I recently shot a WNBA game and the pro next to me was using the Nikon D40. You can get one for under $450 with a 18-55 mm lens and for another $150 or so, get a 55-200 mm lens. Plenty for shooting most sports.
If you allowed email, I could send you a link from the X-Games 15 where the same photographer shot using the same D40 with electronic flash at 1/1000th second.
This statement worries me. "a camera that can take continuous action shots, i heard anywhere from 5 to 8 pics a second is good"
Any sports photographer worth their salt, never shoots in the "machine gun mode", mostly because the actual best shot ends up being between the shutter actuation's. Sports photographers shoot at the peak of action and to do that, they have to know the game they are shooting and anticipate were the player will be when they take the shot.
Editorial photographers have a "good to great" shot ratio of about 4:1. A good sports photographer, that ratio jumps to around 25:1, not because they miss the shots, but because much of the time as they take the shot another player or referee jumps in the way or into the frame.
Shooting with a $5,000 camera that can shoot continuously at 11 fps cannot resolve those issues. You have to have a good combination of skill AND luck.
If you allowed email, I could send you a link from the X-Games 15 where the same photographer shot using the same D40 with electronic flash at 1/1000th second.
This statement worries me. "a camera that can take continuous action shots, i heard anywhere from 5 to 8 pics a second is good"
Any sports photographer worth their salt, never shoots in the "machine gun mode", mostly because the actual best shot ends up being between the shutter actuation's. Sports photographers shoot at the peak of action and to do that, they have to know the game they are shooting and anticipate were the player will be when they take the shot.
Editorial photographers have a "good to great" shot ratio of about 4:1. A good sports photographer, that ratio jumps to around 25:1, not because they miss the shots, but because much of the time as they take the shot another player or referee jumps in the way or into the frame.
Shooting with a $5,000 camera that can shoot continuously at 11 fps cannot resolve those issues. You have to have a good combination of skill AND luck.