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

True, and you might get the money shot too!!!

dyximan

I agree with this response the only thing I might add is the Nikon has A much larger buffer and I can attest to this as I own the D 500 and have shot both the Canon and Nikon.

dsmeltz Loc: Philadelphia

Since you signed as "Amateur Photographer" I have to consider that in a reply. Since you did not include a budget, I will assume a generous amateur budget of $3,000.

A refurbished Canon 80D for $900.

A refurbished EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM for $1,700

A refurbished 1.4x (or 2x) extender (version iii) for $350.00

Total $2,950.

For a few more hundred you could get a refurbished Canon 7D II.

This setup will give you the reach and speed you need in a mid-range amateur budget.
If you go full frame your cost will be double.

Bison Bud

The Cannon 7D and 7Dii are well know to be top notch sports and action shooting cameras. One can now get a used 7D for less than a new Canon Rebel in the $400.00 ballpark. If your on a budget and just want a tool that will do the job, take a look at a used 7D. Otherwise, the advice of others here saying to buy the fastest lens possible is also great advice. Good luck and good shooting to all.

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

If you are on a budget and interested in a Canon I would also take a look at the 1D MkIII which is an older Pro level body. You can find excellent condition ones for about $500. It compares will to the 7D and 7D2 as the below chart shows. 10mp but that is fine if you are mostly web posting. Very rugged D series build. Built in vertical grip which I really like vs an add on vertical grip.

Best,
Todd Ferguson

(Download)

brooklyn-camera I Loc: Brooklyn, NY

I would go with the 7D MKII, Canon 70-200mm II f/2.8 & the Canon 24-70mm f/2.8. The 7D can handle the higher ISO needed for some lighting conditions and it also depends how close you will be to the action. Do your homework and don't rush into anything. Go to YouTube and check out what they recommend for sports action. Enjoy no matter which way you go, FF or Crop.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

Canon 7D Mark II or Nikon D500. Both these are APS-C (crop sensor) models that allow you to use smaller, lighter, less expensive lenses.

Ideal lenses for football (night games, low light):

24-70mm f/2.8, 70-200mm f/2.8, 300mm f/2.8, 400mm f/2.8

Canon 200-400mm f/4 1.4X or the new, similar Nikkor 180-400mm f/4 1.4X, both of which have built-in, matched 1.4X teleconverters, would be very good too. But both of them are quite large, heavy and expensive.

Lenses for basketball indoors:

24-70mm f/2.8, 70-200mm f/2.8, 35mm f2 or f/1.4, 50mm f/1.4, 85mm f/1.8 or f/1.4, 100mm f/2, 135mm f/2. Some "crop only" lenses such as 17-55mm f/2.8 might be usable, too, on the APS-C cameras above.

Less expensive, smaller, lighter options that might be adequate for either if lighting isn't too low:

24-120mm f/4, 24-105mm f/4, 24-70mm f/4, 300mm f/4 (note: autofocus is usually slightly slowed with lenses that have less than f/2.8 aperture).

Lenses in both cases need to have high performance auto focus drive systems to rapidly acquire and track moving subjects. Canon USM and Nikon Silent Wave ultrasonic lenses are the best choice. Third party... Tamron USD and Sigma HSM... might serve well, too.

Yes, high performance full frame cameras such as the current Nikon D5 or Canon 1DX Mark II can be used, too.... but you may need longer, bigger, heavier more expensive telephotos such as 600mm f/4.



Yes, the 1D Mark III is an excellent sports cameras with very good high ISO performance. Just be aware that it uses an APS-H size sensor (smaller than full frame, but larger than APS-C). As a result it is restricted to using full frame lenses (I.e., Canon EF-S lenses cannot be fitted... but there aren't a lot of those that are geared for high performance action shooting.) Also be aware that the larger batteries the 1D, 1Ds and 1DX series (and similar Nikor) use are much more expensive. (Personally I prefer and use add-on vertical grips.... because I can remove them if I wish, to make the camera smaller and lighter for backpacking or bicycling or whatever.)

Also, the 1DIII doesn't have Flicker Free feature. Newer cameras such as 7D II, D500, D5 and 1DX II do offer this new feature that's a great thing to have when shooting under a lot of gym lighting. Those lights actually cycle on and off at a very rapid rate (60 Hz, in N. America). This cycling of the lights is so fast our eyes don't notice it, but our cameras sure do! It causes a very high percentage of images to be badly underexposed and have ugly color shifts. It's not unusual to lose half or more of one's shots in this type of lighting (fluorescent, sodium vapor and a couple other types). A relatively new feature, when it's enabled "Flicker Free" or "Anti-Flicker" that's on some recent Canon and Nikon models will detect the cycling of the lighting and time shutter releases to coincide with the peak output of the lights. I've been using a pair of 7D II for a couple years and can tell you from experience that this feature works really well and vastly reduces the percentage of images spoiled by underexposure... now it's only a few images here and there (instead of half or more of all the images I take, as was the case shooting without this feature).

