Gear update - Advices needed

[sk66]

What you want is difficult/expensive. Long lenses suitable for low light (especially zooms) are VERY expensive.... I don't know of any that fall within your budget. Low light also generally requires good ISO performance which is best w/ FF sensors... again expensive.

I don't know canon so I will suggest Nikon. I think your best "budget option" is to get a camera that performs better at higher ISO's...I say this because I don't think your budget allows for particularly fast lenses so you will need the iso performance. In Nikon I would suggest the D7000 with the 18-105 kit lens or the D5100 with the 18-55 kit lens + the 55-300. The better ISO performance and higher MP of these cameras (same sensors) will allow cropping and use of slower lenses...both lenses have VR as well.

It's not a perfect solution...You will not have great results shooting sports in poor lighting.

The other option you have is just getting a fast longer prime like the 135mm f/2. This(or something similar) could easily be the best choice w/in your budget for a specific situation.

[OsmosisStudios]

Originally Posted by niksid

I need to go closer, not wider. I shoot especially at night. Something that I really miss when I edit the photo later is to be able to crop enough, without losing quality.

Telephoto lenses for night shooting... so you need, at best, a 70-200 f/2.8. Which means about $2k. Outside your budget.

[niksid]

Originally Posted by sk66

What you want is difficult/expensive. Long lenses suitable for low light (especially zooms) are VERY expensive.... I don't know of any that fall within your budget. Low light also generally requires good ISO performance which is best w/ FF sensors... again expensive.

I don't know canon so I will suggest Nikon. I think your best "budget option" is to get a camera that performs better at higher ISO's...I say this because I don't think your budget allows for particularly fast lenses so you will need the iso performance. In Nikon I would suggest the D7000 with the 18-105 kit lens or the D5100 with the 18-55 kit lens + the 55-300. The better ISO performance and higher MP of these cameras (same sensors) will allow cropping and use of slower lenses...both lenses have VR as well.

It's not a perfect solution...You will not have great results shooting sports in poor lighting.

The other option you have is just getting a fast longer prime like the 135mm f/2. This(or something similar) could easily be the best choice w/in your budget for a specific situation.

Thank you for the useful information! I will have a very careful look at all these.