Sports Photography Questions

[jshad413]

FYI, I did see the posts on sports photography and read them but I have afew questions of my own.
I'm looking at getting the Rebel XT, and mainly because of the price. Right now i'm using an A2 and loving it, but finding that processing film is just too expensive for my student budget. I've got about $750 to spend, but no more. Am I better off getting the rebel XT now and just dealing w/ the low FPS, or would I be better served waiting up and getting a 20d, or whatever the equivalent is later.

BTW, the sport I use take pictures of most often allows me to get close enough that a 50mm 1.8 lens is perfect.

Thanks in advance

[SmartWombat]

It depends if you're going to use skill and timing to get your photos, or dumb luck

With the XT you won't be shooting great long machine gun bursts of photos. More like a film camera, you will have to time your shot to get the precise moment of action.

If you're shooting in low light, then the 20D or 30D are better than the XT at high ISO settings. With the introduction of the 30D you may find lower prices on the 20D, particularly second hand where the camera shops have part-exchanged on someone upgrading to the latest and greatest.

I think the XT would probably be OK, but what sports are you shooting from that close?

[jshad413]

I fence, so alot of the stuff i'm shooting is fencing bouts. Its really easy to get close... The only thing i'm worried about is that 50mm w/ the 1.6x extra might be too close for good shots, I won't be able to back up far enough because of the way the strips are usually layed down

[Photo-John]

Am I better off getting the rebel XT now and just dealing w/ the low FPS, or would I be better served waiting up and getting a 20d, or whatever the equivalent is later.

Shooting fast bursts is cheating

The best photographers do that infrequently. Learn to see the critical moment coming and get it in one shot. And then when you get a better camera, you'll be able to really take advantage of it. I have a 1D and shot mountain biking and I very rarely just hold down the button.

If you're looking for an inexpensive lens alternative, I have the Tamron 28-75 f/2.8 and it's been excellent. The AF isn't as fast or quiet as a good Canon lens, but neither is the AF on the Canon 50mm lenses.

By the way, the Canon A2E was my first EOS body. I bought it to shoot motorcycle racing and I used it for 2-3 years. It's a great camera - as long as the command dial holds up.

Post some photos!

[JSPhoto]

I wouldn't get that close with a 50mm.....it might get stuck! One thing to realize with the lower end (non Pro) bodies is that beside lower FPS you also have shutter lag which makes getting the right shot slower and more dificult. I used the 50mm F1.8 for basketball and it was aweful as the AF was too slow. You'll find this with any low end low cost lens though.

As PJ said though, a camera like the XT will help you learn to time things. Learning to shoot this way will force you to time things and make you a better shooter.

JS

[lidarman]

Shooting fast bursts is cheating

....and usually a way to guarantee to miss the crux moment. The frames usual hit on both sides of this peak.

[JSPhoto]

....and usually a way to guarantee to miss the crux moment. The frames usual hit on both sides of this peak.

Not if you time it right. I find I normally have to delete the second frame.
The only time "machine gunning" works is for wrecks during races, and then it's indespensible, which is why I have cameras that rip off 8 and 8.5 frames a second. It can also help on other sports like fumbles in football. I got a series last year in the state finals where I got two frames of the running back fumbling at the goal line, then three others trying to recover the ball in the endzone, and had 12 great shots out of 18 frames.

JS