Can anyone help me

[Chaser]

I have been reading reviews till I'm sick and I still can't find the right camera.
I am look for a camera to take pics of the kids playing sports (soccer, football)
and for when we go to Nascar races. Asoon as I think I have one picked out I read something else. Any help will be great
Thanks

[Frog]

More info needed. P&S, dslr, budget?
Seems you've found ones you like but then read something that was a ding on it. There are no perfect cameras and many good and very good ones.
Have you gone down and handled any of the cameras to see how they feel and where the controls are pretty intuitive to you.
What photo experience do you have?
We'll be able to help better knowing these things.
A moderator may move this post to the digital camera forum which is where most of these types of questions show up.

[Chaser]

Oh sorry about posting the wrong place.
As for the P&S and DSLR I'm not sure. I don't know whice one would be better for sports/ kid pics. The budget, I won't to keep in under 1000. As experience, only taking mommy pics lol. I think I got all the questions, if not let me know.
Thanks again

[freygr]

For kids sports and Nascar you will be hard pressed to find a PS up to the challenge. If you are thinking of indoor sports you will need a fast lens which costs allot of money.

The items you need: 1) fast shutter response time (need for sports) 2)on PS camera a 8x-12x zoom range (is not required for Digital SLR fast lens change) 3) on PS camera constant F2.8 lens NOTE for indoor sports. SLR you just purchase the fast glass $$$

[Chaser]

Can you suggest any names to look into?
I was reading about the Canon EOS 450D / Digital Rebel XSi, do you think that would work for me or is it more for someone that knows what they are doing and would be a waste of money for me?
Thanks

[Frog]

Can you suggest any names to look into?
I was reading about the Canon EOS 450D / Digital Rebel XSi, do you think that would work for me or is it more for someone that knows what they are doing and would be a waste of money for me?
Thanks

I don't have those cameras but a slew of people here do and they're good ones.
Waste of money is hard to answer as its so subjective. It will be a waste of money if you aren't willing to read a bit about photography and getting the basics, knowing what aperture means, how it affects shutter speed and depth of field etc.
Now those aren't really hard to figure out but you'll need to learn to think about them.
Of course the xsi and probably the 450d have auto settings which work fine and I think there's a sports mode though the Canon people call it Tv mode which I have no idea why.
What you'll really gain is lack of shutter lag that is inherant in p&s cameras. You click, it shoots. Not sure what those cameras are running now...I'm a nikon man...but if you are willing to spend the extra and get some good glass its well worth it imho.
You just might find yourself a new addiction though.

[SmartWombat]

think there's a sports mode though the Canon people call it Tv mode

Tv mode is not sports mode, it's shutter priority mode.

According to http://gdlp01.c-wss.com/gds/03000009...EOS450D_EN.pdf

Sports mode (the auto mode) is the 5th icon on the mode dial, a picture of someone running.
That's the place to start with sports, and then move on to taking control of the camera yourself later.
Once you're ready to start changing aperture and shutter speed yourself, you'll be branching out into Tv mode or M mode.

[Chaser]

Thanks to all of you for the help, I guess I still have alot of reading to do. I'm going to go look at the Nikon too!
Thanks

[Chaser]

Ok lol, tell me this will end soon ! I liked at Nikon D80, again I wonder if this maybe to much of a camera for a starter, does anyone know about this one?? Do you think it will work for the things I want it too?
Thanks again

[Franglais]

Oh sorry about posting the wrong place.
As for the P&S and DSLR I'm not sure. I don't know whice one would be better for sports/ kid pics. The budget, I won't to keep in under 1000. As experience, only taking mommy pics lol. I think I got all the questions, if not let me know.
Thanks again

My advice to anybody starting out to to get the latest Nikon low-end DSLR with the 2-lens kit - currently this is the Nikon D60 with 18-55 VR and 55-200 VR lenses at $949. I don't think you need anything more sophisticated to start with. Several of my collegues have gone this way and they are delighted. The D80 has the same sensor, an older image processor and some nice things like extra focus points and bigger viewfinder that you don't have to have.

You need the 18-55 as a walk-about-always-ready-to-take-a-picture lens. You need the 55-200 for portraits of your kids and for sports. All the sports you have mentioned are outdoors so the limited maximum aperture of the 55-200 is not a problem (a lens for indoor sports is way over your budget).

[freygr]

clip.....

You need the 18-55 as a walk-about-always-ready-to-take-a-picture lens. You need the 55-200 for portraits of your kids and for sports. All the sports you have mentioned are outdoors so the limited maximum aperture of the 55-200 is not a problem (a lens for indoor sports is way over your budget).

Yes the cheapest fast Nikon lens is about $800-$1000. The older 80-200mm F2.8. And if you are in a covered horse arena you will need it for sure! To stop horses feet you need a shutter speed of about 300th of a second minim!