Need a good camera for action shots - suggestions please!

[KERdad06]

Hello-

I am looking for suggestions for a camera that would be good for action shots, mostly for taking pictures of my daughters while playing sports. Right now I have a Kodak Easyshare. Whenever people are moving when I take the picture, they turn out blurry. Also, it takes a couple seconds to focus and snap the shot, so many times I miss the picture I wanted because of the delay.

Need something fairly inexpensive, maybe under $200, that can take good action shots, doesn't have such a delay, and one that would also work well for taking on our Disney World vacation next year that's also good at still shots, and easy to carry around.

Any advice? Thanks much for any help you may give!

Chad

 

[goofy4tink]

I have a point and shoot as well....it's a Panasonic Lumix, about 2 years old. It takes terrific shots. I actually have taken better photos with this camera than my friend with her expensive DSLR..great fireworks shots.
But...my one complaint with it is it's inability to take actions shots. The delay is awful. I was talking to a photographer last night (choosing dance recital photos)...we got to talking about action shots and how wonderful his are. Told him to use my point and shoot and try to get those same shots. He asked what I was using and when I told him, he said he loved the mid-range Panasonic's but for action shots they were terrible.

So...now I'm in the same boat you are in. I really need something, under $300, point and shoot, that is going to give me the same quality shots as well as decent action shots. I really just want to keep my camera in my pocket...I have no desire to get into all that technical stuff with the high end cameras.

Sure do wish I could figure it out....so, good luck to you in your search!!

 

[Master Mason]

There is a reason that people that shoot action shots use SLR's and fast lenses.

To shoot action shots, you need a camera that is capable of gathering enough light in very short periods of time so that you can freeze the action. To do so, you need bigger sensors, bigger openings in the lenses and more ability to handle higher ISO. Those are not features of p&s cameras.

Some of them will work ok for a bright sunny day, but not inside a poorly lit gym or under the lights.

 

[zackiedawg]

Master Mason's right - thank god too - there has to be some justification for those of us hauling around big bags of lenses and massive DSLRs! If a $200 P&S could do everything we can do, there wouldn't be much of a point!

Unfortunately, there are a few categories P&S cameras just can't do - no matter the brand. There are some tricks that some can do which make them a little better than others, and some have a few little advantages...but it still comes down to small sensor, small lens, slow shot times, slow autofocus, poor high ISO ability...which means night snaps, low light, and action are unlikely.

That said...cameras that might do better than others are usually more than $200. They're still not great, but they either have slightly larger sensors, slightly better and larger lenses, or some advanced capabilities to compensate for action or low light. Canon S90, Panasonic LX3, Fuji S100, Sony HX5, Canon G11, Sony TX1 - 5 - 7, and Fuji F80 are worth a look...but most or all will be over the price goal you have. Each of these have some advantages - the first 3 have larger sensors and fairly fast lenses, the Sony models have special low light and burst capabilities, the Fuji F80 is slightly better with noise in high ISOs.

Under $200 will be your biggest problem. I'd suggest looking to the Sony HX5 or TX series, or Fuji F80 - they will be the closest in price. The Sony cams have a few unique abilities that might help a bit with action - they can shoot at 10 frames per second, so they are pretty good at getting the right moment, and they have a special 'anti-blur mode' which takes 6 shots instantly, and merges them all in the camera to reduce noise and help get a fast enough shutter speed to freeze movement. They use the same technique for low light shooting, allowing high ISO with very low noise for shooting at night.

 

[goofy4tink]

Well...that all made perfect sense to me. I think I'll just forgo the action shots and stick with what I do best. Thanks for the info guys. I can stop looking for that particular capability now. But....that means I can now focus on getting more zoom now!!

 

[handicap18]

The others are right. You can't find what your looking for at that price. It doesn't exist. Kinda like asking for a car that can fit 6 comfortably, get 40MPG at 65MPH while towing a camper or boat.

You can probably find a decent PnS that has a shorter shutter delay than what you have now, but that may be about it. To get everything your asking for you do need a dSLR with pretty much zero shutter delay, has the capability to get real good high ISO performance (because of the larger sensor) and the ability to change to a lens that has a very wide aperture (aka f/stop).

I can get decent baseball shots at night with my dSLR and $500 70-300mm lens, but many times I give up as it gets later in the game and it gets darker, especially for my son's little league games when they don't even play under the lights and it happens to be a cloudy late afternoon. I really want to get the 70-200mm f/2.8 lens but can't afford the $2300 price tag.

For indoor sports you can get away with not spending as much. With high school sports and lower levels you can get closer to the action and don't need as long of a lens. Shorter f/2.8 zoom lens can get had for $500-600 (24-70mm range).

All those lenses you see on the sidelines of pro sports are in the range of $3000-6000 and thats just for the lens. Obviously you don't need to spend that kind of money. But realistically, to get pretty good shots at the amerture level you would have to spend probably no less than $1000.

Camera equipment are tools. Just like with anything else, the more specific you want the job to be, the more expensive the tools are going to be.

 

[KERdad06]

Thanks for the information. It sounds like my best bet is to save up a little bit of money and get a decent camera for the shots I am looking for.

A buddy of mine did mention to me that I could push down the button about half way when I am getting ready to take a picture. I guess it gets the camera set up a little quicker. I tried that at a ball game this past weekend, and it did seem to work better by not having such a delay and taking quicker pictures for action shots. I'm sure they are by far not the quality I would like, but will be better than nothing in the meantime.

Thanks again!

 

[photo_chick]

Check out the Fuji S1800. It's a pretty capable point and shoot that falls in your price range. It might be what you're looking for, it might not.

And I disagree that a DSLR is necessary for action shots. Better, but not necessary. It's all in knowing how to use what you have.

 

[Snappy in OK]

You might try shooting action shots in burst mode on your PnS. Some PnS cameras will take decent pictures in burst mode, others will not. My mom & father-in-law both have a Sony PnS that takes pretty good action pics in burst mode.