Digital camera for sports/action shots.

[Panthols]

I've teach martial arts and I'm looking for a good digital camera that can take very fast action shots. Most digital cameras have a second delay after you try to snap the picture, and this is much too long of a delay to capture the intended image. Are there any decent digital cameras that have a fast action, or would I be better off trying to pull single frames from my camcorder (Sony HDR-SR10 40gb)?

[Nate P.]

DSLR all the way. Be prepared to spens some dough though. Look at the Nikon D40 or the Canon Digital Rebel XTI, and you way want to get some other lenses with it as well if you really feel like spending money.

Your other option is this: http://exilim.casio.com/browse_cameras/exilim_pro/EX-F1/

[WesM63]

Agreed. DSLR, downside is the lower end camera's (Rebel's/ D40's) only have 6-8 frame buffers. To get more, you're talking big bucks.

[Panthols]

Hmm, looking around and found this (D40 w/ lens). (http://www.us1photo.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=4409) This doesn't seem too expensive and I'm guessing that the lens will auto-focus (digital photography review said only AF-S lenses will auto-focus with this camera). I'm guessing a high speed flash card is almost mandatory, and is there a benefit to using RAW format over JPEG?

Edit: The review site I linked to stated that it has a 6 frame buffer with RAW, but can shoot until the card is full with JPEG. I don't see the 6 frame limit being a problem, but if it becomes one, is RAW that much better?

[Nate P.]

Yes, it will autofocus. RAW is not that much better than JPG (read (http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/d3/nef-1.htm)), I'd just shoot JPG (actually I do).

[Panthols]

Yes, it will autofocus. RAW is not that much better than JPG (read (http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/d3/nef-1.htm)), I'd just shoot JPG (actually I do).

Looks similar, especially since most pictures will be resized (1600x1200 max) for most action shots and if we are doing class pictures or similar I can use RAW's without any concern since they won't be shot in rapid succession.

As it stands, I'll probably just get the Nikon D40 from Newegg (have a business account) along with a good SD card and an extra battery. I would assume that the included lens will be enough for my needs. As for the SD card, I'm thinking probably a 4gb sandisk extreme III. This will allow plenty of storage space and it is rated 20mb/sec. Do I need to get a card like this, or will a standard SDHC card work?

[Nate P.]

Looks similar, especially since most pictures will be resized (1600x1200 max) for most action shots and if we are doing class pictures or similar I can use RAW's without any concern since they won't be shot in rapid succession.

As it stands, I'll probably just get the Nikon D40 from Newegg (have a business account) along with a good SD card and an extra battery. I would assume that the included lens will be enough for my needs. As for the SD card, I'm thinking probably a 4gb sandisk extreme III. This will allow plenty of storage space and it is rated 20mb/sec. Do I need to get a card like this, or will a standard SDHC card work?
A standard card will work, I have a generic 512MB CF card, and I can run a 5FPS (Canon 20D) burst until the card is full, there is no buffering issues. It does take a while for all the files to be written though, so a very fast card is probably a good idea.

How far are you going to be from your subject? That will dictate what lens is good fro you.

[WesM63]

Agreed, again lol. I can't comment on the kit lens for the Nikon. I've only ever shot Canon, and the kit lens was crap. A good lens goes a LONG way.

I don't know how "good" this lens is, but it would be something to think about, 200mm will get you out a good distance. 55-200 VR (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/486717-GREY/Nikon_2166_55_200mm_f_4_5_6G_ED_AF_S.html#goto_ite mInfo)

[Panthols]

Distance will normally vary between 10-20 feet. Extremes may be 50ft at tournaments. I may get a little more into photography with a nice camera like this, but for every day use I have my HD camcorder. I can do stills with it, and considering what I normally film is my kids, I don't normally have much use for a great camera.

[Nate P.]

Yep, get the 55-200 VR Wes linked to. With that and the kit lens, you can pretty much have all the focal range you're are going to need.

