Express Action Sports

I have been doing photography for awhile now, and just recently started a course, I dont want a professional camera, just a decent one. Could you tell me what camera you think is a great basic?

Hey Emma, you might find this post I made yesterday useful.
Of course it all depends on how much you are willing to spend on a camera, but here are a good few to get started on. These are all entry level to intermediate level SLR cameras.

You’ll have to convert the names and prices to US though if you’re there! the 450D is called the XSi in the US i think. Don’t get the XS (1000D, uugggh, terrible)

Post below:….

Also don’t listen to people saying Canon/Nikon are better, they’re all promoting their own equipment. They’ll deny it but it’s always true. Both systems are excellent with both having their advantages or disadvantages.
I shoot one system for my own personal work and one system with my 9-5 work. I’m not saying which one’s which 🙂

Personally I would go for one of these four options:

Nikon D80 – £399.00
Nikon D90 – £569.98
Canon 40D – £549.99
Canon 450D – £379.99

The D90 and 40D are the two superior cameras. However you may prefer to get a D80/450D and invest the remaining money on some accessories such as a flash gun or a lens or two.

If you are going to continue with photography, it’s good to start your lens collection now as they will last you a lot longer than your camera body which you will probably be looking at replacing/upgrading every 2/3 years. Save up and invest in good glass! BE warned though a good lens can cost a LOT 🙂

Here are links for all four, have a browse through and make your opinions THEN go try them out and hold them in a shop to see how they feel in your hand and which one you seem to have more of a connection to. That’s my advice 🙂

LINKS:

NIKON D80 – http://imaging.nikon.com/products/imagin…
NIKON D90 – http://imaging.nikon.com/products/imagin…
CANON 450D – http://www.canon.co.uk/For_Home/Product_…
CANON 40D – http://www.canon.co.uk/For_Home/Product_…

There’s a nice table half way down the page showcasing the differences between the two Nikons on the D90 DPreview website here:
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/nikond90…

The 40D is the largest of all of these cameras (similar size to the Nikon D300, but obviously not as good)
Here’s the Canon 50D (practically the same size as the Canon D40) side by side with the Nikon D90 to illustrate this.
http://a.img-dpreview.com/reviews/NikonD…

Personally I’m not going to tell you which one I would choose as it’s my own preference and my own style of shooting, which may be completely different from yours!

……Edit: Ok I’ll tell you. I shoot a lot of sports so I’d personally get the Canon 40D for its 6.5fps, mag alloy body and larger size but then remember that because that’s my style and fast action is what I shoot!, You’ll probably be completely different 🙂

In a nutshell all those cameras will serve you well throughout your entire course! Have fun trying them out in the shop!!.. and don’t buy a Canon 1000D or Nikon D40/D40x (shudder).

Hope I’ve helped 🙂

Rick

I am looking to begin taking high quality sports action shots for my school. I would like to know what camera would be ideal for this, as well as what sort of lens. Prices would also be insanely helpful. I’d like to keep the pricing within reason, as it is a starting project.

A Nikon D3100 w/ a 55-200 or a Rebel T3 w/ a 55-250 would be a good start. There is no such thing as a camera that will guarantee you great pictures. Along with the camera, pick up a few basic photography books from your local library.

In a previous article, lighting was identified as the element which most determines the quality of an image. Working with available light and using internal flash and external light sources were discussed. In addition to the light present, the amount of light on the image sensor, or exposure, is determined by the opening/closing of the aperture and the length of time that the shutter is open. To better understand exposure, this article will discuss aperture, shutter speed, and the concept of “bracketing”.

Aperture is essentially the opening that allows light in through the lens. You will see aperture indicated in “f-stops”. The smaller f-stops represent larger apertures and therefore more light coming in through the lens. To state it more directly, the larger the aperture the brighter the light obtained. It is also important to realize that aperture also influences some of the focusing within a shot, known as depth of field. Technically, a camera can only focus on one item within a shot with items becoming less in focus the further they are from that point. The depth of field is the range or distance of items that are in focus; thus, an image with a narrow depth of field generally has a smaller area in focus. A wide depth of field is used when wanting detail throughout the shot but a narrow depth of field is desirable when a single object or person is the focus of the image. When using a larger aperture, depth of field is minimized while reducing aperture maximizes it.

Shutter speed is generally understood as the length of time the shutter is open. Slower shutter speeds allow for more light and faster shutter speeds less light. Therefore, a night shot often utilizes a slower shutter speed in addition to a larger aperture to maximize the light coming into the lens. Whenever a slow shutter speed is utilized the risk of camera shake is significantly increased and thus, tripods are often necessary to avoid blurring. Fast shutter speeds, such as 1/250, produce very sharp images and can act to freeze action. A slow shutter speed produces less defined images; images that demonstrate movement by blurring action. Just as with aperture size, the shutter speed selected is not “right” or “wrong”, it is merely which will create the type of image wanted.

It is important to understand that when adjusting shutter speed or aperture size it is often necessary to adjust the other to accommodate the resulting change in lighting. For instance, if a faster shutter speed is chosen to freeze action aperture size may need to be increased to obtain adequate lighting for the shot while realizing that there will be a narrower depth of field.

Digital cameras offer the user control over aperture and shutter speed. For the novice, a Fully Automatic Mode in which the camera decides on the shutter speed, aperture, white balance, and focus is most handy. This feature is often sufficient for producing excellent photos but there are limitations. For instance, the camera will not sense when the user is attempting to take a shot which captures faster action. Use of a shutter speed that is too slow in this instance will result in blurring. As described above, it may be advisable to adjust the shutter speed, and possibly the aperture size, for this type of shot.

Many digital cameras also possess a Programmed Mode which allows the user to select the situation that is most appropriate; for instance portrait, sports, or landscape, and the camera makes the decisions from there. As discussed above, adjustments in the shutter speed to allow you to create special effects may be desired but not congruent with what the camera assumes is wanted. Most digital cameras offer a Shutter Priority setting that allows the user to adjust the shutter speed while the camera determines the aperture and other features. In other instances, increased depth of field may be desired and achieved by selecting a smaller aperture. This is possible using the camera’s Aperture Priority setting which will allow aperture alone to be adjusted. The Manual Mode allows both the shutter speed and aperture to be manually controlled. Obviously, this mode allows for the most control of shots but requires a significantly higher level of skill.

A final word about getting the best exposure with a digital camera is about a technique called “bracketing”. Bracketing is used when it is difficult to determine the optimum exposure because the lighting varies within the scene. For instance, taking a photograph of a dog sitting in a snow covered field presents challenges based on the extreme contrast and reflection. Bracketing is simply the practice of taking several shots of the same scene with different exposures. Most digital cameras make this very easy to do as they can automatically vary the exposure, taking a shot at the metered setting and others which are under exposed and over exposed. The user then compares the images, selects the best one, and deletes the rest. During the editing process it is even possible to combine the best parts of multiple shots to get the best composite image.

Although automatic settings produce great images, even a novice can adjust shutter speed and aperture to capture action and create special effects within their photographs. Digital cameras make the process easier and less expensive through progressively manual controls and the option of deleting photographs that simply aren’t desirable.

Christine Peppler
http://www.articlesbase.com/digital-photography-articles/basic-digital-photography-taking-control-of-exposure-87402.html