Express Action Sports

do you think it’s a requirement or just a marketing tool?

It’s like autofocus and autometering. The greatest photographers in history didn’t realize they had lousy cameras and took magnificent pictures anyway!

I love the VR (vibration reduction) in my Nikon 18-200mm lens. And I recently bought an HP point & shoot for a relative that had built in IS. After all, she’s 80+ and isn’t the steadiest when taking pictures.

If you’re taking action shots, it’s a plus. If you’re taking portraits or scenics, it’s not. Here’s some sports photos I took WITHOUT any stabilization, except for using good photographer’s techniques.
http://www.spmsportspage.com/images/college/football/2007/California-45-Tennessee-31-09-01-2007/DSC_0065_GHYoung.html
http://www.spmsportspage.com/images/college/football/2007/California-42-Louisiana-Tech-12-09-15-2007/DSC_8135_GHYoung.html

That being said, I would still look for it, just as an added feature. Many wouldn’t live without it.
http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/image-stabilization.htm

I hope you find this helpful.

I’ve had loads of trouble with pictures etc, every time i go to take a picture of a moving image ie. a horse, by the time it takes the horse has moved out of the picture! it drives me crazy!

You problem may have a lot to do with what is called shutter lag. All P&S cameras have lag to some extent or another.

http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/shutter-lag.htm

Those who shoot action or sports photography use DSLR cameras … their shutter lag is measured in milliseconds instead of seconds like P&S cameras are.

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)

What does iso mean on my Camera and how does it change my image.

ISO is a measurement of the sensitivity to light of a light sensitive surface, whether film or digital sensor. A low ISO (25, 50, 100) is very insensitive and requires a lot of light. We use a low ISO when we want the best possible image, usually with our camera mounted on a tripod. A high ISO (400, 800, 1600) is more sensitive and requires less light. We use a high ISO when photographing sports/action and need a higher shutter speed or when doing low-light, non-flash photography. A high ISO will cause more apparent grain with film and more digital noise with most digital cameras.

ISO is one leg of the "Exposure Triangle". Shutter speed and aperture are the other two. Reading these books will help you to fully understand this. "Understanding Exposure" and "Understanding Shutter Speed", both by Bryan Peterson.

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 want a very nice camera money is not an issue, i want one good for sports, photography and video caming and taking lively photos that will last me forever what kind of camera do i need? 🙂 thank you.

There is NO such camera

The fact that a digital camera is always evolving, means that every 5 to 6 years, you will be upgrading the body.
Shooting sports has much more to do with your skills as a photographer and having the right lens

Sample:

http://s862.photobucket.com/albums/ab182/fotomanaz/Answers%20album/?action=view&current=i_AIA3008copy.jpg

And finally, here is what you need to know before you start thinking about shooting amazing video using a dSLR with a video feature.

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/camcorders/cam-cam.shtml

Once you understand the limitations of ANY camera, you will not become frustrated with whatever camera you buy and you can start saving your pennies for the camera and lenses that will suit your needs.

At present the two most used entry level dSLR cameras are the Nikon D3200 and Canon T3i/600D, both cost under $1,000

I am interested in buying a camera to take still photos of horses jumping, dogs jumping, and basically sport events. Do you have any ideas of what kind of camera I should be looking for or links to a good camera would be great!! thank you
x

I would recommend a medium-high end Digital SLR Camera (DSLR). A Nikon D60 will do the job. This camera takes exceptional pictures. It can seems like it stops time to take the photo.(The photos are that clear). Another plus for this camera is that it’s not hard on the wallet.

Trying to take photos of my sons basketball game. There is enough light to take without a flash but on auto setting, images are blurry. When i set to manual mode and a fast shutter speed there doesn’t appear to be enough light. Wondering if I need a bigger flash or different settings.

David Hobby from the Baltimore Sun has a great short description of a simple technique including two flash units and remote triggers here.
There is another great source for sports in general by Jerry Lodriguss, see here for more.

In principle you want a shutter speed shorter than 1/200. Use a fast lens, get close to the action. Set your white balance to custom and use a grey card to take a shot that allows the camera to evaluate the white balance. This saves endless time tweaking it later.

I am trying to decide between these 3 cameras. D40, D80, D100. I want a digital camera that takes the best looking photos, action photos of sports or animals in motion would be great if thats possible. I would also like it to have a nice zoom. I want to be able to blow up a photo poster size if it turns out nice. Any suggestions would be great since I dont really know what all the specs mean yet.

All three will do what you want .. the D40 may be the best choice because it has all the features you will need to get started yet leave you enough money left over so you can add an additional lens sooner. The D40 with a AF-S 18-55 mm ED lens is just under $470. For shooting sports and animals you can either buy the AF-S 70-300 VR lens or just get the D40 with a 18-200 mm VR.

You will want to go into a camera store and look at those combinations to see which you like the best.

By shooting in RAW + JPEG basic you will have the best of both worlds … you can edit your images down to the best of the best and then use the matching RAW file to produce high quality JPEG or TIFF files to be made into posters.

If you want to make sure the camera will do what you want, take a SD memory card with you into the store and shoot a couple of images in RAW + JPEG with both the D40 and D80 … take the card home and then make a high quality JPEG from each camera and then take them to your lab and see which one will make the best poster. The lab canl help you decide.

I am a high school yearbook adviser, and I need to buy a new camera (or two) for my staff to use. We can’t spend a lot of money, but I need a camera which will take pictures quickly. I’m not sure what the terminology is, but I need to be able to push the button and have the picture take as soon as possible. We have to take Action Sports shots, etc., so we don’t want blurry photos. Any suggestions on specific models, or even what I should ask/look for when I go shopping, would be greatly appreciated!

Ha ha, on the yearbook staff too, and I just bought this camera for it. What a coincidence.
So, enough of that, I got the canon SD 750 about a week ago, and I love it compared to the previous cameras that I have owned. I bought it because of the high review rates for the price of $299. One of the many great features is it take 1 second to turn on, and your ready to take a picture, so you can almost instintly take a picture, once you know your subject. It also has great features like color accent mode or color switch mode. You can also use a sd card and it can hold well over 1,000 pics with a 2 gig SD card. It can aso take well over 20min of video with the same card. This card can cost about $45. The camera itself is really small and thin, for all the features it has. You can download pics to your computer by using mini usb cable included with the camera. Overall I think this camera would be perfect for tourism, sport events, events, and protraits.