Express Action Sports

I’m possibly attending Camp Woodward this summer and I’m trying to figure out which camera I should buy for their Video Production camp. We film for Action Sports (specifically skateboarding and BMX), so if anyone who is perhaps a former Woodward camper or skateboard edit filmer, please help me!!!!!
I want a camera that’s going to last me for a long time, and something with HD, and hopefully not used. I have a price limit of about $3,000, but I can make my budget fit around it.
Thanks.
Also, I’m not looking for a GoPro right now, but if you’d give me any advice about that, it’d help.

GoPro would be the way to go.

I want to be a wildlife photographer so i need a camera that can focus fast and take pictures fast. E.g an owl flying down to perch on a tree branch.I also need a lens that will give me highly detained photos.

For wildlife photography you will want a camera with lots of autofocus points and a high burst rate. For wildlife and sports I use the Canon 7D (18mp, 8fps, 19 af points). If you like Nikon, the D7000 is a great choice (16mp, 6fps, 39 af points). For lenses, you will ideally want L series lenses with image stabilization and a fast focusing motor (USM for Canon). I’m not familiar with Nikon lenses, but the same basic rules apply. If you’re on a budget, get the best quality lens you can afford that has image stabilization and USM. USM = Ultra Sonic Motor.

Usually I recommend better lenses before a better camera body, but in this case the body is just as important for getting that perfect shot.

I hope this helps. Good Luck.

I am just getting into photography and I have decided to buy a Nikon d80. I will be focusing on most types of photography including sports/action, landscapes and general portraits as well as a little macro.

I am having trouble deciding on the best and most value for money lens setup.

I have been looking at the Nikon 18-200mm VR lens which would be and all round lens that I would probably use solely.

Or would it be better to buy two different lenses: the 70-300 VR and another lens for short distances eg a 18-55 or 18-135.

I am unsure which setup would be more effective and give me the most value for money.

Are the zoom lenses quick enough for sports shots?

My budget would probably lie somewhere between $500-1000 usd.

Any help would be greatly appreciated, Thanks.

As a first time user your best bet is the 18mm-200mm lens. That gets you the 35mm equivilent of a 27mm wide angle lens and a 300 mm telephoto lens and of course everything in between. The long end is ideal for sports the short end for landscapes.

Nikon has an 18-70 and the 70-300 you mention. This is also a good combination and gets you again that wide angle on the short side and a whopping 450mm zoom. The longer zoom of course is ideal for sports photographjy.

However, if you go with this combination you’re looking at carrying two lenses and changing lenses all the time as you switch subjects. Back in my film days I did that all the time and I never thought about it. But then in those days changnig lenses was not an issue.

Today it’s different. Every time you remove a lens you potentially expose your sensor to dust necessitating eventually to have the sensor cleaned. So constantly changing lenses is no longer a trivial thing to do. Instead it’s become a potential risk.

I got around this with my Nikon SLR by having a single lens that covers 90% of my needs and that happens to be the 18-200. I travel with that one and I do most of my images with it too. I don’t do sports but I do shoot wildlife so I later got a longer telephoto for that. I do a lot of macro so I have the 105mm macro as well. Those two lenses usually stay home when I’m travelling overseas so that saves me weight.

Back at home I either do wildlife or macro or general stuff. So at the start of a shoot I’ll put on the lens in a place where there’s no wind or dust like in the house or in the car and I’ll use that lens all day. This minimizes getting dust into the camera.

Anyway, since you’re on a limited budget my suggestion is the 18-200. Later as you get a little better off you can always add a 200-400 for those really distant shots but in the meantime at least you have something that covers most of what you need. In fact with that lens you can take a picture of the stadium and an individual player without ever changing lenses.

One other tip … Tamron has an 18-250 lens for a Nikon and it’s cheaper than the Nikon 18-200 version. But there’s a catch too, it doesn’t have an image stabilizor. So if you don’t mind that catch you can save yourself some money. I personally don’t like Tamron lenses, I feel Nikon ones produce better images, but I’ve known many people who insist that there is no difference. So this is an option for you too.

And to answer your other question, are zoom lenses quick enough for sports shots – yes and no. Yes they are in terms of set up and physical use. You can zoom them incredibly fast to get to your subject and the autofocus is incredibly quick too though the 70-300 could be a bit quicker in my opinion.

At the same time zoom lenses have a smaller minimum aperture, usually around f3.5 or smaller. If you typically work in poor lighting conditions or routinely work with very high shutter speeds, this may not be fast enough for you. It may be desirable to get a dedicated single focal length telephoto in that case that’s f2.8 or faster. But if you do that first of all it will cost you twice what you paid for the camera and it will be very heavy requiring a tripod to use. Fast lenses come at a hell of a price. And of course you’re back to changing lenses a lot.

For my money I prefer my 18-200. It may not be the fastest but it’s certainly captured a lot of images for me, each of them outstanding and it saves me constantly changing lenses for general photography.

I hope this helps a little.

Shopping for a flat-screen TV. Mostly for watching regular TV channels, Movies and Sports.
Not really for Video Games.

