Express Action Sports

I’m going to school next fall for sports journalism, so I need a good camera. I am also living in the rocky mountains for the summer and would like to get some nice shots out there… I’m not sure if I should get an SLR, or a really good Point and Shoot. I don’t know very much about photography and I need a user friendly camera to learn on.
Thanks!

There is NO really good P&S that will do the things you need your camera to do as a sports photographer.

* P&S cameras have sensors that are over 15 times smaller than a DSLR, 30 times smaller than a 35mm SLR
* P&S cameras come with one lens and that is it. SLR’s and DSLR’s use interchangable lenses … from fisheye to 600mm telephotos.
* P&S cameras suffer from shutter lag making catching the action in sports nearly impossible.

You will learn a lot about photoraphy in school ..

Before you buy anything, talk to your instructor(s) and see what camera you will need to use for your classes. My guess is they will tell you that you need a 35mm SLR to start and after a few classes, you may be able to buy a DSLR to add to your "sports" lenses …

There are NO user friendly adjustable cameras … thats why we get the big bux.

While as a student, you will not be required to supply your own 400mm f/2.8 lens (over $7,000), you will be expected to know how to get rock steady images.

My other guess is that you will end up with either a Nikon or Canon 35mm SLR … you can buy them used on craigslist for under $200 with a decent normal zoom lens (24mm-70mm is common)

I want to take action pictures of field hockey (outdoor) players. I tried a Canon SLR (forgot the model #), didn’t go wide enough. Any pointers to reading materials, or camera makes/models recommendations?
thx

You will need a fast-shooting camera body coupled with fast lenses.

If you’re going Canon, the fastest prosumer dSLR is the Canon 40D. It gives you 10MP quality and shoots at 6.5 fps (frames per second), which should be sufficient for your shooting needs. It retails for about $1000 on Amazon.

As for a good lens for sports shooting, I’d highly recommend the EF 70-200mm f/4L. It’s fast, it has a good zoom range, lightweight, and incredibly sharp. Its large aperture (low f-number) allows more light in and blurs the background to draw more sharpness to the player(s). Best of all, it only costs $450 on Amazon!

You mentioned wide; I guess you want to capture a large spread of players then? If so, and you’re using the 40D, I’d recommend the Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8. It’s also fast, sharp, goes very wide, and has good build quality. It retails on Amazon for $400! I recently bought mine for landscape and photojournalism work, and I’ve loved using it.

Good luck!