Camera recommendation

wreckersorcheckers · **Posted:** Tue Feb 21, 2012 9:49 am

Hi,

I'm new to all this but I'd like to start taking pictures at the races as well as my childrens sporting events. Does anybody have any recommendations for a nice DSLR camera that would be good for these purposes? Thanks in advance for your response.

Jason

DavidM · **Posted:** Tue Feb 21, 2012 10:34 am

A lot will depend on what your budget is. A desent camera body is only a part of the cost you'll likely spend more on a good lens then the camera.

I shot with a Nikon. Here is a link with camera body cost.

http://www.nikonusa.com/Nikon-Products/ ... index.page

bschriver11 · **Joined:** Sat Oct 11, 2008 11:51 pm **Posts:** 228

You might want to look at a camera that has a fast continious shooting speed so when a crash or whatever happens you can get the shots rather than waiting for the camera,something about 5-6 per second is pretty fast.Unless your going to print huge pictures then you don't really need the highest mega pixel camera as they make for larger files on your card and computer and in most cases they increase noise as well.You might want to consider a sigma lens with HSM for fast focusing and get something with an F/2.8 aperture as this will also help focusing on moving subjects and in low light situations,the faster F/2.8 lenses cost more and are larger than ordinary consumer lenses but offer better photo quality throughout as well as faster shutter speeds and focusing.I mentioned sigma because in many cases they are very close in image quality and just as good in features at nearly half the cost.

zepplinrox · **Posted:** Thu Feb 23, 2012 7:02 pm

Try KEH.com you can get used equipment that has been check by their techs.

A Nikon D80 is about 400 bucks and a 80-200 f2.8 is about $600.

A Canon 40D is about $550 and a 70-200 f4 is about 650 bucks.

You'll need a flash too so you can count on another $300 bucks for a SB-800 or a 550EX!

Photography is like racing.... speed is expensive!

wreckersorcheckers · **Posted:** Mon Feb 27, 2012 2:28 am

I purchased a Nikon D5100. I haven't had much time to dabble with it but it seems nice. Anybody have any experience or knowledge of this camera. I'm hope to learn the ins and outs this week and give it a try on Saturday. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

bschriver11 · **Joined:** Sat Oct 11, 2008 11:51 pm **Posts:** 228

I haven't used the nikon camera but the photography itself is the same with any camera.You will need to get some practice panning the camera with the moving cars so you might want to keep your shutter speed pretty fast(maybe try 1/300 of a second and if they seem a little blurry go up a little faster until they look sharp).After you get better at panning with the cars you'll want to slow your shutter speed down,the idea is to keep the car sharp in the photo and get the background to blur from moving the camera with the car as this gives the photos a sense of speed.How slow a shutter speed depends on your panning skills.If you have a fast lens like an f/2.8 you might want to start with around f/5.6 or higher as you'll have more focus depth(your focus depth might be 34 feet at f/2.8 but at f/5.6 it increases to 78' from 100' away with a 100mm lens so your more likely to get it in focus until your skills improve).Remember photography is about showing things from a different perspective,you'll want people to say i never really looked at it that way.Practice makes perfect so shoot often. :bdf:

wreckersorcheckers · **Posted:** Wed Feb 29, 2012 8:23 pm

Thanks for your help. I really do appreciate it. I hope to get lots of practice the next couple of weeks. Here to hoping it doesn't rain on Saturday!!!

jocli156 · **Posted:** Mon Mar 05, 2012 6:17 pm

Just wondering...do you think a canon 430 ex would be a good enough flash for taking pics from the infield at WG? I've seen good reviews and it's not quite as expensive as the big brother 580 ex and I have a bit of a limited budget. Can't hurt to ask before buying :idea:

BRKracing · **Joined:** Sat Feb 11, 2006 10:14 pm **Posts:** 609

I would go with the 580, with flashes bigger is better

Canon just posted a news of 600 ex i beleive not sure of the guide numbers though

Buildy · **Posted:** Tue Mar 06, 2012 12:51 am

Jocli,

Pony up for the 580 EX II You need lots of light at the Grove. Best price was at Abe`s of Maine when I got mine.

jocli156 · **Posted:** Tue Mar 06, 2012 3:00 am

Thanks for the input.

scott moyer · **Joined:** Wed Sep 26, 2007 8:54 pm **Posts:** 998

Yea get a flash, with a cheaper body you will need more flash power,
With the more expensive bodies you can shoot at silly iso my d300 can handle
1600 iso, but the better bodies can handle 3200 and above with no problem needing less
Flash power.

jocli156 · **Posted:** Sun Mar 25, 2012 10:24 pm

h0rde wrote:

Buildy wrote:

Jocli,

Pony up for the 580 EX II You need lots of light at the Grove. Best price was at Abe`s of Maine when I got mine.

::cough cough:: there are some of us who would say that there's plenty of available light at the Grove without a flash ::cough cough::

Ha, I've taken a lot of photos before with my point and shoot and did notice on the front stretch I could still get "decent" pictures even at night when they put the new lighting on the front stretch.

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