My husband doesn't get into photography like I do, but he does get frustrated taking his little Pentax Optio to sporting events. It's just way too slow! Does he need to get an SLR to get a faster digital camera? Or is there a fast non-SLR with a nice zoom lens he could use?
What about those Canon cameras that look like a smallish SLR, but they come with an attached zoom lens? Is that what he needs? Okay, he's not really the SLR type, but I might consider the D40. As for price, his birthday does come near Father's Day, so it could be a double present.
I'm disappointed that the Canon isn't as good as I thought. That 12x zoom would really be handy. As it is, I'll probably just loan him my 70-300 lens. Oh yes, the sporting events are things like baseball and basketball games, in the middle priced seats.
Thanks everyone for your input. I'll also talk to the guys at the camera store. ***Last-minute add***
If you're looking for a relatively inexpensive SLR, David Pogue of the NY Times recommends the Nikon D40 -- see http://pogue.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/05/0...
***end***
Are you referring to the Canon S3 IS (see link below)?
If so, we have one at my office, and we're not doing so well with it. I've got some egg on my face on that one, too. I talked the boss into buying it for the non-professionals on our staff (me included).
When not using the flash, the image stabilization and/or the autofocus seem to simply take too long to lock. We end up with a LOT of blurred, useless photos. And that's just in speech-type settings, where the subject is doing little more than gesturing. I can only imagine that it would be a disaster to attempt to shoot sporting events with it... except for maybe on the sunniest of days when you can use a very fast shutter speed.
Again, I'm definitely NOT a professional photographer or even an "avid amateur". But I have messed with the camera that I think you're talking about. So this is probably only a portion of the answer you're seeking.
Now, we do have a professional photographer on staff (I cannot get to him now, sorry), and he won't touch the camera. And why would he? We bought him the *really* good stuff. For getting a good action sports shot, I would recommend a good SLR camera. The Canon Rebel XTI is a good choice. It has all the convenience of a point and click camera with SLR capabilities. He'll love it. I love mine :) Terisu, knowing what you do about photography, why not get him a D40 and whatever lens is appropriate for his sports? I don't know what he is shooting, but if the 18-55 lens doesn't quite cut it, then the 18-135 probably will. It is not as versatile as the D80 or D200 as far as autofocus zones shifting and all that, but it's still better than ANY P&S you could choose. Price the D40 with 18-55 lens and a card.
You can get the D40 with the 18-55 kit lens at B&H Photo (available through Yahoo! Shopping or at 1-800-622-4987) for $530 (May 2007). For $20 more, you can get TWO Lexar 1 GB cards or for $30 more, you can get one Lexar Platinum (60X). Or - get the D40 with 18-135 lens and 1 GB Lexar card for $760. Okay, this is getting quite a bit more costly than something like a Canon S3-IS, but it's quite a bit more camera. the best for sporting events is Sony DSC-W35
it is a wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!... |
