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Archive 2015 · Best Nikon FX for sports under $2K?

  
 
graham_martin
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Best Nikon FX for sports under $2K?


I shoot a fair amount of HS sports some of which take place in the evening. I currently use a D300s and Sigma 120-300 (old version) for the long shots, and a D700 with a 24-120 for the closer shots. I am toying with the idea of selling the D300s and getting another FX camera with 24-36 mps. My budget is under $2K. My initial thought was to get a D800, but then I started reading that some people don't think it is well suited for sports due to its 4fps. OTOH, some people say that is not a problem.

I might also add that I do a fair amount of indoor concerts with poor lighting, and so I need a good all round camera.

I would appreciate any thoughts on the subject.



Mar 31, 2015 at 09:45 AM
MichGoBlue
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Best Nikon FX for sports under $2K?


I had a D800 as a second body to my D4 and I sold it. I used the D800 gripped and in DX mode got 6 fps. That said, I sold it because I was pretty excited about both the D750 and the D810. For your budget, I would highly consider the D750. I don't think you'll like the ergonomics as well since its not a pro body, but the low light performance is exceptional.


Mar 31, 2015 at 09:58 AM
mikekeating
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Best Nikon FX for sports under $2K?


Well, a refurb D750 is on the Nikon site for 2099. And they just started selling refurb D4 at Adorama for 2999, if you want to increase the budget a bit.

I would lean towards the D750 if you are looking to use it outside of sports and off a monopod.



Mar 31, 2015 at 11:08 AM
kylehess10
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Best Nikon FX for sports under $2K?


You can find some D3s bodies going for around 2k right now. A D3 wouldn't be a bad choice either.


Mar 31, 2015 at 10:27 PM
schlotz
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Best Nikon FX for sports under $2K?


Graham,

There is no question one can obtain very good action shots from a 4-fps rig but that comes with a few caveats, the prevalent one being timing. If you are well accustomed to the sport you are shooting and can anticipate up coming action, the better the results. Having said that, the human body is remarkably fast. Just a slight mistiming on the shutter and the capture of peak action is missed. The distance a ball can move off a foot or a bat between frames at 4-fps vs 12-fps can be significant. First and foremost, regardless of what equipment used, honing one's technique via familiarization of the sport, it's players tendencies and ability to anticipate is the key. Without it, applying a higher fps body to the equation provides way too many non-keepers to edit through which chews up time, card memory and batteries. IMHO, there is no substitute for having solid technique. As is in sports, you have to practice, a lot!

At the end of the day, it comes down to technique and what a photographer can accept with the funds available to put towards it.

Matt



Apr 01, 2015 at 06:20 AM
graham_martin
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Best Nikon FX for sports under $2K?


Matt, thank you for the excellent advice. It made me think back to the old film days when sports photographers couldn't afford to spray and pray. Instead they planned much by pre-focusing on a spot where they knew a player would be at some point, such as baseball. I can also see being able to do that in basketball. The players will always come to the net.


Apr 01, 2015 at 06:26 AM
mmorey79
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Best Nikon FX for sports under $2K?


Do you use the buffer a lot? If not I'd get a used D600 and save your money (or a D800 if you can use the megapixels for this (cropping in good light) or something else). If you really tax the buffer and shoot a lot of work I'd look at the D750 for it's deeper buffer as much as anything, or get a used D3. The D600's 39 point AF isn't the greatest, but I'd wager it's at least as good as the older 51pt equipment you use now, other than it covers less of the frame. I started with a D200, added a 300, replaced the 200 with a 600 and the 300 with a 7000 and now I just shoot the 600. I was worried about running up the D600 due to it's "value" until it's value plummeted after the shutter issues, and I realized this stuff lasts a long time and still has a really low cost per shutter click, so I'm going to run it into the ground and I keep a V2 handy if I'm in a jam. I don't get paid much if anything for half the work I do, so I can live with that risk. I really like the flexibility of 24 megapixels for cropping when the light is ok and downsampling when the noise starts to rise. The camera runs fast enough for the motorsports work I do most of the time. I often considered ditching it for a D3 but I'm not sure I'm willing to loose the megapixels for a camera that is less flexible even though it's performance is much better in a number of aspects.


Apr 02, 2015 at 09:51 AM
juicesqueezer
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Best Nikon FX for sports under $2K?


For the price, I would go with a D3 and spend the other 1k on a prime or wide angle.


Apr 04, 2015 at 04:03 PM
thursdaylsr
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Best Nikon FX for sports under $2K?


D3 or D3s. I still use my D3 daily and will until in dies, same with my D700 backup. Don't know why increasing to a 24-36 MP cam would matter for sports, I'd rather shoot faster than 4 FPS and not have to deal with giant files but to each their own.


Apr 04, 2015 at 05:48 PM
graham_martin
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Best Nikon FX for sports under $2K?


I have already decided that I don't need the D810, but the D750 is reportedly very good at focusing in low light and high ISO. A lot of the games I shoot are at night under poor lighting. The 24 mps is attractive so that I can do some cropping and still have a good size image. I would be keeping my D700 and selling the D300s.


Apr 04, 2015 at 06:09 PM
hijazist
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Best Nikon FX for sports under $2K?


The d750 is a really brilliant body. The AF and ISO are the best I've ever used. The shortcomings are really not that deal-breaking. 1/4000 max shutter is not a problem when you factor in that the ISO expands to 50. I've customized the AE button for back-focusing. Frame rate and buffer are great and ergonomics are really comfortable with the deep grip. Finally, the sensor is much ahead of the D3S, D3 and D700 IMHO.

graham_martin wrote:
I have already decided that I don't need the D810, but the D750 is reportedly very good at focusing in low light and high ISO. A lot of the games I shoot are at night under poor lighting. The 24 mps is attractive so that I can do some cropping and still have a good size image. I would be keeping my D700 and selling the D300s.




Apr 04, 2015 at 08:46 PM
superduperhoot
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · Best Nikon FX for sports under $2K?


I have a D750. It's a huge step up from a D300s (which I also have).
Granted, you have to get over the pro body issue...but you will get over it really quickly once you see how it performs.

The focus precision is remarkable. I will take 6 FPS all in focus over 10 where only 70% are in focus any day.



Apr 06, 2015 at 07:31 PM





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