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Want to upgrade to dslr to take horse racing action photos, need recommendations

ilzho
Rising Star

Hello:

 

For years I have had my Powershot G10 to take general pictures and it has worked well.

 

I am a huge fan of horse racing and I'm lucky to have a track, very close by. 

 

I want to be able to 'freeze' a horse and jockey racing among other types of photos.

My G10 cannot take these kind of pictures 'well'.

 

I am not looking to become a professional as I am not an expert at all, but I would love to have some proper equipment to take realitive good photos of horses racing/Equine. Yes this takes a lot of knowledge and practice/experience. All of which I do not have enough of.

 

I am looking to stay in the Canon family and would like some recommendations on a good DSLR camera and some lenses.

My budget is about $1500.

 

Any help and guidance is apprecaited.

 

Thank you,

David

79 REPLIES 79

In looking at ebay on the canon ef 70-200mm f/4L USM lens, they seem to be from $300+.\If that is the case, what would be the next step up in a lens? Or a 'must have' lens with the 7D Mark II.

Thanks again for all of the advice.


@ilzho wrote:

In looking at ebay on the canon ef 70-200mm f/4L USM lens, they seem to be from $300+.\If that is the case, what would be the next step up in a lens? Or a 'must have' lens with the 7D Mark II.

Thanks again for all of the advice.


Ebay?   No comment.  Do a search on this forum for "ebay."  Look at how many people have bought stuff from ebay or Amazon, and it didn't work properly. 

 

The only used gear that I would be inclined to buy would come from the Canon refurbished store, and even then, I'm not sure if "used" is the right word to describe what they sell.

 

As far as "next step up" goes, what is the first step, or lens, and with which camera?  The 7D Mark II is a great camera, but your budget doesn't allow for that camera and a quality lens.

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"The right mouse button is your friend."

Good advice, I know Ebay is hit and miss for anything, as I have never purchased any camera equipment from there.

My Iphone 6 is refurbished from AT&T so I understand refurbished/used can be a very loose term.

 

Well I'm looking at Canon 7d AMrk II & the ef 70-200mm f/4L USM lens.

I would need a basic lens if I just get the body, but that's what I'm looking at for ~~$1599.....

I can up my budget a little to $1800-2000, just trying to keep things in perspective since I am not a professional selling images........ This hobby can get very costly very quickly :).

 

The Canon Refurbished Store currently has the 7D Mark II, body only for about $300 less than most retail outlets.  The camera and the EF 70-200mm f/4L would be EXCELLENT at the track. 

 

A basic lens, something shorter than 70mm, I would suggst the "nifty fifty", or the "shorty forty".  That would be EF 50mm f/1.8 STM, which is still a little long on an APS-C camera body, but near perfect for portraits.  And, the EF 40mm f/2.8 STM, is still a little long on an APS-C body.  There is the EF-S 24mm f/2.8 STM, which only fits APS-C body cameras. 

 

All of those lenses are the least expensive Canon offers, but they have pretty decent performance.  It's a start.  Go for the 24mm, and the 70-200mm.

--------------------------------------------------------
"The right mouse button is your friend."


@ilzho wrote:

In looking at ebay on the canon ef 70-200mm f/4L USM lens, they seem to be from $300+.\If that is the case, what would be the next step up in a lens? Or a 'must have' lens with the 7D Mark II.

Thanks again for all of the advice.


The best general-purpose "walking around" lens for the 7D Mark II is the EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS. But for your specific purpose I might go with the EF 24-105mm f/4L.

Bob
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania USA

"The best general-purpose "walking around" lens for the 7D Mark II is the EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS. But for your specific purpose I might go with the EF 24-105mm f/4L."  

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Yes, the EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM is a great "standard" zoom lens for walking around like a tourist.  It was the first "L" lens that I ever purchased. It has IS, Image Stabilization.  The lens can be a bit pricey, but you can find it at prices nearly as low as the EF 70-200mm f/4L, if you shop around. 

 

However, the 24-105mm is a good "first lens" to have.  It can go shorter than the 70-200mm lenses, and it can go much longer than the 17-55mm lens..  The 24-105 is fully capable of filling the shoes of both of those lenses at once.

 

I bought my 24-105 at the Canon Refurbished Store at 40% off the regular list price.  I think the zoom range works better on a full frame camera than on an APS-C sensor camera, like the 7D Mark II.  The EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM Lens from Canon offers a similar angle of view across its' zoom range.  While it does not go quite as long as the 24-105mm, it is faster [f/2.8 vs. f/4] than the 24-105mm.

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"The right mouse button is your friend."

This is a no brainer, "Canon EOS 7D Mark II 20.2MP Digital Camera Kit (Body Only)

$1099" Smiley Surprised Smiley Happy  All the way!

 

Get the 7D Mk II.  The others on the list are not even in the running compared to a 7D Mk II.

The lens of choice is the ef 70-200mm f2.8L II IS but it is a lot of money.  The ef 70-200mm f4L IS is the best second choice.

 

The "normal" best choice is the Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM Lens.

 

If you can't take award winning photographs that rival whatever that 'pro' is doing, it won't be because of gear!  That's for certain.

EB
EOS 1DX and 1D Mk IV and less lenses then before!

ok, thank you.

Now I have another question Smiley Very Happy

 

What are the main differences betwen the Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L IS (image stabler) and the non IS? 

 

Thanks.....

An IS lens allows you to use a slower shutter speed than a non IS lens in many situations, such as low light or to shoot things like motorsports / prop planes etc where you want some things sharp but with other things blurred to show that there is motion. If you primary goal is to freeze everything in the frame you'll use a high shutter speed and IS won't really be of any use fr the money spent.

"A skill is developed through constant practice with a passion to improve, not bought."

This is a no brainer, "Canon EOS 7D Mark II 20.2MP Digital Camera Kit (Body Only)  $1099" Smiley Surprised Smiley Happy  All the way!

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Salute that.  Unfortunately, that price can be here today and gone tomorrow.  Pricing and availability changes week to week, or even day to day for some items because they sell out so quickly.

 

[EDIT]  I just looked and, of course, the price has been raised, but dropped on the 7D Mk II kit with the 18-135 lens. 

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"The right mouse button is your friend."
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