Camera for shooting action

[Photographer101]

I am finding for a camera that can stop movements inavailable lightings. Sometimes I shoot in places with less light, if I am lucky, I can take advantage of more available lightings in a brighter environment. What I want is a camera that will not put me into trouble in environments with less lightings such as shooting moving objects in a dimly lighted hallway. Because I cannotfire aflash during those type of photography, I need a better quality camera to compensate for such a lack.

You know, sometimes I cannot even afford to stop and take the shot, I usually have to take the shot while still walking because people won't wait for me. A camera that can handle all this is greatly wished for.

I don't want to be spending more than 1000 dollars if I can help it.

[rfortson]

Any of the entry dSLRs should serve you well. I personally like Pentax because they seem to have a good "bang for the buck", but you can't go wrong with any of the entry models, IMHO.



Russ

[Ballpointpenner]

Hmm... second hand knowledge only, but I wouldn`t go for the Pentax for the very reason that, reputedly, its only serious weakness is slow autofocus in low-light -- the very thing you are trying to avoid. But the previous poster is right, all the entry DSLRs are good at this. Perhaps Cannon`s `Rebel` series (Rebel XPi is the newest, but rebel xp is also very good and cheaper) might have the slight edge -- though some people findthese camerastoo small for their hands.

Whatelse are you looking for in your camera?

Actually, I`ve only considered DSLRs for my response, as thats what I`ve been looking at these days, but perhaps you don`t even need one. Hopefully someone moreknowledgeable about point and shoot cams cancomment on that front.

- Bpp

[Photographer101]

Isthed-SLR cameramy only option? Ionly dread the SLR type camera because I know it will eventuallyask for more lens. I cannot afford to spend a lot on lenses,Iprefer something completethat can focus and click fast in low light if there is such athing?

[JohnG]

Can you be more specific what you mean by "moving objects in a dimly lit hallway"? What is it, exactly you want to shoot? Please be specific - in fact, if you can detail the different categories by percentage that would be great. But we need more detail - people walking vs. people playing basketball are two completely different requirements.

[Photographer101]

I shoot people in dimly lighted hallways. I just want a great camera to take moving things in dim places. Try not to recommend me dslr with many lenses.

Thank you

[kenbalbari]

I shoot people in dimly lighted hallways. I just want a great camera to take moving things in dim places. Try not to recommend me dslr with many lenses.

Any camera might struggle under those conditions. But it really depends on the very specific conditions. Moving things can mean anything from a baseball moving at 90 mph to a person walking at about 2 mph. You might need a shutter speed of 1/1000 sec. to freeze the baseball, a speed of maybe 1/600 sec. for a person running, and maybe only 1/200 sec. for someone walking. For a still shot, 1/60 sec. works fine; slower than that and you begin to see blur from camera shake unless you use a tripod.

"Dimly lit" could also be subjective. If it is truly dimly lit, you may not be able to get what you want with anything less than a DSLR wiht ISO 3200 and a good prime lens. Even a well lit hallway would be considered low light compared to outdoor sunlight in bright day.

The best "point and shoot" cameras for lower light are the Fuji F10, F20, F30 and S6000fd. Up to ISO 1600, these will give acceptable results, and get as close as you can get to DSLR performance in a small sensor camera. But a DSLR that can give you a passable shot at ISO 3200, with an f/1.8 prime lens, is letting more than 4 times as much light in at that point. So at a certain point you are better off going for a DSLR.

I might also mention the Sony R1 here, which gives DSLR quality, but with a fixed lens. You might prefer that given your resistence to a DSLR and changing lenses; but the drawback is that it doesn't give you the option to use a lens that will bring in more light. That's an option you might especially need if you are dealing with very low light. Quality glass in a fixed focal length is alot cheaper than in a zoom. So you might be better off with a DSLR and an ability to add a relatively inexpensive f/1.8 lens (or better).

Here are some photos of a fairly well lit stage in a concert hall, taken with an F30 at ISO 1600, with shutter speeds from 1/60 sec to 1/120 sec:

http://www.pbase.com/isabel95/image/65760516
http://www.pbase.com/isabel95/image/65760521
http://www.pbase.com/isabel95/image/65760518

Those are pretty much as good as anything I've seen from anything other than a DSLR. If you are talking about conditions darker than that, or with more movement, than you might really need a DSLR. In these, at these shutter speeds, you can see there is motion blur , for example around hands and violin bows. That doesn't hurt these shots too much, but if you were trying to get a photo of the violin bow itself, it wouldn't be satisfactory. So it matter how much motion blur you can tolerate for your purposes as well.

With my F30, at ISO 1600, I can get a shutter speed of 1/200 in a well lit room like a kitchen or bathroom, but might not do better than 1/20 in a bedroom with a typical single 75 watt lamp on (which I would need a tripod to take without blur)--unless photographing in the area directly under the lamp. I would say it could get a good photo in a well lit hallway, but it's not going to give acceptable results in a dimly lit room or hallway, and it certainly won't stop action in those conditions.

So it really depends on how good you need it to be, and what conditions you really need to handle. Also, do you need any zoom?

[al1012]

Might be off-topic but you could use the 17-27 mm magnetic 2x telephoto lens available at Semsons on a F30. I've tried it on my F30 ( of course the lens comes with a safety cord in case you should get bumped and the lens gets knocked off). The magnet is pretty strong and I am yet to encounter a situation wherein the magnet failed to hold the lens in place.