Spartan Bob Loc: Grand Rapids, MI

Can anyone tell me what the best camera and/or lens would be to take action shots of football and basketball in low light situations?

Thank you,

Amateur Photographer

Ched49 Loc: Pittsburgh, Pa.

Sports photography would be Nikon D5 and for Canon I assume would be the 1Dx.

mas24 Loc: Southern CA

As an amateur, you might to consider a crop sensor camera. The best of the Nikon would be the D500, which can get you 10fps, and is a good low light camera as well. The Canon 7D Mark 2 would be a good sports camera too. Probably the best, or one of the best lenses for action sports, is the 70-200mm f2.8. They can be purchased from $1300 (Tamron), to $2800 (Nikon)..And other fast prime/zoom lenses, f2.8 or faster. I use an inexpensive 50mm f1.8 on my crop sensor DSLR for sports.

Japakomom Loc: Originally from the Last Frontier

I know there are people that will argue this, but for me, the best camera for night football and indoor high school basketball games is a full frame with a 70-200mm 1:2.8. I personally use a Canon 5DIV. I do not have the time to fix the noise in a games worth of photos and with the low light capabilities of the full frame I generally do not have to.

mas24 Loc: Southern CA

Yes, I agree with your comments, and appreciate them. But, not everyone can afford a $3200 Canon camera, and whatever a Canon 70-200mm f2.8 "L" lens costs. I'm guessing about $2000. Camera and lens totals $5000. Not including other needed miscellaneous accessories. This is why some Sports Photographers, especially amateur/hobbyists, buy crop sensor cameras. Me included.

btbg

The individual who answered Nikon D5 and the equivalent Canon full frame camera is correct.

However, the reality is that modern cameras are good enough that there are many choices that can take quality sports photos. More important than the body is the lens. Buy the fastest lens that you can afford.

The most commonly used sports lenses are 70-200 f2.8, and 600 f4, but there are plenty of other choices.

A refurbished Nikon 80-200 f3.8 is much cheaper than a new 70-200 and will take great photos. A used D4s or even D3s will take great sports photos. There are plenty of options available at a variety of prices.

The Nikon D500 is pretty good for a cropped sensor camera, but both the D3s and D4s are preferred by the sports photographers that I work around. When it comes to Canon all of them use full frame cameras, but a few of the Nikon guys have D500s as their backup cameras. That's what I have. D5 for primary camera, D500 for my backup. I do use the D500 for both baseball and football, not much for most other sports and not at all for basketball.

So the answer to your question is get the best body that you can afford with the fastest lens that you can afford. The lens will make the biggest difference.

mas24 Loc: Southern CA

Ched49 was correct. The Canon 1DX, now superseded by the 1DX Mark 2, and Nikon D5, are two of the very best full frame cameras for Professional Sports. Those two cameras are now at the Winter Olympics in South Korea. And maybe the Sony a9 full frame mirrorless camera.

Joe Blow

I would suggest any full frame. For BB a 70-200 f2.8 will work fine. For football a 100-400 is preferred. For daylight football, a 150-500 or 150-600 will work best.

A FF will have less high ISO noise, common with BB and football under the lights.

jacklewis014

From the Nikon family, a D5, D4s or D4 are all excellent camera bodies. They perform very well in lower light and higher ISO.
As stated by others, most indoor sports can be well covered by a 70-200 f2.8 lens. If you need to zoom a little closer, you can switch from full frame to cropped.
I also concur that field sports (football, soccer, lacrosse) require more length. A 400 up to 600 length will work - depends on your budget.

Notorious T.O.D. Loc: Harrisburg, North Carolina

I shoot with a Canon 1Dx MkII and 24-70 f/2.8 II and 70-200 f/2.8 II both indoors and outdoors as well as at night. If you don't have as high an ISO capable camera fast prime lenses can be helpful. But you have to watch your DOF which can become very shallow. I used the Canon 85mm f/1.8 with my Canon 1D MkIII a lot because it doesn't have the high ISO capability we enjoy today. There are a few cameras out there that can do a good job but you have to get the best setup for your budget and what you want to shoot. Learning to anticipate the action in a sport can mitigate the need for massive FPS. High mp cameras can allow for more latitude in cropping. If you are outputting to the web you can get by with less than if you are making poster size prints. Analyze your budget and needs...

Best,
Todd Ferguson

Spartan Bob Loc: Grand Rapids, MI

Thanks for all the feed back. I have a Canon 70D DSLR that came with a standard 55-250 lens. It takes pretty good photo's but I tend to get a lot of blur at times. I blame the lighting. I will take 300 pictures and after a night delete 150 of them. I was looking to see if it was me or the camera and lens that were the cause. Thanks again for the information. I was thinking maybe this lens would help and it's not insanely high priced: https://www.amazon.com/Canon-70-200mm-Telephoto-Zoom-Cameras/dp/B000053HH5/ref=sr_1_6?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1519306125&sr=1-6&keywords=70-200mm+f2.8+canon

Thoughts?

photomarkz Loc: parma hts,ohio

i use a 7d canon. 300 f4 l is lens. daytime shooting of football 1.4 converter. basketball 200 f 2.8 canon and 85 1.8 canon

jacklewis014

That lens will help, but you also have to have a body that can address an ISO range as high as 3200 or even 6400 and still not be too "grainy"
The blur may be due to shooting at too slow a shutter speed.

tomcat

I hope that this does not become a complicated answer. But before buying a lens, check to see what the light levels are in the gym for the basketball games. If they are low, then get an 85mm lens at least f/1.8---the 70-200mm f/2.8 is not fast enough and you will have to be at extraordinarily high ISO values. I found 85mm to be a perfect focal length. I have done a lot of trials this past winter with lens combos using a D500 and D750 trying to get a decent image. I checked the foot candles and found the light level to be right at the minimum required for a public assembly (NC Safety Code), meaning it was very dim in the gym. I finally settled on the D500 (D750 was not as fast focusing) and an 85mm f/1.8. For football, usually a 70-200 f/2.8 was adequate. As the other posters have stated, look for a used D3s or D4 FF for football and the added bonus of basketball too. But to repeat an often used cliche---spend your money on the lens first!!

Starphotog

Canon 1DX mark II and an EF 200-400 is THE sports set-up, IF you happen to have $16 to $17,000 laying around!