What should I do?

ipatry

So I bought a canon t3i with my money I saved from working all summer. (I'm 14) I really like the camera but it's just to slow. I like to shoot sports and such and it's just not fast enough. So my parents gave me the option for my birthday this winter. They could either get me a 7d or a new lense such as a 70-200 or a 100-400 canon lense. What should I do. I've taken tons of photos. About close to 2,000-2,200 photos on my t3i. What should I go for? If I got the 7d I was thinking to just ask for the body or is that a bad idea. Some good advice would really help!! What would you guys do?
Thanks,
Isaac

ziggy53

Tell us more about the sports you wish to photograph and the lighting conditions you are likely to encounter.

For instance, HS football can either be JV or Varsity, with the latter generally played at night and under lights. Lighting can vary but smaller schools generally have poorer facilities and less light, sometimes at lot less near the goal posts.

Basketball is mostly indoors, but lights can vary from high-pressure sodium through metal halide, with other types lesser used. Of those mentioned, sodium lights are just plain bad, and you either have to overpower them or just shoot for B&W. Metal halide "can" be better, but it's still not a continuous spectrum. Colors can get off even if you otherwise have enough light.

Yes, the Canon 7D may still make sense for sports, but the AF can slow down indoors and outdoors at night (under lights). This will affect your timing, so just anticipate the action and practice your technique.

Yes, you also need a sports type of lens. An f2.8, constant aperture zoom is fairly common, with the EF 70-200mm, f2.8L USM very common. Many Canon lenses with both a large aperture and ring-type USM AF motor, are sports capable.

For Canon lenses that are suitable for sports look at these links (sticker shock warning):

http://the-digital-picture.com/Canon-Lenses/Canon-Outdoor-Sports-Lens.aspx
http://the-digital-picture.com/Canon-Lenses/Canon-Indoor-Sports-Lens.aspx
(For outdoor sports under lights look more at the second link.)

Understand that sports is one of "the most" demanding of photographic endeavors, requiring a lot from both equipment and the shooter. Don't get discouraged if it doesn't come easily, because it won't come easily. Ask back at DGrin under the "Sports" forum for hints and tips on shooting with different equipment and under different conditions.

For major sporting events and special events you may even consider renting equipment. Develop a portfolio of your images and use those to try to get sponsors to support those rental costs.

ipatry

I shoot a lot of baseball, football usually during the day, I havn't shot at night yet. Mostly just a hobby, like I said, i'm 14! I shoot my brothers teams most of the time. He is 12, so I get easy access to spots right up close. As I get into highschool more I will be shooting more and more sports. Although I would not be able to shoot a lot because I play sports as well. Some parents said they would pay me for some photos. I would like to give them a better quality picture. Just not sure what to do, whether its get new lenses for my t3i. or get a better performing camera. How would used gear do? For instance buying used 7d and a lens? Just not sure.
~Isaac

perroneford

When I was 14, I was shooting on a ranngefinder with 400 speed film. By 15 I was shooting a hand- wound Canon AE-1 at 1 frame every three seconds. And I got my football and basketball photos in the newspaper. All of this without auto focus. I still shoot many sports without the motor drive. I just shot ACC Volleyball that way this weekend.

You don't need a faster camera. You need to learn to shoot.

ziggy53

ipatry wrote: »

I shoot a lot of baseball, football usually during the day, I havn't shot at night yet. Mostly just a hobby, like I said, i'm 14! I shoot my brothers teams most of the time. He is 12, so I get easy access to spots right up close. As I get into highschool more I will be shooting more and more sports. Although I would not be able to shoot a lot because I play sports as well. Some parents said they would pay me for some photos. I would like to give them a better quality picture. Just not sure what to do, whether its get new lenses for my t3i. or get a better performing camera. How would used gear do? For instance buying used 7d and a lens? Just not sure.
~Isaac

For daytime sports only I would actually suggest getting an old 1D MKII or 1D MKIIN. They are very reasonable these days and have all of the qualities that you want in a sports body.

