What do I do?

Eventer · Aug 14, 2010

Okay you may remember a while back i posted a thread about "choosing photo" for a job as an equestrian photographer?
Well I got accepted! (Almost just gotta do contracts and what not)

but... He [the main boss guy/main photographer] was slightly worried about my gear holding me back...
I'm aware of this and i know ill have to upgrade eventually... I'm in no position at this moment to go upgrading straight away but I have a few questions...

Right now Im shooting with a Sony A200 (entry level) with a 75-300mm budget zoom lens...

- When I upgrade should I upgrade my lenses alone for a start, so by doing that sticking with "sony" and eventually upgrading my camera body to the A900 for example?
Do Sony have a big enough range in lenses? or what about doing this and using Sigma lenses etc with Sony mounts...
OR...
Should I switch to Canon or Nikon now, as they are the biggest brands and therefore would have the biggest range of lenses that id need for professional sports photgraphy?

My camera i have now is actually rather good - But low light situations (e.g indoor arenas or crappy weather) somtimes makes it real hard, and putting the ISO up my my A200 I get noise at ISO800 + which definatly isnt ideal... So already I know Im havingissues with my gear... Sigh... Why cant I win lotto... Or marry a billionaire? :lol:

iAstonish · Aug 14, 2010

If you stick with sony and upgrade lenses, i suggest the 70-200mm. it is fast and quality and will help make up for your iso.

if you switch i suggest picking up a nikon d300, which seems ideal for your needs. It is a fast body, great auto focus system, and is good in low light situations. A cheaper alternative to the d300 would be a canon 40d which can shoot 6.5 fps or even a canon 50d, although there isnt much difference between the two.

Idahophoto · Aug 14, 2010

Go with Canon or Nikon the equipment options will be far more than with Sony and you will get better performance. The nice thing about Canon I think is they do have a bit of a advantage here as they are always coming out with more stuff. Like just look at some of there popular 2.8 L lenses. Pricey, but if you can get away with F/4 then they have alternatives that prove to be just as good if not better and much cheaper. the 70-200/4 L is a great example. It goes for about 650 new a huge price difference from there 2.8 version and you still get the L build and quality, just check out the reviews. I might go this route myself. Plus if you want to go FF then the 5D is still a awesome camera and can easily be got for around 1K, if FF is no biggie then of course crop camera options are endless. Glass is more important than the camera I know I have trouble staying with this myself, but it is true.

Then there is the 3rd party choices who can make lenses very competitive against the big names own as well so don't forget about that. Anyways just some thoughts. I know I am finding myself in kinda the same boat and deciding just what to get that will give me the most performance with the cheapest price is a PITA to say the least, but it's all worth while. Good luck to you

Robin Usagani · Aug 14, 2010

It will be easier for you to find used newer lenses with Canon and Nikon.

clanthar · Aug 14, 2010

No brainer: switch to Canon.

Sony makes good hardware and you can get Zeiss glass on the A900 that's better than anything Nikon or Canon have ever made -- doesn't matter. A working Pro needs more than just good quality.

You need reliability.
Access to service.
Access to quick-turn-around service.
Access to rental hardware -- working Pros own most of what they need, but rely on rental for odd jobs. Say you get a job that needs a fisheye lens. Where I live I can rent one for the weekend for $40.00 and pass that cost to the client as long as I'm shooting Canon or Nikon. I can't rent for Sony.

Canon is the sports, long-lens leader without question.

Take Care,
Joe

subscuck · Aug 14, 2010

Last time I looked, Sigma, Tamron and Tokina lenses were all available in Canon and Nikon mount, their availabilty for other manufacturers mounts was limited to a small handfull. Granted, I haven't purchased a lens in a while so things might have changed. That might be worth thinking about.

Idahophoto · Aug 14, 2010

subscuck said:
Last time I looked, Sigma, Tamron and Tokina lenses were all available in Canon and Nikon mount, their availabilty for other manufacturers mounts was limited to a small handfull. Granted, I haven't purchased a lens in a while so things might have changed. That might be worth thinking about.

