Express Action Sports

I want to get a decent camera for sports photography so I need to zoom in and get a decent not blurred shot. What sort of gear do I need?

There’s gear and then there’s features. So, what I’ve done is list the gear, and under each item, I’ve listed the features to look for, as well as an example.

1) A single lens reflex camera (either digital or film):
–for digital SLR, it should have low noise at high ISO settings (i.e., in low light the camera can be set to have low-noise images)
–for film SLR, use high ISO film
–make sure the SLR has the ability to control the aperture and shutter speed; some older film SLRs do not offer manual controls at all.
–ideally, a quick response time, so when you push the release, it takes the photo.
–a fast frame rate (fps or frames per second) of 5 fps or faster.
EXAMPLE: Nikon D2H, Nikon D300, Nikon D3, Canon 1D mark II.

2) A telephoto lens with a wide aperture (such as f/2.8).
–ideally, should have a built-in focusing motor for speed (such as Nikon’s AF-S motor)
–ideally, with image stabilization
–at a minimum 200mm up to 600mm
–zooms can offer some versatility
–lens should have tripod mount or tripod foot on it.
Examples: fixed focal length lens 400mm f/2.8; zoom lens 200-400mm f/4

3) A strong monopod

What you would do: set the camera to the highest ISO you can tolerate for noise or set it to auto ISO. This allows the camera to expose with the fastest shutter speeds to stop action. Typically, you’d have the camera in manual exposure mode, selecting a fast shutter speed like 1/500 or 1/1000 to freeze action, and a wide aperture to let in light and blur distracting backgrounds. The lens should have a foot on it to support its weight, mounted on a monopod. Do not attach the monopod to the camera, because the weight is all in the lens and this will stress or warp your mount.

Best value, digitally: a used Nikon D2H. This is a pro-level camera that sells for about $400 used, without lens. It’s 4.1 megapixels, which is enough to make 8 x 10 images with no problem. A lens will cost you a lot more, actually. A decent enough lens on a budget is still expensive. At the least expensive end, you’d be looking at a 70-300mm AF-S VR lens ($459) and that’s only if you’d be shooting in decent light.

For film, a used film SLR (like a Nikon N80, about $100) loaded with ISO 800 or 1600 film would be a very inexpensive choice, but you’d still have to buy a good long telephoto lens.

If all this is out of your price range, then look for a SLR-like point and shoot with as big an optical zoom as you can afford (you may see this as 12, 15x, or even 18x). Set the ISO high, at least 400 and higher if you can stand the additional image noise. Use a monopod or tripod (if they’ll allow you to have a tripod). Because the camera is slow in responding compared to an SLR, you’ll have to anticipate the action.

Hope this explains things to you clearly and in an easy way.

I’m Trying to get fast moving pictures and this is a new camera to me, and I’m not sure what the best setting for this would be. If you know I would greatly appreciate it.

There is a couple of details you left out that are important…What focal length lens do you have, what are you photographing, and is it indoor or outdoor.

Generally speaking, I use a 70-200 f2.8 Vr lens for sports photography like soccer, hockey etc. Indoor lighting quite often is less than perfect, so I shoot in full manual mode then. Somewhere around 1/250th or 1/500th is good. You will need to use slower ISO and wider aperature settings to achieve this sometimes…

Outdoors on the soccer field or baseball diamond, I usually set aperture priority mode and set the aperture to f4, which is one stop from wide open on my lens. This is the sharpest setting on my lens. I set the ISO at 200 and just keep an eye on the shutter speed to make sure it doesn’t fall too low. If it does, push the ISO up to 400 or 800. Or even higher if you need to.

Sometimes you may want to keep some blur in the image to show motion. For instance…a cyclist riding past you. If you use a very high shutterspeed you will freeze the cyclist, but you will also freeze the spokes of the wheels and the bicycle is just standing there. Sometimes a slower shutter speed and panning with your subject as it moves past is best. That way you freeze the cyclist, but the wheels still show some motion.

Just as an example I photograph a lot of aircraft in flight. Helicopters with frozen rotor blades looks silly in the sky! Helicopters should be photographed usually no faster than 1/80th of a second, a propeller driven aircraft no faster than 1/125th or 1/250th or you freeze the props!

For photographing aircraft I use shutter priority and specify these speeds. The camera looks after the correct aperture for the exposure.