I need a camera for high school sports

[Lisawit]

I use a T7i, I shoot high school wrestling and football, so lighting is not the best. I use a 28-75 matside and a 70-200 from sidelines.
I find I’m getting a lot of noise. I’m open to crop or full frame. What will be good upgrades? I need to stay around $1200

[wq9nsc]

If you click on the photo symbol near the middle of the control bar of the edit window there is a picture icon that should let you insert an image.

High school football field lighting is generally horrible with few exceptions so noise is a fact of life.  Wrestling is usually easier because it is easier to get close to the action with a shorter fast lens and for many of those shots you can slow the shutter speed a bit.  The local high school just upgraded their gym and it has good lighting now so a standard exposure can be made at 1/640, F2.8, @ ISO 4,000  Their football field is at the other extreme and the image below was at 1/1000, F2.8, @ ISO 40,000  It was processed just using Canon DPP with no additional de-noising software. 

But nothing is a substitue for good lighting and the second image was taken at an afternoon game @ 160 ISO and the only negative was the university wanted the photographers in an area where the players were often illuminated from behind but I will take backlit over "no-lit" anytime 🙂

Rodger

[ebiggs1]

"It won’t let me add a photo ..."

Probably too big resize it in LR. While on the subject of LR how are you doing your post editing?  You can reduce visible noise with LR.  ALso make yourself a preset that does lens correction upon import. This should be mandatory.

The T7i is a seriously good camera.  Unless you go mega bucks any other camera is only going to show minimal improvements in noise.  Don't pay any attention to folks that tell you otherwise.

Take a look at the Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM Lens for your T7i.  But even then it will be only slightly better that what you have.

[Waddizzle]

The most common reason for being prevented from adding photos is file size. If this is the cause, then you should have received a message saying maximum image file size is 5MB. In practice, there is some overhead. I limit files to 4.5MB.

[Waddizzle]

You will visible noise at ISO 6400. But, LR should clean that up, provided you do not crop a whole lot.

Why not use the 70-200?

[Lisawit]

I haven’t been able to get on the computer and I don’t see where to add the photo on my phone.
I will look into the lens. I think I figured since the T7i is a rebel that’s entry so there has to be better...

[Lisawit]

@waddizzle , it’s still really new to me lol. I tried it once and felt that it was too much at matside. I should try again

[Lisawit]

Someone suggest the 7d mk 2, and the Canon EOS 1D Mark IV 16.1 or thr 5d mk 3 or4.
I’ve akways loved taking photos, and I think I take good ones, but now I’m doing it for the school
And want to start a little business, so I just want to make sure ... we’ll i just don’t want to suck lol

[wq9nsc]

This is a good site to compare noise performance of different bodies at different ISO speeds:  https://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Camera-Noise.aspx?Camera=1111&Test=1&ISO=25600&CameraCom...

Your placement and the lens you use play a critical role because you want to minimize cropping to avoid accentuating the noise.  Of course this puts more pressure on you to properly frame the shot because the lens filling capture that leads to less noise in the final image puts more pressure on you to track and time the unfolding play. Lens focus speed, which is highly dependent upon the body used, is another critical component.

Rodger 

[Waddizzle]

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@Lisawit wrote:
Someone suggest the 7d mk 2, and the Canon EOS 1D Mark IV 16.1 or thr 5d mk 3 or4.
I’ve akways loved taking photos, and I think I take good ones, but now I’m doing it for the school
And want to start a little business, so I just want to make sure ... we’ll i just don’t want to suck lol

---

If you are looking for lower noise than a T7i, then you probably would want a 5D series out of those choices.  Even a 6D or 6D2 would be a significant improvement.  But, LR should be able to clean up your current photos a LOT, enough to gain at least a full stop in improvement.  You could sacrifice resolution, and get rid of ALL of the noise if you wanted.

[ebiggs1]

"Your placement and the lens you use play a critical role ..."

This is the most important part of good photos. Location, location and location is key.

"Someone suggest the 7d mk 2, and the Canon EOS 1D Mark IV 16.1 or thr 5d mk 3 or4."

First understand noise.  It is worse in the shadows to almost unnoticeable elsewhere. Any time you underexpose, you are going to see noise.  Add to that you probably used a high ISO number which tends to be noisy in any camera.

A better camera is always better but how much is the question. How much are you willing to spend?

"And want to start a little business, so I just want to make sure..."

I had a reasonable successful career in photography using 1 series cameras and several Rebels.  The thing that Rebels lack for the most part is durability.  They just aren't very tough but they work and they work very well.

You want the best there is?  Buy a 1D Mk II with the Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM Lens.  You may still "suck" but you will know there is no better gear to be had. My advice is to learn how to use your T7i and LR/PS post editors.