory cards what your looking at above are P2 cards, pretty much top of the line but probably overkill. I use a Sandisk Extreme Pro 95 mps myself, they are a little more expensive than your standard SD but nothing like the prices listed above:

SanDisk Extreme Pro 16GB SDHC SD HC UHS I Flash Memory Card Sdsdxpa 016G A75 619659070922 | eBay

The faster 95 mps write speed makes a huge difference for action photography, I can usually get 16-17 frame burst at 4 FPS before the camera slows down to 2 FPS to clear the buffer shooting RAW, and if I switch to JPG only it will fire at 4 FPS pretty much indefinitely without having to slow down to clear the buffer.

Brooklyn_Diesel · Jan 5, 2014

No clue what I was looking at I was just jumping around the site and I strolled upon that.

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robbins.photo · Jan 5, 2014

Brooklyn_Diesel said:
No clue what I was looking at I was just jumping around the site and I strolled upon that.

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Really any SD card will work fine in your camera, Class 10 is usually about as low as I would recommend going, they generally start out at about 30-45 mps write speeds which is really the most important consideration for shooting. I use the 95mps versions myself, there a little more expensive than the slower cards but they do make a significant difference.

The P2 cards you see listed there actually use more than one fast access memory module and they put them together in a raid like system with a controller built into the card, so it's actually writing the data to multiple memory modules simultaneously which means in layman's terms it's wicked fast - but it's also horribly expensive and complex. I think you'll find the 95 mps cards more than sufficient for your needs, I think I paid just a little over $100 for the 64 GB card, 32 GB usually run around $70, the 16 mbs are usually about $35.

And you don't really have to have 95 mps - it's nice to have but the camera will still work fine using the slower 20-45 mps Class 10 cards, and those are even cheaper, but I stick with the faster 95 mps because they do make a difference when shooting fast action.