Which mega-pixel digital camera would you recommend for taking sports action photos?

-- Gary Degraw (gdegraw@yahoo.com), August 25, 1998

Answers

The Kodak DCS520, or the earlier DCS420. These aren't consumer cameras. The only consumer camera with a long enough lens for sports photography is the Sony Mavica FD7, but you might have trouble stopping action with it, and it's no where near a megapixel. The canon Optura digital camcorder will also zoom in quite a ways and produce digital stills, but again, not a megapixel.

-- Ben Jackson (ben@ben.com), August 25, 1998.

John Cowley of Lonestar Digital (http://www.lonestardigital.com/ just emailed me to report on his early experiences with the Agfa 1680. Turns out the 1680 (and even the earlier 1280) have shutter priority exposure modes, that let you force a higher shutter speed for action shots. Check John's site for some early pics, and a review coming soon...

-- Dave Etchells (detchells@imaging-resource.com), August 29, 1998.