All you need to start in lenses is an EF 70-200mm, f2.8L USM. You don't need IS.

KEH.com is a very good source for used equipment and they offer a 6-month warranty for free. Their ratings are very fair and their return policy is ample. Service and support is just the best.

http://www.keh.com/help.aspx#pe17

ipatry

Thanks ziggy! I'll check that out! Thanks for the help, perroneford, I don't know if you were trying to come off this way but you can't tell me to learn how to shoot without looking at some of my pictures... I don't think you understand, i know how to shoot, but you also need good gear to. I've missed a lot of shots because my camera focus was to slow, or the fps was not fast enough. Don't judge me because I'm young. This summer many of my photos of the state baseball 12 year old tournament were in the paper... Yes I'm still learning but I take good pictures. I just want to take better ones.

perroneford

Ok, let's try this again...

ipatry wrote: »

Thanks ziggy! I'll check that out! Thanks for the help, perroneford, I don't know if you were trying to come off this way but you can't tell me to learn how to shoot without looking at some of my pictures...

Ok, so send us a link to your pictures.

ipatry wrote: »

I don't think you understand, i know how to shoot, but you also need good gear to.

I understand completely. My point is that you already HAVE good gear. Gear that most of us would have KILLED for when we started shooting. The camera you own now, used well, is sufficient to put photos on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Any pro will tell you the same. Will a professional body offer you features your camera doesn't have? You bet. Should that matter at age 14? No. Doesn't matter at age 40, or 70 either.

ipatry wrote: »

I've missed a lot of shots because my camera focus was to slow, or the fps was not fast enough.

Your camera focus speed is primarily down to the lens. Not the camera body. So putting the same lens on a pro body is not going to help you. As for FPS, that has absolutely ZERO to do with getting good pictures. And this was the point of my comment about learning to shoot. In sports there is a single defining moment for any major action. It doesn't matter if you take 1 picture or 20. There is still only a single moment. The skill of sports photography is learning to capture that decisive moment. It is not simply pressing down the shutter button for 3 seconds and then looking at the back of the camera to see "if you got it".

ipatry wrote: »

Don't judge me because I'm young. This summer many of my photos of the state baseball 12 year old tournament were in the paper... Yes I'm still learning but I take good pictures. I just want to take better ones.

I'm not judging you because you are young. I am judging you because you are trying to buy a solution to your inexperience rather than taking the time to want to learn to shoot. I am very glad you got photos in the paper. That is always a thrill, and I hope you got credit for them on the byline. That's something to be proud of.

If you want to really LEARN to take better pictures, turn your camera dial to single shot, and learn your timing. Shoot in full manual mode, and occasionally, shoot in manual focus. THEN you'll be learning. You can go buy a brand new 1Dx or 1DMk4, and a 400mm/F2.8 lens... and you won't be any better a photographer than you are right now. You'll be exactly the same photographer with great gear.

ziggy53

perroneford wrote: »

... I understand completely. My point is that you already HAVE good gear. Gear that most of us would have KILLED for when we started shooting. The camera you own now, used well, is sufficient to put photos on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Any pro will tell you the same. Will a professional body offer you features your camera doesn't have? You bet. Should that matter at age 14? No. Doesn't matter at age 40, or 70 either. ...

I was employed by the local newspaper at the age of 15 and we did shoot with all manual cameras (Yashica 124, TLR). I also had a personal Pentax H1a, an all manual 135 format camera and lenses (commonly called "35mm format").

Yes, I would have killed to have a modern dSLR, from any manufacturer. Used properly, any modern dSLR will handily beat what we used to use.

perroneford wrote: »

... Your camera focus speed is primarily down to the lens. Not the camera body. So putting the same lens on a pro body is not going to help you. As for FPS, that has absolutely ZERO to do with getting good pictures. And this was the point of my comment about learning to shoot. In sports there is a single defining moment for any major action. It doesn't matter if you take 1 picture or 20. There is still only a single moment. The skill of sports photography is learning to capture that decisive moment. It is not simply pressing down the shutter button for 3 seconds and then looking at the back of the camera to see "if you got it".
...

