mark_wagner7

<p>Dan,</p>

<p>If renting is an option in your area I would highly recommend it. Renting allows you to evaluate what lens works best without the financial obligation and lets you use a lens that would otherwise be financially out of reach.</p>

<p>I do this for my son's baseball and football. I rent a Nikon 400mm f/2.8 AF-S for $80 per day or for the same amount if I need it over the weekend. This is a +$8,000 lens and not a purchase option for me at the present time. Renting allows me to use a fantastic lens at a VERY reasonable cost. </p>

<p>Hope this helps.</p>

<p>Mark</p>

<p>Looking for some input as to what second body to buy to replace my venerable D2Hs. Here is some background:</p>

<p>1) Mostly shoot youth and high school sports: baseball, football, basketball<br>

2) Have a D3 (primary body) for low light indoor (basketball) and outdoor night work<br>

3) This second body would mount my 70-200mm. The D3 usually has a 400mm f/2.8 if I am shooting baseball or football, or an 85mm f/1.4 if I am shooting basketball.<br>

4) 8fps would be ideal, although as a second body I can get by with 5fps</p>

<p>Both cameras are DX format and 12MP but I am not clear if both use the same sensor. I would be adding the MB-D10 to the D300. At this point I rarely use a flash, so flash sync speed is not an issue. Eventhough I will be buying used, the D300 + grip will cost more than the D2x so will I be gaining enough additional functionality to justify the cost increase (subjective question I know). Obviously the controls on the D2x will fall to hand easier than the D300 so ease of use would probably favor the D2x.</p>

<p>Appreciate hearing from those of you who have had experience with both the D300 and the D2x. I love my D3 and would get a second one in a heart beat, but economic practicality must be given some consideration in these times.</p>

<p>Thanks in advance for your time and feedback.</p>

<p>Greg,<br>

I am currently using a Nikon D3 (also have a D2Hs) and without knowing more about your sports interests (i.e. basketball, football, etc) or venue (i.e. College D1, D2, High School) or environment (i.e. day, night) it is difficult to recommend that "one" package that will serve your needs. I can tell you from my experience the Nikon D3 will afford the most flexibility no matter where or what you are shooting. The D3's ability to shoot in cave-like gyms and get top-quality images continues to amaze me. Yes, you can consider this a "Cadillac" body, but at the end of the day you will not sit back and ask yourself "I wonder what that would have looked like if I had a better camera?"</p>

<p> Some will argue that lenses are the single most important investment, while others will argue the body is. I elected to go the body route and get the best quality Nikon body available. I spent months reading other people's experiences with their equipment, why they chose what they did, what they shot, what they would do over if they could. After ingesting all this information I considered what I was intending to shoot (Jr. High and High School basketball, football, baseball and swimming - OK so we're a busy family!) and determined I needed 1) high frame rates, 2) ability to shoot high ISO (6400) with low noise and 3) a reasonable amount of megapixels in order to crop as necessary. I made the decision to go with Nikon's D3, although I did look seriously at Canon's equivalent offerings. For me I liked the handling, menu setup and ergonomics of the Nikon product better, but you probably can't go wrong either way.</p>

<p> While I do own a few lenses I mostly rent what I need. I currently own Nikon's 85mm f/1.4 and 50mm f/1.4 lenses which are superb for basketball and portraits. I am getting ready to purchase a 70-200mm f/2.8 VR lens in order to have a telephoto tool in my bag. With baseball season quickly approaching I am planning on renting a 400mm f/2.8 which will complement the 70-200mm nicely. Renting gives you the ability to evaluate lenses you are interested in without the financial obligation. As an example, I thought Nikon's 24-70mm f/2.8 would be a great lens for basketball; wide enough when I needed it but close for around the basket area. After using it a couple of times in several venues I quickly determined it was not fast enough for the low-level lighting conditions of many of the gyms that my son plays in. End result: Purchased the 85mm and 50mm lenses and haven't looked back.</p>

<p> If you are like me your "entry-level" aspirations will quickly give way to wanting more professional-like results. Notice I didn't say professional quality results. There is a distinct difference. While pro-like results can be obtained with top level equipment, pro-quality results (i.e. composition, exposure, emotion), will take years to develop. The photos you see in SI and the like come from people making a living out of taking pictures and work extremely hard at it. To improve at anything you need to spend time doing it. The more time you spend behind your camera the more your photography skills will improve. I will sometimes offer to shoot other team's games just to get more experience. This gives me a chance to experiment based on my previous photographic results without jeopardizing the shots I want when my kids are competing.</p>

<p>MY RECOMMENDATIONS: (Finally - what a wind-bag!)<br>

1) Buy a professional body<br>

2) Buy a 85mm or 50mm f/1.8 lens so you have something for general photography use.<br>

3) Rent your lenses (if you can) to determine what works best for your interests.<br>

4) Don't be afraid to buy used. Often times you can get lightly-used gear for 80% (or less) of retail.<br>

5) Take lots of pictures. Don't be afraid of failure. In the end it will only make you better.<br>

6) Have fun!<br>

Feel free to take a look at some of what I have photographed at <a href="http://flickr.com/mark_wagner/sets">http://www.flickr.com/mark_wagner/sets</a></p>