Yeah they do. Was just at Sigma and Tamrons website. Why I said either Canon or Nikon I lsted a few reasons I went with Canon but everyone has there own needs and Nikon is also a great choice.

PerfectlyFlawed · Aug 14, 2010

Schwettylens said:
It will be easier for you to find used newer lenses with Canon and Nikon.

hahahaha.. lol sorry got side tracked. Just noticed your Sig..'Erose promo girl' LOL, funny. ... but sadly, true. :lmao:

anyways.. sorry.. back to the topic.haha

PerfectlyFlawed · Aug 14, 2010

Eventer said:
Okay you may remember a while back i posted a thread about "choosing photo" for a job as an equestrian photographer?
Well I got accepted! (Almost just gotta do contracts and what not)

but... He [the main boss guy/main photographer] was slightly worried about my gear holding me back...
I'm aware of this and i know ill have to upgrade eventually... I'm in no position at this moment to go upgrading straight away but I have a few questions...

Right now Im shooting with a Sony A200 (entry level) with a 75-300mm budget zoom lens...

- When I upgrade should I upgrade my lenses alone for a start, so by doing that sticking with "sony" and eventually upgrading my camera body to the A900 for example?
Do Sony have a big enough range in lenses? or what about doing this and using Sigma lenses etc with Sony mounts...
OR...
Should I switch to Canon or Nikon now, as they are the biggest brands and therefore would have the biggest range of lenses that id need for professional sports photgraphy?

My camera i have now is actually rather good - But low light situations (e.g indoor arenas or crappy weather) somtimes makes it real hard, and putting the ISO up my my A200 I get noise at ISO800 + which definatly isnt ideal... So already I know Im havingissues with my gear... Sigh... Why cant I win lotto... Or marry a billionaire?

I would switch to a more popular brand.. easier access to more of a wide variety of products.
:thumbup:

Or just get mounted lenses...?

gsgary · Aug 14, 2010

You don't just need to change cameras you need 2 cameras, i shot equestian about 2 weekends out of each month through the summer i have a 70-200F4L on 1 1Dmk2 and a 300F2.8L on another 1Dmk2. 1Dmk2's can be picked up very reasonably now with a 70-200F4L you will have a fast acting set up and you can keep you Sony just in case something goes wrong but mk2's don't go wrong very often

dxqcanada · Aug 14, 2010

Yes, two bodies.
Better lenses.

I would suggest getting a Sony A700 body, Sony 70-200mm f/2.8 G and the Sigma 100-300 f/4.0.

Eventer · Aug 14, 2010

dxqcanada said:
Yes, two bodies.
Better lenses.

I would suggest getting a Sony A700 body, Sony 70-200mm f/2.8 G and the Sigma 100-300 f/4.0.

Yeah I like this idea. I think I probably would end up keeping my current camera aswell...

And those lenses seem ideal, I didnt know you could get those lenses in the Sony range (Lol i havent looked into much yet)
So If i was sticking with sony - Which would be easy for me, I like the way they work and sticking with the same brands appeal to me, but then again, the other comments are tempting me to switch to Nikon (I was originally going to go with nion when i got my first SLR...) not a huge canon fan - Not sure why...

Eventer · Aug 14, 2010

Ok IF i was to stick with Sony, then how bout this lens?? SAL70400G : Sony G Lens : Digital SLR Camera Lens : Sony Australia (On a A700 + )

I think for the horse photography i dont want a zoom anything less than 300mm Perhaps on my other camera id look at the Sony 70-200mm f/2.8 But I quite like the idea of a 400mm zoom

Eventer · Aug 14, 2010

okay thanks guys I THINK I know what ill do... Ill get another camera - Probably a Nikon but keep my Sony as a back up camera, I do want another sony, but I think going for a big brand might be the way to go for my main camera right? But Ive been looking at the Sony lenses and MAN they look nice... So still havent fully decided

Its hard switching brands...