Which has a better quality and what brand would you recommend? We are looking for about 40 in size.
Tell me more about the LED screen, I want to know all of my options before purchasing.

It used to be that plasma was the hands-down winner on fast action like sports, while LCD’s were better for bright rooms. These differences have largely gone away – and now there’s LED’S. Do some research on the web (like PC World, CNET, etc.) to read pro reviews, owner’s reviews, etc., but don’t drive yourself nuts. If possible in your area, after some research, go to a big retailer and take a look – but hang onto your budget!

No matter what you buy, you’ll probably love it. I’d also take a look at getting an extended warranty.
Take a minute to ask about HDMI cables and stuff, too. And then there’s Blu-Ray. And – oh, never mind.

I’m a happy Toshiba owner, times three.

Happy Holidays

I am looking to purchase a paintball gun for recreational purposes and i was wondering which model would suit me the best. I am on a £100 budget maximum but i would like to spend £60-£80. I am a novice to the sport so i do not know which is the best model for me to buy to start off with for a good price. I would like to find a reasonably good one. Any information regarding paintball gun models or good shops will be appreciated.

well, a tippmann. they are rock solid and highly upgradeable. although they arent the most elequent and pretty, they will last you for years. plus, you can get a super up’d tippmann for that money off pbnation, or ebay if you look hard.

after a tippmann is all personal choice. if you like speedball, i recomend a PM, ion, DM, angels, etc…..if you are still into woods, then either stick with the tippmann, or go with "Real Action Paintball". if you are doing both, go with a autococker, or automag as they perfrom exceptionally well in both.

I will take pictures of Action Sports mostly. Skateboarding paintball football snowboarding all that kind of stuff. I don’t know what kind of camera to get and i cant find any good prices on the net.

Check out http://bhphotovideo.com for the best prices and great service. I’ve been buying from them since way before there was an internet.

They also have tons of information with each different camera for comparisons. You will need to determine your budget to figure out your options. A great starter camera is the Nikon D40X.

hey, i just aquired a nikon f70 slr camera, I really enjoy it, but i want
to start taking some pics of snowboarding and in the spring skateboarding and mountain biking. right now the lense that is on my camera is a AF NIKKOR 28-70mm, is this good enough, any recommended lenses?

I just answered a similar question in the "camera" section on Yahoo! Answers. But for someone with a D80 and he was using his camera for his kids playing sports. Both are going to have alot of movement and action, so you want to capture the action in a still frame with out the blur.

If its for sports and action shots. A good one for that type of stuff with out breaking your budget is the

AF-S DX Zoom-NIKKOR 55-200mm f/4-5.6G ED

AF-S DX VR Zoom-NIKKOR 55-200mm f/4-5.6G IF-ED

both are good for action shots and have fast AF so you can get the snap shots of snowboarders flying over you with out the blur.

I’m wanting to buy a dslr camera mainly for shooting motorcross. I’ve been looking at the Nikon D90. Budget is under $2000. Keeping in mind i need the fast shutter release, does anyone have any other options in this price range?

I would say get the nikon d90 and an addition 70-300mm lens. The 70-300mm will be good for zooming into objects in the distance such as dirt bikes or the riders.

http://www.cameta.com/Nikon-D90-Digital-SLR-Camera-Body-18-105mm-DX-VR-AF-S-Zoom-Lens-35673.cfm
http://www.cameta.com/Nikon-70-300mm-f-4-5-6-G-AF-Zoom-Nikkor-Lens-10851.cfm

I’ve decided to do some Freelance work on the side and have found a local magazine in the Midwest (U.S.) that covers local high school sports. They’ve just started and have only put out a couple of issues, but I sent them some examples of my work from a high school football game I shot last week. They decided they liked one of my shots and now are asking me what I charge. I’ve been looking on-line and can’t seem to find any rates of what most people charge. I’m new at this as are they, so I’d rather not ask them and not get what its worth. I have no idea what a reasonable amount would be.

What Ballpark range should I be asking for a single Hi-res action shot that will prob. take up 1/4 page in a new local magazine that prob doesn’t have much of a budget?

Well you can charge for one time usage rights. These rates are based upon the circulation of the publication, so if it is under 25,000 maybe $125 would be fair for a 1/4 page.

Forget they don’t have a budget … they have the budget to have the pre-press work done … they can pay that little bit to you.

Make sure those are the only rights they get. If your shot is hot, you may find they want to use it for advertizing later … that is a different deal … much more value to you … but that can come later.

Im looking to buy a lens mainly for taking shots of waterskiing and wakeboarding and ill be taking the shots from the boat. the rope is about 50-60ft so I would like to know what telephoto lens would be good for under $600.

In situations like that I prefer to have a variable zoom lens. It takes a hit on the f stop but the advantage of not changing lenses while bouncing in a boat with spray coming over the bow, makes it worth it to me. Not knowing what camera you have makes it difficult to be too specific. Depending on your sensor chip size the effective lens size will vary. In the 35mm world a decent 75-300 should fall well within your budget. Now if you have 2 bodies I’d like to set up one with a fixed 75 and a fixed 300 on the other – Just my preference I’m sure others will chime in with theirs.

Attached is a link with photo tips for wakeboards