Here I will agree and, respectfully, disagree.

I agree with most of what you say but this part, "Your camera focus speed is primarily down to the lens. Not the camera body. So putting the same lens on a pro body is not going to help you.", is neither my understanding nor my experience. For action sports, AI-Servo mode is a valuable capability and technique, as it allows autofocus tracking of the moving subject(s) until the moment of capture. Used properly it allows a significant improvement over viewfinder and manual focus "or" one-shot AF, especially using lenses of large aperture, "at" large apertures.

In this regard, professional sports bodies excel, and both the Nikon D2h/D2hs and Canon 1D MKII/1D MKIIN, revolutionized sports photography.

Professional sports bodies also excel at "responsiveness", which should not be confused with "Frames-per-Second" (FPS). I agree that the "machine gun" technique of shooting does not work for most cases, however a more responsive body is always more capable, in that it is ready more quickly when you need it to perform.

Camera responsiveness I define as a combination of:

1) Shutter lag, how fast the camera focuses, meters and then actuates the mirror flip and shutter open.
2) Mirror blackout, how long after the shutter opens does the camera revert to a visible image in the viewfinder.
3) Cycle time, how long from shutter button depress until the camera is ready to shoot again. This includes both of the above as well as anything additional. This is directly related to FPS, but it's really more important to individual shots.

For the Canon T3i/600D the shutter lag is 90ms, vs 40ms for the Canon 1D MKII. (1)

T3i mirror blackout is 130ms vs 87ms for the 1D MKII. (1)

Cycle time for the T3i is 0.44 second for one-shot and 0.28 second for continuous, vs 0.20 second for one-shot and 0.124 second for continuous, for the 1D MKII. (2,3)

Your point about learning the camera timing is spot on. Each body has a specific "rhythm" and you must learn how and when to time your actions to match the scene requirements.

Then again, when you're shooting baseball, the bases are loaded, and you see action at every spot on the field, nothing beats the responsiveness of a professional sports camera and sports lens in assisting with autofocus and capturing the action as it unfolds.

Sources:
(1) http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EOS-Rebel-T3i-600D-Digital-SLR-Camera-Review.aspx (The 1D MKII and 1D MKIIN share the same specifications in this regard.)
(2) http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/T3I/T3IA6.HTM
(3) http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/E1D2/E1D2P.HTM

angevin1

ziggy53 wrote: »

KEH.com is a very good source for used equipment and they offer a 6-month warranty for free. Their ratings are very fair and their return policy is ample. Service and support is just the best.

http://www.keh.com/help.aspx#pe17

+1 on KEH. If you need to contact them, call them, they tend to respond better to the phone. Otherwise you can buy and pay Online, no hassle. They take trade's as well.

They also off a 14 day return policy. I've bought plenty of used lenses from them, and all were as stated. Also, B&H and Adorama have used gear departments Online. All of these are stellar folks to deal with.

davev

Wow, so much advice without ever asking what lens or lenses they're using now. Amazing.

So, What lens are you using now?

ipatry

I apologize perroneford, it funny because I found that when I use the continuos mode it misses the action. So I started using single shot mode and you don't get as much pictures but you get the right shot! I only shoot in manual mode because I found that auto is a little off with some things. You get a much better picture in manual mode as well. I also did not find out about al-servio until after these baseball games. These pictures are just okay and I have not yet uploaded any football. These pictures were put together by I think 4 different games. Please give me some feed back! The t3i is a fantastic camera for me to learn with. But I feel if I'm going to continue to shoot sports I would like to get something more. How do you guys like used gear? Will it still preform good? Haha! Thanks guys. Here's the link. I used picasa because it was free.

https://picasaweb.google.com/112084691029152987262/SacoAllstars

ipatry

I used a canon Ef 75-300 4-5.6 IS and a tokina wide angle lens, sd 11-16 f 2.8 (IF) dx. They are older lenses that I borrowed from my uncle.

davev

Isaac, I think your shots look good.

