Need help

[jsh]

I currently have a Canon SD550. The problem I am having is when I am taking pictures at my kid's sporting events (no flash allowed) pictures are blurry. I would also like more zoom. I am a bit intimidated by DSLR so am thinking maybe point and shoot with image stabilization. Would this solve my problem or should I suck it up and get DSLR, maybe take online course to learn how to use it?

Budget

* What budget have you allocated for buying this camera? Please be as specific as possible. under $1000

Size

* What size camera are you looking for? Or does size not matter at all to you? doesn't really matter

Features

How many megapixels will suffice for you? don't know

* 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) 10

Do you care for manual controls? don't know

General Usage

* What will you generally use the camera for? kids, sports

* Will you be making big prints of your photos or not? no

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

Will you be shooting sports and/or action photos? yes

Miscellaneous

Are there particular brands you like or hate? prefer Canon

Are there particular models you already have in mind? Canon S3 IS,
Canon G7, Canon Rebel XTi

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

[mcenut]

Image Stabilization isn't going to help your problem. Your problem is that you aren't getting enough light on your subjects to stop the motion blur. Only two things stop motion blur, a flash or taking the picture with a higher ISO setting allowing the camera to take in more light.

Since you mentioned three Canon models I have linked to Jeff's low light comparison of those models.

Canon PowerShot S3 IS at ISO 800 (http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/canon/powershot_s3-review/nightshot800-crop.jpg)

Canon PowerShot G7 at ISO 800 (http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/canon/powershot_g7-review/nightshot800-crop.jpg)

Canon PowerShot G7 at ISO 1600 (http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/canon/powershot_g7-review/nightshot1600-crop.jpg)

Canon Digital Rebel XTi at ISO 800 (http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/canon/digital_rebel_xti-review/nightshot800-crop.jpg)

Canon Digital Rebel XTi at ISO 1600 (http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/canon/digital_rebel_xti-review/nightshot1600-crop.jpg)

As you can see from those pictures the two point and shoot canons take horrid night shots without flash. Only the DSLR XTi takes good shots in low light.

So if you are looking to get crisp low light shots without flash, it is time to switch to DSLR.

[AlexMonro]

As mcenut says, IS doesn't help much when your subject is moving. You need a fast shutter speed to freeze the motion, and in low light that means high ISO sensitivity and / or a fast (wide aperture) lens.

You might want to have a look at the Fuji S6000, which is better than most for high ISO sensitivity, though you might find the autofocus a bit slow for action shots in low light - sadly, this is likely to be a problem with most ultrazooms.

A DSLR with a wide aperture zoom lens - say something like a 70-300mm f/2.8 - is a lot more likely to be capable of good results, but it will take a little while to learn to get the best from it. It will cost rather more than an ultrazoom compact camera though.