Cost effective sports set up?

Craikeybaby

Craikeybaby

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Lewis
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My 7-year-old son has been using my old Canon S90 for some sports photography and noticed that there's a significant shutter lag, which makes it difficult to get the shots he wants. However, he was doing a good job at anticipating when rally cars would be in the frame today. I think it might be time to get him a better set up...

At the moment I have a spare body and a spare telephoto lens, however, they aren't compatible, as it is a Canon body and a Fuji lens. I am trying to work out what would be the best bang for buck to get him a better set up:

Getting a Canon lens to go on my 20D, something like a EF-S 55-200? OR is the body way too old?

Or getting a cheap Fuji body to go with my 55-200. If so, which body would be a good balance between price and performance? Or is even the cheapest Fuji body going to be a step up over the Eos 20D?

Given his age, I have been looking more at the smaller Fuji bodies in the X-Tx0 range, so I have ruled out upgrading my X-T2 and letting him use that.
 
Thanks, those are the two leading options. Long term I think another Fuji would be better, as then he can borrow other lenses, but a Canon lens should be cheaper in the short term.
 
X-T20 will be about £450 for a half decent one. A 55-250 will be ~£200 and a 40D for about £70 so depending on budget you have either option with about £150 between them. At least if you do go the canon route, you'll get your money back as both lens and body have pretty much hit their lowest price so you won't lose out.
 
Graham W said:
If you can pick up a second hand Fuji X-H1 I've got a vertical power grip you can have for nothing (It's in the freebies section) Should give the him all the power and speed he needs.
You'd have to get a couple of batteries and charge them individually.

fujifilm-x.com

Vertical battery grip VPB-XH1 | Accessories | FUJIFILM X Series & GFX – Global

FUJIFILM X Series & GFX – Global official site.
fujifilm-x.com fujifilm-x.com
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Thanks, but I'm after a smaller body for smaller hands, X-T20 (or maybe X-T10?) would be more suitable for him.
billgatese30 said:
X-T20 will be about £450 for a half decent one. A 55-250 will be ~£200 and a 40D for about £70 so depending on budget you have either option with about £150 between them. At least if you do go the canon route, you'll get your money back as both lens and body have pretty much hit their lowest price so you won't lose out.
Click to expand...
andrewc said:
20D will IIRC accept EF-S lenses, so a 55-250 IS is a good shout, probably better than a cheap 70-300mm.
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Maybe going the Canon route is the best first step, then I can re-evaluate once I have upgraded my main Fuji body.
 
Craikeybaby said:
Maybe going the Canon route is the best first step, then I can re-evaluate once I have upgraded my main Fuji body.
Click to expand...

There is a lot of kudos for a 7yo in being able to be 'like Daddy' - so personally I would go for a Fuji setup - and I would probbaly go for the X-T20 - its fair step up from an X-T10, and I would consider getting the 1.4TC for yourself, then you can use X-T2 + 50-140 + TC and he can use X-T20 and 50-200. It also gives options for paddock shots keeping in the Fuji family as you can share lenses, or consider getting a plastic fantastic 15-45 or even the old 16-50XC lens. If you feel the 55-200 is going to be too heavy for him, then the 50-230XC could be an option (and probably not a disimilar price the 1.4TC)

I would also invest in something like a Peak Design Slide Light so the kit has less chance of hitting the floor (easily adjusted as he grows)
 
I think that long-term Fuji would be a better bet for sure, as we will be able to share kit. I will keep an eye out in the classifieds and see what becomes available. Slide Light is a good shout, being adjustable. I wish I'd got one of those, rather than the full-sized one for myself.
 
I think I can see where this is going...

Uh oh by Lewis Craik, on Flickr

I lent him my X-T2 with the 35mm prime this weekend and he has enjoyed using it (and been careful with it). I'm now leaning towards an upgrade for my camera, and letting him use my X-T2.
 
If it's for sport, the Canon 20D will have far better AF than even the modern of Fuji's.
 
I have found even the X-T2 to be better than my old 20D, probably on par with my old 1Dmk2.

I have ordered myself an X-H2s, so my son will be using the X-T2/55-200 combination.
 
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