30d for Sports?

[taslin]

I have a quick question....

I am thinking of upgrading to the 30d and 580ex with the new rebates. Will I notice a difference in shooting professional sports with the 30d over the Rebel XT? I am looking to get faster frames per second and a faster focus. I think my Rebel is great for shooting portraits and still life, but when it comes to shooting professional sports it seems to miss a lot of the pictures (but maybe it's me not sure).

I need to stop buying equipment, but they just keep pulling me back in with these rebates. ;)

[Belekes]

I used to have a Digital Rebel (not the XT). With this camera a tried to make pictures of a cyclo-race several times. But the results were very poor.
Last week I went with my new 30D for the first time to a cyclo-race. There was no sun, so not to much light, but I'm very happy with the results.
See: http://belekes.zenfolio.com/p298175418/

[taslin]

Thank you Belekes.....there is just so much information about all the cameras it seems to overload me since I've been shooting with DSLR's for less than a year, but I thought the faster frames per second and i assumed the focusing would be faster with this model. The stadium that I shoot at is an outdoor stadium at night so I'm shooting at about 400ish on 800 speed with a 70-200 f/2.8. I have read that I can shoot higher maybe 1200 or 1600 with the 30D and still get decent pictures. I should just pull the trigger and stop over analyizing ;)

[JohnJ80]

I have a quick question....

I am thinking of upgrading to the 30d and 580ex with the new rebates. Will I notice a difference in shooting professional sports with the 30d over the Rebel XT? I am looking to get faster frames per second and a faster focus. I think my Rebel is great for shooting portraits and still life, but when it comes to shooting professional sports it seems to miss a lot of the pictures (but maybe it's me not sure).

I need to stop buying equipment, but they just keep pulling me back in with these rebates. ;)

what do you mean when you say that you were missing shots?

i think the AF is somewhat better than the XT and it has a higher burst rate (5 fps vs 3). I shoot a lot of sports - last year with an XT and had no problems (alpine ski racing, soccer, yacht racing). this year with a 5D. The 5D has better AF, which I think is improved over the 30D (invisible AF points around the center spot).

I don't use burst, prefering to set my shot up more directly anyhow. For me, burst at 5fps isn't that great anyhow, to really do it right you'd need the 8.5fps from the 1D. The problem for me with burst is that I don't want to go through the all the burst shots after a game - it just gets excessive at some point and I didn't see it improving my keeper rate.

J

[taslin]

I shoot mainly soccer at this point. I think part of the problem is getting used to shooting professional sports and the fast action. I get some great shots don't get me wrong, but I feel I am missing some shots because the AF isn't fast enough. I am using a monopod. I am sure I will enjoy the 30D and I am sure it will help me more than the XT. I would love the 5D or 1D, but at this point I can't spend that much and the 30D seemed to be the logical place to go since this is the highest without getting into the full frames and going over $2K.

[rklepper]

I have a quick question....

I am thinking of upgrading to the 30d and 580ex with the new rebates. Will I notice a difference in shooting professional sports with the 30d over the Rebel XT? I am looking to get faster frames per second and a faster focus. I think my Rebel is great for shooting portraits and still life, but when it comes to shooting professional sports it seems to miss a lot of the pictures (but maybe it's me not sure).

I need to stop buying equipment, but they just keep pulling me back in with these rebates. ;)

I went that same route for the same reasons. The AF on the 30D is great compared to the XT. Spped and Accuracy of the AF is what makes this camera stand above the XT as a sports camera.

[jevidon]

i upgraded from the XT to the 30D, though I made the switch before I tried any sports shooting with the XT. However, I have been extremely happy with the results from my 30D when shooting sports. See some of my sports threads for examples.

[grego]

You'll do sports very well with the 30D. Not many cameras get better than that.

[stanc30]

I agree with Grego, and the ones that can are more than I can afford right now so I just buy better g"L"ass.

You can see some of our shots at www.scraddockphotography.com better yet, go take photo's with it you'll love your new camera!

[taslin]

Ok the pressure is too much.....The 30d, 580ex, and LumiQuest Promax system will be here Friday.....lucky for me the team is playing a home game Saturday.

