Sports camera

johnnyb1

Hi im looking for a camera suitable to photograph athletics/triathlon events,any suggestions on what type i should get say in the 500euro price range?

5uspect

It depends on what you want from the photos. Are you looking to take pictures for personal use or do you plan on publishing the images?

PCPhoto

a camera suitable for athletics/sports requires a decent autofocus.

Most if not all compact cameras would be unsuitable as there is generally a lag between when you press the shutter and when the image is actually taken, so my advice is to purchase a DSLR (Digital Single Lens Reflex) Camera.... this is basically one of those fancy looking ones with changeable lenses.

simply buying a camera may not solve your problem - you may need to learn what settings to use depending on lighting conditions and lens restrictions.

if you are lucky and keep an eye out you might be able to find one cheap enough with a decent zoom lens, my personal preference is Canon but there are plenty of options out there, Pentax, Sony, Minolta and even Nikon, my reason for choosing Canon was the range of lenses/accessories which I can use, Nikon offer a similar range - some would argue Nikon has a better autofocus system - but thats for them to advise you.

you need to learn how close you are permitted to your chosen sport and what lenses will you require to get the images you want.

Paulw

Canon 7D would be excellent for this (but may be above your budget). You would also need a decent lens too.

Other than that, some of the new consumer DSLRs would do the job. Canon 600D is good too.

You could always also consider a 2nd hand camera (50D, 60D, 7D).

With athletics, you'll only be taking 2-3 frames of each person passing you, in general.

Don't forget it's not just about the camera, but also the lens.

Best of luck.

johnnyb1

Thanks guys,the plan is really just to upload pics of competitors onto sites like flickr,racepix,action photography etc.and dont mind paying an extra few hundred euro if it means a jump up in quality.

5uspect

A decent SLR and lens is going to set you back close to €1500 to €2000 I'm afraid.

Pixie Chief

I am in no way a professional and I'm sure the others have given you much better advice but I have recently purchased a fujifilm HS20 exr for €499 as I wanted to improve my photos of my friends horses jumping. It has an unbelieveable zoom and autofocus for a bridge camera and shoots crystal clear at a max of 11 frames per second on continous shoot if you put it on a tripod. It's maybe worth a trip to a fujifilm store to take a look at one and try it out? - I know it's maybe not very fancy but not sure you could get more for the money??