Posted on 02/26/2012 12:10:37 PM PST by YankeeMagic
I am looking to upgrade my camera. I have a point and shoot Sony. I am looking for better quality pictures and the ability to take pictures of my son playing sports (fast speed no blur). Having said this, I am a total novice.. any advice?
I bought a Panasonic Lumix compact camera that fits in my pocket.
-PJ
Go to CNET.com
They test, rate, and rank most electronic gear.
Yep, I think you said it right.
Although I have several DSLRs and they are what I would use for important shoots, such as sports which is what this thread is about, I often just grab an old Canon S2 P&S.
A friend took some extreme close-ups using one which can only be described as extraordinary and it only has 5MP.
You will be able to get good results with almost any current (within a few years) digital SLRs that are on the market. As mentioned earlier - knowing what you want to shoot will help direct your purchase.
‘Shooting sports’ doesn’t really answer the question. Indoor or out if the most basic question. Indoor = closer to the action (typically) and artificial light. Outdoor = longer shots with natural or artificial light. General rule to ‘stop’ action is get in as much light as you can to let you shoot with a faster shutter. This means finding a ‘low’ aperture lens that still has enough reach (magnification/zoom) to get the shots you want.
After you get over that sticker shock - then its time to start making trade-offs. If you have no investment (yes, investment) in a particular brand of lenses, take a look at which camera body / lenses will perform for the type of shooting you like. It could be a 4/3rds camera - it might be a 1.6 crop or a full frame camera. Guess what - ALL can provide the results you want - if you match the lens to the type of shooting you will be doing.
For me and my wife - we enjoy shooting airshows and nature settings. We both have Canon dSLRs so the lenses are interchangeable. For an airshow, my favorite lens is a 100-400L while she uses a 70-300. Shooting planes - outdoors - on sunny days is far different from shooting an indoor wrestling match. That said, I’ve used a different lens to shoot indoor action too. That is the primary advantage of interchanging the lenses, you change to what you need for a setting.
With all the choices that exist, see if your friends have equipment that you can try out sometime. That way you get your hands on the cameras and lenses to see what ‘fits’ you. In addition, consider renting equipment before you buy - again, to see if it fits what you want. To rent, I have used LensRentals.com and received outstanding service (and equipment) from them.
When you are finally ready to purchase, DONT ignore the pre-owned market. There are excellent deals out there - once you decide what you want to own. Always try to take some shots prior to being separated from your money. What can look great on the outside does not always work great. With pre-owned units, they are being sold for a reason. And with interchangeable body/lens combinations - you don’t need to find the ‘entire’ unit at one place.
And, to muddy the waters a bit, there have been some outstanding point-and-shoot cameras that probably have been introduced since you purchased the one you are using. Don’t necessarily decide that you need a digital SLR when some more advanced P-n-S models could provide you the shots you want.
I second the comments on the Canon T3i. I’ve been real happy with my T1i for the last coupla years. Oh, and steer clear of Glocks {;^o]
Good post.
I’m a relative beginner with no photography training. I’ve been using a Canon EOS Rebel T2i for a couple of years, and it works great—even has an automatic setting for shooting sports that will allow you to take continuous shots (i.e., around 4-6 per second).
I went on a recent trip to Scotland and attended a soccer match at the famous Celtic Park on a Saturday, and a rugby match at a smaller stadium in Glasgow on Sunday. I took hundreds of photos at both venues and the results were terrific.
You’ll want to get a lens that will allow you a decent telephoto range. You won’t be able to get really good photos of action 50-100 yards away without it. These cost anywhere from $600 to $20,000.
My advice is to go to a real camera shop ,,, you will want a DSLR or a high end point and shoot ... The main thing is you want a FAST lense and a FAST memory card... Nikon tends to lard up their P&S digital cameras with too many settings and a poor menu system .. I would think their DSLR’s would be better...
I bought the wife a Nikon D3100 this past xmas and we were able to use it outdoors at my daughters soccer matches this weekend. Bought a camera package with a 70/200 lens and a 64gb sd card. It did well, we have a bit to learn on it but for our first test, it did real well. No blur action shots from a distance. Cant wait to get out there again and take some more action shots.
I have been looking at the Canon Rebel T2i or Rebel T3i.
Just hope they wouldn’t get me in over my head and I would miss a good pic..
