09-06-2024 01:53 PM - last edited on 09-06-2024 01:56 PM by Danny
Wife has a EOS 60D camera and is trying to take sports pictures of the kids. Usually the pictures come out blurry or with bad light since some of the games are at night. I would like a good zoom and clarity with a budget under 2000 preferably. I looked at the sigma 800mm on Amazon and a few canons. any help would be great it’s going to be a surprise.
09-06-2024 02:04 PM - edited 09-06-2024 02:09 PM
What lenses does your wife currently have. Your wife's camera uses Canon EF & EF-S Mount lenses. Canon EF-M, RF & RF-S are INCOMPATIBLE with DSLR cameras. Canon has been withdrawing from DSLR camera and lens market and moving to mirrorless cameras and lenses. With the EOS R series lineup of mirrorless cameras. Please post some example pictures in the forum. Also how far is your wife sitting from the action. Depending on how far she's away from the action the more expensive the lens is. Stick with Canon Authorized Dealers such as B&H Photo, Adorama, KEH or a local camera store. Avoid online marketplaces such as Amazon Marketplace or Walmart Marketplace. There's a high chance of gray market camera gear. Gear market gear has NO warranty and Canon has the right to refuse repair.
09-06-2024 04:33 PM
I’m not sure what lens it is the original when she purchased the camera new.
09-06-2024 06:15 PM - edited 09-06-2024 06:37 PM
The EOS 60D is a good camera for its era - I had 3 of them! If you want to stick to that body, I would suspect that the camera originally came with one of the following:
EF-S 18-135 IS lens,
EF-S 18-55, and possibly a EF-S 55-250 IS USM or less likely EF 75-300 USM
For sports at night you would want something at least in the 70-200mm range, and for your budget I would recommend the EF 70-200MkII L f/2.8 or f/4 IS USM lenses. These are lenses with a large aperture and thus let in a lot of light that will compensate for the lower light performance of the older, smaller APS-C sensor. They have excellent image stabilization and while heavy (they are all metal) are pro-grade lenses and can be used with a monopod.
However, another thing to consider is the age of the camera itself. They, like us, have limited life-spans and this is a 14 year-old model. So, for the same budget I am going to offer a devil's advocate proposal of changing the camera and lens for one of the new Mirrorless Interchangeable Lens Cameras (MILCs). Normally, I would say that even if the camera is older, as long as it works for your purposes it is still valid, but the new MILC cameras offer advanced features that will definitely offer benefits both for low light and for getting sharp images of the sports.
Sensor technology has come a long way in 14 years, and the new cameras offer much better performance in low light (better dynamic range), and have massively improved focus, with the ability to find face and eyes, and track them as they move - that is absolute gold for anything involving getting sharp images of animals and people - especially in sports. Finally, what one sees through the viewfinder shows how bright or dark the final image will be, which a camera like the 60D could not, so one is much more likely to be able to achieve the right exposure.
I would suggest considering a camera and lens from the Canon refurbished site. These are often unused but surplus stock, open box but not used, display model or demo model. They are fully-functional, serviced and come with the Canon warranty. So, 'good as' new, if not actually new. There are savings to be made here that will help.
I am going to base my suggestion on two principles.
1. Indoor sports demand low light performance and larger full-frame sensors (the 60D has a smaller APS-C 'crop' one) gather more light across the larger sensor area, and thus perform better in those conditions. They show less noise, offer better colour and tonal values, and can be used at much higher ISO (sensitivity) levels.
2. You likely don't want to be changing lenses in the middle of a game as the players move up and down the court, and thus change the focal range from wide to telephoto as they move from close to far. So, a single lens with a wide focal range would be advantageous.
I am thus going to suggest the Canon EOS R8, a full-frame camera, with a large 24MP sensor, face and eye tracking, great ISO performance, and with lots of options to customize controls for various scenarios. Right now they are out of stock at the refurb site, but if you follow this link you can get notified when they are available. Refurbished EOS R8 Body (canon.com).
