7hi for Sports Photography

[tom_myo]

Anyone using the 7h1 for sports photography? If so are you happy with the results? I'm thinking of purchasing one for general use but will shoot outdoor motocross on many occassions.

Also, if you have any sport shots could you please post a link? Thanks.

[jcarboski]

Hi:
I have the 7hi and actully got it for sports as my son plays three sports. I have found any digital camera a challenge with sports action shots for the most part. I am also a novice (auto is for me) but having said that i have spent time in most modes trying to get nice results and have done pretty well i guess. This camera is nice because the uhs speed continues mode will fire rapid shots and you can then select out the shot thats for you. I can email you a sample if you want i took them the other day of my son snowboarding it's [email protected] . I also have the olyumpus 100rs camera and thats a true rapid shot camera for sports shots and thats the best camera out there for sports BUT................ 1.2 Megapixel doesnt cut it for anything bigger than a 4x6 for printing. I can also send you a sample of that camera also just let me know. I am very happy with the minolta 7hi and as far as i'm concerned its the best camera ive owned. I hope you get something out of this, when i saw you post a sports shot question i had to put my two cents in peace and i hope you had a nice holiday. chris carr danvers mass

[tom_myo]

Chris,

Please do. Send them one (or a few!) to [email protected]. Or if you can post them online somewhere. I am very interested in this camera so I would like to see what it can do with sports photography.

I have some sport shots at http://www.tomofarrell.com if your interested. Thanks.

[Ken E]

I have the 7i and bought it mainly for sports. When you use manual focus, there is almost absolutly no lag. This also so holds if you can half press to let the focus "lock on". The 7x lens also allows you to get closer to the action and the the 5MP lets you crop alot out to get even closer. Here are some shots that I cropped and reduced for web use.

[tom_myo]

Thanks for the post. Very nice shot.

How would that print out to an 8x10? Any grain..noise?

[Ken E]

I havn't ever printed out an 8x10 so I am not sure how they would print. Anything over 2MP in size should print well as an 8x10.

Some tips:
Focus: Go into menu and change "continuous" to "single(?)" This helps the focus to lock on and not pick up lots of action.

Manual focus will also do this and make for very fast response. Half press of the shutter and then pressing when you want to capture the action is almost instant also.

Long zoom does require more light (I think), so cloudy days and indoors seem tougher to shoot.

I wish I had more but I am a very basic shooter myself. Just shoot alot.

[NHL]

Half press of the shutter and then pressing when you want to capture the action is almost instant also

Also if you keep the shutter 1/2 pressed (ie never release it all the way) subsequent shots are also instantly as fast... and you can tweak the focus with the Direct Manual Focus (DMF) overide between shots...ie stay in AF with no need to switch to Manual focus with the D7's. Just my 2c 8)

[msgtb]

One of the best ways to shoot sports or anything which requires quick focus is the use hyper focal distance. I learned this technique in a film photography class years ago. What you do is set the focus to predetermined distance using manual focus. There are charts that you can download from the www.alldimage.com site. These charts will tell you what aperture should be set to. Basically you set the shutter speed to capture the blur or sharp focus then set the aperture to give you distance which will provide you with an in focus shot. The technique uses the depth of field of the camera. The camera has a zone in which the camera will produce a shot which is in focus. The only drawback to this technique is it requires enough light to give one the best photos. That has already been eluded to in the previous post with the great water sport photos. Once you determine the f stop from the Depth Of Field charts. The camera will now be a fixed with a minimum and maximum range. You chose the aperture which will give you an in focus at the closest distance you want to be in focus to infinity. I probably havn't described this perfectly but the technique works very well given that you have enough light. I hope you have the idea.

Dave

[TonyG]

I have been eyeing up the 7hi for sports shots. I currently use an oly 2100 uz with 10x optical zoom and 1.7 telephoto to give me 17 optical zoom..So far excellent for me ( all point and click )

However I have now outgrown the 2mp and cant find anything over x7 optical zoom with better than 2mp so the 7hi seems to be the gobetween x7 and 5mp

what I am wondering is..

1) The x3 loss from my x10 to a x7 is this offset by the extra 3mp that I can use for cropping do you think?

2) I can print very nice 8x10 with 2mp.. what can I print with the 7hi

3) Is there a telephoto for the 7hi and if so pointers to spec and price?

Any help much appreciated..Thanks

[charlibob]

Tony

I also have a C2100UZ. It is probably the greatest point and shoot digital ever made. You are going to be disappointed with the 7Hi when icomparing autofoucus, exposure, color, and ease of use. That said, it is not a reason not to go to a 7Hi. It is possible to take excellent photos with the 7Hi and the resoultion is better, but you have to work at it.

So far as I have seen, there are no telephoto lenses that work well with it.