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Just Getting Started
Hi All,
I'm just getting started into photography and need advice on gear. I plan on shooting Motorsports primarily, car shows, action sports on occassion etc...
My equipment budget is around $1500-$2000.
Will this work for starters? Of course you are the experts and I value your advice;
I'm just getting started into photography and need advice on gear. I plan on shooting Motorsports primarily, car shows, action sports on occassion etc...
My equipment budget is around $1500-$2000.
Will this work for starters? Of course you are the experts and I value your advice;
- Nikon D7000 DSLR Camera With AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-55mm 1:3.5-5.6G VR Lens Kit
- Nikon AF-S Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G DX Lens
- Nikon AF-S DX VR Zoom-Nikkor 55-200mm f/4-5.6G IF-ED
- Tiffen 52mm UV Protector Filter x3
- Nikon SB-400 Speedlight i-TTL Shoe Mount Flash
- Lexar 32 GB SDHC Memory Card Professional Class 10 UHS-I - 2-Pack
- Tamrac N-25 Neoprene Shock Absorber Camera Strap with Quick Release
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If these images are to be for sale, what size images do you plan to sell?
Will you be shooting night-time events?
Where will you be shooting from? (What position on the track or field?)
Moderator of the Cameras and Accessories forums
The second part of the system that needs attention is sports capable lenses. The primary considerations are large aperture, sharp wide open and rapid focus motor technology to couple with the AF sensor and AF processing in the camera. A slow lens on a fast camera, or vice-versa, will not yield optimal results.
The Nikon D7000 is on the low end of what I consider capable of sports/action photography, but it is by no means optimal. The AF system is really not designed for sports/action photography, but careful technique can make a difference and you can probably develop a method to yield an acceptable number of keepers using that body.
For lenses I'm afraid that you have chosen consumer lenses which focus rather slowly and have apertures pretty unsuitable for night events.
Respected Nikon sports/action lenses (especially motorsports and considering night events):
Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8G AF-S ED VR II
Nikkor 300mm AF-S f/4D IF-ED
Nikkor 300mm AF-S f/2.8G ED VR II
(I am omitting lenses of around $6000 on up, even though they are often used for these applications.)
For daylight events you might add:
Nikkor 80-400mm AF-S f/4.5-5.6G ED VR
These lenses really demand a larger budget, but I truly believe that's what it takes to succeed. (You will be competing with photographers with much larger budgets.)
You could also try some high-end primes, especially for "pit" areas, when your flash would also be more useful. I do recommend the use of flash modifiers as possible.
Moderator of the Cameras and Accessories forums
A used Nikon D700 is a pretty good sports body, but for your application a used D300 or D300s gives better reach, which could be more important with a limited budget. A used D300 plus a 70-200mm, f2.8 zoom would make a pretty good starting point.
At KEH.com, I see a used Nikon D300s in EX+ condition for $850USD, and an EX condition copy for $820. Then a used Nikkor 70-200 f2.8 G ED IF AF-S VR is a little over $1700 in EX+ condition and with hood and caps. For a very nice standard zoom, a used Tamron 17-50 F2.8 ASPHERICAL DI II SP IF LD XR is $275 in EX+ condition (no mention of caps or hood however) and it's very nice for the money.
Moderator of the Cameras and Accessories forums
It depends partly on your proximity to the subjects. As you get closer to the subject matter in motion, the closing rate can get much greater. This can be very demanding on the body/lens combination.
(A very active child indoors and at close proximity can be similarly challenging.)
I would probably stay with my recommendations above.
Don't get me wrong, almost any camera can get some usable images for any given situation within the physical capabilities of the system. A more capable system will just yield a larger crop of usable images (keepers), making the experience and the investment much more satisfying.
In other words, out-of-focus images are almost never keepers, so you want a system designed to maximize the number of in-focus images above all, and sports/action photography strains even professional systems like a Nikon D3/D3s/D4 and the best Nikkor gold-ring AF-S lenses.
Moderator of the Cameras and Accessories forums
Natural selection is responsible for every living thing that exists.
D3s, D500, D5300, and way more glass than the wife knows about.
One of us is confused.
Natural selection is responsible for every living thing that exists.
D3s, D500, D5300, and way more glass than the wife knows about.
I'd look at used D300's for daytime work, S model is preferable but not needed. And you're still under budget, you could add in a 2.8 standard lens and be fine, just make sure it focuses fast.
Basically the overall issue is what do you need right now, if you're selling small prints the 300 and sigma are fine. They wont be as good as the VR II and you'll miss some shots that you otherwise would get but a budget is a budget so you gotta deal with what you can afford and upgrade from there. The good news is the D300 is a solid camera and you will likely be able to sell that Sigma lens for most of what you paid for it.
So a small typo makes someone confused?
Concur x2~! Why, Because IMO the D700 can and will out resolve the D300/s. D300 as Ziggy said is a steal at $850-ish over at KEH.com, but a D700 will trump that. A Used D700 and a Nikkor 300mm F/4 will do your distance job. and come in about $2k. or opt for the 70-200 VRI or VRII or even the older 80-200 push-pull on a D700! All great with the D700 as base.
The confusion has nothing to do with an immaterial typo. You don't get vignetting from mounting an FX lens on a DX body. You get vignetting from mounting a DX lens on an FX body. That's not a typo.
Natural selection is responsible for every living thing that exists.
D3s, D500, D5300, and way more glass than the wife knows about.
Actually the vingette I was referring to is from the lens its self regardless of the body. I have used a 70-200 2.8 VRI on a d90, d300, d300s, and d700 and it was there on all of them.
I would be interested in seeing samples from that lens on DX bodies. If it's vignetting on DX, it would be darn near unusable on FX. I've never heard of vignetting or corner sharpness from this lens being an issue on DX bodies.
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