I have a question, why are all the shutter speeds at or above 1/3200?
I think for some of these, that's causing the iso's to a higher number (800-1600) than what is needed or wanted.
I have a T3i, and at one time owned the 7D.
Although the 7D will give you more shots per second, I don't know if it will really help you in your shooting.
You seem to have good timing in your shots, so I don't think shooting 8 frames over 3.9 per second is going to give you anything.

Let me also say that the shots you're getting with the 75-300 are very good for that lens.
But, in my opinion, a lens with better glass in it will help you along more than a camera with more bells and whistles.

I am a little confused though.
I looked at your shots and saw that 3 photos had focal lengths other than 11-16 or 75-300.
They were at 50mm, 52mm, and 72mm.
Do you have another lens?

I also noticed that most of your shots are at focal lengths between 200mm and 300mm.

You could get a 70-200 f4 i.s. lens and crop your photos some.
Or you could get the 70-300 L i.s. lens that will basically be the same focal length you have now,
but with much better glass and be faster at hitting the focus.

One other way to get the most out of your parents money would be to get a 70-200 f2.8 (non is)
with a used 1.4 teleconverter. (the older version I is much less expensive than the version II)
With the 1.4 TC on, it will give you a max focal length of 280mm at f4.
Take the TC off, and you can use it indoors for basketball and volleyball.

As much as I like my 100-400is, I don't think it's the right lens for you at this time.

ipatry

Now thinking back I think I used a 35-105 or kit lens at one time for a couple of shots! Haha forgot. I think I might go with the 70-300 it seems like a nice lense. I just don't know about the teleconverters. If I do get this lens would it have good performance if it was used? Also, will the lense improve clarity? And how much would the clarity improve if I got a 7d? I would probably get the 7d or a used 1d in a couple of years. The more you take photos, after a while doesn't your camera start to take worse pictures? Or am I wrong? Sorry for all the questions:(

perroneford

Your sports photos here are better than many people I know twice your age. Your timing is pretty good, your cropping and framing is very good, and if you keep working at this, you will certainly have a lot of success.

All that leads me back to my initial point. At THIS TIME, I don't think you need another body. I think you should be buying glass. A 70-200/2.8 and maybe later a used 300/2.8 when you've saved up enough, and maybe if your parents help out a bit.

If you really want to move forward into a pro level body, the 1DMk2N is a nice pro level body. But I don't think it's going to get you any better photos than you are getting right now. And at night, it's going to give you worse pictures. If you were moving to a 1DMk3 (that focused properly) or a 7D or a 1DMk4, then I'd change my tune. But those cameras cost a bunch of money. More than I think you should be spending at this point.

Again, I am impressed with the photos you've taken and I in NO WAY, want to discourage you. I am trying to offer my opinion as someone who's been at this for 25 years. It's up to you whether you believe me or not.

Best of luck man.

ipatry wrote: »

I apologize perroneford, it funny because I found that when I use the continuos mode it misses the action. So I started using single shot mode and you don't get as much pictures but you get the right shot! I only shoot in manual mode because I found that auto is a little off with some things. You get a much better picture in manual mode as well. I also did not find out about al-servio until after these baseball games. These pictures are just okay and I have not yet uploaded any football. These pictures were put together by I think 4 different games. Please give me some feed back! The t3i is a fantastic camera for me to learn with. But I feel if I'm going to continue to shoot sports I would like to get something more. How do you guys like used gear? Will it still preform good? Haha! Thanks guys. Here's the link. I used picasa because it was free.

https://picasaweb.google.com/112084691029152987262/SacoAllstars

perroneford

Ziggy, he *has* a body with that feature already. That's what I was saying. Yes, a pro body is going to be more responsive. But come on... he's not shooting NFL/MLB here. The subjects he's shooting are moving at a rate proportional to the responsiveness of his camera.

There is a serious cool factor to buying and using a pro body. This I cannot deny. But he's going to pay the penalty under the lights, he's going to pay the penalty of weight, he's going to pay the penalty of the more expensive batteries, the need for a serious monopod, etc. He's also going to need to move from SD cards to CF cards, and that is not an insignificant amount for a sports shooter.

