What Camera should i go for

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awebber

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Hi, Thinking about upgrading my camera my current camera is fuji s620 which as served me well with holiday/social shots. But now my girls have got really into Athletics of which i'm taking quite a few shots and i'm finding s620 quite limiting, so i'm looking for a good used SLR for taking fast moving sports shots. First recommendation i received was Canon 7D but at used £600 it was all my budget and without any lenses, then the next was 550d and spent what i'm saving on good lenses.
Is the 550d better than a nikon d200 and then comes the question of which lens, i assume i'm better going with a cheaper body and a good quality lens. How much do i need to spend to get on a good quality lens and also which lens' should i be looking at.
Thanks for any advice
 
If you sit tight for a wee while longer, I suspect you'll have a fair few Nikon d7000s to choose from as many get reduced in price/used being sold off, to pay for the d7100.
Coupled with the very capable 18-105mm kit lens, you should be in budget.

Alternatively, Sony A57 new or pre-owned, and a good long lens - at 12 fps burst with the SanDisk Extreme UHS-I card, you should be able to get some good captures.

If you were to go the Canon route, 50D makes more sense than a 550D
 
650D is also a good alternative- it's similar to 550D but has 9 cross type AF points (550d has 1) which should help in sports shooting.

Combined with Canon EF 70-200mm f/4 L USM- you'd have an awesome sports photography kit. f/4 may not be enough for dim arenas like ice-hockey rinks, but for day time open air athletics it should be great. These lenses are among the best value for money optics out there.

If you buy used, the total will go above your £600, but not by very much - perhaps £100 extra.
 
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Since you said the 7D which would cost £600 was all your budget gone and still had no lens, Perhaps if you could stretch a little to

http://www.mpbphotographic.co.uk/us...used-canon-digital-slr-cameras/canon-eos-50d/
£389

and

http://www.mpbphotographic.co.uk/us...it-lenses/canon-ef-s-55-250mm-f4-5.6-is-ii-1/
£149

and

http://www.mpbphotographic.co.uk/us...fit-lenses/canon-ef-s-18-55mm-f/3.5-5.6-is-2/
£64

This would all bring the total to £602. I used to own the 50D, a really nice camera, very capable. However when it comes to the lenses I have never used the Canon EF-S 55-250, but I have seen photographs taken with the exact same model, and they are very nice for the price.

I have used the Canon 18-55 IS, and it too produces some nice photographs When I had it.

If all you want to do is sport then you can skip the smaller zoom and save the cash, I only stuck it down just in case you wanted to stick to one camera being a DSLR and needed a walk about lens.

Btw, if you can stretch even more and get a L grade lens then it's even better.. On a side note.. Photography will burn a hole in the wallet. Welcome to TP.
 
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six6six said:
Since you said the 7D which would cost £600 was all your budget gone and still had no lens, Perhaps if you could stretch a little to

http://www.mpbphotographic.co.uk/used-equipment/used-digital-slr-cameras/used-canon-digital-slr-cameras/canon-eos-50d/
£389

and

http://www.mpbphotographic.co.uk/used-equipment/used-lenses/used-canon-fit-lenses/canon-ef-s-55-250mm-f4-5.6-is-ii-1/
£149

and

http://www.mpbphotographic.co.uk/used-equipment/used-lenses/used-canon-fit-lenses/canon-ef-s-18-55mm-f/3.5-5.6-is-2/
£64

This would all bring the total to £602. I used to own the 50D, a really nice camera, very capable. However when it comes to the lenses I have never used the Canon EF-S 55-250, but I have seen photographs taken with the exact same model, and they are very nice for the price.

I have used the Canon 18-55 IS, and it too produces some nice photographs When I had it.

If all you want to do is sport then you can skip the smaller zoom and save the cash, I only stuck it down just in case you wanted to stick to one camera being a DSLR and needed a walk about lens.

