Does gear matter in sports photography?

[@JackBeasleyMedia]

I agree. Once you get past learning the very basics of photography, which you can do with just about any camera on the market, and you move to a particular genre - yes, it matters.

[@Hacienda_27]

My need is more for railways but really getting into the idea of just general all round stuff more now so great to find a quality channel such as yours

[@gearoidosullivan356]

Once again great advice. And speaking as someone who came from wildlife photography, depending on your preferred niche then gear does matter. For example, when I started doing some sports photography, I tried to use the lenses that I had already, which were ideal for wildlife. However, my main wildlife lens, an old 500mm f4, was too long a focal length for shooting sports (but it was an excellent length for shooting birds or other wildlife). My 100-400 was a great alternative, but a bit slow in terms of light at f5.6 for sports under bad floodlights. I eventually traded that lens in for a 70-200 f2.8 and couldn't believe the difference in image quality and it is a much better sports photography lens (but a bit too short for most wildlife stuff in Ireland). The main crossover, would be the camera bodies though, as we are both looking for fast frame rates, and great autofocus.

[@porkster5924]

I’ve always bought fast lenses, from my old FD 85mm f/1.2L to my Nikon 400mm f/2.8E FL on my Z9. Controlling light, using as low an ISO as possible, these are what I go for in my motorsport photography.

[@Twobarpsi]

Great advice, and Merry Christmas!

[@adude394]

This is a very interesting topic. Allow me to speak from the point of view of a professional musician; as a photographer I'll never be more than an avid hobbyist. Does gear matter? Let's put it this way; you eventually get to a point where a genius like, say, Yo-Yo Ma or Itzhak Perlman, has his Stradivari instrument, but face it, musicians like them could play on a picture of a cello or violin and still be better than 99.99% of the populace. I also know a lot of professional musicians who play certain brands because Yamaha or whoever gives them their instruments for free, or they play a custom instrument made to their specifications. With photography, I'm not aware that someone can have a camera or lens made custom, though I suppose it's possible. The main things to consider are the gear's features. Will a professional get as much use out of an old Canon 300D than he would out of a current R1? Obviously, the R1 will have many more features that a professional would use than would the 300D. But I absolutely guarantee you that a professional will be able to get good results still with the 300D. Why? Because a professional knows that like all creative forms, photography is a craft before it's an art, and the professional learns the craft first. THEN he can worry about making art. At that level, I'm not convinced that the gear is the be-all and end-all, though of course certain cameras will deliver better results. I have a hard time imagining that a professional F1 photographer would grab the 300D to shoot a race; the R1 will serve far better in that capacity.