Anyway, just wanted to clarify.

ziggy53 wrote: »

Here I will agree and, respectfully, disagree.

I agree with most of what you say but this part, "Your camera focus speed is primarily down to the lens. Not the camera body. So putting the same lens on a pro body is not going to help you.", is neither my understanding nor my experience. For action sports, AI-Servo mode is a valuable capability and technique, as it allows autofocus tracking of the moving subject(s) until the moment of capture. Used properly it allows a significant improvement over viewfinder and manual focus "or" one-shot AF, especially using lenses of large aperture, "at" large apertures.

puzzledpaul

perroneford wrote: »

... He's also going to need to move from SD cards to CF cards, and that is not an insignificant amount for a sports shooter.

...

Presumably this'd be less of an issue / requirement if taking 'well timed' single shots or batches of 2/3 shots rather than just keeping finger on shutter release?

I've had few (card speed related) issues - as opposed to 'pilot error' ones - by using an SD card priority approach in a 1Dm3.

pp

davev

ipatry wrote: »

Now thinking back I think I used a 35-105 or kit lens at one time for a couple of shots! Haha forgot. I think I might go with the 70-300 it seems like a nice lense. I just don't know about the teleconverters. If I do get this lens would it have good performance if it was used? Also, will the lense improve clarity? And how much would the clarity improve if I got a 7d? I would probably get the 7d or a used 1d in a couple of years. The more you take photos, after a while doesn't your camera start to take worse pictures? Or am I wrong? Sorry for all the questions:(

First off, because Canon makes so many 70 - 300 lenses, lets make sure we're talking about the same one.

I'm thinking this one - LINK

"L" glass will give you a better look to your shots before you do anything to them in Photoshop.

The time that it takes for a "L" lens to acquire focus is normally much less than that of consumer glass.

With this lens, a Canon TC will not work unless you want to focus manually.
The 1.4x TC will take up one stop of light. It will report to your camera that instead of an F5.6 lens,
that you have an F8 lens attached. On anything other than a 1D body, the camera will not autofocus.

I will add that I do not own this lens, I haven't even tried one out, but looking at others shots, reading
the reviews on it, it looks to be a great lens.

The one thing that isn't so good is that the tripod collar isn't included. That will cost another $160.
At some point you may want the collar, but that will be up to you.

Now you need to talk the folks into getting it now instead of waiting.

ipatry

Thanks a lot guys! Have any of you bought used lenses? Is there anything I should watch for while buying one? Or should I try and find a bargain on a new lens?

puzzledpaul

ipatry wrote: »

Thanks a lot guys! Have any of you bought used lenses? ...

All of the gear I currently use (bodies/lenses/flashes/supports) has been bought used.
Mainly bought from a local shop (but some ebay) that gave 12 month warranty -so slightly more than private sales/ ebay ... but useful for (very) expensive bits of kit.

Try before handing over cash if possible - the shop used to let me try (a lens) with my own cam + card, then I'd check files at home ... and yea or nea after that.

Look for returns policy on fleabay deals.

Ask for date code.

(as well as usual stuff over condition / junk inside visible when looking thro' lens / wear on mount (contacts) / rattles etc)

Be thankful for the 'neck jewelry brigade' ... who want the latest and (supposedly) greatest and want to offload their previous gear at the earliest opportunity ...without them, I'd be lost

pp

ziggy53

perroneford wrote: »

Ziggy, he *has* a body with that feature already. That's what I was saying. Yes, a pro body is going to be more responsive. But come on... he's not shooting NFL/MLB here. The subjects he's shooting are moving at a rate proportional to the responsiveness of his camera. ...

It's true that the Canon T3i/600D has a type of AI Servo. It is wrong to assume that it is similar to that used in the 1D series bodies.

Firstly, the 1D MKII/MKIIN has a vastly different AF sensor, with Area-SIR, 45 AF points, 7 cross-type, 1 high-precision and high-sensitivity at f2.8, points sensitive to f8.
The T3i/600D has 9 AF points, 1 cross-type with high sensitivity at f2.8, points sensitive to f5.6.