For real-world reviews:
Canon EOS R8 "6 Months Later" REVIEW: Best Budget Full Frame Mirrorless Camera?! (youtube.com)
Canon EOS R8 REVIEW vs R6 II: best value full frame camera? (youtube.com)
As to the lens, you need an RF lens to work with the full-frame R body (your old lenses will not work well with an R series FF camera): to get the flexibility, I would suggest:
Shop Canon Refurbished RF24-240mm F4-6.3 IS USM | Canon U.S.A., Inc.
This lens has a fantastic range, image stabilization to make hand-holding easier and is not massively heavy.
For real-world reviews:
Canon RF 24-240mm review SUPER-ZOOM for EOS R! (youtube.com)
The most underrated Canon lens! (photo/video samples) (youtube.com)
Like any device, one gets the most out of a camera by studying the controls, so here is a link to a tutorial on the R8:
Canon R8 Tutorial Training Video Overview Users Guide Set Up - Made for Beginners (youtube.com)
A note on lens corrections:
Before the impact of Computational Photography, which has made cell phones produce great images, lens makers had to use pure optics to get a great images with better focus, distortion and diffraction control. This made them both extremely heavy and very, very expensive.
Computational Photography has now come to modern dedicated camera optics. That means that the pure optics alone are now combined with digital algorithms to make corrections to the digital image and produce brilliant results at a much lower price and weight.
How this is done is that the lens actually shoots a little wider than the advertised focal range, by about 3mm. That 3mm wider view is used by the algorithms to make corrections and render a beautiful, corrected image at the advertised focal length. This is done automatically in-camera for looking through the viewfinder or saving JPGs and, if you shoot in RAW mode post-production software automatically corrects the files as they are loaded. This new approach is not limited to these non-pro lenses, it is also used with them - I have the RF 14-35mmL f/4 professional lens and it does exactly the same thing. It's just dedicated photography catching up with advances cell phones have had for a while.
I enclose some images I have taken in different conditions with the 24-240 and the EOS R6 (which has an earlier 20MP FF sensor):
Moody Morning the the R6 & RF 24-240 - Canon Community
The second link is with the same lens and the more demanding 45MP EOS R5 that will show any flaws in the gear or technique:
Trying out the RF 24-240 on Wildlife with the R5 - Page 2 - Canon Community
09-06-2024 06:22 PM
Adding to your comment at the beginning of your book (kidding!) the kit also came with the EF-S 18-200 IS lens. One of the two kits I bought back then had this lens, the other had the 18-135. Just mentioning this in case the OP has this combo.
09-06-2024 06:29 PM - edited 09-06-2024 09:58 PM
Thanks Gary. That option wasn't available when I got my three, but that could be the timing or a regional difference - in NZ we get different body/lens configurations on occasion.
Yep, I am long-winded 🙂, and I am OK with that. Still, if they endure, the OP's get the reasoning and the benefits for them to underpin the suggestions I make - I try to never make a recommendation purely on what or how I shoot, it's always about their situation, and the needs/constraints they are dealing with.
I also like to give them other references and resources, such as the training video.
09-07-2024 10:29 AM
You're welcome, Trevor. When my wife and I first got together, I was a Pentax shooter, she was Olympus. When it was time for us both to upgrade in 2011 we decided to sell our digital gear, and move to the same brand - which was Canon. Figured it would be nice to be able to share lenses when we were out shooting events, or even photowalks. The only two packages our local camera store had with the 60D was the 18-135, and 18-200. Having the same body was fine, but we didn't want the exact same two lenses of course since we were sharing... plus we had a few other nicer L lenses to buy.
I can be long winded as well when it comes to replying on things I have good knowledge of. Too much information is much better than not enough. Of course I was joking about the book - figured it was safe since I'm the same way. Your replies are always well thought out and informative. You are one of the handful of people here that I enjoy reading your replies - simply because I can usually learn something.
Enjoy your day, Trevor!
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