Looking for a good action camera...!

[missacutiepie]

I am new to photography, but have a huge interest in it!! I LOVE to take pictures of anything that catches my eye, but I am also into rodeos. My boyfriend is a bull rider and I need a camera that will allow me to get multiple shots in a very short time. I found a canon eos rebel xsi, but I'm not sure if that is one that would fit my needs! Like I said, I am new to photography and I am looking for all the help that I can get!!!

Thanks,

Melyssia

[LightBright]

Hi and welcome

Have you had previous slr experience before? I don’t know what camera I can recommend for you, but I can tell you what to look for. Look for a camera that has some sort of burst mode, so that it can take lots of pictures at one time and make sure it has plenty of frames per second to suit your needs. Also since you’re into rodeos, you sometimes want to be able to select a relatively high iso (depending on your lighting condition) so you can increase your shutter speed to freeze things without having way to much noise in the photograph some cameras have high noise and some have low.

What helped me allot with picking my camera was to research alot, you can find plenty of reviews on cameras here

http://www.photographyreview.com/cat...S_3127crx.aspx

Also a large part in choosing a dslr are there lens compatibility. Because if you already have a large collection of lenses you may want to know if your new camera can use them. If not, its fine cause you can slowly start your collection with your new camera.
The only dslr I can recommend is my very first and only dslr the a700 which I bought rather recently. I think it shoots at 5 frames per second (fps) if your scene is well lit. It has outstanding noise performance, good for action photography. It has 12 megapixels so you can make your prints large and proud. Great color. The best of all, it’s amazingly user friendly. I never had a Digital slr before only a film slr, I got it and you get the hang of it within minutes, it’s that easy. Other than the "getting started manual", I rarely read the lengthy main manual for probably 4 months after I got the camera. Again very user friendly, I may be biased on this though. But in photography you usually get what you pay for, so all the brands, canon, Sony, Nikon, Olympus are great choices, there are other camera brands besides Nikon and Canon.

I actually bought a Sony a700 which I love but it was rather expensive at 1 grand. It’s an all around great performing camera and can do anything other cameras can despite being less popular. But since I spent loads of money on the cameras body, I didn’t have enough cash left over to buy a decent lens. So It forced me to buy a cheap quality lens for $100 which severely reduced the cameras potential. So you might be happy with a good budget body teamed up with a really really good lens since the quality of the photo is only as good as the glass it took it through. But to add something else, the photographers skill's with the camera far outweighs how good or expensive your equipment is. So in other words, having the latest and greatest is nice, but having the right skills to use them to their potential is far nicer. Personally I have a long way I think to becoming a decent photographer.

You can research the eos rebel xsi on that link I showed you, lots of great reviews from good people

But ask lots of questions, there are lots of nice people ready to help you out whenever you may need it. Best of luck!

[WesternGuy]

What sort of a budget do you have? If you don't have any previous lenses, then you will have to buy either a kit (body + lens), or a seperate body and lens. Depending on from what distance you will be shooting the bull rider and what other things you may wish to shoot, will determine the lens(es) you may wish to buy. More research...HTH.

Cheers,

WesternGuy

[freygr]

Hi just remember that inside you will need fast glass with any camera you purchase. For action photography you should consider the 70-200 or 80-200 f 2.8 zoom lens both Canon or Nikon have these lenses. This is the lens the action photographers use at the horse shows I end up at.

[ShutterBandit]

Some digital SLRs, such as some of the entry-level Nikon units can max out at around 140 continuous shots while holding down the image capture button. Some digital SLRs can capture more images per second so you are going to want to look at the burst mode features on the cameras. This article should be pretty helpful for you in helping you decide on the right DSLR.

http://www.accessorygenie.com/page.html?id=20

:thumbsup:

[OldClicker]

Hi just remember that inside you will need fast glass with any camera you purchase. For action photography you should consider the 70-200 or 80-200 f 2.8 zoom lens both Canon or Nikon have these lenses. This is the lens the action photographers use at the horse shows I end up at.

"For action photography you should consider the 70-200 or 80-200 f 2.8 zoom lens both Canon or Nikon have these lenses." ???? As does everyone else. - TF

[nikonshopping]

Some digital SLRs, such as some of the entry-level Nikon units can max out at around 140 continuous shots while holding down the image capture button. Some digital SLRs can capture more images per second so you are going to want to look at the burst mode features on the cameras. This article should be pretty helpful for you in helping you decide on the right DSLR.

http://www.accessorygenie.com/page.html?id=20

:thumbsup:

Agree with him

[gryphonslair99]

What gear do you have at this point if any? That would be a good starting point. If you have some good lenses now, the cost effective thing would be to look at bodies in that line so you can save on the cost of glass.

If you are starting fresh then it is important to know how much money you want/can afford to spend. Knowing that makes it easier to get the most bang for the buck.

For sports shooting I would suggest that you say away from base line entry bodies like the XSi. One thing that is critical for fast action is auto focus speed. The Rebel series from Canon has the slowest AF speed. The XXD series has improved AF speed that is quite suitable for sports while the XD series has the fastest and most accurate AF speed. This along with some of the other features that make shooting sports easier all come at a price.

A second problem with entry level bodies like the XSi is the ISO range. It is always best to shoot with the lowest ISO possible, however most indoor events, unless held in premier venues are poorly light for photography. The XSi has a max ISO of 1600. You may find that limiting in some venues. If however you are talking about outdoor events in daylight, then the ISO issue will be less critical.

While frames per second can be helpful, the spray and pray method often of limited value. It is better to understand the sport you are shooting and learn to anticipate the action. This will allow you to be prepared to capture the shot that you want. In bull ridding some of the best shots, unfortunately for the rider, are when the rider and bull get separated. Bad news for the boyfriend, but good news for the photographer.

Glass is also going to be a critical issue. While fast glass is a blessing and a must in poor light, if you are looking at outdoor events then you can get away with slower glass. You want however good quality glass. Good quality glass usually has the advantage of quicker AF if you are taking about a line that uses in body AF motors. Some of Nikon's glass does not have this. Good glass is also considered Good because of the optical properties of the glass to provide sharp, crisp images. Good glass is going to be more expensive then consumer grade glass.

The two leaders in the sports photography field are Canon and Nikon. They have the widest range of bodies, lenses and accessories and have geared some of their bodies to this kind of photography. That does not mean that you can not shoot Pentax or Sony. Before you can do any serious looking you need to have a budget on what you can spend and then look for the best options in that budget.

[Anbesol]

"For action photography you should consider the 70-200 or 80-200 f 2.8 zoom lens both Canon or Nikon have these lenses." ???? As does everyone else. - TF

lol well put, everyone seems to leave pentax, olympus, and sony mounts out... :-\ In fact, I think Nikon has the shortest range of the big 5, all others start at 70.

The Sony A700 has a rapid 5 fps burst, iirc its the fastest in its price range.

The two leaders in the sports photography field are Canon and Nikon. They have the widest range of bodies, lenses and accessories and have geared some of their bodies to this kind of photography

Hardly relevant, don't think he's going to need a body that has 6 different 50mm primes as opposed to 5. Even within one of the third parties such as Sigma or Tamron, there is enough to complete photo gear. Without blowing the horn of any systems brand, they *all* have plenty wide a range of bodies, lens, and accessories.