Compact for dog agility shows?

[MikeCaine]

The daughter of a friend is looking for a camera to use at dog agility shows. She's considering the Canon PowerShot SX10 IS and the Olympus SP-565 UZ

Any opinions on which would be better for photos of running dogs? Any other suggestions?

My own preference would be a SLR, but I can understand why she doesn't want to carry one around

[tkoutdoor]

The daughter of a friend is looking for a camera to use at dog agility shows. She's considering the Canon PowerShot SX10 IS and the Olympus SP-565 UZ

Any opinions on which would be better for photos of running dogs? Any other suggestions?

My own preference would be a SLR, but I can understand why she doesn't want to carry one aroundIMO action = SLR. No two ways about it. That's of course due to the AF tracking and AF accuracy that will be required.

If lighter/smaller SLR is preferred the Olympus SLR's with in body stabilization could be had with a decent kit lens for a reasonable price. The Oly uses a 2.0x form factor, which makes all lenses much smaller than would be needed on a Canon body. This also means that the IQ is theoretically not as good as the typical SLR due to the smaller sensor. It's sensor is still much larger than a P&S sensor though so it's a reasonable compromise in a situation like this. They even have a tiny pancake lens so that the body size can be quite small even with a lens on it if that's the primary factor. Keep in mind that every lens you look at for it will be multiplied by 2.0 so in the case of the pancake lens (25mm), it would be a 50mm lens. Very affordable as well.

[Bob N.]

Mike,
I have taken many pictures at canine agility events using a Canon XTi, and I too prefer the SLR. However, I would suggest that whatever compact she chooses should have the option of Shutter speed priority (Tv on Canon cameras), as selection of a high shutter speed is essential to getting reasonable pictures of these fast moving dogs.
Bob N.

[racketman]

Casio Exilim EX-FH20 might be fun - 40fps and slow motion video (1000fps), 26-520 zoom?

[tkoutdoor]

Mike,
I have taken many pictures at canine agility events using a Canon XTi, and I too prefer the SLR. However, I would suggest that whatever compact she chooses should have the option of Shutter speed priority (Tv on Canon cameras), as selection of a high shutter speed is essential to getting reasonable pictures of these fast moving dogs.
Bob N.True. Shutter speed is half the battle. One would also want to couple shutter speed with good high ISO performance (IQ wise) to be able to keep those shutter speeds up as necessary. The ISO performance is a definite lack in Point and Shoots. I would expect a need for good high ISO IQ up to at least ISO 800, but more likely all the way to ISO 1600. If hotshoe flash is used, then ISO 400 to 800 might be workable in the worst case with some compromising. The other half is AF tracking speed and accuracy. The challenge would be to find a P&S that can do that well enough. It's not the typical feature of a P&S, but a reasonable performer "might" exist. A still photo with a P&S is a cake walk though.

[Jon]

Shutter lag will also be an issue - you're going to have to seriously anticipate the action with the typical P&S, much more than you will with a DSLR. Add in the faster lenses available for a DSLR (supporting higher shutter speeds at low ISO) and it's really going to be tough to do as well on a P&S.

[MikeCaine]

Thanks for the responses, I've pointed him to this thread

Mike

[KenAdams]

Mike, your friend may get around the shutter lag by using the camera in "motor-drive" mode, not ideal but it may help. He may find using "Portrait" from the scene modes gives him the higher shutter speed as this tends to prioritise a wide aperture, if this doesn't work then "Kids & Pets" might.

I think compacts seem to be going backwards in terms of user control; my 6-year old PowerShot S50 gives Shutter, Aperture & Manual options, also RAW, flash compensation etc., my new Ixus 870IS has none of these. :cry:
If he's technically inclined, it may be worth finding an earlier Ixus which had the Digic 3 processor - he could then use CHDK to give him the extra control. I'm kicking myself for not getting the Ixus 860 for this very reason (still waiting for the CHDK to be made available for the current Digic IV Canons).

Hope this helps.

David

[MikeCaine]

Hi David

Some interesting ideas there, thanks

I've a G9, which does offer TV and AV, as well as a few DSLRs. I may see if she wants to borrow the G9 and a DSLR to try out and see the difference between them. I'm sure her father still had a 10D, so she may already have tried a DSLR and thought it too big / heavy

Mike

[pci2000]

Did you look at the Canon Powershot SX1 IS? It has a 4 fps burst speed. That may be the answer, if you are looking for a P & S.
I know it's been available in the UK for the last few months. (It's available in the States in a couple of weeks!)

[barbazan]

I've photographed quite a lot of agility with S2 IS. Some of my photos are at :
http://kuvablogi.com/blog/12/44/
http://kuvablogi.com/blog/12/42/

[10megapixel]

If it's outdoors and bright then you could use a G10, but I don't know if that would be enough zoom for you. In the the same conditions the SX10 would probably be a better choice with the extended zoom. But, like stated above...the BEST choice would be a DSLR. If you shoot indoors or even on a dim cloudy day then the point and shoots are not going to produce very good quality images. I have owned the G10 and the SX10, so let me save you a whole lot of headache and suggest that if you plan on ever shooting the events you described above in a low light conditions then FORGET the point and shoot cameras and pick up a DSLR;)

[easypz]

That's a good recommendation. Although it's not quite compact. You can find A640's fairly inexpensively and they are much smaller.

I've photographed quite a lot of agility with S2 IS. Some of my photos are at :
http://kuvablogi.com/blog/12/44/
http://kuvablogi.com/blog/12/42/