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"You need Canon or Nikon to do sports" (pics)

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Not a lot. An *istDL2, (mostly) a f1.7 50mm Pentax SMC-A (although I've gone autofocus now with an SMC-F), jpeg for speed, and a bit of curve tweaking where it was needed using GIMP (free!).
 
Nice pictures, but not a single one of the sport action. Personally, I do want to see some close-up actions shots from the playing field; not of pros but of my kid playing in the game.

And I have taken such action shots with Pentax equipment, but it would be nice to be able to buy a new 300 or 400mm auto-focus Pentax lens at a reasonable price from a retailer who has this item in stock. Until such a lens is available (in 2008?) I'm honing my manual focus skills with my SMCP-M* 300mm f4, which shots like this:

 
Old proverb, goes something like this ... 'WHEN ALL YOU OWN IS A HAMMER, EVERTHING STARTS TO RESEMBLE A NAIL!'.

Now if you did sport for a serious hobby or living you would own a 5fps camera (even if they sound like a machine gun when being used). The fact you can do it in single shot P&S isnt the point, you dont go taking second rate gear to the superbowl if you only have 1 chance to earn your weeks wage with the killer shot!

The 3fps of my K10d is fine, all i will need, plus it has a great buffer but still, its not in the same leauge alas... thoes extra fps are what counts!!!

If you want to know why this is, how fast (distance the human body can moce through space) in 1 second? Take a single shot in 5fps & see the differences, now pull two (either side of the centre one) out... Now if the $MONEY shot was thoes 2 then its tough love, Rupert is going to give you a chance to cover hair & fassion in s.america for a couple of years, give you time to save for new gear & practice your 'hobby'... Thats just how life is...

- - - - - - - - - - - - -
http://www.dslrpro.com
 
Stephen Hardy said:
Now if you did sport for a serious hobby or living you would own a
5fps camera (even if they sound like a machine gun when being
used). The fact you can do it in single shot P&S isnt the point,
you dont go taking second rate gear to the superbowl if you only
have 1 chance to earn your weeks wage with the killer shot!

The 3fps of my K10d is fine, all i will need, plus it has a great
buffer but still, its not in the same leauge alas... thoes extra
fps are what counts!!!
Click to expand...
My approach is different. I am more inclined to wait for the 'decisive moment' and try to capture that moment in an image. I have tried the other approach using an auto-focus lens and continuous AF mode. I shot lots of frames but the total number of keepers per game was about the same.

Of course, if the newspaper had hired me to bring back some usable images for the next day's paper, I would shoot hundreds or thousands of frames in order to guarantee capturing at least a few acceptable images. But I'm not a pro and have no desire to be a professional sports photographer.

By the way, the photo I posted was shot with a Pentax *istDL with the Pentax SMCP-M* 300mm f4 lens on a monopod. It's not a 'single-shot P&S' or 'second rate gear.' If I was buying equipment for the sole purpose of sports action shots, then I would likely buy different stuff. But my Pentax gear gives generally good results in a wide variety of different circumstances. Most often, the limiting factor is not the equipment but my lack of skill or artistic vision.
 
GaryML said:
Nice pictures, but not a single one of the sport action.
Personally, I do want to see some close-up actions shots from the
playing field; not of pros but of my kid playing in the game.

And I have taken such action shots with Pentax equipment, but it
would be nice to be able to buy a new 300 or 400mm auto-focus
Pentax lens at a reasonable price from a retailer who has this item
in stock. Until such a lens is available (in 2008?) I'm honing my
manual focus skills with my SMCP-M* 300mm f4, which shots like this:
Click to expand...
Fair enough. There are people who can do the action shots and some of them earn a reasonable living out of it. From my own point of view it leaves me cold... my title was tongue-in-cheek I'll admit, but frankly as a rabid sport fan I really am bored of the action photography that's filling the back pages these days, and talking to many of my fellow fans I don't think I'm alone.

I wish people would shoot wider, shoot deeper, catch the event, catch the people there, the whole context. Sadly, it doesn't sell to the newspapers, but I think it should - people cut out and keep those photos that remind them of their amazing moments in the stands.

I think if I had to shoot action each week I'd be pretty bored. Whereas when I get the chance to get a press pass for games like some of those above, I get to jump in and out of stands and terraces, chat to fans, and really enjoy the whole event. If I don't go home covered in grass, mud, gravel, and preferably touchline paint too, I've not had a proper day out.

