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what camera to use for action photography?
- Thread starter Chris
- Start date
Any of the current DSLR's will certainly capture action without significant shutter lag.
Lens wise, it depends upon the kind of action.
If you are shooting basketball from just behind the backboard, then a lens like the 17-55 mm f/2.8 or 24-70 mm f/2.8 if using a FF camera.
Field games or when shooting any kind of racing, a 200-400 mm f/4, 400 mm f.2.8 or 600 mm f/4 are the lenses of choice
Lens wise, it depends upon the kind of action.
If you are shooting basketball from just behind the backboard, then a lens like the 17-55 mm f/2.8 or 24-70 mm f/2.8 if using a FF camera.
Field games or when shooting any kind of racing, a 200-400 mm f/4, 400 mm f.2.8 or 600 mm f/4 are the lenses of choice
Any of the current DSLR's will certainly capture action without significant shutter lag.
Lens wise, it depends upon the kind of action.
If you are shooting basketball from just behind the backboard, then a lens like the 17-55 mm f/2.8 or 24-70 mm f/2.8 if using a FF camera.
Field games or when shooting any kind of racing, a 200-400 mm f/4, 400 mm f.2.8 or 600 mm f/4 are the lenses of choice
Lens wise, it depends upon the kind of action.
If you are shooting basketball from just behind the backboard, then a lens like the 17-55 mm f/2.8 or 24-70 mm f/2.8 if using a FF camera.
Field games or when shooting any kind of racing, a 200-400 mm f/4, 400 mm f.2.8 or 600 mm f/4 are the lenses of choice
carnaby_fudge
New member
if you have the money go for a step above the entry level dslr's like the canon xs, t1, etc. they tend to have slower response times and the frames per second (fps) rate is a little too slow for my taste. my canon 40d (which is the next step up from the xs) works great. newer models are called 50d but you can probably find a great used 40d for a reasonable price. the 50d runs about $1000 for the body only.
as far as the lens first you need to decide how much of a zoom you need. will you be fairly close to the action like basketball or volleyball? or somewhat further like football or soccer? for further away action i've found that something in the range of 75-300mm works great. for closer action something in the 50-150mm range works fine.
you also want to look for "constant aperture" lenses. cheaper lenses have a moving aperture and are usually referenced something like "f/3.5-5.6". meaning as you zoom in the aperture gets larger. this can be a major problem as most sporting venues outside d1 college and pro are not well lit for the photographer. this means you have to slow down your shutter speed and increase your iso to get a proper exposure which can lead to blurred action and grainy photos. a constant aperture lens won't suffer from that because the aperture will remain the same regardless of zoom level.
the downside is these lenses are much more expensive. a canon 75-300mm f/3.5-5.6 lens runs about $150-$200 and is often thrown in as a package deal with many entry level dslrs. but a constant aperture f/2.8 70-200mm lens runs about $600.
if you have the scratch i'd say get the better equipment. but the entry level stuff can be perfectly serviceable if you know your limitations.
as far as the lens first you need to decide how much of a zoom you need. will you be fairly close to the action like basketball or volleyball? or somewhat further like football or soccer? for further away action i've found that something in the range of 75-300mm works great. for closer action something in the 50-150mm range works fine.
you also want to look for "constant aperture" lenses. cheaper lenses have a moving aperture and are usually referenced something like "f/3.5-5.6". meaning as you zoom in the aperture gets larger. this can be a major problem as most sporting venues outside d1 college and pro are not well lit for the photographer. this means you have to slow down your shutter speed and increase your iso to get a proper exposure which can lead to blurred action and grainy photos. a constant aperture lens won't suffer from that because the aperture will remain the same regardless of zoom level.
the downside is these lenses are much more expensive. a canon 75-300mm f/3.5-5.6 lens runs about $150-$200 and is often thrown in as a package deal with many entry level dslrs. but a constant aperture f/2.8 70-200mm lens runs about $600.
if you have the scratch i'd say get the better equipment. but the entry level stuff can be perfectly serviceable if you know your limitations.
Bert Sullivan
New member
To freeze action you need a camera with manual settings, allowing you speed up the shutter, I use a Canon 40D and I am very happy with it.
Any of the current DSLR's will certainly capture action without significant shutter lag.
Lens wise, it depends upon the kind of action.
If you are shooting basketball from just behind the backboard, then a lens like the 17-55 mm f/2.8 or 24-70 mm f/2.8 if using a FF camera.
Field games or when shooting any kind of racing, a 200-400 mm f/4, 400 mm f.2.8 or 600 mm f/4 are the lenses of choice
I believe only Nikon or Canon will be fast enought to capture action photos. The lens you suggested are very good but they are very expensive.