Same 'ol question

[Cannons_Soccer]

Hi - first time posting.

I have the same question that many people do .. WHAT camera should I buy? I'm taking pictures of kids .. sports (indoor and outdoor) .. you name it, my kids are doing it (track, soccer, cheerleading, football). I'm using a Kodak 710. My pics are grainy with zoom, shutter speed is SLOW and I'm missing all the great shots waiting on the shutter. The only good shots I get are from really sunny outdoor days.

I have about $1K .... that's for the body and a good lens. I've even reverted back to my old Minolta 35 mm on occasion, but I'm spoiled with "instant" pics from digital.

Everyone I've seen seems to use a Nikon ....HELP.

I have an important track meet coming up and I need to get one quick.

Thanks
Sports Mom

[Photo-John]

I guess we missed the boat on giving you a quick answer. Sorry about that. I hope we can still help. For action photos where the shutter reaction is a top priority, a digital SLR is the answer. Nikon is good. But so are Canon Sony, Pentax and Olympus. The truth is, there are no bad digital SLRs now, just shades of great. And for $1000 you can buy a digital SLR kit with a lens from an manufacturer. What you won't be able to get is a long zoom. That will cost you more. You could also take a look at used digital SLRs. Even used DSLRs will be better than your Kodak and that may leave you enough money to buy a longer zoom for your track photos.

Take a look at the digital SLR reviews and digital SLR forum here. Just browsing through that stuff will help. And it will, no doubt, bring up more questions. Which we can hopefully answer quicker than we did this one.

[California L33]

Everyone I've seen seems to use a Nikon ....HELP.

If they're your friends and will let you borrow their lenses get a Nikon. If they're not get a Canon just to be contrary. Most pro sports photographers seem use Canon, but that's because their investing in lenses that cost many, many times what you're considering laying out, and rightly or not, Canon has a reputation for making lenses that stay sharp even when shooting wide open. A cousin of mine uses a Nikon DSLR for track and field photos of his kid- spectacular pictures, but I believe he spent a bit over $1K.

[Photo-John]

If they're your friends and will let you borrow their lenses get a Nikon. If they're not get a Canon just to be contrary. Most pro sports photographers seem use Canon, but that's because their investing in lenses that cost many, many times what you're considering laying out, and rightly or not, Canon has a reputation for making lenses that stay sharp even when shooting wide open. A cousin of mine uses a Nikon DSLR for track and field photos of his kid- spectacular pictures, but I believe he spent a bit over $1K.

Nikon and Canon both make awesome lenses if you buy the good stuff. So does Pentax, Olympus, and Sony. I think the reason you soo so many Canon bodies at sports events is that the Canon EOS 1D series has been the dominant digital body for sports shooting. And before digital, Canon's auto focus was hands-down the best. No other manufacturer even came close. That's not the case anymore, though. Buy high-end Canon or Nikon bodies and lenses and you'll have an awesome, capable camera. I will happily use Nikon or Canon. But lately, I've been favoring Olympus because of the 2x digital crop factor and the smaller bodies. That means I carry less weight and still get excellent DSLR quality.

[Anbesol]

If you've already got a Minolta 35mm you definitely should look into the Sony line - all your lens convert over. Which lens do you have for your minolta? Or, if you look into Nikon or Canon, then I might want to buy those old minolta lens off of you :thumbsup:, maybe even the body! (Was it the Maxxum 5 or 7?)

[Photo-John]

Nice catch, Anbesol! I missed the Minolta detail. And I concur. Anyone who has Minolta Maxxum lenses should seriously consider the Sony Alpha system. Just because Nikon and Canon are the mindshare leaders, doesn't mean they're the only choice. You'll get more for your money with Sony. The sensor-level image stabilization alone makes Sony a great choice.