What camera for shooting runners + low light stuff?

[dolphinstreet]

Looking for recommendations for a camera + lens with 2 specific purposes.

1. Taking photo of distance running, both outdoors on the track or cross-country, as well as indoors. It has to auto-focus very fast, although it doesn't necessarily need to have above 4-5 frames per second capability. Fast and accurate auto-focus is the most important aspect.
2. Indoors, low light performance. Taking photos of live bands playing, where the stage is lit in a variety of ways. Not able to use flash most of the time. This is also related to the point above regarding running. I take photos of runners on indoor tracks, where the lighting is usually weak. Similar to basketball courts.

Any suggestions? I've been looking at the Nikon 5100. I am not sure which lens to get. I need a bit of reach, but not overly much. I can get fairly close to the stage as well as close to the runners in most cases. Not sure if there is a lens that do these double duties great or not.

 

[sierramister]

For live bands you probably need an f/1.4 lens.

 

[gsgary]

You have been looking at the wrong camera that is only just above entry level

 

[dolphinstreet]

It would be great to hear your suggestions. I am hoping to keep this under $2,000 if possible.

 

[penfolderoldo]

Canon 60D with Sigma 85mm f/1.4 - pretty much bang on your budget.

 

[KmH]

Auto focus doesn't work very well in low light. The D5100 has Nikon's Multi-CAM 1000 auto focus module, so it only has 1 cross-type focus point out of 11 focus points. By contrast the D300s has the Multi-CAM 3500DX auto focus module that has 51 focus points, 15 of them cross-type focus points.

But, the D5100, being newer, hasw better high ISO performance than the D300s which is likely to be replaced soon.

A big part of the low light equation will also be what lens you use.

To shoot an adult soccer league I used 3 lenses and 3 camera bodies (3 - D300);
For shots close to me (I shot from near one of the goals) Nikon 12-24mm f/4G ED IF Autofocus DX Nikkor Zoom Lens

For shots around mid-field Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8D ED AF Zoom Nikkor Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras

And for shots at the other end of the pitch Sigma 150-500mm f/5-6.3 AF APO DG OS HSM Telephoto Zoom Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras

Just the first 2 prosumer lenses i listed blow your budget, so you need to look at entry level, or used gear, for both camera body and lens..

 

[dolphinstreet]

I'm definitely looking at getting used gear. If I can get better performance with the drawback being fewer features, for gear that's a few years old, that's alright with me.

I have no interest in video features either, by the way.