That really is a lovely action shot, though.
 
I believe you're in the USA, yes? It's definitely starting to happen in a big way for American players. As a Fulham season ticket holder I'm lucky enough to see Brian McBride every week. He's not the most supremely gifted player in the world but he's one of the best professionals around, a real inspiration. He's taken what he's got and is still scoring goals in one of the world's top leagues at 34 years old, and believe me at Fulham they're not handed to him on a plate by the rest of the team.

I hope your son does really well.
 
GaryML said:
Of course, if the newspaper had hired me to bring back some usable
images for the next day's paper, I would shoot hundreds or
thousands of frames in order to guarantee capturing at least a few
acceptable images. But I'm not a pro and have no desire to be a
professional sports photographer.
Click to expand...
That's my point of view too. Much as I'd love someone to pay me an IT Consultant's living for doing this stuff I doubt they ever will. It's great fun doing this... there's a chance of it leading to something, and I get a lot of pleasure out of doing something different... there are a raft of photographers pointing Canon L's at the pitch at most games, and they'll all basically come up with variations on the same theme. It sells, but I genuinely believe that if media photo desks asked the fans what they'd prefer, they'd be told that a bit of wider context would be great.
 
Any idiot can hold down the shutter release and machine-gun a bunch of shots. How much talent does that take?

Waiting for the right moment to shoot your shot or series takes talent, and 3fps or 5fps isn't going to make a difference.

--



'We have met the enemy, and he is us!' - Walt Kelley
 
Jon Hall said:
I believe you're in the USA, yes? It's definitely starting to
happen in a big way for American players. As a Fulham season
ticket holder I'm lucky enough to see Brian McBride every week.
He's not the most supremely gifted player in the world but he's one
of the best professionals around, a real inspiration. He's taken
what he's got and is still scoring goals in one of the world's top
leagues at 34 years old, and believe me at Fulham they're not
handed to him on a plate by the rest of the team.
Click to expand...
Yes, I'm in the U.S. Soccer is gaining popularity here, but more as a kid's activity than as a professional spectator sport. The last World Cup got a lot of media attention because the U.S. team was in it, but otherwise professional soccer has a tough time. The woman's professional league collapsed a few years ago (and we saw one of the last games played in that league). American football, baseball, basketball, NASCAR car racing, and (to a lesser extent) hockey bring in the big bucks.
Jon Hall said:
I hope your son does really well.
Click to expand...
Thanks!
 
Dana G said:
Waiting for the right moment to shoot your shot or series takes
talent, and 3fps or 5fps isn't going to make a difference.
Click to expand...
Right on there - 3fps or 5fps doesn't make that big of a difference - even at 5fps you still miss 495/500's of the second...

someone who can anticipate that decisive moment will still get better shots than someone just holding down the button...

-Dan
 
Jon Hall said:
GaryML said:
Nice pictures, but not a single one of the sport action.
Personally, I do want to see some close-up actions shots from the
playing field; not of pros but of my kid playing in the game.
Click to expand...
Fair enough. There are people who can do the action shots and some
of them earn a reasonable living out of it. From my own point of
view it leaves me cold... my title was tongue-in-cheek I'll admit,
but frankly as a rabid sport fan I really am bored of the action
photography that's filling the back pages these days, and talking
to many of my fellow fans I don't think I'm alone.

I wish people would shoot wider, shoot deeper, catch the event,
catch the people there, the whole context. Sadly, it doesn't sell
to the newspapers, but I think it should - people cut out and keep
those photos that remind them of their amazing moments in the
stands.
Click to expand...
I understand your point of view. While I'm not personally a big sports fan, I understand that a sporting event is more than just the players on the field; it is a social event involving the interaction of the crowd with the teams (and sometimes with the weather and other environmental factors). Just seeing close-up of the players fails to show all aspects of the event. But by the same token, leaving out the players on the field also has the effect of missing one aspect of the event.

There was a photo in a recent issue of Popular Photography showing the soccer moms on the sidelines at the kids' soccer game. I have to say that I enjoyed that picture a lot, as it conveyed some of the social interaction between the parents on the sidelines that I experience on a weekly basis.
Jon Hall said:
That really is a lovely action shot, though.
Click to expand...
Thanks.
 
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