From what I've heard, the Nikon kit lens is not bad at all, but it does lack VR (Vibration reduction) but that is not a problem unless you are shooting in low light (like an indoor stadium, auditorium, etc.)

[Panthols]

Okay, all situations should be very well lit so hopefully the stability won't be an issue. I want to keep the initial cost down, so I'm hoping the lens it comes with will be flexible enough to work for now. I really appreciate all the input and hope this will help avoid the problems I had on Wednesday:

Had an instructor taking pictures of 2 students testing for black belt and about 10 out of the 300 pictures taken turned out to be decent.

[Llwyd]

Nikon D40 is your best bet in the lower price bracket for sequence shooting. Like others have said youre looking at big bucks for the particularly high fps shooters

[twilyth]

The best site I've found for digital camera reviews is DP Review (http://www.dpreview.com/)

You should check boot up times if you won't be taking shots continuously. Pretty sure most cameras power down to conserve battery life and a few seconds longer for start up can mean missing a shot.

[Soulburner]

The Nikons have instant start-up times so that isn't an issue. When you flick it on, you can snap a picture without waiting for anything but focus.

The 18-55 lens is actually very sharp, much better than anything Canon has produced and better than the 55-200.

RAW is far superior to JPEG however - you will need to spend time processing them and you will need the software to do it which is an added expense. To me it's almost priceless as I can fix exposure and lighting if they weren't optimal, white balance for color, chromatic abberrations, among many other things. I'll never use JPEG again because all of these things are set in stone once the shot is saved to the card.

[Panthols]

What would be a good SD card to pick up with this? I'm thinking 4gb should be enough, but 8gb may be worth it for events. There's just such a differance in price between cards ($30 for a 8gb to $80 for a 4gb) that I really don't know which is a good choice.

[MaxxxRacer]

the D40 is a good choice because if the higher flash sync speed. With a SB600 you will be able to stop virtually any motion. Ironically its a better choice than the D40x because the D40x has a slower flash sync. Flash sync is the maximum shutter speed you can use with flash.

I would shoot with JPG just because of ease of use. For your purpose RAW is pointless.

The only downside to the D40 is that it will not foucus with the fast prime lenses, but with a flash that wont be a concern, and the 18-55 kit lens will be just fine.

[Soulburner]

I only have 1/200 flash sync :(

...patiently awaits the D90...

[MaxxxRacer]

I only have 1/200 flash sync :(

...patiently awaits the D90...

lol.. alot of the same internals as my D40x. but TBH 1/200 is plenty good for stopping most action.

The D3 is only 1/250 so dont expect anything better than that from the D90.

The D40's 1/500 flash sync is pretty much in a class of its own..

[Soulburner]

Wait a minute...1/250 on the D3 and 1/500 on the D40? :shocked:

I just looked up the specs and the D3 is as follows:

Flash Sync Speed
up to 1/250

X-Sync Speed
up to 1/250

FP High Speed Sync
up to 1/8000

[Panthols]

Was looking around just for the hell of it and found this deal at Best Buy (normally hate this place). Nikon D40 w/ extra 55-200mm lens (http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=999988800050002&type=product&id=pcmprd88900050002) for $600. I'm just wondering if it's worth the extra $120 (newegg + shipping is ~$480) for the 55-200mm lens, I know it doesn't have the VR specification that was recommended in post 8.

As a side note, I know thatr VR is vibration reduction, but how is that a feature of the lens and not the camera, and is there a really noticable differance?

[Soulburner]

There are elements within the lens that sense vibration and move the image accordingly in order to keep it steady on the sensor. You can get away with handheld shots that you normally couldn't....excellent for zoom lenses.

[MaxxxRacer]

dont bother with the 55-200 non VR version. The VR version can be had for 225 dollars and will give you usable results, whereas the non VR version is only useful on sunny days.

what the hell is FP High Speed Sync??? 1/8000 is the maximum shutter speed on the D3, so I believe this is just Nikons way of saying "well, we cant really get it synced at this speed, but we will let you do it anyway. results may vary!"