Express Action Sports

Tomorrow I will be taking pictures of high school wrestling indoors in a gym and soccer on an outdoor field. I have the Nikon D40 with18-55mm and 55-200mm lenses and I was wondering what settings I should use to take the best pictures for both sports.

Wrestling.

You’ll want to position yourself so you can shoot from a low angle, particularly when the wrestlers are on the mat. Frame your subject tightly and just keep shooting. What you are looking for is facial expressions which convey the stress of the struggle to those that view your images. I would suggest you use the telephoto lens. I would also suggest you use a flash as well; most gyms are poorly lit using florescent tubes, creating flat top lighting conditions.

Soccer

That will definitely require the use of the telephoto lens and to tell you the truth, 200 mm isn’t big enough. It can be done. You’ll want to move along the sidelines with the motion of the game, shooting only the action on the side from which you are standing. Action on the other side of the field will be too far way for a 200 mm to capture with good resolution.

Look for action where two players are battling for the ball. You can also position yourself to get shots of the goalie making saves. The key thing is to anticipate the action. If you see the image you want through the viewfinder, you’ve missed the shot.

I’m wondering how well the Nikon Coolpix L120 does in a low-light gym with lots of sport action. I have a Nikon Coolpix L22 which doesn’t do a grand job in that condition, even on the sport setting. I love my camera, but that’s its only downfall.

Please tell me if you know from personal experience, not a review you read. And please don’t suggest more expensive cameras. I’m not looking to buy a professional camera anyway.

You won’t be happy with it.

Like your L22, Nkon "L" cameras, including the L120 are entry level compact cameras.

If you want better low-light performance, consider the Nikon P300 or Canon S95.