Novice camera help...to say the least

[EEyorelover22]

I need some suggestions for a new camera.
I have no real camera knowledge and no time to learn, but need to fast and need a camera. Memories are being lost.

My camera has always been fine for trips to WDW and the random character picture and pictures of the family.

Now...I cannot take pictures where I really want to.

Indoor Track Meets and a person throwing shot put or weight throw. I am pretty sure the shutter speed is not fast enough...like I said I have no knowledge. The zoom is fine but once movement starts all the pictures are blurry. I am pretty sure outdoors will be the same. High school meets allowed me to be right behind the rings and now we are up in the stands.

Thanks for any help you can give.

 

[Gianna'sPapa]

Do you have a budget? Are you looking for a DSLR, or some other type? I am assuming from what you wrote that you are doing this primarily for sports photography. Is that correct? You wrote that you have no camera knowledge. How about photography knowledge? Aperture, shutter speed, and ISO? Do you want to shoot with prime lenses or zoom lenses? What focal lengths do you need to shoot with? Do you want an entry level camera or something more advanced? I know I'm asking a lot of questions, but to provide you some useful information, you need to provide more information. You should also make an attempt to handle the various brands because they are different ergonomically and what works for me may not work for you. With more information there are many here who can point you in the right direction.

 

[EEyorelover22]

Do you have a budget? Are you looking for a DSLR, or some other type? I am assuming from what you wrote that you are doing this primarily for sports photography. Is that correct? You wrote that you have no camera knowledge. How about photography knowledge? Aperture, shutter speed, and ISO? Do you want to shoot with prime lenses or zoom lenses? What focal lengths do you need to shoot with? Do you want an entry level camera or something more advanced? I know I'm asking a lot of questions, but to provide you some useful information, you need to provide more information. You should also make an attempt to handle the various brands because they are different ergonomically and what works for me may not work for you. With more information there are many here who can point you in the right direction.

I know NOTHING about cameras or photography. I currently have a point and shoot camera and that's it.

Hubby says DSLR.
Entry level...very entry.
Yes for sports and we will be a decent distance away.
I am assuming I need a zoom lens.

I'd love to answer the others questions but I don't know enough to answer them.

When I took pictures this weekend once DS started spinning in the ring or any movement at all...they were all blurry. He is also behind a net which I know can cause a problem too.

I don't see myself really getting into this as a hobby either because I just don't have the time right now.

Not tons of $$ because I'd never put that into a camera at this point, but I know I'm looking at 500-1000 just to start.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

The short answer is it's not as simple as buying a new camera.

Even the pros - with years of knowledge and precise equipment - find these types of shots challenging: low light and movement combined.

Jumping into a dSLR with kit lenses might disappoint.

You need to learn some principles of photography and buy equipment capable of getting those shots under the right conditions, i.e, knowing which camera settings to choose, a fast zoom lens (cha ching), a tripod, etc.

But again, even with those, your best shots will come when you understand how to get them.

 

[photo_chick]

Without learning some about photography your results are not likely to be much better with a DSLR.

Something to do with your current camera.. don't zoom in. The longer you make that lens, the more light you need and the more camera shake you have to overcome.

As far as getting a DSLR... since you know you want to do indoor action work, I'd look at cameras with a higher ISO range. It will make getting those shots easier.

 

[ChiSoxKeith]

Have you tried putting your camera on a tripod?

If you are trying to do it all hand held, that's going to be a big problem (even if you go to a DSLR).

 

[Gianna'sPapa]

Like all the PP's have said, indoor sports are difficult to shoot. You will need some photographic knowledge. A quick read is a book called Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson. Its $16 or you should be able to find a copy at your local library. As everyone has stated, what is referred to as fast glass is the best way to capture low light, action. Of course, that is expensive (lens). There is another way and that is with an external flash. With your budget, you could get a high ISO (sensor sensitivity) entry level camera, kit lens and a decent flash. Since I shoot Pentax, I can give you an example from that brand. Others here can give other examples:

Pentax Kx w/ 18-55 and 50-200 $599 (w/55-300 instead of 50-200 about $60 more)
Sigma EF 610 DG Super Flash $255 (at 105mm you can shoot out to approx 180' @ ISO 100)

That puts you at $854. Then you would need one or two memory cards and an extra battery plus a bag if you don't have one. That would keep you under the $1,000 cap.

With that, please understand that what I have described is not the magic bullet to good photography. It takes some knowledge to make it work. A camera and accessories are tools just like a hammer is to a carpenter. I would highly recommend you find a brick and mortar camera shop and handle the cameras before you purchase. The ergonomics are very important.

 

[DisneyChristmas]

Yes, visit your public library. For really basic knowledge of camera terms and skills, look for a book(s) in the children's section.

I'm a library director, and I often recommend this approach to persons wanting to learn about photography, creating web sites, figure skating - you name it.

 

[EEyorelover22]

Have you tried putting your camera on a tripod?

If you are trying to do it all hand held, that's going to be a big problem (even if you go to a DSLR).

I would have thought that too, but I had it on a railing...it was only the shots where he started to move that I had problems with.

A long time ago...I learned a little about photography/cameras, but it's been 20 years+ since those days. The knowledge fades after so long.

Not zooming wouldn't work either...I wouldn't be able to tell that it's him in the photo and then they are too dark. I have always been able to get away with the continuous shot feature on this camera, but not now.

I am thinking perhaps when he moves outdoors I will be better off.