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We have the Rebel T3i and love it. Took our grandson to LegoLand and got shots clear as anything when he was on rides that were going pretty quickly using the sport shot setting.
As long as you hold the button down it keeps shooting and the photos are gorgeous. Good luck with your camera hunt!
Nikon D5000 now they have a D5100. I took all the pics at this link from my son’s football games. Most of today’s cameras will take good pics. It’s the lens that will give the best results. You need a fast lens with a decent zoom length. I have the standard 55-200mm f3.5 - 5.6 lens from the kit. A really good one will cost about $800.
http://hkcougars.com/Pictures.asp?isteam=1&snid=jMHFX2J5\&org=hkcougars.com
The pictures have been cropped and re-sized but they came out pretty good.
give a budget range for this wish list...
describe the sports action you want to capture...
do you have other uses...
do you think that you will use it more and more if capabilities are there or is this a single purpose camera...
are you far-sighted and use reading glasses...
As others have mentioned, a digital SLR with interchangeable lenses gets you into a new level of capability for two reasons:
1. Sensor size. The current affordable DSLRs have a sensor that is 6/10 the size of a traditional 35mm frame, and this is much larger than most point-and-shoot or low-end (built-in lens) DSLRs.
The actual sensitivity comes from the size of each individual pixel, however. So don’t be overly impressed by high pixel counts if you’re going for fast action capture in iffy lighting. High pixel counts means smaller pixels, assuming the same size sensor.
2. Availability of big glass. Go for the biggest aperture lens(es) you can afford. The focal length of lens (or its range of lengths, if a zoom) is also a factor in producing well-composed shots, so consider what kind of shots you want to go for. Indoor or outdoor? Close-up near the field/court, or from the stands?
For a 6/10 SLR, I like the 70-200 mm range zoom. I settled for an f/4, because the price and size of its f/2.8 sister were just a bit racy for me.
There are many tradeoffs among focal length/zoom range and lens aperture. More of each will cost you more. At least with an interchangeable lens SLR, you can build slowly over time toward the big glass; in the meantime, you may be able to borrow or rent lenses from stores or friends until you find what works best for you.
A note about image stabilization. Many manufacturers now offer versions of their lenses with stabilization built in, at a hefy premium. It allows you to take a shot with exposure times up to 8 times as long as without it, which is great for stationary scenes like landscapes. But if you’re into action, you’ll have to use shutter speeds so high that image stabilization won’t make any difference.
In my case, I do a lot of still subjects, such as in museums, so image stabilization was worth it for me. However, the option on my 70-200 cost me about $400.
3. If you can use flash at your events, get an external one. Of course, the flash does the work of stopping the action, and it will compensate for not having a larger aperture. Take shots both with and without the flash and decide which kind of look you prefer.
If you don’t have the flash, or can’t use it, or don’t like the way the shots look, try shooting your action at various sensitivities (ISO settings) up the camera’s maximum. The highest ISOs will cause the camera to choose the highest action-stopping speeds, but will probably be too noisy (grainy) for your taste. Try to find an ISO setting that allows for acceptable shutter speeds and also tolerable noise.
There’s always tradeoffs. If you get into the mainline DSLRs like the Canon Digital Rebels or the equivalent Nikons, you WILL spend some coin any way you look at it. The only saving grace is that you may not have to do it all at one shot.
At new prices, I am guessing you have either the 70-200 f/4 with IS, or the f/2.8 without.
My 'distance' setup is with the f/4 IS. The 'walking around' lens is the 17-55mm f/2.8 IS; great lens, but wish it had more long end. At least it's 2.8 all the way.
I keep a 1.4 telextender and the little 50mm f/1.8 in the bag just in case. Also a 430EX or 580EX strobe.
The great thing about the 50D is how little it will sell for, used. The not so great thing about my 50D is how little it will sell for, used. ≤}B^)
I wonder who makes lenses that can resolve all of those pixels! Don’t think N or C can. Probably Perkin-Elmer—the guys who make the spy satellites.
One of my most prized pix came from the shore of a small lake on July 4, 1959.
Taken on Kodachrome in an Argus C3 borrowed from Dad.
I have examples of my first two cameras sitting atop my bookcase: An Ansco Readyflash (10th birthday present) and an Argus C3. Not the original specimens, sad to say.
36.3 Megapixel? wow. Yur gonna need a 64GB memory stick, for starters, video would chew that up like that.. (fingersnap) dang.
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