Camera Labs

I have been looking at the nikon 5100 and the cannon ti3

I am still undecided. I am not a pro photographer, but I do want great shots of my kids when the are competing on the basketball and football court.

I also want to catch them in their school plays and concerts. This is a zoom and low light situation.

We also spend a lot of time camping at National Parks. My hubby always wants scenic and animal shots.

I don't want to spend over $1000 for the camera and the starter lens.

I currently have an olympus 560uz that I have never been happy with.

I have watched the video reviews and I am still at a bit of a loss trying to decide.

Do I go with the cannon the nikon or another choice altogether.

Thanks for helping me catch my memories

Charity Adams

Welcome to the forums Charity!

Indoor sports are kind of expensive in terms of equipment. There are a lot of cheap telezooms available, but none of those offer the light transmission you need/want for indoors sports.

The cheapest "fast" (meaning it lets in a lot of light) telezoom I'd recommend for indoor sports is the Sigma 70-200 F/2.8. Depending on how far away you are from the court, you might want a 50-150 lens instead, though.

Those lenses still cost around 800$ though, leaving pretty much no budget for the money, and a "general purpose" and landscape lens (you can combine those two).

Fortunately, there's a cheaper option which lets in a lot of light: a prime lens (which can't zoom). Especially a 50mm F/1.8 lens is very cheap (100-200 dollars), but has as a disadvantage that you can't zoom in or out, and it doesn't have a lot of reach. Again, lack of reach depends on the sports venue. Assuming it's not professional, you can often get quite close.

That 50mm prime lens is also great for performances, provided you can get close enough. It lets in an amazing amount of light compared to a standard zoom, which is what you want because music venues/stages are very poorly lit.

I'm a Nikon user, so I'd recommend the D5100 + 18-55 VR lens + 50mm F/1.8 AF-S version (not the AF-D).

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I take pictures so quickly, my highschool was "Continuous High".

I'm trying to decide which camera to buy. The Nikon d5100 or the rebel. My Olympus does not have interchangeable lenses. Thank for the information though.

They're very similar cameras in terms of feature sets. Both are up to the job provided you have good and suitable lenses.

I would personally disregard any recommendation of a particular brand unless there is a compelling argument to go with it. If you haven't held or tried both cameras out, you really should make your way to a photography or CE store and do so - the feel of a DSLR is hugely personal and it can make a difference to your photography in the sense that if it feels more comfortable, you'll use it more and the more you use it, the better your photography will become.

I agree that the kit lens and a 50mm prime along with whichever body you choose would be a good start then you can look at a longer zoom later on.

Sony's a55 or A580 maybe worth considering as well as the Canikon options you've come up with.

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Bodies: Canon EOS 550D w/ Magic Lantern
Lenses: Tokina AT-X 116 Pro DX f/2.8, Canon EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM, Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS, Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II, Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM
Accessories: YongNuo Speedlite YN-468 Flash, Neewer Macro LED Ring Light, Meike Battery Grip, YongNuo RF-602 Wireless Flash Trigger & Receiver YongNuo WR-128 Wireless Remote Control