Nikon D7200 with a 40mm MicroNikkor. Add an electronic cable release and a portable copy stand. Your friend will need to practice to develop a good working method, ie carry an 8x10 sheet of glass to hold books and copy flat, shims or props to level open books. This will also help your friend decide if he/she needs to add side lights to the copy stand. Or if the stand is too much, just carry the D7200 and shoot as best they can. The idea they can just carry something the size of a Minox is impractical.
Nikon 35mm f1.8 and a 70-300. Then a Tokina 11-16 for wide angle,
If you can shoot from the orchestra pit or the stage wings, a 35mm f1.8 would be perfect for either camera.
Sorry, I've looked at the specs, it's D7200 hands down. The D500 is two pricy for a half frame, the D7500 just seems a bastardized D500. If I needed a new half frame it would be the D7200. I shoot D90 and D600 now so if I add another body it will be FF, D810 if possible but most likely a D610.
Auto ISO, auto WB, shoot in P mode, you're good to go.
Simply add light to the darker areas. Flash, hot lights, led fixtures, or whatever else you could come up with. Balancing the light when you shoot means less work in post processing.
My issues with Sony are not with the A9, which sounds great,but with their product support. I was burned by both their BetaMax system and their eBook Readers. And I never liked Minolta cameras either.
Instead of replacing the tripod legs, try a couple sandbags with Velcro straps around the apex of your tripod. The weight will stabilize the tripod and damp down vibrations. The look for an Arca-Swiss or Kirk ball head.
Check for a screw loose behind the viewfinder, then read the instructions.
Check with the card mfg, they usually offer a recovery program. But if your computer reads the card, ehats the problem? Download the images, toss the micro card and get a full size sd card. Your camera is an image capture device, nlt a storage or display. You want to show people picture, put them on your phond or make prints.
Very nice shot indeed. You cought the moment!
For my half frame camera, Nikon D90, I shoot a Tokina 11-16. I recommend it highly.
Try going back to old school basics and shoot flash on camera. If you have a flash meter, find a distance that almost fills the frame with the sparing students, meter the flash output and try shooting at the metered f-stop and your cameras sync speed. If you don't have a flash meter, I assume your camera has some form of TTL metering, try that. If everything is working and you are stopping the action then move to off camera flash and soft boxes. Remember, if you shoot on camera flash in manual mode, you will have to open or close your aperture as you move closer or further away from your subjects. Millions of pictures have been shot and sold when taken with on camera flash, it's a greatly undervalued tool.