Film camera for sports.

Q: CAN YOU RECOMMEND A GOOD EOS CANON FILM CAMERA FOR SHOOTING SPORTS UNDER STADIUM LIGHTS? I HAVE AN INTERMEDIATE CANON DSLR AND A 70–200MM F4, BUT I THINK THAT IT WON’T PERFORM AS WELL AS USING FAST FILM.

A: Answer #1—No.

Answer #2—No. Why would you want to do that?

Answer #3—I can understand going back to film for a number of reasons but this isn’t one of them.

Digital has surpassed film in this genre of shooting. I could see going back to film for artistic and aesthetic reasons but not for ISO performance. The last film I shot at a sports event was at an MLB playoff game at night. I shot Fuji 800 and pushed it to 1600. I shot the game at 2.8 @ 1/250th or so. While it was fine for what it was, most DSLRs these days look a lot better at ISO 1600 than the Fuji 800 did when pushed to that ISO.

I’d want a faster lens and a better body—but not film. I’d rather have a 7D-ish or better DSLR. They have better focusing systems than previous prosumer Canon bodies, they can be picked up for far less than a new 5D whatever, and it will be a huge jump in quality over your 40D. In addition, it will perform better than pushed film. Also, that crop factor will give you some extra “reach” to the 200 lens you have. Having a maximum aperture of f4 on that lens, though, is going be a pain in the ass.

Rental houses are open for this reason. Rent a better DSLR. Rent a better lens. Shoot the game. Return the gear. Keep the images. That’s a far better alternative to buying an old film camera to get poor results compared to what you could have if you just rent the proper gear in the first place.

Good online rental places:

• Aperture Rent (www.aperturent.com)

• Borrow Lenses (www.borrowlenses.com)