I am beginning to shop for a digital camera and have a bit of experience with the Kodak DC260- so I'm leaning towards the DC265 since the format is familiar. Being a bit of a beginner however I'm not sure if I'm either spending too much for what I need or simply looking at the wrong camera for what I need it to accomplish.

The pictures I'll be taking are primarily for a website- prints aren't a major concern. I'll be using the camera for a wide range of targets- from football action shots at professional practices, training camps, and Sunday afternoons to stadium stills, player profiles pics, and general tailgating tom-foolery. Highest priority would be action shots from some average to far distances.

I can spend up to $700 on the camera to start but am hoping in that figure a good deal of 'accompaniments' would come along: rechargeable battery pack, good sized memory card, possible lens adapters- anything I can get for under or around $700.

NEEDS:

1) Good results for action shots. I'm fairly decent at picking some good action shots up with the Kodak DC260- is the DC265 going to increase the quality of those action shots or my ability to take them? Is there another camera within my price range that is better suited for the action shots I'll be taking?

2) Strong zoom capabilty. Standing on the 20 yard line and hoping to get a pick of a player roughly 30 yards away takes some zoom although I've had some success in mangling pics once I've got them on my pc. Is there a camera that combines for better and quicker shutter speeds along with better zoom capabilities than the DC265?

3) USB connection

4) lens adaptability- accesories are good fun. I want to be sure that what I've heard about the new 'friction connected' lens accesories for the DC265 are true and that they do their jobs admirably- more-over that the camera handles them well.

5) A lot of room to work with creatively. I'm still not a big fan of 'everything automated' and want to be sure that if I invest this much cash in a DC- I'll still be able to fiddle a bunch with aperture and other settings.

As a beginner (relatively) to digital cameras, if there are any other things that I should keep in mind for shopping for my new camera- PLEASE don't be afraid to advise. The web page I'll be working on is run by Browns fans- and while our visitors don't always 'expect perfection' - I want to find the best way to give them the best images of the players/plays they like to see the most. Our layout is on the pro level, and I'd like our images to be right around there without having to shell out thousands of dollars to do it. We don't get paid much. Yet ;)

If you have any advice, suggestions, or comments on any of this I'd very much appreciate it.

Thanks in advance,

Chip

-- Chip (Qyetzie@BrownsTNG.com), December 05, 1999

Answers

Digital photography is very similiar to film photography. If you want to stop action you have to have the shutter open for a short time, typically 1/1000 per second. So check the camera specs and see what the max spec. If you have an automatic, then you would want to have shutter perferance so you can set the shutter and let the camera set the f stop (how big the hole is) Of course the faster the lens the bigger the opening has to be. Most digital camera work at 100 asa... some cheat with downground performance to get up to +3 or 300asa(?)

Another technique is to use a fast flash. Perhaps an off camera strobe would help.. at least it night. Typically cheap strobes are not very powerful. More expensive flash units are faster and more powerful.

The third technique is to follow the action and let the background be fuzzy. Makes some dramatic shots!

Take a look at Kodak 660. I am sure it can do the job. Oh, you had a budget, this little baby on goes for $52 thousand. But it sure is nice! :)

-- dave clark (daveclark@mail.com), December 05, 1999.

First you'll need to lower your expectations for action shots with digital cameras. Shutter lag is a problem even if you can crank up the shutter priority. (you click the shutter and the photo is taken a bit later)

You're definitely not describing a 265 which has near zilch manual control.

The camera your requirements list described is the Sony 505. It has USB, an unusually long zoom (5x), a standard 52mm lens thread for filter attachements, and good manual control. Unfortunately it's a little bit more than your price range. I bought one a month ago and got some great shots of a basketball game. It's tough framing fast moving subjects with 5x zoom and just an LCD, though. To use the 5x zoom I recommend a tripod to avoid camera shake/blur.

I'm sure some joker will suggest a mavica. For a savings of a couple hundred you move from the best image quality to the worst. It's a good choice if you really need the longest zoom and are sure you'll only ever want web size pics. Man, I feel queasy for even suggesting it.

-- benoit (foo@bar.com), December 07, 1999.