Help With Chosing Camera For The Task

raian

Hello,

I've been reading a lot of reviews and Specs for digital cameras and I'm totally confused.

I was initially looking to get the Canon digital Rebel.

But now I'm looking at the Canon D20 or the Nikon D-70 (although I'm a Canon consumer from way back in the 1970's)

I will mainly be shooting action at dog agility events... and would like the camera to be easy enough for someone else to shoot pics of me running my dogs (if I show them what button to push

Would the above cameras do the job (I like the 5fps shots of the 20D) or would something less expensive do just as well. I would need a decent zoom lense in addition to the camera outfit.

Any help in making a decision, or narrowing the choice, appreciated.

I also do portrait shots of animals as well.

ziggy53

Raian

That is a very well defined photographic niche. Are these images you hope to sell, or just personal interest?

I hope you realize that the camera and lens is only part of the equation. You will probably also need to investigate appropriate lighting.

Where will you be able to stand with respect to the action?

What is your photographic background? (You mentioned Canon, but how involved were you?)

ziggy53

raian

I'm a hobby photographer, but I've had some classes in photography (using film... way back when). My first and only camera was a Canon AE-1.. and I still love it. But I did buy a P&S Fuji to enter the "digital" field (it took me a long while to give up film....) but the Fuji sux at shutter speed.. I literally have to be psychic to get the shots

I'm looking again at the Rebel as it may be easier to use for my friends who are not into cameras (and they would be shooting me and my dogs at these events).

I do not plan to sell photos.. just take them for my own enjoyment. I also paint (watercolor) and use my photography as source material for my paintings.

After reading several comments on this forum about buying the lesser camera and getting a better lense, I'm thinking that may be the way to go for me at this point.

Does the Rebel have manual focusing capabilities? I actually prefer to focus manually on most of my shots.

raian

Oh, just to add, I will be standing ringside (agility rings are appx. 100 x 100 feet). Some are outdoors, some indoors, usually in horse arenas. You are NOT allowed to use flash at dog events, even so, photographers are getting excellent action shots indoors, but I've never investigated what they are using as I'm just now deciding to get a new camera....

ziggy53

raian wrote:

Oh, just to add, I will be standing ringside (agility rings are appx. 100 x 100 feet). Some are outdoors, some indoors, usually in horse arenas. You are NOT allowed to use flash at dog events, even so, photographers are getting excellent action shots indoors, but I've never investigated what they are using as I'm just now deciding to get a new camera....

I surely wish you would have investigated what others are using sucessfully. You can often learn from other's experience, especially the successful ones.

Anyway, the fact that you cannot use flash, and that the events are sometimes indoors, indicates the need for fast lenses and high ISOs.

Ringside is good in that you are close to the action. It's also bad because the action is potentially going to be moving either quickly towards or quickly away from the camera, relative to your position. What this all means is probably you need a lens which zooms from fairly wide to moderate telephoto and maintains a large aperture throughout.

These needs are similar to any indoor sport, where you can get close to the action.

The best camera to be able to focus quickly in these circumstances would be one of the Canon Pro series, probably a 1D MarkII or 1D MarkIIN, or one of the Nikon Pro cameras, of which I am less familiar.

There is a technique using pre-focussing, which could be used with any other camera, including the dRebel XT (which I own) and the Nikon D70/D50 cameras. It might be hard to teach someone instantly how it works, but if you use an assistant, it shouldn't take too long. You can even practice with cars on a road to get the idea.

For the lens, I would suggest something in the 16-35mm or 18-50mm range, but you need a constant f2.8 lens for the indoor venues. This narrows the selection to:

Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM, ~$1200
Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L USM, ~$1350
Sigma 18mm - 50mm f/2.8, ~$500
Tamron SP AF17-50mm f/2.8 XR Di II LD, ~$460

I own the Sigma and it is a very good lens, darned close to Canon "L" quality. I think it would work fine and offer the best quality vs cost. (IMHO) The Canon 17-55mm is awfully new and I don't find any reviews yet, otherwise it might be a great lense for this application and may focus faster than the Sigma.

A fixed focal length lens like the Canon 50mm, f1.8 might be better for the across-the-ring shots, because of the larger aperture, and it is much cheaper without giving up much sharpness.

Even wide open, I'll bet you are shooting at no better than 1/125 - 1/200 sec at ISO 1600, which means some grain. Plan on using noise reduction for part of your workflow. You will notice a difference even on 4x6 inch prints.