I guess that's why they have those photo finish pics to buy...too bad no one pays attenention to field events

Thanks for the help everyone.

 

[EEyorelover22]

Like all the PP's have said, indoor sports are difficult to shoot. You will need some photographic knowledge. A quick read is a book called Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson. Its $16 or you should be able to find a copy at your local library. As everyone has stated, what is referred to as fast glass is the best way to capture low light, action. Of course, that is expensive (lens). There is another way and that is with an external flash. With your budget, you could get a high ISO (sensor sensitivity) entry level camera, kit lens and a decent flash. Since I shoot Pentax, I can give you an example from that brand. Others here can give other examples:

Pentax Kx w/ 18-55 and 50-200 $599 (w/55-300 instead of 50-200 about $60 more)
Sigma EF 610 DG Super Flash $255 (at 105mm you can shoot out to approx 180' @ ISO 100)

That puts you at $854. Then you would need one or two memory cards and an extra battery plus a bag if you don't have one. That would keep you under the $1,000 cap.

With that, please understand that what I have described is not the magic bullet to good photography. It takes some knowledge to make it work. A camera and accessories are tools just like a hammer is to a carpenter. I would highly recommend you find a brick and mortar camera shop and handle the cameras before you purchase. The ergonomics are very important.

Thank you for the suggestion. DH has a little knowledge. We dug out his 1980's camera tonight with his telephoto lens. (found my cassette recorder too with my cassette of the Lion King)

I really believe the shutter speed is not fast enough. DH agrees.

The blurry in the pics is his movement, not me moving.
Otherwise, the pictures are decent...not award winning by any means. No flash and they were not dark...the light seemed fine.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I really believe the shutter speed is not fast enough. DH agrees.

The blurry in the pics is his movement, not me moving.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2568036

 

[EEyorelover22]

Indeed. Thank you.
The flash indoors causes even more issues and then the pictures are dark too.
I miss all the action when the flash is on.

Outdoors does not present a problem. However, I haven't had to zoom yet either.

The continuous function always served me well until I had to zoom at the same time.

A friend of mine knows a bit about cameras so we shall see. There's not much else to do in the dead of winter. And besides...we watch the grass grow at track meets anyway...I would actually have time to read
we were there from 9:30 - 4 last Sat.

 

[Gianna'sPapa]

Indeed. Thank you.
The flash indoors causes even more issues and then the pictures are dark too.
I miss all the action when the flash is on.

Outdoors does not present a problem. However, I haven't had to zoom yet either.

The continuous function always served me well until I had to zoom at the same time.

A friend of mine knows a bit about cameras so we shall see. There's not much else to do in the dead of winter. And besides...we watch the grass grow at track meets anyway...I would actually have time to read
we were there from 9:30 - 4 last Sat.

All flashes are not created equal. The flash on my DSLR, which is better than on a point and shoot, is only good out to 12-15 feet. To do better, you would have to use an external shoe mounted type flash with a good guide rating. A guide rating is usually a number, in meters, out to a certain focal point (ex: 105mm) @ 100 ISO. That number will approximate the distance you should be able to obtain a properly exposed image. There are other factors and adjustments that can be made to fine tune it, but that is beyond this conversation. A point shoot camera is just not going to do well in low light action scenarios. When you move outside with better light, you will do much better.

 

[photo_chick]

Thank you for the suggestion. DH has a little knowledge. We dug out his 1980's camera tonight with his telephoto lens. (found my cassette recorder too with my cassette of the Lion King)

I really believe the shutter speed is not fast enough. DH agrees.

The blurry in the pics is his movement, not me moving.
Otherwise, the pictures are decent...not award winning by any means. No flash and they were not dark...the light seemed fine.

All shots have camera shake unless they are on a tripod. Bracing on other things helps, but camera shake is still there and the longer the focal length, the worse it is. It's why we have the 1/focal length minimum for shutter speeds. You have to add to that to stop movement. My guess is that your shutter speed is fast enough to overcome that, but not fast enough to also stop the movement. A tripod would eliminate the camera shake and give you several stops in some cases, which would most likely be enough to stop the subjects movement.

 

[EEyorelover22]

Parts of him are in focus as are the other objects in the picture. The parts that are out of focus are the parts of his body that are moving...arm...leg...when he is spinning in the circle.

 

[YesDear]

depending on the direction a person is moving, a camera will need an exposure of 1/250th of a second and probably 1/500th to freeze action.

I am not certain a point& shoot being used indoors will be able to create that image. I would also be concerned that a beginner DSLR would be able to have a high enough ISO and shutter speed to create the image you want.

That would probably mean you would have to use manual settings to attempt the image to begin with.

If you had a zoom lens with say a 2.8 f stop you then have the issue of a shallow depth of field.

My point being shooting a indoor track meet can be a real challenge with out quality light. Many arena's do not have that great light.

 

[EEyorelover22]

I probably did get betters pictures because of the natural light coming in too. There were windows all around the indoor track which is very different from any that I have been in before.

I now have more reasons for winter to be OVER so we can go outside

If only my father were still alive to help me...I starting learning from him while in my first year of college...became too busy...then work, then more school...then kids and no CASH. Sometimes it took him forever and a day to take a picture, but they were amazing pictures. He always took slides back in the day as he didn't like when they printed his pics.

Many of the suggestions are back there somewhere, but it's been so long!

I am asking fellow teachers (yearbook/newspaper) too and also students. They always offer the best info.