In summary the 1D MKII/MKIIN has 7 times the cross points and twice the sensitivity, versus the T3i/600D.

The 1D MKII/MKIIN has 2 - image processors, 1 dedicated to AF and metering. The T3i/600D has a single image processor, which handles all duties including: image processing, AF and metering. The T3i/600D processor tends to get saturated much more easily, making it much less suited to sports/action. The 1D MKII/MKIIN is "designed" for sports/action and the dedicated extra processor assures enough processor power to handle constant AF and metering needs.

When I switched from using a dRebel body and EF 70-200mm, f2.8L to the 1D MKII and same lens, my keeper rate went from upper 50-lower 60 percentile keepers to middle 80s percentile keepers in the same season. I'm not saying that I think the combination will work; I'm saying that I proved it to work in my instance.

perroneford wrote: »

... There is a serious cool factor to buying and using a pro body. This I cannot deny. But he's going to pay the penalty under the lights, he's going to pay the penalty of weight, he's going to pay the penalty of the more expensive batteries, the need for a serious monopod, etc. ...

ipatry wrote:

I shoot a lot of baseball, football usually during the day, I havn't shot at night yet.

True, the 1D MKII/MKIIN are less suited to night and indoor sports. They can do a very nice ISO 1250 and even ISO 1600 is OK if you properly expose. Fortunately, "ipatry" is not shooting at night or indoors, yet. The 1D MKII is still perfectly valid as a sports/action camera, and at $600 for an "EX" condition (KEH.com) professional sport/action body, it's a steal (IMO).

True, the 1D series bodies plus heavy f2.8 "L" lens are a beast to try to hold for an entire game. I wound up using a tripod with a video head for my purposes. Shooting from the sidelines I had the legs out when there were no others around me and I brought the legs together when I was "embedded" with other people (similar to a monopod). Worked great.

perroneford wrote: »

... He's also going to need to move from SD cards to CF cards, and that is not an insignificant amount for a sports shooter. ...

The Canon 1D MKII/MKIIN bodies have 2 - card slots; 1 - CF and 1 - SD/SDHC. I use the second card for redundancy (mostly).

ziggy53

ipatry wrote: »

Thanks a lot guys! Have any of you bought used lenses? Is there anything I should watch for while buying one? Or should I try and find a bargain on a new lens?

Most of my equipment was purchased "used". I recommend KEH.com because they have a 6 month standard warranty (14 day, "no questions"). They also have third-party warranties which you can purchase to 3 years (I think).

B&H and Adorama are also wonderful sources for used equipment, but at KEH.com it is their "primary" business.

perroneford

Ok, well maybe the kid will get a 1DMk2(n) and hopefully it helps. I remember buying the D2H and falling back in love with the pro bodies. Thanks for the tech specs on the Canon's. I had initially intended to buy a Mk2n but backed off. Maybe I should go ahead and grab one.

ipatry

I definitely don't need a 1d. I think I might get a used 7d and a used lens. Seems like everyone has said used products are not that bad. I dont need a 1d just yet. Maybe in a couple of years. Thanks for all your help guys!

perroneford

ipatry wrote: »

I definitely don't need a 1d. I think I might get a used 7d and a used lens. Seems like everyone has said used products are not that bad. I dont need a 1d just yet. Maybe in a couple of years. Thanks for all your help guys!

The 7D is an awesome camera. I've used them a few times and like them. And I have as much used gear as new gear. And that's about 2 closets full of photo stuff. Buying good used gear from a reputable source (KEH, B&H, Adorama, etc.) is fine. Might have a few things to work out, but generally no big deal. Most of my used gear looked and worked like new.

ziggy53

ipatry wrote: »

I definitely don't need a 1d. I think I might get a used 7d and a used lens. Seems like everyone has said used products are not that bad. I dont need a 1d just yet. Maybe in a couple of years. Thanks for all your help guys!

