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View Full Version : Best camera for me; sports/action shots


msellehcar
07-01-2006, 08:49 AM
Overview: I am an amateur and I mainly shoot youth baseball. I have had several dig cameras and feel comfortable about overcoming a learning curve, if necessary, to upgrade. (My present is Olympus 700UZ)

Budget: Since this is sporadic and seasonal, I cannot justify a huge outlay - probably $300 max but could go higher if it was just the right camera. I am fine with an older/refurbished model.

Size: Not too important, BUT, since it is sports, I have to move around some. I also have to sit in one spot for fairly long periods at times and rarely use a tripod, so must hold it.

Features: I really need a minimum of 3 megapixels. I also need a minimum of 6x optical zoom, preferably more but I think and hope I can make do with 6x. My 700 UZ has 10x and I love that, but you cannot use it without a tripod anyway :(. Just too jumpy.

Image quality: extremely important. I've never been impressed with the quality of my 700. Scale of 1-10 - 9.

Manual controls: Need a fast shutter.

General Usage: Again, I intend to use the camera primarily for sports. I will want to make prints, but 8X10 is likely the largest I'd need. I will not shoot many low light photos, though the ones I do would be action in low light. (sorry, was that redundant? :)

Misc: I have had several Olympus cameras and like them. I have a ton of SmartMedia cards and would love to stay with SmartMedia, but I know it's old these days... so will change media if I can find just the right camera and have to.

Special Features: Image stabilization would be a big plus. I need to get the players in the outfield so I must zoom way in. I don't like to lug a tripod around the ball field. Also I'd love to have a large LCD.

Thank you so very much for your ideas and recommendations!!!!!

Rachelle

AlexMonro
07-01-2006, 02:09 PM
You might want to consider the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ7. 12x zoom, IS, fast autofocus, and you can crank up the sensitivity for low light shots if you drop the resolution to 3MPixels.

You'll have to change media format with a new camera anyway - I don't think there's been any made using smartmedia for several years.