What camera for these conditions?

[de8212]

New member here needing a good p&s but need lots of advice on which would be best.

I may be going to an AMA Supercross (motorcycle) race in the near future and wanted a good camera to capture the event. Not professionally or anything.
This will be an idoor event at night but I'm sure there will be plenty of lights so not sure if being at night would matter. Also not sure where i would be sitting but a decent zoom would probably be needed.

To be honest I have been wanting an S3 for a while now and that seems to be the logical choice. I know this is a canon forum but if there is another manufacturer that you all would recommend please let me know.

Lastly, does anyone have any pics that they could post that are similar to what I am asking? I haven't looked through the entire thread of S3 pics so some may be in there.


thanks.

[mjsneddon]

I would assume that the action will be fast-paced at the motorcycle event that you want to attend. If this is correct, you should at least consider an SLR camera as P&S cameras are significantly slower. I realize that even the P&S cameras are faster than they used to be. My first digital camera was a Canon G5 and, while it took beautiful photos, it was very frustrating to use whenever subjects were moving about. I switched to a Canon 20D and was much, much happier.

[de8212]

thanks mike.

i should have mentioned that I really do not have the funds for dslr. Sorry.

[danidabi]

I just went to Monster trucks which should be similar to how supercross might be. These were taken at night in a closed arena (BC place, vancouver). I did not use a flash, and I used TV setting. Only the last one has some PS work done. Hope these help.....

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/171/384332711_e26e04a782.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/181/384332709_a6178de13a.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/165/384332708_595f84a3e7.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/177/380024069_6e8f7dcf72.jpg

[BowerR64]

Those look good for indoor arena shots. They look very well lit, what ISO and stuff?

[de8212]

danidabi
thanks for the pics. Just curious waht would the result have been if you had used flash? And why TV mode?

[dagonpaul]

by all means if you can flip the extra few bucks get an entry level Digital SLR... I know its hard to swallow, but i just bought a Canon S2... and I shoot alot in indoor skateparks and evening sporting events... and it just cant do it. Ive been kicking myself over and over. The stronger ISO capabilities and the faster shooting are essential.

Check out these prices... some are within 100 bucks of the S3

http://www.bestpricecameras.com/prodetails.asp?prodid=557834&up=215535

http://www.usaphotonation.com/products.asp?product_id=11858

[danidabi]

Heres the info for above shots:

#1
Exposure: 0.017 sec (1/60)
Aperture: f/4
Focal Length: 29.3 mm
ISO: 400

#2
Exposure: 0.017 sec (1/60)
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal Length: 69.3 mm
ISO: 400

#3
Exposure: 0.02 sec (1/50)
Aperture: f/6.3
Focal Length: 50.7 mm
ISO: 400

#4
Exposure: 0.017 sec (1/60)
Aperture: f/3.5
Focal Length: 24.5 mm
ISO: 400

I used TV mode cause I found it captures action shots the best. This event was all about the action. I also used the focus bracketing function to get 3 continuos photos that are at different focuses.

Reason for not using the flash: I wish I had pictures to show but I was having beer on that trip and erased the first 200 pics I took and those had some bad pics with flash. I found the flash lit up the people sitting in front of me and made the pics look aweful. I also figured that for how far I had to zoom in for those shots that the flash would be pointless.

[de8212]

by all means if you can flip the extra few bucks get an entry level Digital SLR... I know its hard to swallow, but i just bought a Canon S2... and I shoot alot in indoor skateparks and evening sporting events... and it just cant do it. Ive been kicking myself over and over. The stronger ISO capabilities and the faster shooting are essential.



I have given it alot of thought but other factors out weigh the dslr for me. I like the smaller form factor of a regular p&s and not having to carry around extra lenses, etc. I also would use it for video from time to time and dslr does not offer that AFAIK.

I also have two kids so I will use the camera for general pictures of them. ANd my wife has an older sd200 that still takes good shots to us. Nothing professional but good enough for family pictures. So if the s3 (or another newer camera) has better performance than even the sd200 then I know I will be happy.

[danidabi]

I really love my S3. It did what I expected for the event. It also took video but I cant post that for you to see.

I know its hard having kids and carrying equipment. I got a camera bag that is small but substantial. It carries my camera, memory cards, 8 extra batteries, and my treo(cellphone/palmpilot), and all my ID and money.

For taking pics of the family it works great. Please go to my flickr link to see pics I took of my baby nieces.

Good luck!