Help me decide between a Sony A330, Pentax K2000, Canon EOS 1000D, Olympus E520/E420

[mtclimber]

djcj-

Sport photos are tough and very much a special kind of thing that takes skill and lots of practice. I agree with TCav, the choice has been narrowed a great deal with indoor sports like basket ball added to the equation. Personally I see your choice as mostly Canon with an outside chance for Sony.

The key here is where do indoor sports photos fall in terms of priorities?

Have a great day.

Sarah Joyce

[djcj]

Originally Posted by mtclimber

djcj-

Sport photos are tough and very much a special kind of thing that takes skill and lots of practice. I agree with TCav, the choice has been narrowed a great deal with indoor sports like basket ball added to the equation. Personally I see your choice as mostly Canon with an outside chance for Sony.

The key here is where do indoor sports photos fall in terms of priorities?

Have a great day.

Sarah Joyce

Sports are not a huge priority at the moment. As I get a better understand of the dslr world they will become a more important priority, but right now I really want a camera that is well rounded out of the box. So at this point I am really leaning towards the Pentax K2000 and the Sony A330..... From the reviews I have read I'm a little bias towards the K2000, but I would really like to touch and take pics with both to see which one I feel more comfortable with.

[djcj]

Originally Posted by mtclimber

djcj-



Is your selection of the Sony A-330 based on a real need for "Live View?" If you were to go with the Sony A-230 DSLR camera, you could save some money and still get an excellent entry level DSLR camera with some of the highest ISO capability.

Sarah Joyce

From reviews I read, the Sony A-230 is not the best in low light conditions....

[mtclimber]

djcj-

The Sony A-230 is one of the few entry level DSLR cameras with an ISO 3200 capability. I shoot regularly with the A-230 and can tell you that it does very well right through ISO 1600 and can take photos at ISO 3200, where there is indeed some trade-off in image quality and noise.

Here is an ISO 3200 photo sample.

Sarah Joyce

[TCav]

Originally Posted by djcj

From reviews I read, the Sony A-230 is not the best in low light conditions....

For all intents and purposes, the A230 and the A330 are identical, with the exception that the A230 doesn't have 'Live View" and it has a better optical viewfinder.

[JohnG]

Originally Posted by djcj

...I don't want to spend more than that or maybe $600 (But the less expensive the better!!). As I get other lens I know my grand total will increase beyond that, but for right now I think that will do!

The sports I will be shooting most of the time will be: basketball, football, and possibly baseball and soccer.

Unfortunately your desire to shoot sports, especially basketball does not match well with your budget and your desire that the camera last 2-3 years.

In shooting sports, focus performance is critically important. Basketball is low light - and you often find that cameras that do OK in good light don't focus too well in low light. To make things more challenging, what we're talking about here isn't just initial focus - something reviews will often cover - it's the ability of the camera to TRACK A MOVING SUBJECT. Very few reviews look at this capability - much less in low light sports conditions like basketball.

I don't think any camera you're considering is going to do a very good job at basketball - they don't have the focus systems for it. Additionally you run into high ISO issues.

Even for outdoor sports - you have to realize that you're going to need an additional lens - something at least 200mm for little children and as much as 400mm for HS age children for sports like football, soccer and baseball.

A good starter kit for the sports you've mentioned would be either:
Beginner: Canon XSi & kit lens ($600) plus 50mm 1.8 ($110) plus Tamron 70-300 ($170) = $880

Potential upgrades: 85mm 1.8 ($440), Canon 70-300 ($550).

A better solution:
Canon T1i & kit lens ($750) plus Sigma 70-200 2.8 ($800) = $1550
or you can opt for the prime lens for basketball and lesser zoom lenses for outdoor sports

If you prefer Sony - so far the A700 is the only Sony camera I've seen which has a focus system comparable to Canon. The focus systems in their cameras below the A700 prior to the current generation did not appear to be on par with the focus system canon has in the XSi or T1i. Sony claims improved AF in the newest generation but they haven't been field tested yet by any sports shooters that I can find so it's unclear whether they're on par with the XSi or T1i yet. They might be or they might not - we don't know.

Sony A700 with kit lens = $900
Sony 50mm 1.8 = $150
The same Sigma or Tamron lenses are available in Sony mount for outdoor field sports.

[mtclimber]

djcj-

However, I sincerely believe that if you are going to eventually, at sometime in the future, take a lot of indoor sports photos, then even your initial DSLR camera selection should accommodate those future plans.

Perhaps, begin now with just the needed camera body and kit lens, and then as your photo skills improve/increase, plan to add the needed wide aperature prime lens needed for indoor sports shooting.

Sarah Joyce

[djcj]

Originally Posted by TCav

For all intents and purposes, the A230 and the A330 are identical, with the exception that the A230 doesn't have 'Live View" and it has a better optical viewfinder.

Could you explain the "Live View" feature for me, please?

[mtclimber]

djcj-

In the broadest terms "Live View" means that you choose to sight and frame your photos using the DSLR camera's LCD screen instead of the optical viewfinder that actually sights right through the camera's lens.

Sarah Joyce

[TCav]

'Live View' is when you can compose the shot using th eLCD Display on the back of the camera, instead of through the eyepiece.

All the dSLRs in your initial list of dSLRs have 'Live View'. The A230 is the A330 without it.