The Canon 7D is very good for daytime sports/action. It also has fairly good low-light capabilities, and the best of the Canon APS-C/crop 1.6x bodies. It is much more expensive than a used 1D MKII, which is why I recommended it. (I thought that cost was a concern.)

I do not recommend the 70-300mm zooms from anyone for sports/action. True, they are not horrible, but I do believe that an EF 70-200mm, f2.8L USM is much better suited. Partly, the 70-200mm activates the center AF dot capability for high sensitivity and high-precision on applicable host bodies. Those qualities also apply even if you use the lens at smaller apertures (because the lens performs autofocus with the aperture wide open).

Also, the 70-200mm, f2.8 with a 1.4x teleconverter is still f4 at 280mm. That's twice the light capture of the 70-300mm zooms at maximum extension. That's a very worthwhile difference in light gathering, in favor of the 70-200mm.

JohnRog

I wholeheartedly agree with the 70-200 f2.8 as an awesome lens for ANYTHING in its focal range, but unless I missed it I didn't see where anybody mentioned the 70-200 f4 which is also fantastic in situations where you don't need to go bigger than f4, and it's significantly cheaper, lighter weight, and still works with a TC...

PS. As a side note, I think there needs to be a gear information section called ziggypedia...

Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2

davev

Isaac, I think you need to go to a camera store with a blank sd card, and try out a few of these opinions.

A 7d is a better option than an older 1DMKII.
The screen alone on the 1DMKII will turn you off from shooting after using the T3i.

The lenses, you'll get a lot different opinions.
The best thing you can do is to look at the shots that you feel are some of your best.
Look at the EXIF of those shots, and figure out what you need.
On your site, I think about 90% of them are between 200 and 300mm.
I think the 70-300L is the best lens for you. (mind you, I have never used this lens)

Once again, take your 2 lenses and T3i to a store and try your lenses on a 7D, then try
a few different lenses on your T3i.
After a short amount of time, you'll know what you need to make your shots better.

Good luck.

Quincy T

davev wrote: »

Isaac, I think you need to go to a camera store with a blank sd card, and try out a few of these opinions.

A 7d is a better option than an older 1DMKII.
The screen alone on the 1DMKII will turn you off from shooting after using the T3i.

The lenses, you'll get a lot different opinions.
The best thing you can do is to look at the shots that you feel are some of your best.
Look at the EXIF of those shots, and figure out what you need.
On your site, I think about 90% of them are between 200 and 300mm.
I think the 70-300L is the best lens for you. (mind you, I have never used this lens)

Once again, take your 2 lenses and T3i to a store and try your lenses on a 7D, then try
a few different lenses on your T3i.
After a short amount of time, you'll know what you need to make your shots better.

Good luck.

I really don't agree on the 7D vs. 1D MKII, but I don't want to go into a long drawn out hooplah about why. I bought a IIN a while back, rarely using the 7D now. Servo is superb on that camera.

ipatry

I think what Ill do is go to the camera store and try some of my options. 70-300 and 70-200. Take some test shots then see what I like. Maybe order it new or a nice used one and a 7d is an option in a little while. Maybe spring. I was talking to one of my dads friends that works at a camera shop and he said a cropped body like the 7d is better for sports then a full frame body? What do you guys think? And also the 1.4 adaptor, will that only effect the aperture? from going f2.8 to f4 or something like that? It wont affect anything else?

davev

ipatry wrote: »

I think what Ill do is go to the camera store and try some of my options. 70-300 and 70-200. Take some test shots then see what I like. Maybe order it new or a nice used one and a 7d is an option in a little while. Maybe spring. I was talking to one of my dads friends that works at a camera shop and he said a cropped body like the 7d is better for sports then a full frame body? What do you guys think? And also the 1.4 adaptor, will that only effect the aperture? from going f2.8 to f4 or something like that? It wont affect anything else?

I think that's a great idea.

By adding the magnifier, you will loss a stop of light, your shutter speed will be 1/2 what it would be
without the magnifier, but you will also get the extra reach from it.

A 200mm lens will give you the look of a 280mm lens.

Go to the store, and try these out and let us know what you think.