Btw, if you can stretch even more and get a L grade lens then it's even better.. On a side note.. Photography will burn a hole in the wallet. Welcome to TP.
Click to expand...


For me this is a kit I am looking at.

I have the lenses listed on a 400D and I use that for my atttrndance at my youngest son's football and, in the summer, crickrt.

The 55-250 EF-S is a nice lens for the price. Plastic which makes it lighter than you may like.

I got mine second hsnd off Gumtree and it was 4 months old for £85. it was a local seller too.

I have a borrowed 50D (without grip) and it produces some nice shots. Would prefer it gripped as I am a bit heavy handed. The speed of the lens is great and I love the 50D

Good luck.

H
 
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I have a 550d and I've been very happy with the quality of the images. My other half has a 50d and I found that much better for sports photography because of the frames per second. It's much more responsive when you're taking action shots - possibly down to the card speeds too I suppose.

I've now upgraded to a 5d3 but I shall be keeping my 550d as its a much easier camera to carry around on the days when photo taking will be incidental.
 
Thanks for all the answers its very much appreciated, i was set on blowing my budget on a grey import 7d but now i've got more thinking to do. Looks like i'd be better spending money on glass and getting a 50d.
 
I was reading a comparison the other day that compared a 550D and 7D and the 550D had better image quality and had better ISO results than the 7D...but only Just! Obviously the 7D is capable of doing other things better but if you just want to shoot normal stills then a 550D would be fine as would a 600D or 650D. I'd go for a 650d!
 
would you recommend a 650d ahead of a 50d for sports photography tho.
 
Advantages over the 550D are... Shoots faster 6.3 fps vs 3.7 fps

More than 70% faster continuous shooting
Larger viewfinder 0.59x vs 0.54x

Around 20% larger viewfinder
More cross-type focus points 9 vs 1

Grab focus in difficult situations
Has a pentaprism viewfinder Pentaprism vs Pentamirror

Pentaprism viewfinders are typically brighter
Less shutter lag 131 ms vs 252 ms

Around 50% less delay when taking photos
Longer battery life 640 shots vs 440 shots

Around 50% more shots per battery charge
Much faster max shutter speed 1/8000s vs 1/4000s

2x faster max shutter speed

Edit: sorry wrong camera, doh..
 
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Put it this way, image quality on the 550D is awesome. It is a fantastic camera and you will get amazing results from it.

That's not to say it is the best choice but I really can't imagine you not being happy with one.
 
Basically any of the recent SLR's will be more than capable, so if it were me I'd look at either a 600D or 650D or a 40D/50D and spend the rest on lenses.

The 18-55 IS kit lens is surprisingly good for a kit lens and coupled with the 50-250 IS you've got a package that will give some shots you can be pleased with and I reckon you could get all that within £ 600 with change if you're prepared to buy secondhand.
 
I just got myself a Nikon D5100 with 18-70mm lens and a 50mm 1.8 for £430 second hand only 6 months old...
Love it! Plus you could get a 55-200 lens on top of that within your budget...
 
Cant go wrong with a 550d to me its still a good allrounder
 
With Jessops going bust find a local camera shop, and try out the canon's and nikon's to see which you get on with, as some people find the ergonomics of the camera affects them.
 
andrewc said:
Basically any of the recent SLR's will be more than capable, so if it were me I'd look at either a 600D or 650D or a 40D/50D and spend the rest on lenses.

The 18-55 IS kit lens is surprisingly good for a kit lens and coupled with the 50-250 IS you've got a package that will give some shots you can be pleased with and I reckon you could get all that within £ 600 with change if you're prepared to buy secondhand.
Click to expand...

I would second what andrewc has mentioned above.
Given your £600 budget, you could get a used 40D/50D with grip and the relatively cheap 70-200mm F4L (non IS).
It's not f/2.8 fast glass which exceeds your budget alone, but it's still a pretty damn good lens.
If you need some wide shots, then you could probably get a used "kit" 18-55 lens pretty cheaply.
 
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