Needing Advice on BEST Sports Camera

Hi Anybody,

Is anybody out there???

I am looking for a NEW Sports camera that is Not too heavy - I have been looking at Canon SX30IS but was told that might Not work for what I am looking for

I do NOT want anything that is too heavy -

PLEASE ~ I am going NUTS and am looking for HELP ~ Thanks,

"Too heavy" is not a useful parameter. What cameras have you used/examined? Which were "too heavy"? Do you have any other selection criteria?

LoveCanon wrote in post #11046213
I have been looking at Canon SX30IS but was told that might Not work for what I am looking for

A point-and-shoot camera that uses a LCD for a viewfinder can be an adequate sports camera, but that kind of unit does not have the decisive framing and shooting ability of a camera with an optical reflex viewfinder. LCD viewers have a processing lag.

The lightest Canon cameras useful for sports would be one of the Rebel-series DSLR's such as the T2i.

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digicams do not make good sports cameras as they are slow to zoom/focus/shoot and tend to have long veiwfinder black out times.

I'd recommend a very light dslr like a rebel with a light lens like a Canon 55-250IS. I'm not sure if this will be too big/heavy for you or not though, but you can check them out at a local big box store and see first.

Canon EOS-1D MKIV.

https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=940830
https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=940825
https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=940789

Daja vu heh?

Heh! "BEST" and "lightweight" don't go along in sports photography too well, especially when you factor the lens on top of the camera!

LoveCanon wrote in post #11046213
I am looking for a NEW Sports camera that is Not too heavy - I have been looking at Canon SX30IS but was told that might Not work for what I am looking for

I do NOT want anything that is too heavy -

First off, what is your definition of "too heavy"? We really need a value to understand.

There is no point-n-shoot camera that I have ever seen that I would consider suitable for sports photography (or any other photography of things in motion for that matter). The primary reason is that after you push the shutter release button on a point-n-shoot camera it takes a very long time before the image is captured. A lot can happen in front of the camera in that time. This makes it virtually impossible to properly time your finger to catch the action you want in the image.

I would suggest that you go to a decent camera store and handle a few DSLR cameras and let us know what you think of the feel and weight of some different ones.

As has been said in every one of your other three threads, the P&S cameras are not going to deliver satisfactory results when shooting sports (you specifically mentioned soccer in a couple of your threads). As Skip said, the shutter lag will result in a lot of frustration because the image you record will not be what you saw when you pushed the button. The slow shot-to-shot time will result in a lot of missed shots, and we haven't even started talking about higher ISO performance if you're shooting in less-than-optimal lighting conditions (dusk, nighttime under the lights, or even very cloudy/dark days).

As I said in one of the other threads, I own an SX10is and shooting sports with it is an exercise in futility. It's a great little camera in some regards, but action photography is definitely not one of them. You'd be worlds better off even with something as simple as a basic Rebel and a 55-250mm zoom lens...it's not an optimal sports setup, but will deliver decent results if you take the time to learn how to use it properly.

+1 on the DSLR (entry level) and a mid range telephoto (55-250mm).

That will allow almost instantaneous captures (approx 0.1 secs or less from pressing the button) with pretty accurate and fast focusing (a lot faster than any p&s). It eliminates viewfinder lag (the scene on a p&s will be delayed from the actual action. Shooting in lower light will be far better due to the high ISO performance of the bigger sensor.

The image attached was taken using a 400D with a 70-300mm lens on a fairly overcast day (hence the guy's waterproofs!). It has lost a little sharpness due to the image size requirements here but still a good example

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Canon 7D IMO

Any DSLR will do, shoot on continous mode, just don't go crazy.

Big_Tyke wrote in post #11067993
Any DSLR will do, shoot on continous mode, just don't go crazy.

Forget the "machinegun" mode while you're learning. "Spray and pray" is no way to work when you need to learn how to truly use your camera.

The object of sports photography is to anticipate the moment you're trying to capture and time your exposure to get it. With a little practise, you'd be amazed what you can do.

Back in the "olden days", we had to manually trigger each shot while manually focusing the lens. In between shots, we had to wind the film manually. I was able to get nearly two shots per second when I had to, but most work consisted of one carefully timed shot for each thing I was photographing.

SkipD wrote in post #11068020
Forget the "machinegun" mode while you're learning. "Spray and pray" is no way to work when you need to learn how to truly use your camera.

The object of sports photography is to anticipate the moment you're trying to capture and time your exposure to get it. With a little practise, you'd be amazed what you can do.

I just want to add a bit to this. Research the sport you're going to be photographing. Pay attention to how the players play, where they tend to be most on the field or court, and who's the strongest and weakest players. Learn the rules of the sport! If you know the rules of the sport, you'll know when to seek out the right shots.

The first thing I was told by the photographer who's training me for sports is don't "spray and pray." Like Skip says, time your shots and take only a few burst shots.