That1NJGuy

Hi all. I have been researching on getting a decent camera while on a $1000 budget, totally out the door, not just a body. What I plan on using this for is sports (hockey, ice and field), nature and landscape, theater and lastly portrait. I want this to be a camera to be something we, as a family, can grow with. so not only is the camera is the main focus, so is lens. Some of the models I have been thinking about is the Nikon D5600, Canon EOS 6Ti. I'm not throwing out the Sony's either. The Nikon D7200 might be a reach if is significantly better.

So what say you photographic gurus?

mrpentaxk5ii

You can go with any of the above camera bodies, the problem will be the lens, none of the kit lens that come with the above bodies will do every thing you want to photograph in your budget. The lens that you need to photograph in a theater and portrait will need to be F 2.8, to shoot in low light, also you have take into account how far from the stage you will photograph.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

You listed several low-light situations. That's going to cost you for both lenses and camera body and your budget is a bit low for these requirements .... You can do it if creative and shopping from the used market. There's less risk from a dedicated reseller specialized in used equipment like KEH.com for EX or EX+ rated equipment.

Look at an EOS 80D body or 7DII (more specialized on high frames per second like sports).
Look at a EF 70-200 f2.8L IS (the ver I although the version I models don't have a vI designation)

The lens and body combination will have you set for many years in every situation you described. If the budget is firm, look instead to a 70D body with the same lens. If still too expensive, look instead at an EF 200 F/2.8L. You'll lose flexibility of a zoom, but you'll have an excellent lens for shooting long(er) distances in low light.

The Nikon D7200 is a fine body and can be had relatively cheaper, but it is getting to be old in the competitive world of cropped-sensor DSLRs. Nikon also has an excellent "v I" model of their 70-200 f/2.8 VR. Again, I fear the combination, even used, will exceed your budget where I think you get more camera from the xxD Canon models at this product tier.

Joe Blow

The poster wants to do this under $1000. An 80D is $1000 and a f2.8 70-200 is $1800. A 7D is even more.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

I did suggest being creative ... details of your ideas seem to be missing ...

Joe Blow

I recommend a T6i with an EF f4.0-5.6 70-300 IS II. That should eat most of your budget but will work.

The T6i can give good shots at ISO 3200. ISO 6400 is not out of the question.

Good luck.

Joe Blow

I don't have a problem with your suggestions, they are great choices. In fact, they are my favorite combination. That f2.8 70-200L is the sharpest lens out there. My 80D is my camera of choice.

The thing is they don't meet this person's needs; a camera and lens for under $1,000.

jackpi Loc: Southwest Ohio

Check out camera recommendations on Wirecutter.com:
https://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-mirrorless-camera-for-beginners/

ejones0310 Loc: Tulsa, OK

Also don’t forget to check the reverbs available. I picked up my 80D direct from Canon for $850.

Silverman Loc: Michigan

You need to decide on either a "Crop Sensor" or a "Full frame" DSLR Camera (research), lens choice will be very important, Prime lens, Zoom lens, etc. (Research), Tripods, filters, Flash, Camera equipment bag, batteries (Camera & Flash), and much more.
Read & Research your choices, New or used.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Buying a refurbished body will save you money - always my first choice. Raising ISO a bit can help compensate for a slower lens. An f/2.8 is nice, but a new 70-200mm would cost almost $3,000. A 28-300mm is slower, bnut you can raise the ISO and get good results. Unless most of your photography is indoor hockey, a 28-300mm should be fine.

For under $700, you can get a D5600 and two lenses.

http://www.cameta.com/refurbished-digital-slr-cameras.cfm

RKL349 Loc: Connecticut

To get a body and lens that will do what you want, new, will cost more than your budget allows. You may need to increase your budget, and/or consider refurbished or used. Good luck.

spraguead Loc: Boston, MA

My suggestion would be to stick to your budget, and be creative in how you approach each scenario you list for shooting. You'll want to get some nice shots in those situations, and more importantly, LEARN. All very similar to what I've been shooting over the last 10-12 years, so I'll describe what I've done;

SPORTS. outside sports are always easier as you can get a pretty good, but slow 70-200mm lens. Have a lot of great soccer and LAX shots from when my kids were playing. When I tried to shoot hockey with it, there just wasn't enough light, so I would go with my kit lens which is a Nikon 18-70mm 3.5-4.5. Pretty good little lens, but I needed to find a good spot and could only cover one end of the action. I've got a lace near me where I rented a 2.8 70-200mm and got some better shots, but my skills weren't great at the time, so not great for the cost.

LANDSCAPE. I've used the kit lens described above. The most important thing I learned along the way was to get a decent tripod and remote shutter release. Good results can be had with longer exposures, important to keep things stable. also bought a cheap fast 35mm prime lens along the way that I now use a lot for lower light stuff so wind doesn't cause blurs.

THEATER. My son is a musician, so I've shot a lot recently in the low light public space recently. I bought a cheap 1.8 50mm lens, and it does surprisingly well, you've just got discretely move yourself into a pretty close place to shoot. Next time i go down to Nashville I'll probably rent an 85 or 100mm fast lens.

PORTRAITS. For outside, I've used my slow 70-200mm with great results. For interiors, I use the 35 or 50 1.8 lenses. I don't really care for a flash look, so I try to use available light, or if needed, i have some basic shop style reflector bases with daylight bulbs, I'll throw one or two of these in to fill in the scene. I've also rented a nice 85mm 1.8 lens for something I was doing semi-professionally. Really nice results, but I don't need it often enough to purchase, when there's a place somewhat near me where I can get it for $30 for the weekend.

For your camera, you look to be yearning for the Nikon D7200. Nice camera, but it's the latest and greatest Nikon DX, so it will be pricey. Consider a used D7000. I've seen little used ones going for about $400 lately. I'd avoid the 5600 series, as there will be a lot of great lenses that the AF won't work with it. The D7000 is what I shoot with, and it's a great camera to learn on, I've been looking at upgrading to a full frame model for about a year now, but just couldn't justify it. Below are some of the shots I've taken of the situations described above.

My Math:
Camera good, low shutter activation DX (used): $400-$500
Good, but not Great 18-70mm lens (used) $200
Good, fast f1.8 50mm lens: $200(used could be less)
A good used tripod: $100
Total=$1000

...yes, this leaves out the telephoto for sports. That will be another $300-$400 for an OK lens that will be great for outdoor sports and candid portraits, hey, Father's Day is coming, right?


Good luck. Tim.

IDguy Loc: Idaho

That is a nice kit but I have one caution for you, especially as a newbie. The 70-300 lens included in that kit does NOT have image stabilization...which Nikon denotes by Vibration Reduction (VR). It is one a few Nikon lenses that come with or without VR for a $50 price difference. If you can talk Cameta into upping that lens to the VR version for $50 then it would be a good deal.

I greatly support the suggestion of Nikon refurbished. I have now gotten six of them, including just last week the one in this ad, and all have come in new condition. This one had only 17 shutter activations. And Cameta ups the warranty to a year for free.

And in contrast to the above assertion, all newer Nikon AF-S and AF-P lenses will work fine with it. Only the very old AF lenses would require manual focus with it. Also Nikon’s latest DX cameras are the D500 and D7500, both out of your price range.

jaduff Loc: Northern NJ

I went for the Sony A6000 last January with the Sony 18-105 for just under $1,000. Very happy with it.

Also looked hard at the Canon T6i and was about to pull the trigger on that when someone at Unique Photo asked “have you looked at mirrorless?” then had the patience to walk through multiple variations/manufacturers with me.