I need to put myself on a buying freeze before I am shooting with expensive equipment living in a cardboard box.

P.S. I would love a 1D or 5D, but at this point I don't have the $2,500-$6,500 to drop on a body and I think I have good enough glass that I should be set for awhile. I think my next purchase will definately be the 300 f/2.8.

[grego]

P.S. I would love a 1D or 5D, but at this point I don't have the $2,500-$6,500 to drop on a body and I think I have good enough glass that I should be set for awhile. I think my next purchase will definately be the 300 f/2.8.

You also gain more reach with the field of view with the 300 2.8 on the 30D, which is nice. Glass defintely more important. :)

[yonni]

You'll do sports very well with the 30D. Not many cameras get better than that.

OT, but there was a great VB game Friday @sc. You don't happen to have any killer shots do you Greg? If so please share.:) I did see a pic of Nana Meriwether on the web that was just outstanding, full body shot suspended in air.

[grego]

OT, but there was a great VB game Friday @sc. You don't happen to have any killer shots do you Greg? If so please share.:) I did see a pic of Nana Meriwether on the web that was just outstanding, full body shot suspended in air.

Sadly, I did not go to that game. I went to a fellow Daily Bruin photog's b-day. I did want to go, but that was my dilema. That game or the fellow DB photog.

That's the only one i have uploaded right now.
http://www.dailybruin.com/news/articles.asp?id=38178

One of my fellow photogs did a fairly good portrait with her.
http://www.dailybruin.com/news/articles.asp?id=38497

[Tall_Paul_2000]

I had a similar dilemma about the 30d for sports about 4-5 weeks ago and at that point I was torn between the 30d and a very lovely 1d Mk1 (which were both around a similar price). The thread for this is:

http://www.photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=220359 (http://www.photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=220359)

As I all I shoot is sport (well, 95% of the time) the 1d was absolutely the right tool for the job. My concern of image quality (due to it being 4mp) was unfounded as (hopefully) you'll agree from the pics below:

http://www.photoshelter.com/usr-show/U0000SvIAHRW1Qj4 (http://www.photoshelter.com/usr-show/U0000SvIAHRW1Qj4)

The 30d is a fabulous camera and I am sure I would have got on very well with it, however if sport is your thing, as it is with me, then do have a look at one.

Then, if you buy the 300 2.8L you will have the most awesome sports set-up I can think of. (Apart from a mk11n and a 400 2.8L perhaps.....droooooooollll!!!).

Hope this helps as another option to consider perhaps. As I say, 30d very good, but consider the tool you need for the type of photography that you will mostly be doing.

Good luck!

[grego]

If you do low light sports(lots of gym stuff or outdoor night stuff), the 30D will be a better choice. So keep that in mind. That's the only downside to the 1DMKI.

[taslin]

Yeah most of my stuff is low light outdoor open stadium lighting. It's a professional stadium, but it's soccer in the US so they don't have spot lights lighting up the fields....I think mostly I have shot 800 speed at about 400-450 shutter speed. My 30D will be here tomorrow so I'll be able to test it out on Saturday night and then again at my kids fall festival to test out the 580ex. Do you think anyone would stare walking around a school function with a 30d, 70-200 f/2.8L, and 580ex setup? ;) I can't wait to play with my new toys ;)

[Photorebel]

I've used the 30D this year to cover fastpitch softball games, and had ten or so shots published in local paper. Despite this being my first year shooting sports. I'm also shooting highschool football at night, in less than optimal lighting.
So with the combination of 5 fps, quick, accurate AF..to ablitilty shoot at 1600 and 3200 with surprising low noise. (oh..there's some..but not nearly as
bad as other brands at 1000 ISO.

I also use the 580Ex at the football games.

The 30D is a very good camera, for sports, IMHO.

[RgB]

I used to have a Digital Rebel (not the XT). With this camera a tried to make pictures of a cyclo-race several times. But the results were very poor.
Last week I went with my new 30D for the first time to a cyclo-race. There was no sun, so not to much light, but I'm very happy with the results.
See: http://belekes.zenfolio.com/p298175418/

You had a few classic looking shots in there though they were all good.
Good stuff Peter;)