Point and shoot camera with continuous shooting

[Cole22]

Hi,

Are there any point and shoot cameras out there which have good continous shooting performance (most I've seen do 1.5fps). I'm mainly interested in indoor sports photography but want to use it for other every day photos too so it should be reasonable compact.

Ideally, I'd like it to be rechargable rather than needing AA batteries too.

Thanks!

Cole

[JimC]

Cole22 wrote:

I'm mainly interested in indoor sports photography but want to use it for other every day photos too so it should be reasonable compact.

I hate to "burst your bubble", but for indoor sports photography, you'll likely be very dissapointed with a point and shoot camera, even if you get one with an acceptable burst mode.

That's because your shutter speeds won't be fast enough with most of these cameras to stop motion blur from subject movement indoors. You need both higher usable ISO speeds, and a very bright lens for that.

That kind of photography is very demanding on a camera, and you'll probably want to use a DSLR shooting at ISO 1600 with a very bright lens. A zoom with f/2.8 available throughout the focal range is about the minimum you'll want to try and get away with, and an even brighter prime would be a better way to go (some users need to use ISO 3200 in darker indoor venues to get shutter speeds fast enough, even using an f/2.8 lens).

If you're on a tight budget, and can get close enough, most manufacturers have a relatively inexpensive 50mm available that's bright enough for most indoor venues. But, chances are, you'll want something longer than that, too (even if you can get close to the action).

So, I'd suggest looking at the entry level DSLR models to start out with. Then, spend some time asking about lens choices in the DSLR Lens forums you'll find here.

As far as how fast cameras are (autofocus speed and reliability, cycle times between photos, number of photos in a burst before the camera slows down from bottlnecks to a memory card), make sure to read the Review Conclusion section for cameras you consider. It's the page right before the sample images in each model's review here.

Most of the entry level DSLR models do around 3 frames per second in burst mode. But, the number of photos in a burst before the camera slows down will vary by model.

If you need more than that, then I'd look at more advanced DSLR models. For example, the Canon EOS-20D and EOS-30D support 5 frames per second and have relatively large buffers (more photos in a row before the camera slows down compared to most entry level DSLR models).

[MikeAusA200]

Have a look at the Fuji F30 - with a USEABLE 3200 ISO it will be one of th ebest to use indoors. Although its zoom is limited.

The "last 3 shots" feature is great for sports - hold the shutter button down, let go when you see the action you wanted. The camera records the last three shots BEFORE you released the shutter.

Mike