Camera

[Norcal33]

I'm looking to buy a camera for the purpose of taking pictures of DD in action at the field.

What camera do you work with?
What price range am I looking at for a decent starter setup?

Thanks,
33

[knobcreek]

I'm looking to buy a camera for the purpose of taking pictures of DD in action at the field.

What camera do you work with?
What price range am I looking at for a decent starter setup?

Thanks,
33

Where abouts in Nor-Cal are you?
I've been a Canon fan for a while now.I shoot with a 30D, Easy to use with many auto functions, yet advanced enough to get some really nice shots with room to grow your talent! Depending on the price range you want to stay with, they have a new 50D, however you can get last years model 40D for around $1k with a pretty good starter lens. A good place to do some research is http://www.dpreview.com You can find many different models, and opinions, as well as the specs on just about every digital camera made today.

If you have a "Fry's Electronics" nearby I would make your first purchase there. They probably have one of the last true 30 day return policies with No questions asked. If you spend good money on a camera, and then discover you dont like the functionality why be stuck with a sorry return policy and a camera you hate.

Good Luck!

[dittoz]

Another fan of the Canon here. I have a 40D which is very similar to KC's 30D. The 50D is indeed the latest from Canon, but in all honesty, the Nikon line is equally as good. Ask a Canon guy, he'll tell you Canon. Ask a Nikon guy, it's Nikon...

My 40D shoots a few more frames per second that KC's 30D and the LCD on the back is bigger. Other than that, I have a little more programmability than the 30D but both are more than adequate. Defintitely, the new "D" line of cameras from Canon are terrific. 40D is a 10.x Megapixel camera, I believe the 50D now goes up into the 13 range maybe? KC...? If you're looking for a good camera on a budget, that 30D can be found for a few hundred dollars and is more than sufficient to satisfy your basic needs. Sure, there'll be some growing you'll want to do, but for a casual 3-4 game day, you buy that for cheap and put an "L" series lens (as in REALLY SPENDY) and you will be amazed at what quality you can get.

Honestly, once you get much past about 10-12 megapixels it really isn't going to much matter for the causal picture-taker. The absolute best prices you're going to find are online. A few brick 'n mortar stores will try to match, but check out Adorama.com online. They're in New York. Might also look to Amazon. No tax against $1000 is a definite savings.

Expect when you're done (which is never...) you'll be in the high hundreds at a minimum if you get into a quality shell/body and another several hundred to several thousand as you by lenses. But know that the quality gear doesn't take pictures by itself and don't expect to have those Sports Illustrated-type shots just because you went out and spent a mint on a really cool setup. Great photos take time and experience, but for those who are aspiring photographers, it's definitely nice to have some better gear.

There are others as well, but www.dpreview.com is definitely a good place to read forums to learn a lot!

Good luck!

[SDSUXO]

I also shoot Canon - 30D and 5D...with a Tamron 70-300mm zoom. Check your local craigslist for a used one (anything 10,000 actuations or under is a good deal)....and even eBay. I've purchased all my Canon's used and have had a great outcome!

My pics can be seen at http://rosecityphotography.smugmug.com/

[umpinva]

From an earlier post of mine regarding camera's:

This has worked great for me:

Canon 10.1MP EOS 40D Digital SLR Camera with a Canon EF 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6L IS USM Zoom Lens.

[3Bsnag]

I'm a point and shoot kind of gal, but I have a Nikon D40X. DH bought when it first came out, but I've seen them now for @ $450+. Most of my shots look really good, to my standards. Only wish the frames per second were higher on burst.

I did just get my new 300mm lense and am super excited to use for the first time this weekend at our tournament!!

Also can't wait to take it to the track meet next Tuesday for some hurdle-jumping shots. Kid did ask I shoot from the side and not from the front. Seems she thought ahead that I may get an up-the-shorts-shot.

[SoftballJunkie2]

Canon Powershot SX1 IS or SX10 IS are some really nice point and shoot cameras. Around $400 or $500. I used this camera for basketball pictures, could zoom to opposite end of court under basket and get a clear shot. I'm sure SLR's are better but for a point and shoot I thought it was good quality and easy to use.

[Norcal33]

Thank you for the feedback HB.

[DonnieS]

Thank you for the feedback HB.

NC, check for the latest point and shoot cameras. I received an ad from one of the majors that had a camera that had 13 shots per second, 8-10 meg, price around $400, good zoom, and it also could do video. Down side, its a point and shoot, cant buy extra lens for specialty stuff. I am still looking for the ad and if i find it, I will post it.

I have and recommend the Canon 40D, the high continuous shooting was very important for the shots I like to take, it softball, the pitcher, the hitter, base stealing, when I am very lucky, fielding shots, in track, I like to get hurdlers, long and high jumping. Continuous was mandatory for those. Check dell.com and amazon.com, specially the used cameras.

Mistake I made along the way was buying too many lower quality cameras - good enough cameras - but did not have all the bells and whistles I wanted.


Edited to add: Found it - Check this one out - has very high continous shooting - great for getting good at bat shots. I have owned several finepix cameras and their only problem was me.


Fujifilm Finepix S8100fd 10MP Digital Camera with 18x Wide Angle Dual Image Stabilized Optical Zoom


http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/images ... 557&sr=1-1

[Lefty's Dad]

Thank you for the feedback HB.

...
Edited to add: Found it - Check this one out - has very high continous shooting - great for getting good at bat shots. I have owned several finepix cameras and their only problem was me.


Fujifilm Finepix S8100fd 10MP Digital Camera with 18x Wide Angle Dual Image Stabilized Optical Zoom


http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/images ... 557&sr=1-1

I use a Fujifilm Finepix S700. It's a cheaper point shoot model and doesn't have near the frames per second I would like. It has some of the same bells and whistles but that frames per second is the big key to getting some great shots. I get very lucky from time to time but I wish I could have gone a little more on price to get a little better camera.