Good luck,

ziggy53

ziggy53

raian wrote:

Does the Rebel have manual focusing capabilities? I actually prefer to focus manually on most of my shots.

Most lenses for modern digital SLRs have a manual focus switch which turns off the auto-focus function when desired. The best lenses also have a focus override capability, which allows you to auto-focus and then manually tweak the focus, without changing anything on the lens or camera.

I may not be explaining that very well. Just ask if you need more explanation.

BTW, if you prefer to manually focus for sports events, you may already know how to pre-focus before the shot. That's a good skill to master.

ziggy53

raian

Thanks for all the info. I had heard that the Sigma was a good lense. I'm still looking around and shopping, but I really appreciate the input

jthomas

Autofocusing on modern DSLRs is so fast and accurate you'll probably soon forget about manual focusing. I went through 3 P&S digital cameras before getting a Nikon D70, and was fully expecting the manual focus capability to be one of the primary assets of a DSLR.

I soon realized that the autofocus was so good that I dropped the idea of manual focusing.

Bob Bell

raian wrote:

Thanks for all the info. I had heard that the Sigma was a good lense. I'm still looking around and shopping, but I really appreciate the input

To me it sounds like you need something with a fast buffer that does well at higher ISO that will take fast lenses.

The 350XT Drebel XT uses the Digic II chip if you want to spend less on a body. The same chip in the 20D and 1DmkII and 1DN. This chipset will allow you to have very clean ISO 800 images, this in combo with a fast 2.8 or faster lens should be no problem capturing the action.

I would think something like a 350XT + 70-200 will fit your bill nicely and be only in $17-1800 range. Your images will be sharper if you fill up more of the sensor so in this case a longer lens is probably more prudent than a wider lens, since the photographer can back up a few steps.

PossumCorner

raian wrote:

.... Canon D20 or the Nikon D-70 ...

Hi ianra, we've been using the D70 consistently for agility and flyball. We bought a Nikon D50 as 'second camera' but there is nothing second about it. You mentioned ease of use by friends when you are in the ring - D50 is very user-friendly. Recommend if doing that, do as done on this shot, set camera on a tripod for them. Inexperienced friend might not get as many shots in, but those they do get will be sharper.

I plan to upgrade the D70 to the D200, but will be keeping the D50.

You've found what shutter-lag does to dog-sports. Our 'third camera' is a Pansonic FZ30 which I love for flowers, macro, dog portraits. But quickly learned to leave it home on dog-sports days including lure-coursing.

You mentioned the 5ps shots of the 20D. We find multi-shots ineffective for catching the moment at agility. A dog can be so fast over a jump that you too often end up getting rear-paws still on the ground, then fore-paws touching down. Better to work on a single shot at the best point of action. Let's know what you decide on and how it goes for you.

ziggy53

PossumCorner wrote:

Hi ianra, we've been using the D70 consistently for agility and flyball. We bought a Nikon D50 as 'second camera' but there is nothing second about it. You mentioned ease of use by friends when you are in the ring - D50 is very user-friendly. Recommend if doing that, do as done on this shot, set camera on a tripod for them. Inexperienced friend might not get as many shots in, but those they do get will be sharper.

I plan to upgrade the D70 to the D200, but will be keeping the D50.

You've found what shutter-lag does to dog-sports. Our 'third camera' is a Pansonic FZ30 which I love for flowers, macro, dog portraits. But quickly learned to leave it home on dog-sports days including lure-coursing.

You mentioned the 5ps shots of the 20D. We find multi-shots ineffective for catching the moment at agility. A dog can be so fast over a jump that you too often end up getting rear-paws still on the ground, then fore-paws touching down. Better to work on a single shot at the best point of action. Let's know what you decide on and how it goes for you.

PossumCorner,

Do you have any tips on lenses that work for you and why they work well?

Thanks,

ziggy53

raian

Thanks for the info!! Appreciate it muchly. I usually end up buying pictures from the pro photographers at the shows, but want to get my own as well, plus I do some dog sports that there just aren't photographers there.. like hunting and obedience.

I was just up in the newsroom looking at one of our reporters D70's (Nikon). It seems very heavy and cumbersome in my hands. My hands aren't that big. I do like the feel of the Rebel. I've not actually held the Canon D20. Is the Canon D20 a metal body? I'd rather have the metal body over the plastic, but then again considering my budget, I might save the $$$ for a lense.

raian

PossumCorner, you have some really fantastic flyball pictures on your website!!!