Upgrading from D60 to D7000

[Marcus Welby]

Hi All,

New to this forum so sorry for any dumb questions.
Upgrading from my D60 to Nikon D7000.

I take lots of indoor basketball shots and i am unable to afford the Nikkon70-200F2.8 vr11 lens. Any thoughts on what others len's will do the same job.

Also need a lens for day to day photos and holidays.

i use the kit lens on my D60 and a Tamron Af70-300 tele macro lens for indoor sports but not up to the task.

Or should i ask what nikon slr and lens package should i upgrade to, in particular for indoor sports photograpahy??

Any advice would be appreciated.

regards,
mark

[ianpinion]

Have you tried looking at the Sigma or Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 lenses as an alternative to the Nikon's own version. I have a friend who has been covering matches for the Riders Basketball team and he ended purchasing the Sigma 70 - 200 f/2.8 to put on his D7000. He's taken some cracking shots with it, using 1/500th @ f/2.8 and 3200 ISO.

I'm guessing the problems you're having with your current kit is that due to the old sensor technology, you can't push the ISO up high enough and you haven't got a wide aperture available with your current lens to be able to shoot at sufficiently high shutter speeds to freeze the action. So a lens with f/2.8 is a must and a camera body that can control noise up to 3200 ISO is equally important for action photography in a dimly lit setting.

[Marcus Welby]

Thanks for your reply. The choice is not easy. So let's start at the beginning.

1. I would like to upgrade my camera to either a D7000 or D700.
2. I will be using the camera for every day use including Holidays Parties, Wedding's etc. All the normal things.
3. Plus i take lots of photos of my son playing indoor basketball.

Do i need a D700 for this or will the D7000 do it all with the right lens.
Also, i l have listed some options for lens, as follows:

Option 1: D700, Nikon 24-70mmf/2.8, Nikon 70-200mmf/2.8vr11
Option 2 D7000, Sigma 17-55mmf/2.8,Sigma 70-200mmf/2.8 hsm 11.
That should cover court side and in the stands for basketball. Also for general use. Your opinions would be greatly appreciated.

regards,
Marcus Welby

[Jediboy]

Hi,

Option 1 looks great and would serve you well.
But it's an expensive option.
Option 2 looks good too.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and suggest the Nikon 50mm f1.8 as a cost effective option. Not ideal for sports I know, but good in low light and a good lens for everyday too.
Good luck.

[ianpinion]

I agree that option 1 is considerably more expensive option, but if you want the ultimate in image quality, then yes it comes at a price.

Option is a less expensive alternative that will still give you decent image quality, though the D7000 being a cropped sensor will not perform as well as any camera with a full frame sensor in low light conditions. Though for a cropped sensor camera, the D7000 performs better than most in low light.

[xavier]

hello friendd I just had a quick read though an wonder if an 18 - 200 mm lens would do the job??or am i being silly?

[ianpinion]

Originally Posted by xavier

hello friendd I just had a quick read though an wonder if an 18 - 200 mm lens would do the job??or am i being silly?

I've not seen an 18-200mm with a maximum aperture of f/2.8 on the market, have you? Plus the image quality would be heavily compromised compared with the two options already under consideration.

[Marcus Welby]

Originally Posted by Jediboy

Hi,

Option 1 looks great and would serve you well.
But it's an expensive option.
Option 2 looks good too.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and suggest the Nikon 50mm f1.8 as a cost effective option. Not ideal for sports I know, but good in low light and a good lens for everyday too.
Good luck.

Thanks for your suggestion. Much appreciated. I like the 50mm f/1.8 or even the 85 f/1.8. Going to get a loan of these two and try them for basketball. Have to walk around baseline but that's ok. I think either lens would be good to carry around for everyday use. But then again i am just a hobby photographer not a professional.

OMG it's so difficult deciding what to buy that you actually need and will use.

[Marcus Welby]

Originally Posted by xavier

hello friendd I just had a quick read though an wonder if an 18 - 200 mm lens would do the job??or am i being silly?

Hi and ta for your reply. Not heard of that lens but i believe there is a 80-200 f/2.8 lens. Don't know much about this lens so i will to do sum research.

[ianpinion]

OMG it's so difficult deciding what to buy that you actually need and will use.

Marcus, you're not kidding. The usual rule is to workout the range of focal lengths you need to cover and then pick an assortment of lenses to cover that range. However, when you're shooting certain subjects you often need something more specialist than a general all purpose lens, such as shooting sports action in poor light for instance, or for doing portraits or close-up/macro work. Again, sometimes you can use a specific lens to do both of these, such as portraits and macro with an 85/90mm lens on a cropped sensor or a 135mm on a full frame sensor.


Things to consider before buying lenses

So firstly have a look at what specific subjects you will be shooting, such as landscapes, sports/action photography, portraits, wildlife etc.and identify them.

The think about what the light levels will be like to determine the maximum aperture you'll need and how shallow your depth of field might need to be

Then look at the market to see what lenses are available that will cover the focal lengths you need with the widest aperture you need, at a price you can afford

Read the reviews on each of the lenses you select and also ask around on the forums to see what other people who already have that lens think about it and how it performs.

Go to a camera shop and try the lenses on the camera body you will be using to make sure you're happy with how it handles and the build quality.

Check the market again to see what the best deals are, from reputable dealers only, so research those as well before you finally make your purchases.