Sports Photos

[doctor old]

Yes, I am a newbie. I have just been given an SD550 and I would like to take good sports photos (mainly basketball, indoors-poor lighting). Can someone fill me in on what are the best settings to use on my camera?

thanks

[Croasdail]

welcome to the digital camera age. One of the problems is your camera doesn't have a dedicated sports mode.... so I would pick either the "kids and pets" or "indoor". If you are feeling brave, go to manual mode and set the camera for ISO 400, and set the Aperture wide open (f2.8 - f4.9) depending on the amount of zoom you are using. I would try to get close rather then zoom a lot as this will slow down your shutter speed because of moving to f4.9. The camera is not ideally setup to take sports pictures.... but with some fiddling, you should be able to get some good shots.

[doctor old]

Thanks Mark. I've been using digital for years but have never been able to get anything that's moving quickly (Canon A20!). I was hoping I could get some decent pics. I'm not expecting pro quality. Just to be able to get my kids recorded for posterity.

[PhotosGuy]

There's some good reading in Gavin's thread too: Q&A Session with Gmen: Sports Photography (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=116971)

[doctor old]

I appreciate the suggestions. Unfortunately I have no control over aperture. I guess I'm stuck pointing/shooting/hoping.