Help: Canon SX 10 LS, Nikon P80, Panasonic Lumix Z50, Casio

[aeroelectro]

I shoot Soccer, Football, Volleyball, Basketball, Tennis, and Wrestling matches. I'm a serious amateur that has owned DSLR cameras in the past and understand photography to an extent.

-I need a Super Zoom camera that has can deliver good resaults in the situations I've provided (the sports listed)

The cameras I'm looking at are

-Canon SX 10 LS
-Nikon P80 (kind of...)
-Panasonic Lumix Z50
-Casio Exilim EX-FH20 (I am impressed w/ 40 fps.)

I am unsure what to buy here... I definitly need 18X zoom (450mm equiv and up)
I need a reliable brand, and I need it for sports.

Take in mind some of the sports will be indoors (florescent lighting...)

Thanks,
Alex

[robbo]

The FZ50 is prized by many but is just a 12X optical zoom camera.

Any of the cameras you are considering will take ok shots in daylight, but none of them will do that well in dimly lit gyms or at night outdoors. For that, you will need a DSLR with a bright lens and high ISO setting.

I have the Panasonic FZ28, which is arguably better than the other superzooms in low light, but still not great for indoor games/matches.

Ask JohnG for his ideas on indoor sports photography.

[JohnG]

Alex,

The simple answer is none of them will do well for volleyball. For wrestling they'll only do well enough if your close enough for flash. For example, common exposure settings for volleyball are ISO 3200, f2.8 1/400. None of those cameras are capable of that. And flash is a big no-no in volleyball. I've seen some acceptable superzoom shots for outdoor sports in great light. But indoor sports are still beyond their reach.

[aeroelectro]

Thanks for the responses.
What I am failing to understand is how the Casio Exilim EX-FH20 could perform terrible though, yes I understand that the ISO setting does not go as high as DSLR cameras but the maximum apreture of the camera lens (at 28mm focal, is f/2.8.)


with f/2.8 and 40fps... I figured it would be a good choice for gym sports:?:



ALSO, I am not looking at the FZ50 lumix, sorry, it's the FZ28

[JohnG]

aeroelectro wrote:

but the maximum apreture of the camera lens (at 28mm focal, is f/2.8.)

unless you're 2 feet away, you're not taking many sports shots at 28mm.

Again, even at 2.8 you need ISO 3200 for volleyball.

Lots of things look good on paper but don't really end up working that way in the real world. I wouldn't get too heated up over the 40fps. If it were possible to produce quality at that rate I think you wouldn't see many DSLRs with 3fps. If the camera could really deliver the goods, IMO, there would be a LOT more buzz about it than there currently is.

[aeroelectro]

Allright, well before I go plunging back into the DSLR world...

I just came across the FinePix S100FS.

I wanted to know what you thought about this beast.

It can fire at ISO's of 10,000 @ 3 mp's according to steves digicam reviews

[JohnG]

aeroelectro wrote:

I just came across the FinePix S100FS.

Here's my last piece of advice - before you trust anyone telling you that or any other camera is capable of taking shots of volleyball indoors have them show you the photos they took of volleyball or basketball in the type of gym you'll be shooting in (i.e. not a pro NBA game when you'll be in HS gyms).

You'll get a lot of advice from people on the net about equipment for sports and 90% of the people don't shoot sports. If you don't find anyone on this forum that has used the camera for sports check out other places like dpreview and fred miranda. If you can't find people in those 3 forums using a camera for indoor sports that should tell you something. If you DO find people, make sure you see their photos. Quality is a relative thing. What they may think is great you may think is lousy or vice versa.

Good luck in your search!

[robbo]

The Fuji S100FS is probably the best lowlight superzoom. However, you need to take a look at its high ISO images before you decide that is what you want. Go to www.dcresource.com and look for its review of this camera.

http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/fu...s100fs-review/