Camera for Beginner? I have been looking at the T6i, but have no clue as to what I should buy. Help?

[guererja623]

I am a dummy when it comes to photography. I have 6 children that play sports, and have paid out 100's of dollars over the years for action pictures. My husband suggested I get my own camera and take some pictures. I would use the camera to take mostly pictures of my children playing sports. It's football season, and I have 2 high school varsity players, 2 peewee players, and a cheerleader. I sit up high in the stands around the 40-50 yard line(I feel I can see equally both ways here,) and I would be around 50 yards away(give or take a few) from the actual field. Kick off is 7:30 here in Texas, and it's very close to sundown. When it gets dark, the stadium lights are lit up like any other Friday night football game you can imagine. I want to know what camera is a good camera for beginners. I have been looking at the T6 and the T6i, but have no clue what the difference is. They both come with a bundle, EF 18-55mm and 75-300mm lenses. What is the difference between a DSLR and SLR? I just need it broken down in plain English so that I can make a good choice. Which would you choose and why?

[guererja623]

Here is a link to an album I created with all the horrible photos!

https://goo.gl/photos/1b7KgMHHLeBCjDdc6

[guererja623]

[Waddizzle]

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@guererja623 wrote:

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This photo was shot as 1/50, f/5.6, ISO-3200, 300mm.

The shutter speed is to slow to freeze the motion of the players.  It is also too slow to freeze camera blur, or motion that occurs as a result of the camera being in motion when the shutter was activated.  Camera blur always appears exaggerated at long focal lengths.

I suggest trying to shoot the players in bright daylight, perhaps at a football practice session.  I would expect the shutter speed to be much higher.  I would also suggest shooting in "P" mode for now, until you become more familiar with photography and the camera.

The most outstanding problem that I see with this shot, and the others, are too slow shutter speed, and novice camera technique.

[Waddizzle]

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@guererja623 wrote:

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This was shot at 1/25, f/4.5, ISO-3200, 120mm.

This shot begins to show the potential of what the camera can do.  Look at the big guy in the middle of the frame.  His entire upper body is nearly in focus. Despite the slower shutter speed, I would attribute the increased sharpness of this player on the shorter focal length.  He is reminiscent of a speeding race car, against a blurred background.

We see less camera blur on the running players, but more camera blur on the bleacher areas, apparently because the camera is panning right to left.  All of your shots remind me of captured video frames from a video.  Everything is in motion, which not always a good thing.

You just need more practice.  Your lens is not the best of lenses for night photography of sports, under poor lighting.  Why do I say poor lighting?  Because I can see shadows being cast by the players.  Really good lighting would wash out those shadows.