Need to upgrade from my point and shoot

RedLeg · Nov 21, 2011

Hey guys, i'm brand new to this forum. i was hoping i would get some good advice on getting a new camera. im a very novice photographer, actually...im just a guy with a camera. currently i just have a point and shoot camera. having kids that play hockey, football and basketball the zoom just doesnt work well enough and i find action shots come out pretty blury.

so im looking into getting a new camera and i wanted to see what people thought of the 3-fourths cameras (Nikon 1, Panasonic FS and the Sony Nex series). just wanted to see what you guys thought about these cameras. are they a good middle of the road camera? or should i just buy an inexpensive DSLR and if so any recomendations??

whatever camera i do get i plan on taking some classes so i know how to use the thing

creisinger · Nov 21, 2011

There are many of good review sites that test the cameras you mentioned, one amongst many would be Digital Photography Review - just do a Google search.

Furthermore it depends on what your budget is. Many other question do play a role in finding the right gear such as are you trying to make a living with those photos or is it just for fun?

If you are a highly self motivated learner I'd spend the money for classes rather on the equipment. There is so much great information online (including here on the forums) that I'd make sure to get the right stuff first before ending up with inferior tools.

A DSLR is surely not a bad decision. You get that baby fired up real quick not to mention the fast shutter response compared to P&S (in most cases). Zoom capabilities are also limited on the compact cameras so a DSLR will be the best choice for your needs (sports photography).

Get your finances sorted out. You need a camera body and 1 or 2 lenses. Often in sports photography you might not be close to the action and you will need a telephoto lens. Then of course you most likely want to use the camera for friends & family use as well and then you need a wide angle lens too.

I'm a Nikon shooter and I would recommend an "allrounder" lens like the Nikkor 18-200mm VRII f5.6. You can get it used between $450 to $500 but this covers a good range for starters. I would never recommend getting the kit lenses. They are often lousy performing.

Do your homework (and ask around of course) to get right stuff.

Big Mike · Nov 21, 2011

Welcome to the forum.

The main (maybe only) advantage that I know of, for the 4/3rds format, is that it's smaller. That also means it's lighter and possibly less expensive...but for me, that isn't enough to buy into those systems.

Really, for shooting action/sports...the camera format or brand probably won't matter near as much as the lens(s) that you get. Shooting sports is demanding on the lenses because they usually need to be long (to get action farther away), they need to focus quickly and they need to let in a lot of light (large aperture) so that you can get a shutter speed to help freeze the movement. Unfortunately, long lenses that have a large maximum aperture, are some of the most expensive lenses you'll want.

Something else worth a mention, is how fast the camera shoots and how good the AF system is. For example, the Canon Rebels are pretty good entry level DSLR cameras, and if you pair one with a great lens, you should be able to get great results. But the AF may be lacking and they only shoot at 3 frames per second. Move up to the 7D and now you can shoot at 8 frames per second, with Canon's best AF system under $4000. That may be overkill for the type of photograph you're doing...but maybe not.