Best compact camera for sports

[mota3]

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Budget

$1,000 retail price.

Size

very compact.

Features

How many megapixels will suffice for you? 6 MP would be fine.

* What optical zoom will you need? (None, Standard = 3x-4x, Ultrazoom = 10x-12x, Other - Specify)

ultrazoom

* How important is “image quality” to you? (Rate using a scale of 1-10)

Do you care for manual controls?

no, prefer to have automatic.

General Usage

* What will you generally use the camera for?

high speed indoor sports with varying light levels.

* Will you be making big prints of your photos or not?

medium prints.

Will you be shooting a lot of indoor photos or low light photos?

yes. Prefer something that will be able to work automatically under varying conditions.

Will you be shooting sports and/or action photos?

yes

Miscellaneous

Are there particular brands you like or hate?

I have disliked sonys in the past because it takes 2-3 seconds to "push the button" but I would be open to a sony if it was fast and automatic.

Are there particular models you already have in mind?

no

(If applicable) Do you need any of the following special features? (Wide Angle, Image Stabilization, Weatherproof, Hotshoe, Rotating LCD)

the photos I will be talking people will be running around and moving at a very fast pace, so i need something that will steady, stabilize and automatically take the photo. I should also mention that these photos will be taken through a fence, but I am more interested in what is behind the fence.

[David Metsky]

The only ultrazoom that is quite compact is the Pano TZ1. And while it can take some good shots at full zoom in low light, I don't think it's going to really meet your needs. How important is it that the camera be truly small? Are you willing to get a bigger camera if it will take much better photos?

[mota3]

Thanks for the reply.

What are my options if I go a little bigger?

What are my options if I go with a little bit less zoom?

Thanks!

[pas49ras]

the photos I will be talking people will be running around and moving at a very fast pace, so i need something that will steady, stabilize and automatically take the photo. I should also mention that these photos will be taken through a fence, but I am more interested in what is behind the fence.


Best option would of course be a DSLR...P/S cameras are not great at long zoom, action stopping shots. Most of the pictures would be blurry and image stabilization is of no use with a moving subject.

I have disliked sonys in the past because it takes 2-3 seconds to "push the button"
This is called shutter lag..again,with a DSLR, this isn't a problem.

[mota3]

Which model would you recommend of a DSLR? Are there any "small" DSLRs?

Thanks

[pas49ras]

Check out the Nikon D50, Canon Rebel or Pentax K100..All within your budget and are about as small as you can get in a DSLR



Camera Dimensions (W x H x D, excluding protrusions) Volume (bulk) Mass (empty)
Canon Digital Rebel XTi 5.0 x 3.7 x 2.6 in. 48.1 cu in. 510 g
Nikon D50 5.2 x 4.0 x 3.0 in. 62.4 cu in. 540 g
Nikon D80 5.2 x 4.1 x 3.0 in. 64 cu in. 585 g
Olympus EVOLT E-500 5.0 x 3.7 x 2.6 in. 48.1 cu in. 435 g
Pentax *ist DS2 4.9 x 3.6 x 2.6 in. 45.9 cu in. 505 g
Pentax K100D 5.1 x 3.6 x 2.8 in. 51.4 cu in. 560 g
Pentax K110D 5.1 x 3.6 x 2.8 in. 51.4 cu in. 560 g
Samsung Digimax GX-1L 4.9 x 3.6 x 2.6 in. 45.9 cu in. 505 g
Samsung Digimax GX-1S 4.9 x 3.6 x 2.6 in. 45.9 cu in. 505 g
Sony Alpha DSLR-A100 5.3 x 3.8 x 2.9 in. 58.4 cu in. 545

[BonjiB]

Canon rebel xt is about as small as they come as far as i know anyways. The problem here isn't neccesarily which camera you choose but the lens that you get. I'd skip the kit lens that comes with the XT and put that extra cash towards a good lens that'll suit your current needs. I'd recommend something with a fairly wide aperature so the fence you're shooting through will sort of blend away into the short depth of field (area that is in focus) and you'll be able to get faster shutter speeds thus stopping the action better. With your budget in mind the canon 70-200 f/4L USM would do the trick very nicely. It's only a stop slower (f/4 instead of f/2.8) than it's much more expensive counterpart the 70-200 f/2.8L and it's very usable wide open (meaning at it's widest aperature of f/4.) So the camera body itself will set you back 569 and the lens 579 (544 after rebate.) Your grand total for this setup would be 1148 (1113 after rebate) plus shipping and you'd have a very nice setup indeed. The lens itself isn't very small so that might be a no go for you in this case but being L series it's very high quality and well worth the extra weight. Not to mention it being one of the least expensive pieces of L glass you can buy. Use the search term PPE06 at b&h for the latest list of clearance stuff to find the rebel XT at that price. I'm not sure if this setup will work for you but based on what you described your needs as i feel this setup will serve you quite well. Then in the future you can look at getting a good walkaround lens for all your indoor and closeup stuff. (Perhaps a tamron 17-50 f/2.8 :) ) If my advice doesn't suit you then just disregard it. Good luck.

[mota3]

Okay, so lets say I get a Canon Rebel XT. If I wanted a "universal" lens that was better than pocket size cameras for action shots and just as good for closeup family photos and "good" at most other things, what would you recommend lens wise?

[BonjiB]

Both Sigma and Tamron make an 18-200. It is a good "universal" lens. It's known as the street sweeper because it covers wide angle to telephoto and does a moderatly good job at it. With this lens you wouldn't really need any additional lenses as far as focal length is concerned. They're both pretty slow and wouldn't provide a good available light option for indoor shooting though. I've borrowed this lens (the tamron) from a friend of mine and it's a good lens for what it is. I'm not saying it's great by any means but FOR WHAT IT IS (an all in one solution) it's not bad. You do see an above average amount of distortion at the wide and telephoto end and it's got some purple fringing problems and the telephoto end is rather slow and would only be good to use outdoors in bright sunlight or with a pretty good flash. If you DON'T need telephoto (which it sounds like you do) then i'd recomend a tamron 17-50 f/2.8 but i'd skip that if you're wanting to do sports as well. I'm not sure if the sigma copy or the tamron copy has any distinct advantages over the other but i'm sure a google search could produce something.

I'd really recomend though saving your money for a higher quality lens set and just pick the one you need for a particular shoot. Your lens is what your camera see's though and if you use lower quality glass no matter how great the camera is the pictures will have lack. If you slapped a cheap lens on the best digital body available you'd still get cheap pictures. That canon 70-200 f/4L pared up with say the tamron 17-50 f/2.8 would make a killer combo and you can just pick which lens you want to bring along based on what you'll be shooting that day. Or if you don't mind a fixed focal length you could get the 70-200 along with canon's cheapest prime the 50mm f/1.8 for your indoor stuff. it's an 80 dollar lens that's really good and fast. Only thing is it doesn't zoom at all but it's a decent indoor focal length on a cropped camera and it's fast with an f/1.8 so you can use available light or bounce flash with ease. Just some things to consider. good luck