BIG ROB Loc: Princeton, NJ 08540

That really doesn't tell him a thing!

BIG ROB Loc: Princeton, NJ 08540

Perhaps a refurbished Nikon D7200 from Nikon or B&H Photo with it's 18-140mm f/3.5-5.6 G VR Kit lens picked up somewhere cheap. The camera can be had for $779.00 and is really fantastic with extremely high image quality and well suited for the kind of use that you're talking about; and that lens is very sharp at all apertures and focal lengths.
It gives you an "effective 35mm focal length" of 27mm - 210mm. It's sold separately for $499.99, and I've seen them sold for $299.99! This camera is typically sold brand new, with that standard matched kit zoom lens, for $1,297.00. I have one and I really love mine very much for all kinds of use! It is one of the best DSLR's that you can get. You can choose to spend much more money and get a Nikon D500, which has the main advantages of better very high ISO performance, and a higher rate of continuous frame rate per second; both of which would be nice for you.
Yet, the D7200 isn't a slouch in those areas... This would be up to you, if you desired to spend the money, $1,600.00 for the body; $2,180.00 with a 16-80mm f/2.8-4 Lens. They both are excellent camera's! You also could look into a longer and more expensive lens, although I really don't think that you'd need it. I very strongly recommend shopping at B&H Photo on-line. Good luck! Rob.

BIG ROB Loc: Princeton, NJ 08540

Go onto: www.dxomark.com and compare the ratings of the different camera sensors and the lens sharpness, when they are mounted on the camera body that you're interested in. You have to make the camera body selection using the drop down selector!

BIG ROB Loc: Princeton, NJ 08540

ps - The Nikon D7200 is a better camera than the Canon D80. It has far superior image quality, and a far superior image sensor! People who are ALREADY INTO CANON...go on to purchase the "very nice" 80D...yet, it isn't as nice
as the Nikon D7200. Plain and simple Fact of The Matter. Go ahead and say whatever you want to...in your heart, you know damn well that this is the truth... (You can simply go onto the internet and read ALL of the Reviews!)

Wingpilot Loc: Wasilla. Ak

If speed is the ultimate requirement, then look at the Canon, especially the 80D. I'm a Nikon guy and have a D7200 which is probably adequate, speed-wise, as it shoots at up to 6fps. And you can get a body, refurb, for well under a grand. If you want Nikon, and high speed is needed, then the D500 is the ticket, however it will go well above your $1500.00 budget. At $1800.00, it's $300.00 more, but then if you think you can spring for the extra $$$, it will be well worth your money for doing what you intend to do.

aellman Loc: Boston MA

You can get a suitable Canon or Nikon entry level camera for much less (around $500), and it will do virtually everything a more expensive camera will do. If you get a 2 lens kit, usually something like 18-50 and 70-300 focal lengths, you will be off to a good start. You can decide later whether you need a longer focal length or other lenses at significant expense. I agree with other posters that refurbished and discontinued models are a great way to start out. Watch the manufacturers' Web sites for deals. >Alan

Kissel vonKeister Loc: Georgia

Or on the other hand don't get bogged down in those tiresome dxomark spreadsheets.

BIG ROB Loc: Princeton, NJ 08540

Idiot.

Kissel vonKeister Loc: Georgia

My word, what an astute comment! I think we can see who the idiot is around here.

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

dxomark scores mean little in the real world. They are for techies and lab rates and for those that get into tech info instead of developing skills to improve their photographic skills.

Cdouthitt Loc: Traverse City, MI

zzzz....boring.

Kissel vonKeister Loc: Georgia

Sure is!

Cdouthitt Loc: Traverse City, MI

Perhaps they are a vanilla only ice cream person...but why limit yourself?
Located right around the corner from me:
http://moomers.com/menu/flavors/

Back to cameras...if I were buying new today into a system, it wouldn't be a DSLR....consider mirrorless.

Kissel vonKeister Loc: Georgia

Couldn't agree more. OTOH, I DO have a Nikon system. . . . .
. . . . . around here somewhere.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

Hi Matt,

The camera itself doesn't matter, all that much. Just about any DSLR currently available will be able to shoot wildlife and sports, though I'd recommend one with a fairly high performance autofocus system.

Much more important will be the lens you use upon it. It needs to offer fairly strong telephoto "reach" and have high performance auto focus to be able to keep up with fast moving subjects.

Canon examples (because that's the system I use and know best, similar could be found in Nikon or other brands):

Canon Rebel T5i with 18-55mm STM "kit" lens ($480 refurbished, $600 new)
Canon Rebel T6i w/ 18-55mm STM "kit" lens ($500 refurbished, $700 new)
Canon Rebel T6s w/ 18-135mm STM "kit" lens ($700 refurbished, $1000 new)
Canon 70D w/ 18-55mm STM "kit" lens ($750 refurbished)
Canon 80D w/ 18-55mm STM "kit" lens ($800 refurbished, new body only $1100, new w/18-135mm USM lens $1400)
Used Canon 7D, body only, approx $400 to $700 (may or may not have kit lens, no warranty or 90 day warranty)

Above prices for refurbished are from Canon USA website and are currently in stock, but be aware that stock there comes and goes quickly, so act fast. Prices for new are from B&H Photo website and are in stock. Canon USA refurbished have same warranty as new and are usually little different from new. Used 7D price estimates are from eBay sold auctions and B&H Photo used dept. A used camera is likely to have seen a lot more use than a refurbished.

