Hi
A friend of mine is a teacher at a local high school. He has become a sort of unofficial photographer for all sorts of events, but particulalrly for school sports. His P&S just can't handle the job.
Shooting sports is not something I do, so please offer some advice on a camera and lenses for him. He has about $2,000 - $2,500 to spend.
He has done a lot of research and is trying to decide between an XT and a 20D. He loves the 20D, but reckons the smaller size of the XT suits him, and that the price differential is better spent on lenses. He also has no objection to second hand, and realized he will need memory cards, tripod, bag etc.
The sports are indoor and outsoor and include soccer, basketball, rugby, football etc etc.
Id also consider getting something wide and fast eventually, maybe a 20mm f2.8?
or 28 1.8?
Dont scrimp on the 70-200, 2.8 is a must no matter what anyone says. Tell him to save his pennies if he cant afford the sigma even, i have one and its sharp wide open.
i would go for the 350D, because it seems that the focus is not noticable better and the high ISO's are not that much better than the 20D...For lenses i would get the Sigma 70-200 2.8 because this is such a perfect focal length for sports from basketball to football to soccer to softball, and many other things. You might need the 1.4x TC for field sports like football and soccer but it is still very usable without. Definetly get a flash i would say, a 430EX would be great. You could get away with using flash for basketball and football at night. And then to round out i would get the Canon 85 1.8. Such a great lense for basketball and volleyball.
Buy a used 350XT. I have had both a 20D and I have an XT as my backup. The XT will work great for him. Put the money into the lenses for now. (I like your selection of lenses.)
Don't forget to get a couple of extra batteries.
RGS65 wrote:
No brainer - this is the answer.
Get the IS version. Great for indoor sports.
Skip the flash if money is tight.
The IS does not get you anything for sports (where you are trying to stop the
movement of the action), and therefor shooting faster shutter speeds than those
that are aided by IS..
I have used several Canon DSLRs for sports - 10D, Rebel, 1D and now currently, the 20D and XT. Even the XT would be a huge upgrade for him but when I use the 20D and XT side by side, no question I prefer the 20D for sports. The size of the XT is great, making it fine for non-sports use. The viewfinder is small and that is a handicap when you are trying to follow fast action. Yes, it will work but the 20D is a better all around sports camera. But if he really wants to allocate the extra money for something else, thats what he should do. If he buys on triple rebate, he can sell either body without losing much.
While it's a good rule of thumb to put money into lenses and not bodies, I have to think that the 20D will serve much better as a sports camera.
My experience with HS sports is that he'll need:
1. a fast lens for basketball, VB, wrestling, etc. On a 1.6x body, I'd recommend the 85/1.8 (The 135 I use on the 1D2 would be a tad long, IMO).
2. a lens for outdoor sports. The 70-200/4 is often recommended, and it's hard to argue: a 3x zoom, relatively fast, top image quality. My only beef is that it's too short. I think I could shoot all outdoor HS sports with a 300/4. Tight sometimes, yes, but not as often as 200mm would be too short. JMHO.
If he buys on triple rebate
That's a great idea. The 20D is $1300 at B&H with a $100 rebate. If he buys two other qualifying items, that becomes a $300 rebate and a new 20D for $1,000. And, of course, the 3x rebates on the other items, too.
>> The IS does not get you anything for sports (where you are trying to stop the movement of the action), and therefor shooting faster shutter speeds than those that are aided by IS..
I was suggesting the IS version because it reduces the need for support and hence being more portable, not because I was thinking it will help him freeze the action.
