Sx 10 is Action shots

[nupe05]

Hello all

Long time reader first time poster.. Im new to photography and my main purpose is for my daughter's basketball. i purchased Sx10 in Jan.. and have just taken as many pictures as possible of anything in motion.. Im currently shooting most action pic out of AV setting with 800 or 1600 iso.. some come out ok but most are grainy.. all pics are typically taken inside school gyms..

Trying to get best pic quailty possible, as i would like to become teams personal Photographer.. and also have my daughters career documented for me..

Heres some samples.. Editing is fine, and all tips and recommendations are gladly accepted..

Thanks in advance

http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn122/Nomad804/IMG_0247.jpghttp://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn122/Nomad804/IMG_0278.jpghttp://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn122/Nomad804/IMG_0228.jpg

[Jon]

Unfortunately, the SX10 isn't all that well suited for this type of shooting. The small sensors on P&S cameras are particularly prone to noise (your "grain"), the lens isn't particularly fast, and the camera has noticeable "lag time" between when you press the shutter and when the picture's actually taken. Gyms are generally poorly lit, so good high-ISO performance and fast lenses are important.

For around $800-900 you could pick up a Digital Rebel XS and an 85 mm f/1.8 lens. The camera will have better high-ISO performance and less lag time and the faster f/1.8 lens, although not a zoom, will let you use higher shutter speeds.

[dan j]

I'd try adding a flash to your SX10. I did and it helped my old SX10 a ton. The stock flash just isn't very bright and doesn't cover much distance. For $200 you could pick up a lightly used 430EX. With better lighting you should be able to raise the shutter speed (to better freeze motion) and lower the ISO. Jon is right of course, no matter what you do to the SX10 you'll still get better results with a DSLR and a fast lens. Of course then you'll want more photos per second and the other improvements so you'll upgrade the Rebel again, and again :) It's a very slippery slope.

One other suggestion I've seen here a lot is to try a noise removing software like Noise Ninja. I've never used it, but the results posted here are great.

dan

[Jacobredphoto]

On a point and shoot you simply can not normally go above 200 and sometimes 400. After you get onto or past 400, there will be to much noise in the resulting photograph. I would really suggest upgrading to a D-SLR such as the above mentioned XS, XTi, XSi. A fast lens is a must-have for gym photography so something along the lines of the Canon 70-200mm L IS USM f/2.8 would be appropriate to allow for faster shutter speeds to freeze the action. I have not had good flash experience in gyms unless you are very close. A lot of gyms will also not allow flashes as it distracts the players.