Shutter count is really meaningless. Just shoot until the camera stops, then get a new one. That's what I did with my 10D. Had it for 8 years, shot a ton of pictures and when it quit last spring, got a newer model.
Are you close to St. Louis? Creve Ceour Camera is in that are and they have 11 stores.
I I'd this a couple of times with my brother-in-law. We started doing the school Halloween party and also did the Octoberfest fundraiser a couple of times. We did the 4x6 prints and advertised larger options. There was virtually no interest in the larger sizes. My advice is don't bother with them.
At one time, Canon "L" lenses had a fluorite element and were hand assembled. I assume that is still true. Most high end Nikon lenses have ED elements and boast of high build quality as well.
Both companies glass tends to be very fast and usually is also constant aperture. As.for plastic elements, that is a rumor that has been kicking around for years. I seem to have read that Nikon had experimented with molding elements out of optical plastic, but cited envitonmental issues as a reason for not pursuing it. They apparently do mold some elements out of glass and and it is considered very state of the art technology and has allowed to bring prices down on some rather esoteric lenses.
B&W film has flexibility, so you can alter your time based on temperature, but developer, stop bath and fixer need to be the same temperature.
I used HC-110 dilution B. with minimal agitation, one inversion per minute, got beautiful negatives with Tri-X.
You do realize that Kodak no longer makes digital cameras?
If you have had your printer for two years, you have gotten your money's worth.
Tell her to take it to Wal-Mart. They can do 24x36 prints on site. And thank you Robert, for giving good numbers for enlargement. For years, I have seen those numbers keep getting inflated. There are people on here who are convinced that 6 Megs will only allow you to print an 8x10! Which is like saying a 35mm negative can not be enlarged over 8x10. Both of which I have disproven over the years.
Like the Canon rep once told me, you are buying the lens. Canon will replace the body every couple of years, but the lenses will be around forever. IMHO, buy the best lens.
The first DSLR I saw was in the early 90's. it was a digitized Nikon F3. It was 5mg, had a magnification factor of 2 (that's right, 2), and you had to carry a shoe box on your hip that had the battery and Hard Drive in it. It cost $40,000, body only. A film F3 cost about $1,100.
Sorry, I forgot to add, with the longer lens be around the free throw line and you can shoot stuff on both ends of the court. If you use the wide lens, get under the basket and shoot armpits. Good luck.
High ISO. You've got the lens, 70-200 f2.8 is great for what you want to do. Either of those cameras should give you 6400 ISO or even higher if needed. I would also recommend a hand meter so you can shoot in manual. Sports is very difficult to shoot in Auto or Program, because if there are a lot of white jerseys the pictures will be darker and if there is a lot of dark jerseys, they might be too light.
Also, don't expect too much. Sports photography is an art and timing is everything. If you get 1-2 good shots a game, you have done well.
The thing to remember is that P&S cameras have wide angle lenses. They may say 24-120 equivent but that last word is very important. They are more likely 7-35mm. All wide angles have deeper depth of field.
You can get the effect you want in post. Create a duplicate layer, use the Gaussian Blur filter, then erase the area you want sharp. You can then adjust the opacity of the duplicate layer to get the effect you want.
You get what you pay for. Now you know. Sorry