Hi Gang: I'm new to this forum but have a simple question. My principal interest is shooting high school soccer and I need to upgrade from my D50. I recently purchased Sigma 70-200 F2.8 and next purchase will be a new body. I am considering D300 or D90 and considering the differences of frames per second, AF speed, and High ISO performance. D300 trumps the D90 in the first two while it seems the D90 has better High ISO performance. Any advice greatly appreciated. Thanks, Mark
Sports Photography Recommendation
(9 posts) (5 voices)-
Posted 3 years ago #
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I'd say the D300 is worth the extra money in this case for improved AF and speed, but you'll be fine with the D90 if that's the route you go. If you're shooting during the day, ISO performance between the two shouldn't matter, if it's night, it depends on how good the lighting they have is. You might want an 85mm f/1.4 for that.
Edit: Disclaimer - I've not once shot sports in my life.
Posted 3 years ago # -
The Rumoured new D300S should be perfect for you then.. A D300 body with the D90 High ISO, maybe even better.
Posted 3 years ago # -
as fpr shooting indoors I would say d700... as You really need a lot of light for it even with 2.8 lens, or at lease 300/2.8 lens, as wit 200mm You wouldn't be able to take any close ups. as for fps, d90 is enough, high iso performance - great up to 800, quite good at 1600, acceptable (B&W photography only) at 3200, AF speed could be a little faster on d90, but should be oki if You play with it a little bit; one more thing about lenses, 85mm for sports shooting is too short, not to mention that at 1.4 You would have to focus very precisely
so summing up, I would probably go for d90 and spend the difference on lens or flash (very usable, when allowed - get at lest SB800)Posted 3 years ago # -
Thanks for the excellent feedback. While I know I can get outstanding images from the D90, I do see the 50% higher fps as an advantage (more images to choose from) but more than that, the AF lag which is also better
on the D300. Most of my shooting will be outdoors with occasional games under the lights. I do have an SB800, but frankly am slightly overwhelmed with flash photography. Is flash that useful for a game you're shooting at focal distance of 75-150'? Also, for those shooting sports (soccer), can you effectively track action effectively with the D90?Posted 3 years ago # -
@adamz, is 85 really too short? I'd think for HS sports where you can get to the sidelines and with the DX crop that it would be a pretty good focal length for a lot of shots. And the D300's spectacular 51pt autofocus on continuous can take care of precision focus. Though I guess a soccer pitch is fairly large. As I said, never shot sports in my life.
Posted 3 years ago # -
I was taking pictures of my niece lately, she is practicing figure skating, and when I was standing right on the edge of ice I still needed at least 200mm for nice framing, so therefore I will say that 85mm is not enough
exoman - as for d90 fps is really enough for sports, remember that with more fps's You actually need very fast memory cards (and fast body) in order to make the camera to keep up with number of pictures You takePosted 3 years ago # -
I was taking pictures of my niece lately, she is practicing figure skating, and when I was standing right on the edge of ice I still needed at least 200mm for nice framing, so therefore I will say that 85mm is not enough
exoman - as for d90 fps is really enough for sports, remember that with more fps's You actually need very fast memory cards (and fast body) in order to make the camera to keep up with number of pictures You takePosted 3 years ago # -
If you are talking about 70-200mm f/2.8 EX DG MACRO HSM then you have good start.
High FPS is actually of little help, spray and pray shooting seldom gives any usable results.
D90 and D300 are very much identical regarding ISO performance, and AF speed is very similar too.
If you are really after soccer you should seriously consider Sigma APO Tele-Converter EX and D90 that would probably be better investment then just D300, and if the money is no object go for D300 and Tele-Converter a bit lighter and more usable combo for this particular purpose then D700.
And if you are really really serious about soccer photography get two bodies and add monopod and Sigma 150-500mm f/5-6.3 to the set.Posted 3 years ago #
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