Indoor Sports Photography

dcove · Jul 21, 2005

I currently own a Olympus CZ2100 UltraZoom. Awesome camera but.... my son plays basketball and I would like to be able to take indoor action shots of him playing but with a ISO limit of 400 all I get is a blur.
So, I am looking for a SLR that will meet my needs as they appear to offer higher ISO's to help me accomplish my goal. It appears 1600 and 3200 are available.
Question?? - Will 1600 be enough for high speed action indoors while using a zoom lens ( mayb eup to 300m ),to focus on the action or do I need 3200 in my back pocket.

I am looking at the following camera's ( in my price range ), any input would be appreciated !
Pentax *ist DS - 3200 ISO
Canon RebelXT - 1600 ISO
Nikon D70S - 1600ISO

photogoddess · Jul 21, 2005

You might want to take a look at the 10D. While it technically has been discontinued by Canon. They can be found inexpensively on eBay, all of the accessories are readily available and the camera can go to 3200 ISO. Depending on the gym that you're shooting in (some can be rather dark), you'll want a higher ISO and a faster lens. Most of the pros shoot indoor sports with remote strobes so without those, you'll need all the help you can get.

Big Mike · Jul 21, 2005

Yes, besides a higher ISO...a faster lens would be the other way to get faster shutter speeds. Besides, bumping up the ISO adds noise to the images...although a good DSLR will give you less noise at 800 or 1600, than your point & shoot at 200 or 400.

Something that can open up to F4 would be a start...but to really do the job F2.8 or faster would be the way to go.

Unfortunately, a long lens that also has a large aperture (fast lens)...will be expensive. I think the Canon 300mm F4 is around $1100 US...and they go up from there. So if indoor sports is your focus....keep in mind that expensive lenses go with that territory. Not to mention the cost of the camera itself.

dcove · Jul 21, 2005

Yes, I had a question about that specifically. The spec. indicates ISO 80 - 1600, 3200 with ISO extension. What does this mean ?

Big Mike · Jul 21, 2005

dcove said:
Yes, I had a question about that specifically. The spec. indicates ISO 80 - 1600, 3200 with ISO extension. What does this mean ?

That just means that ISO 3200 is not a normal setting. There is a custom function that has to be turned on before you can set the camera to ISO 3200. It's not hard to do.