Is the S1 the camera for me?

[spilldog380]

Hi everyone! I need some advice on the S1 in reference to its use for sporting events. My wife wants a digital that she can use as a point and shoot and will probably have it on auto most of the time. I want one that I can use for our kids sporting events indoors, outdoors (daytime and night games) and nature. From the research I've done I thought that the S1 was a good choice but then I read some things that said it wasn't a good camera for action shots. I've also read that it is a good sports camera so I'm not real sure want to think. Price is also a consideration because we aren't rich! I can get an S1 for about 300.00. Any insight on this camera and other suggestions that would help us make a purchase that we will be happy with would be greatly appreciated!!! Thanks to all,
Spilldog 380

[Bodryn]

I have an S1. I like it very much as an all around useful camera. The IS feature (image stabilization) and the 10x optical zoom makes it very good for a lot of things. The viewfinder may be a bit of a problem in that if you have the camera set to show the photo for 2 seconds after you take it (so you know you got a photo), that view also stays in the viewfinder momentarily so you can't follow the action for 2 seconds. I had this problem when trying to capture a flying bird; I need to try it without that feature on and see how it goes.

I like the idea of image stabilization; I have taken handheld shots of birds far out on the lake and I was very pleased. I have yet to have a problem with motion blur under daylight conditions. But to get the best photos the aperture should be minimized and the ISO decreased, and then a tripod would be best.

Daytime sports outside shouldn't be a problem. I haven't shot pictures of nighttime sports action, but when you have nighttime sports, even though the lights seem bright, you won't have nearly as much available light to work with, and the action would be too far away for flash, thus you may get some motion blur. Maybe somebody else has specific experience with the S1 for this. The S1 has an aperture of 1/3.1 at maximum zoom. The ISO rating can be set from 50 to 400 which is fairly fast. If the zoom was set at about 3x or so, results might be a lot better.

To get really high quality sports photos at night, I think you might have to go to a more expensive camera such as a Canon Digital Rebel because it has special built-in digital noise processing that allows it to have a much higher ISO rating, up to 1600 or even 3200 without increasing the digital noise defects; also you can choose your own lenses for it that would be best for the sports action, including IS lenses if you wish.

[css01]

daytime outdoor sports will not be a problem.

nightime and indoor sports - don't have high expectations.

[Geeeyejo]

I too have the S1 - the only thing that will come close for the price is the Panasonic Lumix FZ3 (at around $360) It too is image stabilized with a 12x zoom. I love my S1 but can see where indoor, lower light zoom shots might pose a problem. You can play with hyperfocal settings to take some great focused pics indoors - but hyperfocal usually precludes the use of the zoom. Not sure if the Lumix is any better at lower light focusing (check some reviews on line) The Dig SLR Rebel would definately be the ticket, but with a good zoom lense, you will definately be looking at $1000+ for the package!
I think for the money, the S1 is a tremendous value and is capable of taking great pics.

[spilldog380]

thanks for the imput everyone! It sounds like if I want to take indoor or outdoor night sports pictures that Im going to have to spend much more than I would be spending on the S1. I'm wondering if it makes any difference to use a 4 or 5 mp with just a 3x zoom lens like most of the point and shoot cameras and crop the picture. would it be any easier to get good clear pics of action in a gym or night football game? any suggestions on which camera to have?

[pradeep1]

daytime outdoor sports will not be a problem.

nightime and indoor sports - don't have high expectations.

Like most digicams in this price range, the autofocus is not fast enough to catch moving sports action. The IS is also not going to be able to remove motion blur if your subject is moving fast and you can't get fast enough shutter speed (due to slow lens - small maximum aperture) to stop the motion.

[Geeeyejo]

The S1 is however, a relatively quick lense it is 2.8 and only 3.1 at maximum telephoto. Also 4-5 MP does not provide that much more (at least as much as most folks think) in resolution. Remember resolution is a squared measure so 6 MP total does not represent an image that would be double the length and width of a 3 MP image, rather just double the area.

[spilldog380]

Ok. Other than a digital SLR is there any digital camera that is good for indoor and night outdoor sporting events? Anyone out there have a camera that they use for this type of thing that they're happy with or am I asking too much from a non-SLR digital.

btw--thanks to everyone for your help Spilldog380

[pradeep1]

Ok. Other than a digital SLR is there any digital camera that is good for indoor and night outdoor sporting events? Anyone out there have a camera that they use for this type of thing that they're happy with or am I asking too much from a non-SLR digital.

btw--thanks to everyone for your help Spilldog380

I don't think you are going to find something that will satisfy your needs 100% in this range of cameras. You may have to go dSLR. The main thing with sports photography is focus speed and focus tracking, which enables you to lock focus on a moving object and the camera keeps focus of that object as it moves around. If you are looking for an inexpensive solution, consider picking up a used film body, like the Canon Elan II series, with a decent lens (28-135 IS). They can do what you are asking for, but at the cost of being film instead of digital. A decent dSLR recommendation would be the Canon 10D, which you can find used pretty cheaply ~ the same price as a new 300D, which is not as capable.

If you are looking to go the dSLR route, consider posting this question on the EOS forum and you'll get much better advice.

I re-read your original posting and it seems that this camera is for your relatively newbie wife. This makes it all the more difficult, since I would doubt she'd want to have a dSLR around her neck. :(

[spilldog380]

just wanted to thank you for the info and advice. i'll be looking into those suggestions but you're right about who the camera is really going to be for so i have a feeling that we will probably end up with a point and shoot . thanks again, i appreciate your taking the time to get me straight on what my choices really are. take care! spilldog380

[e_a_g_l_e_p_i]

I just bought my S1 and the first night I owned it I shot over 300 pictures of my nephew at his college basketball game. I had no problem with catching the action, now I realize that basketball isn't the fastest sport in the world but for someone who never used this camera before I felt I did pretty good, I just st it on the fast shutter speed setting and shot many continuious shots...so far I love the S1

[Ikinaa]

...
The viewfinder may be a bit of a problem in that if you have the camera set to show the photo for 2 seconds after you take it (so you know you got a photo), that view also stays in the viewfinder momentarily so you can't follow the action for 2 seconds. ...


Try this : set review time to 0 (off), so you can follow the action immediately after taking the shot.
If you want to review the picture you just took, keep the shutter button pressed. As long as you're pressing the button, the picture will remain. If you press 'set' while the picture is shown, you pass into view mode and can zoom in the picture.
I think that this works with the S1 too. At least with my ixus 300 and powershot G3 it works fine...

[mrcoons]

I am a very satisfied S1 user. I have found the S1 to be perfect for the types of events you describe. I use it at night football games, parades, band competitions, all sorts of things. The sports setting gives me very clear (no blurring) during the football games and parades. For dark auditoriums I use the nighttime setting and have have very good success, but I have purchased a slave flash to give me a little help in these situations. You will need a tripod or a monopod when using the nighttime setting.


To see examples of my S1 photos go to http://markcsphotos.blogspot.com/ as 85% of the pictures here are from my S1 (rest are from my G3).