SLR Camera for sports

[Blackhawkxp]

Looking for a new camera for the wife. We are looking at a SLR type camera and wanted to know what a good mid range model that would be for sports photos of the kids. Found a refurb Nikon 5200 with a 18-55 mm lens and a 55-200 mm second lens. What power of lens would a guy need for action photos on the football field? Would like to stay around the $600-800 range if possible. Any pros and cons of refurbished cameras?

[eyeguy 54]

I have a refurb 5000 and 5100. Love them both. looks like good starting lens that you posted. 55-300 will reach out better but if the 55-200 is priced right, go for it. you can alway sell it down the road if you move up. Looks like b est b uy has it brand new for 700 with those 2 lens.

[Blackhawkxp]

I found a refurb camera kit for $639.00 with a 32 gig mem card and some other goodies i probably could do with out but are included. Wasn't sure if was a good deal or if new is better. Refurb has a 1 year warranty if that means anything?

[eyeguy 54]

thats a huge card! I just use 8 but pop it out all the time and move stuff to my laptop. sounds a little hi for a refurb to me. sometimes those little extra goodies are just junk.

[Dbl]

I can probably help you a bit since I have a fair amount of experience with sports shooting. First let me state this, sports shooting and cheap prices unfortunately do not go hand in hand. You mentioned football, will you be shooting at night or day? Night time creates a number of different challenges and most lower end bodies and starter lenses just won't work in the low light night games.

For any field sport you really need to get at least in the 300mm range with a lense. I shoot a 70-200 on a second body but shoot a 300mm with a 1.4 teleconverter on my primary body. I use primarily 16gb cards personally but I tend to shoot high volumes.

I shoot Canon so I can't help much with many of the other brands. Used cameras can be a good buy if you take the time to look over a number of items. If you are interested I can post a check list with things to check. Refurb cameras are not a bad way to go, usually they are re-conditioned by the manufacturer with some type of warranty.

I would avoid most kit packages. There are usually a number of items that are overpriced, un-needed, and usually poor quality. With a bit more information on what sports, day or night, age of kids, etc. I can give you more specific recommendations.

[Blackhawkxp]

Thanks Dbl and Eyeguy, Yes football photos would be required and more than likely in low light as he gets older. I am not sure on the rules for posting HSOforum links but here is the package i was looking at. It included the auto focus/ stabilizing lens? Just looking for an upgrade from our point and shoot canon and i really do not have much knowledge on the slrs so i really do appreciate the input.

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[Dbl]

I did take a look at your link and it is a package which for the most part includes things you really do not need driving up the price. If you get a chance to get to the metro area I would encourage you to stop at National Camera. They have a number of new, used refurbished cameras. I found used and refurb Nikon 5200 cameras for $425. Brand new they are selling the camera for $500. You can also buy with the lenses you mentioned.

I took a look at the specs on that camera and it would do a very credible job shooting sports. Low light capabilities will be slightly degraded in both image quality and focus speed. What will really determine your success is the lenses you pair with the camera. Both lenses you are looking at are starter lenses. They will work fine in daylight and allow you to get some experience shooting the camera and learning its pluses and minuses. As you start looking at night games you will find that going to higher end faster lenses will become important.

Don't worry about that now, get familiar with your camera and spend some time shooting. You will quickly find out what you will need in the future to fit to your shooting conditions. It really does not pay to spend a lot of money on something you may or may not use in your shooting. Since the lenses you mentioned are starter lenses you will find a lot of them on the used market. The best for you would be to again stop at National Camera. You can see the lens, touch it, make sure it works correctly by taking a few shots with your camera body.

You can check out their web site as well easy to find. They have complete listings of their inventory and what stores they are in. Hope that helps some. If you have more questions don't hesitate to post. Good luck on your search!

[Blackhawkxp]

So what is the most important things to look for when purchasing one of these bad boys? Most of the lingo just as well be in Chinese for what i understand of it. Basically what are the 3-4 things that i would want to make sure the camera should have for what i want out of it. Kind of cheat cheat per say.

[eyeguy 54]

buy and start shooting. the 5200 will work sweet. one of the big things to me is better pics in low light. point and shoots get pretty bad over 400 ISO. Maybe buy a book also on the camera. I got one for my 5100 and it points out a ton of stuff to try. also an editing program to fine tune pics is fun.

[Blackhawkxp]

Quote:

Maybe buy a book also on the camera. I got one for my 5100 and it points out a ton of stuff to try.

Thanks eyeguy but reading goes against my man code. If i cant figure it out by just playing around with it i will just pretend i know what i am doing. I am heading to the cities tomorrow so i will maybe stop in to the camera shop and see what they have to offer.

[eyeguy 54]

you can read and keep your man card that helps you follow the man code. then you will really look like you know what you are doing

[Dbl]

So what is the most important things to look for when purchasing one of these bad boys? Most of the lingo just as well be in Chinese for what i understand of it. Basically what are the 3-4 things that i would want to make sure the camera should have for what i want out of it. Kind of cheat cheat per say.

Well my cheat sheet will likely be different than yours! For shooting sports here are a few things I look for. Keep in mind I use pro bodies so you will not see some of these items on the starter cameras. So in no particular order here are a few things.

1. Auto focus speed and accuracy

2. High ISO capability along with low noise

3. Frames per second capability, higher is better for sports. My cameras are in the 10 to 12fps

4. Ability to assign functions to different buttons on the camera

5. Ability to take an external grip with extra battery packs

6. Ability to write to two different cards

7. 99% Viewfinder capability

8. As many Cross type focus points that you can get in the focus system.

9. Ability to move those cross type focus points around to different parts of the frame

10. Internal sensor cleaning capabilities

11. Battery life

12. Menu set up and ability to customize those menus

You asked, but these are a few of the things I look for when choosing a new body. Many just plain won't make sense to most. You need to get started and have a basic understanding of photography and the basics of exposure and how the different functions of the camera give you the results you want. Start at the top of this forum and read through the sticky post on the basics. If you buy from a place like National Camera they offer free courses on getting started with your camera. A hands on approach with someone with experience is a plus.

I am not trying to discourage but do understand in order to get the most from your camera, especially shooting sports, you will need to absorb some knowledge. It is not as easy as point and shoot unless point and shoot results are what you are looking for. Keep asking questions!

[Blackhawkxp]

We stopped by a National Branch over the weekend and ended up buying a Nikon D5200 with the standard lens and a 55-300 Nikon zoom lens. They were more than helpful with any questions that we had. I would like to thank you DBL and Eyeguy for your input. I think the wife and i will have to attend one of their photo classes to hopefully learn a few more of the ins and outs of the camera.

[eyeguy 54]

have fun! I bet the classes they have will be great.

[MN Shutterbug]

If you have a kindle or other reading device, Amazon has a digital book titled "50 Keys to Better photography". It's free today. I looked thru the description and it seems to be pretty intensive.

If you wait til tomorrow, the price will probably be back to $8.97.