- The T5i is an 18MP camera with up to 5 frames per second continuous shooting and a fairly simple to use 9-point AF system, with all points higher performance "dual axis/cross" type.
- T6i and T6s are both 24MP, 5 fps continuous shooting and have a more advanced 19-point AF system, all points dual axis/cross type.T6s has a few more controls giving more direct access to functions, making it a little faster to use (similar control layout to 70D and 80D).
- 70D is 20MP, 7 fps continuous shooting and uses same 19-point AF system.
- 7D is 18MP, up to 8 fps continuous (though it slows at times to meter or focus), 19-point AF system appears same as above, but is faster and more advanced, with add'l features.
- 80D is 24MP, 7 fps continuous shooting and introduced a new, 45-point AF system with somewhat better low light capabilities and that's a bit more usable with teleconverters.

All Rebel series use a "penta-mirror" size, weight and cost. The true pentaprism used by 70D, 80D and 7D make their viewfinders a little bigger and brighter. 7D and 80D have 100% viewfinders. 70D has 98%, while most Rebel viewfinders display 95% of image area.

7D, 70D and 80D have higher specification shutters with 1/8000 top speed and 1/250 flash sync speed. All Rebel series have 1/4000 and 1/200. Also, 7D has shutter... 70D and 80D are probably rated around 100,000 clicks, while Rebel series are typically 75,000. All these are merely estimated average Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF) ratings. Many cameras give longer life (and shutters can be repaired). But MTBF ratings give us some comparison of the cameras.

70D, 80D and 7D also all use a larger battery that gives approx. twice as many shots per charge as the batteries used in Rebel series. 7D uses Compact Flash memory cards, while all the other models mentioned use SD memory cards.

How much you spend on the camera will determine what's left to buy a high performing telephoto lens. In this case, for fast action shooting where you need to acquire quickly and track movement well, I would recommend you stick with Canono USM or similar (Sigma HSM, Tamron USD). For sports and wildlife, you will likely want at least 300mm, though there may be times you wish you had more. Some possibilities to consider:

Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS II "Nano" USM... $500.
Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 iS USM (recently discontinued)... $450.
Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 "L" IS USM (most durably built & best sealed)... $1350 (used $1000).
Canon EF 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 "DO" IS USM ("diffractive optics, ultra compact lens)... $1400.
Tamron SP 70-300mm f/4-5.6 Di VC USD... $450.
Sigma 120-300mm f/2.8 DG OS (discontinued older version, works very well with 1.4X & 2X teleconverters)... used $2500.
Sigma 120-300mm f/2.8 DG OS HSM Sport... $3600.
Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM (original push/pull version)... $1300 (used $900).
Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM "II"... $2000.
Sigma 100-400mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM Contemporary.... $900.
Sigma 120-400mm f/4.5-5.6 DG OS HSM (discontinued).... used $450-$550.
Sigma 150-500mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM (discontinued)... used $550-$700.
Tamron SP 150-600mm f/5-6.3 Di VC USD (discontinued 1st version).... used $700.
Tamron SP 150-600mm f/5-6.3 Di VC USD "G2"... $1400 (used $1100).
Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM Contemporary... $1000.
Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM Sports... $2000.

All prices above are for new, unless indicated otherwise (mostly B&H Photo used for reference). Some lenses above are obviously well over your budget, but are included here for illustration and comparison.

You will also often find these Canon models bundled in kit with EF-S 55-250mm STM lens. That can be a good deal and it's a fine lens for a lot of things.... but it's STM focus drive is not as fast as USM and 250mm is a little short for some sports and much wildlife photography. Another telezoom you'll sometimes see bundled with all these Canon models is an EF 75-300mm.... Avoid this lens at all costs. It's the cheapest and worst telezoom that Canon makes... Doesn't have particularly good image quality and also doesn't have image stabilization or USM or even STM focus drive.

Keep in mind that you will need some other items such as memory cards and a spare battery or two. Some of the above lenses are fairly large and heavy, too... with them you'd likely want a sturdy tripod ($400-$1500) or at least a monopod (~$100). Also, Canon L series lenses include a lens hood, but the others don't. Allow around $25 add'l for a matched hood for any of those.

Canon lenses can only be used on Canon cameras. Third party Tamron and Sigma lenses also come in Nikon and possibly some other mounts, if considering another brand of cameras. Not on the above lens list, Nikon offers a very good Nikkor AF-S 200-500mm f/5.6 VR for about $1400.

Hope this helps! Have fun shopping.

EDIT:

I DO NOT recommend mirrorless cameras for sports and wildlife shooting. The optical viewfinder of a DSLR still has advantages over a mirrorless camera with an electronic viewfinder (and especially over any mirrorless without a viewfinder, that relies upon the rear display). DSLRs also generally can have better AF performance. Also, there aren't many powerful "sports/wildlife" telephotos made specifically for mirrorless cameras. So you end up adapting a lens made for DSLRs, which pretty much nullifies the smaller size advantage of the mirrorless camera!

I also DO NOT recommend any full frame camera for these purposes.... most are way more than your budget anyway. But you also have to use bigger, heavier, more expensive lenses with full frame, in order to have the same "reach" you can enjoy with APS-C DSLRs such as the above listed models, paired up with smaller, lighter, more hand-holdable and affordable lenses.