Used sports body recommendations?

I'm a hobbiest and have two kids that play year-round competitive-level sports (indoor and outdoor). I've been shooting with a 5DM3 and a 70-200 2.8 is II. It's a huge upgrade from my previous gear, and was looking for full frame when I purchased it a few years ago. I am now hunting for something more geared for sports - better FPS. Budget isn't much - under $1K. Am I going to be sacrificing major ISO going down to something in that price range?

Any of the Canon 1D variants are great. I've been shooting them since the series 1, and the images stand up well to time. But anything after mkiI N is good. All focus super snappy. The newer ones give you better ISO performance and more MPX. But shoot ability, they are all good.

If you want crop, 7D mkII is a good workhorse.

The 5D3 already has a fast shutter speed: fastest speed is 1/8000 with Canon DSLRs. You might mean you want faster burst speed. The 7D2 makes sense: faster burst speed, AF spread, good sensor specs, and interface just like 5D3.

Yep. FPS. My bad on the wrong terminology.

Get a 1d Mark IV. There are some bodies out there that have not been abused. I still use a 1D Mark III and 1D Mark IV as back-ups for my 1DX Mark III. You can't go wrong for the money. Just take your time to find a low shutter count body, they are out there.

I had the 7D2 and was great for sports / fast moving objects indoors and out.
My kids both play competitive vball and the lighting in those gyms typically sucked big time. In low light / high ISO the 7D2 gets noisy.
I upgraded to a 5DIV and love it - faster focusing, resolution in amazing, but I do miss the extra FPS at times.
A 1Dx or 1D IV would be good options as well or better than the 7D2 IMO.
I understand the 1DIV may not be serviced by Canon anymore which would be my only potential hesitation (I have been looking at a 60K shutter locally for about $600CAN to use as a backup to my 5DIV)...
Good luck (and have fun in your hunt!0.

Heya,

1D Mark IV used would be my pick with your lenses.

Otherwise, save more, get an R6.

Very best,

kcjen wrote in post #19130829
I'm a hobbiest and have two kids that play year-round competitive-level sports (indoor and outdoor). I've been shooting with a 5DM3 and a 70-200 2.8 is II. It's a huge upgrade from my previous gear, and was looking for full frame when I purchased it a few years ago. I am now hunting for something more geared for sports - better FPS. Budget isn't much - under $1K. Am I going to be sacrificing major ISO going down to something in that price range?

what is it that the 5d3 lacks for sports?
I shoot motorsport most weekends (during normal times) including Le Mans Classic (incl during the pitch darkness of night), Goodwood Revival, Oldtimer GP at The Ring etc and I use a pair of 5d3's still (I first got them when I covered the British Touring Car Championship for one of the manufacturers backed teams).

I found going from a used (to me 2nd hand) 1dIV to 5d3 a step up not a backwards step.

Also depends on what sports you intend to shoot.
In my experience of ball sports, I prefer higher fps than I need for motorsports. Theres generally a lot more minor movement in a split second than is needed when capturing motorsports. I'm currently using the 1dxmkiii for soccer and I wouldn't swap it for anything. I've also used it for motorcycle racing and, whilst its great, its probably overkill for the majority of shots.

Personally I'd opt for a good 1dx mki as a great alrounder for any sports. It tracks well, got good ISO capabilities and high enough fps for what most sports will throw at you.

For under 1000.00, the only other options to the 5d3 for sports have already been mentioned:

7d2
1d4

Otherwise I would stick with the 5d3, until there was a higher budget. It worked well for me shooting pro basketball for a couple seasons.

The 7D2 is a great value if you are looking for a camera for outdoor sports where the crop body might help if you are focal length limited. Otherwise you already have a good body and should invest in glass. Pick up a 100-400 mkII. Extra fps is nice but so is having The rightt lens.

FA_Productions wrote in post #19174113
Get a 1d Mark IV. There are some bodies out there that have not been abused. I still use a 1D Mark III and 1D Mark IV as back-ups for my 1DX Mark III. You can't go wrong for the money. Just take your time to find a low shutter count body, they are out there.

Agree with this. Have a 1D 4 as my backup and it is a great camera. My main camera is a 7d2. A real workhorse.

Agree with the above recommendations. I don’t have any experience with the 1D bodies, but for a low cost option for strictly fast action, you can’t beat the 7D series. If you are going to rarely use it and in good light, the mark 1 is still a good option that can be had for 2-300 but if you want better low light (still not great) performance and an additional 2 FPS in the burst, look for a 7D2

The thread starter has a 5D3, they aren't going to go back to the 7D for a better sports body. The 5D3 AG system is taken from the 1DX and beats the 7D, along with better ISO performance. But I agree with you on the 7D2, it is a good complementary body, as is the 1D4, and they are quite close to each other in ISO performance, while also similar in price. There isn't any other model to consider in the budget outlined in the Canon realm at this time, other than those two, for more competition oriented sports.