Camera - Help!!

[GBRulz]

Fixed....had a space in a url.

TY, Zool !

[packinpatland]

Dang, were you on the field?

Great pic!!

No, but we did have good seats.
While I agree with GBR about the size of camera, altho when I first got it, it seemed huge, it doesn't now. What I like most about the camera is the ability to take rapid shots.

[Iron Mike]

Re: Camera - Help!!

My roomate is a fashion photographer. I'll ask him what he thinks will be the best solution tomorrow.

Great! Please do ask. But also let him know this is action....not fashion.

We have Canon Powershot S5 IS cameras at the office.


And it's neither action, nor fashion.

[MadtownPacker]

Ask Ziggy. She was taking lots of pics at the Posters game.

Ziggy & MTP were using a Canon S3i. You can get one on ebay for about $300.

I don't know much about camera's but this was a 6 or 8 megapixel with a 12x zoom.

You Gabachos are always getting hustled!

I paid like $250 and that was in Dec 2006 after I got my old one ripped off at the @49ers game that month. The newer model is about the same price now.

Here is a nice one for that price:

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Canon-PowerShot-SX110-IS-9-Megapixel-Digital-Camera-Black-SX110ISK/sem/rpsm/oid/221270/catOid/-16941/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do

Here is the neest version of the one I used at the ATL game.

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Canon-SX10-IS-10-Megapixel-Digital-Camera-SX10IS/sem/rpsm/oid/224328/catOid/-16941/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do

[GoPackGo]

Re: Camera - Help!!

What I'm looking for is a camera to take good, close up pictures at sporting events from the stands....either indoor or outdoor. I've been going down on the field or right behind the players on the court when I can, but that's not always possible.

If thats what you really want, you'd be best served to save up and get a more expensive digital SLR camera with a 300mm lens
check out the Oympus E-510 and Nikon D80. They are Consumer Reports highest rated consumer digital SLR's. I have the Olympus E-510, 14-42mm and 40-150mm lenses.

[GoPackGo]

www.dpreview.com

I second this website.

What I'm looking for is a camera to take good, close up pictures at sporting events from the stands....either indoor or outdoor. I've been going down on the field or right behind the players on the court when I can, but that's not always possible.

If thats what you really want, you'd be best served to save up and get a more expensive digital SLR camera with a 50-200mm lens
check out the Oympus E-510 and Nikon D80. They are Consumer Reports highest rated consumer digital SLR's. I have the Olympus E-510, 14-42mm and 40-150mm lenses. The 50-200mm is much nicer

[Partial]

She just wants something that isn't blurry when items are moving. That doesn't require an SLR. As a matter of fact, if you don't know how to shoot with a regular camera, and SLR certainly isn't going to make it any easier.

I am sure she gets great motion shots in July on a bright, summer day. I would bet my bottom dollar that she does. Why? Because the shutter is open for 1/500th of a second and it is far too short of an increment to let the wobble of human hands affect the shot clarity.

aperture - how much light is getting in, the more light, the better.

shutter speed - how long the hole letting the light in is open

With moving objects, clearly you want as small of a shutter speed as possible so it can gather the image quickly. He child will be flurry running a post down the field at 1/60th of a second. A 20k camera isn't going to change that fact.

View the shot on this page:

http://howto.wired.com/wiki/Supercharge_Your_Camera_with_Open-Source_CHDK_Firmware

That is with a very cheap camera and a super fast shutter speed. Otherwise you wouldn't be able to capture that moment. Short shutter speed allow for motion shots as such.

I'm very confident your camera is capable of doing what you want. It's just a matter of reading the manual once you understand aperture, etc, and making the necessary adjustments.

My roomate says 99% of photography is knowing how to use the camera, and having the proper lighting equipment. He can get great shots, far better than Pips shots (which are very good) with a cheap 100 dollar digital. DON't, I repeat DON'T waste your money on a new camera.

[GoPackGo]

Pdouche-
you seem to grasp the concept of photography. However no one is suggesting she spend 20K(pffft?) on a camera. If she spends more than a couple hundred on a quality digital SLR camera and lens and gets awesome photos, she will never regret it. Her kids will only be young playing sports once. Her photos will be the envy of all the other moms she hangs with.

[Partial]

I agree that it would produce better pictures, but what I am saying is until she grasps the concepts of how to take a good picture, the SLR isn't going to accomplish much besides further confuse her. There's only so much the automatic settings on the camera will do, ya know?

I think she'll be fine with what she has. I'd invest in a tripod before a new camera first and foremost. That will make the biggest difference in high quality in home shots where the lighting is never great. To improve the outside shots when its not bright and sunny she'll need to read up on how cameras work more.

[GoPackGo]

I have a tripod and I never use it unless i'm trying to take a picture of the moon.
I'd rather get a quality camera and lens and learn as I go
here's a picture I took the first day I had my new camera and I had no idea how to use it:

http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee4/jpopp79/olympus%20e510%20album/Chase71908olymastered1680x1.jpg

[MJZiggy]

If she has a 3x zoom, she's not fine with what she has for taking sport shots. I even have the add-on lens for my S3IS and it has 12X zoom to begin with. That camera is automatic enough that it takes better, clearer shots in lower light than other cameras I have owned. It might not be PIPL good (she knows what she's doing with a good camera) but the price is good and the camera does a good job and is easy to use.

[Partial]

If she has a 3x zoom, she's not fine with what she has for taking sport shots. I even have the add-on lens for my S3IS and it has 12X zoom to begin with. That camera is automatic enough that it takes better, clearer shots in lower light than other cameras I have owned. It might not be PIPL good (she knows what she's doing with a good camera) but the price is good and the camera does a good job and is easy to use.

Zig I have had a Panasonic FZ20 aka a slightly nicer camera and it doesn't make a difference. Sure, the zoom is nice, but if you're going to go to that level might as well get the DSLR imo.

[MJZiggy]

Dude, she said she wanted to take tighter action shots of her kids. Listen to what she says she wants before you decide what's sufficient for her. A 3x zoom will not take close-up action shots from the stands.

[packinpatland]

Partial, I'm going to agree with you that a good working knowledge of how a camera, any camera, works is the most important tool there is.

[GBRulz]

Re: Camera - Help!!

If thats what you really want, you'd be best served to save up and get a more expensive digital SLR camera with a 300mm lens

See, at training camp this year I was trying out my new 70-300mm lens, which I actually returned. I found that the lens will not give a low enough aperture setting at the 300mm end with a fast enough shutter speed to stop the action. End result, lots of blurred shots. I'm sure I would not have had this problem with a lower F stop lens, which adds $1,000 to the price!! I understand that lenses are something that you just don't go cheap on, plus they never get outdated. However, for the kind of things that I like to take pics of, I think my next investment will be the EF 15mm "fish eye" lens.