terri_frank

<p>Once again, thank you for all the wonderful information and suggestions. I think we have decided to bite the bullet and get both the better camera (we'll price either the 7100 or 7200) and the better lens as we only have a few more years of kids at home and I don't want to look back later and regret missing out on the picture memories. I'm going to go the tripod route to help with the weight of the camera throughout the football games. My pictures will probably be better from doing that anyway, as I'm not always the steadiest photographer. We did return the Best Buy lens to help offset the price. I will start shopping the resale site you suggested. </p>

<p>First off, thanks to all of you for taking the time to respond. Your comments have really helped me figure out where my problems are. My budget was originally to try to stay below about $600, which I'm seeing is not going to work, so we are going back to the drawing board to see what options we have to increase our budget. The photos are simply for our family and my son's teammates' parents if they want them, so they don't have to be professional quality (for 8 X 10s and such). They are really just for my son's memory books and my snapshot frames. I have a few questions based on your previous suggestions: 1) I tried out a D7100 and it is too big for my hands and too heavy for me to hold comfortably for any longer period of time. Would the D3300 or D5300 work instead? 2) The used lens and camera suggestion: are there any tips on finding a reputable seller? Buying used or refurbished makes me nervous due to not having warranties, but that would be the only way I could afford both the camera and the lens I need at this point.</p>

<p>I am looking for a better camera base to use for high school football and baseball photos. I am a complete amateur and have little understanding of how the cameras work. A Best Buy salesman sold my husband a NIKKOR AF-S 50mm f/1.8G and told him that would solve our problem, but a photographer friend of mine said we would get better pictures by upgrading our camera instead (I don't think the new lens is going to allow me to zoom in as much as I need to in our stadium either.) I get decent pictures the first half of the game, but my D3000 doesn't have a high enough ISO for the second half of the evening games. I have a NIkon DX AF-S NIKKOR 55-300mm 1:4.5-5.6 G ED lens that I use to shoot the games, so I want a base that is compatible with it. I don't want to put the money in for a professional grade camera as this is only for personal use. A few forums I've read suggest either the D3300 or the D7100, but neither really address the lens I will be using. Any feedback on which NIKON would work best for these conditions with my lens are greatly appreciated!</p>