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

Good points Alan regarding the 1D MkIII. EF lenses only and bigger and more expensive battery. That battery will get you through a lot of shooting though too. I love the built in vertical grip, but some people don't. I find the larger camera helps balance out the weight of handholding heavier and longer lenses. The 1.3x crop factor can be an advantage for shooting sports as it gives an 85mm lens the FOV of about a 110 mm lens. I use that combination for indoor basketball and volleyball effectively too. Adding a grip and extra batteries to a regular body camera can get expensive too, if that is they way someone wants to go.

Best,
Todd Ferguson

cjc2 Loc: Hellertown PA

As a Nikon shooter and a professional photographer shooting an abundance of sports, I will also recommend the Nikon D5, especially for low light such as night football games. Also, in low light instances any lens 2.8 or faster would be my first choice. I generally shoot with a 70-200/2.8E FL VR or a 400/2.8E FL lens. I do NOT use a TC in very low light, but I do use a 1.4x TC in good light on the 400 quite a bit. The 70-200 is almost always at my side for any sports. When I move inside for things like basketball I will often shoot with a fast prime -- something on the order of a 85/1.4, 105/2.8 or 135/1.8 all the way down to the 35mm. This depends upon the shot(s) I'm looking for. Never go without two bodies and use three bodies quite a bit. As you start out on your journey, you need to think about your budget and what compromises you're willing to make to get as close to where you want to be. For example, a used D4s is also a great camera! Best of luck.

muphoto

I agree. I too have been shooting sports as a university photographer for 40 years now. For football I use a D5 and a D4 with a Nikon 400 2.8 on one and a Nikon 70-200 2.8 on the other with a 17-35 2.8 handy. I also will for daytime games, use the Nikon 200-400 f4. I use these for baseball, softball, and soccer. For basketball I will use the 70-200 and the Nikon 300 2.8 as well as the wide lens. This also works well for volleyball, swimming and track.

cjc2 Loc: Hellertown PA

No surprise as we shoot much the same thing. I now am using the D850 as my second camera and the D500 for my third. I'll use a 14-24 or a 20 upon occasion as my wide and every once in a while the off-brand, manual focus 8mm DX I bought for venue shots. Ain't PP grand?

muphoto

How does the 850 do in low light? I have read that it is very good, but have not had the chance to handle on yet. I would love to have a 10 or 8mm for venue shots.
BTW: I work as the university photographer at Marshall University. a staff of one, i handle all the photo needs of the university, including sports.

Piman-jimc

I am very pleased with the results using a Nikon D7000 w/14-200 3.5-6.3 Nikor AF-v zoom for basketball and some swimming. For Stadium football and large natatoriums for swimming, I use now the new Tamron 18-400 zoom. The D7000 is a crop camera. I also suggest using fixed shutter speeds of 320 or faster and automatic ASA settings. Before getting the Tamron, I also used the Nikor AF 55-300 zoom.
JC

MidnightManiac

I shoot a lot of sports, most outdoor but do shoot indoor. Outdoor shoot baseball and football, indoor volleyball and (very little) basketball. Canon's 7DII covers my needs, like the 10 fps. Lens I prefer for outdoor is a Canon 70-200 f4L (non stabilized). Usually hand hold it with no problems but do carry a monopod. That lens can be purchased used from KEH at a very reasonable price. Indoor needed a different lens so got a Tamron 70-200 f2.8 (stabilized). Seems redundant but the results indoors were amazingly much better being in lower light. If I had to do over again the Canon 70-200 f2.8 L would be my choice but seeing I already had the f4 a couple years and liked it I kept it and purchased the lighly used Tamron from Cameta Camera. The indoor setup, camera, lens and battery grip does have some weight to it.

Kozan Loc: Trenton Tennessee

Bob, It all depends on your goals for these pictures. I would strive to be like the SI photographers. GET CLOSEUPS. To do that you should use a good camera such as a Nikon D500 or a D850 using a DX lens. My favorite lens is the Tamron 18-400mm DX lens. For football, I use the 18-400mm with the D500, the Nikon 200-500mm. I also have the 70-200mm F/2.8, but honestly I don't think that will be used very much.

For basketball, the 24-70mm f/2.8 is good. But the 18-400mm would be fine since I have to use flash for both football and basketball. The f2.8 lens have no advantage when using flash.

Anyway, bottom line is that you have to use flash for professional results and you have to get closeup shots. The last football I took was with a 200mm lens and it was too short 90% of the time. I wound up having to crop too much. I am looking forward to using the 200-500mm Nikon lens for football.

Good luck,
Kozan