Best camera body for sports photography?

Hello! 
I am in need of some advice. I shoot a lot of action sports photography with my Canon 40d, but that recently with *capoot* with an ever-so-lovely error 99. I've been told recently by a good friend to switch over something more along the likes of a Sony a7 instead of a Canon 6d, which is what I've been looking at. I love the Sony a7 on paper, but was wondering if it will actually prove itself in the field of action sports photography? I know it only has 5fps, and that definitely is cause for concern in my mind.

Would anyone recommend the Sony a7 for someone who primarily shoots action sports photography? What camera body would you recommend? Any help is greatly appreciated!

NO NO NO A HUNDRED TIMES NO.

Save and Get a 5Diii or a 7D (or wait for the 7Dii to come out later this year... probably).

The AF on the A7 isn't good enough for sports and the lenses they have so far aren't really sports friendly (the 70-200 f/4 OS may be ok later though). Also to get 5fps you have to lock the focus and exposure or something similar.  Not very useful for sports. 

I own a A7 and a 1Dx (which has similar AF to the 5Diii) trust me, you'll regret going A7 for sports (it's fine for other stuff, but NOT for sports).

Thanks so much for the input,  Ninja. I went to Best Buy and got my hands on the a7 yesterday, and while I definitely liked the feel of it, I couldn't image myself using it for what I normally do with sports. Unfortunately, with my Canon in the can, I am in a definite pickle. Back to square one! Would you suggest the Canon 6d? I know you said something about the 7d, but what about the 6d?

And the Sony A99?

First thing: what is your budget? Camera body is one thing but lenses is 2nd and usually more expensive than body if you want decent results.
I've been shooting with canon 6d for a short while (few events) and then with Nikon D300s - sorry, but for me D300s has the best AF system in the whole history of crop sensor DSLRs - fast and very accurate. I shoot lots of motorsport and tennis and D300s is a clear winner for me. D7100 is not as good as older brother (had it for a week and got very disappointed with it). If you want to go further (FX) my choice would Nikon D3(s/x) or D4.

Here are two samples form D300s (both very challenging for AF):
1.

2.

Cheers,
Serge

Do doubt the D300s beats the D7100. I owned a D7000 once and was very disappointed in its AF.

Though the claim Serge made: "sorry, but for me D300s has the best AF system in the whole history of crop sensor DSLRs - fast and very accurate."

Maybe be disputed by some 7D owners Though from what I've read they're pretty similar when it comes to AF.

My advice would be not to change systems for sports. Neither Canon or Nikon are particularly better or worse.

gflom wrote: Thanks so much for the input,  Ninja. I went to Best Buy and got my hands on the a7 yesterday, and while I definitely liked the feel of it, I couldn't image myself using it for what I normally do with sports. Unfortunately, with my Canon in the can, I am in a definite pickle. Back to square one! Would you suggest the Canon 6d? I know you said something about the 7d, but what about the 6d?

My nephew owns a 6D and it's not a bad camera.  HOWEVER, he wishes constantly for better AF.   Thus for sports a 7D or 5Diii would be better.  

Let me tell you a little story.

I owned the 40D as my first camera.  Thought it was OK.  Then I got a 5D II, which was better (similar AF, but better high ISO and such).  I liked the 5Dii so much I sold my 40D and bought a 5D (classic) as a second body.

Then I bought a 1DIV... man the difference in AF was night and day.  I never realised how BAD the 40D/5Dii and 5D were at tracking movements until I got the 1DIV.  

Having a taste for full frame and good AF... and with some convincing from Scotty, I decided to go to NIKON who had a good FF camera (D3s) with excellent AF.  

Loved that move for a few years.  Then started to get back into video (by this time I had a D800e and a D800, both excellent sports cameras if you can put up with the low FPS). Anyway, I own/owned a Canon video camera and my business partner had a Canon X100 video camera too.  We shot an interview with a guy trying combine those two cameras with the D800... big mistake.  The D800's video colour was way off and was a major pain to edit with.  Plus it just didn't look as good as the Canon footage.

So I switched back to Canon and got a 1Dx (and bought the 1DsIII recently as a second camera).  One reason I switched back though is Canon no longer had no FF cameras with good AF.  The 5Diii and the 1Dx changed that. 


LONG STORY SHORT:  Buy a camera with good AF.  Avoid the 6D.

Stealthy Ninja wrote: Do doubt the D300s beats the D7100.

D7100 AF is worse than D300s - and it's not only me who has this opinion. Tested in the field

Serge, thanks for your input, those shots are great. I would love it if I could keep my body budget under $3k and my lens budget under $1200. I know that's asking a lot, and I would love to push the numbers up higher, but at this point and time, as I am in need of an immediate fix, I can't really ask for much more. Thanks so much for your input! I can't really see myself switching camera families right now, as I already have some canon lenses I would like to continue to shoot with, but I will have to continue to do my research on the Nikons.

Thanks!

gflom wrote: Serge, thanks for your input, those shots are great. I would love it if I could keep my body budget under $3k and my lens budget under $1200. I know that's asking a lot, and I would love to push the numbers up higher, but at this point and time, as I am in need of an immediate fix, I can't really ask for much more. Thanks so much for your input! I can't really see myself switching camera families right now, as I already have some canon lenses I would like to continue to shoot with, but I will have to continue to do my research on the Nikons.

Thanks!

Nothing wrong with Nikon, but these days there's no need to switch.

5Diii $3300
www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/847545-RE...EOS_5D_Mark_III.html

Tamron 150-600 ($1069)
www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1013956-R...00mm_f_5_6_3_di.html

That's pretty close to your budget right?

7D is on sale now at best buy apparently (looked it up because you mentioned that company):
Sale: $1,398.99
Reg. Price: $1,499.99
You Save: $101.00

I agree - no need to switch, but gflom mentioned Sony, so I thought that all possibilities are being taken into the account

Stick with Canon - you know its menus, how they work and feel - that's most important thing

The 5diii is a dreammmmmm, but a little out of my reach right now. Definitely something I'm saving up for, though. Thanks so much for the input, it is super helpful!

gflom wrote: The 5diii is a dreammmmmm, but a little out of my reach right now. Definitely something I'm saving up for, though. Thanks so much for the input, it is super helpful!

Just buy it.  You don't need to eat.