What is a good digital camera for sports photography (football & soccer) in low light conditions?

Question

I am an amateur, been using a Kodak Easy Share DX7590 and believe it or not can often salvage images in Photoshop but I am ready to move up to a camera body and changeable lenses. Any suggestions?

Answer 1

nikon d80

Answer 2

fuji film s5800

its about £150 and its amazing!

it captures absolutely everything!

you can also get a cheaper one which is £99 and its equally as good but its ony 7 mega pixels rather than 8!

Answer 3

I somewhat disagree with the previous posters so I'll throw in my two cents.

Since you are an amateur, you probably don't need to drop a lot of coin on your camera. Obviously, the more you spend the better you'll get, but you can get good results for under $1000.

I would suggest you take a look at the Canon XTi or XSi. These cameras are Canon's entry-level SLRs and can be found for $500-$700. You may also want to consider looking for a Canon 20D or 30D on Ebay. They're the next step up from the XTi/XSi and since they're a few generations old can be found for $400-$600.

Another option is to look at Nikon's line of SLRs. I don't know too much about them so I can't give you great advice. However I do know people are happy with the D40 and the D60.

Once you have a camera you're going to need a lens. The above poster mentioned the 50mm f/1.4. It's a good lens, but for sports photography it simply won't get you close enough to the action. You're going to need a lens that's measured in the hundreds. It would be nice if you could get the 200mm f/2.8 but I'm guess you probably don't have that cash. Canon has a few options for cheaper telephoto lenses. There's the 75-300mm, the 100-300mm and the 70-300mm. The 75 is c**p so don't bother. I just bought the 100 and am quite happy with it. The 70 is more expensive but it has image stabilization - a nice feature for sports photography. The one drawback with all of these lenses is that they have smaller apertures, so they aren't amazing in low-light. Unless you have the money to spend on the 200 f/2.8 you're going to have to settle for these. In order to prevent camera shake due to low light you're definitely going to want to invest in a good tripod.

Answer 4

I don't fully agree with the user that states an entry level DSLR and a lens is $2000.  

You can get an entry level (even a little better than entry level) Canon XS (or 1000D) which comes withe 18-55 IS lens for $700 at circuit city.  Than for sports pictures you want a f-stop perferrable less than 2.8.  It also depends on if the sports is indoors or outdoors.  Look at the 50mm f/1.4 or 85mm f/1.8, mainly used for portaits, but great for stopping action--either lens will be around $325-$375.  So with the camera, camera bag, extra battery, and either 50mm f/1.4 or 85mm f/1.8 lens, you are looking at about $1150.  

For reviews of lenses and cameras, i suggest www.dpreview.com and to purchase online products, the best seller, http://www.bhphotovideo.com/

EDIT---yes do not zoom very close, but the fstop is phonemenal and if you look at Flickr.com, you will see some amazing basketball pictures that people took with the above mentioned lenses!!!  That is if you are on the sideline (kids games or high school game)

Answer 5

You will need some kind of DSLR to avoid shutter lag and for shooting in  low light, you will need a lens similar to a 70-200 mm f/2.8 lens.  There are no P&S cameras with fast lenses and since their sensors are so tiny, shooting at high ISO's result in very noisy images

If you buy the least expensive entry level DSLR, the camera and lens combination may still cost you over $2,000, since the lens costs nearly $1,700