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What Fuji for fast action?

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Adva

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I own a F30, and for the most part I love it, I do not however like the sports mode, course I never bought it for that reason, I wanted great photos.

I am wanting a zoom camera that will take some action shots, but don't to dump a load of cash on it.

I've looked at the fuji s700 and the sd6000, has anyone had good success at some action shots? IE soccer, football, and or basket ball?

Thanks

Adva
 
If I was wanting to use a camera for fast action, I'd also want the ability to let loose a few shots in quick succession to catch the action.

The earlier Fujis were good at this and the S7000 had a very good First 5 / Final 5 function at full 6 / interpolated 12 MP), a feature of this camera I really liked and was exactly what I needed. The S7000 (for example) was also no slouch with continuous shoot (though only in a still very good 3MP). The slowness of focussing and start up did let what was a really good camera down for it's time (also best macro mode I've seen on a camera).

The original S5000 and S602Z also did a decent job in this respect.

Later Fujis such as the S5500, S5600, S6000/6500 and S9x00 series (although faster at initial start up and focus/shoot) dropped this back to first three / final three (though someone said first four / final four for the S9x00 series) and made even continuous shoot a lot slower as the MP count and recording time per shot increased. I've never understood why the basic hardware was never speeded up to compensate for this or Fuji allowed recording at lower MPs (hence faster) as an option to compensate for this.

For action stuff, this seems to suggest look elsewhere, annoying since the picture quality of some of the Fuji cameras can at times excel.

That said, no camera out there is perfect and whatever we buy, we'll always have some minor gripe or other. Some of the Panasonics do the rapid multishoot quite well (DMC-FZ8), however, the Fujs do give better pictures especially in low light.

--
Ian (Beefy_SAFC)
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http://www.tibet.freeserve.co.uk
http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/kathmandu/index.html
 
I took this shot through the trampoline net in sports mode with some cropping.



This one in a dark skating rink with some cropping. He was moving pretty fast. The blur was added with picasa.



And this one from 10 rows back in a dark auditorium straight out of the camera then resized.



I've only had the s6000 a few weeks but really like it. I also have a canon sd300 and sd450 which are great easy cams to use but the noisy iso400 is a big letdown.
 
could not load the pics, says its forbidden.

I do have an old Nicon 400 film camera, might see if the 35mm 70mm lens will fit on a fuji dslr.

Anyone know how the s700 does on high speed shots?

thanks

Adva
 
Adva said:
I own a F30, and for the most part I love it, I do not however like
the sports mode, course I never bought it for that reason, I wanted
great photos.

I am wanting a zoom camera that will take some action shots, but
don't to dump a load of cash on it.

I've looked at the fuji s700 and the sd6000, has anyone had good
success at some action shots? IE soccer, football, and or basket
ball?
Click to expand...
Well all these cams are going to give you over your F30 is more zoom reach. If your F30 is not fast enough, none of Fujis current range of cams will be either.

You may look elswhere like the Canon S3IS. It will probably not perform any faster in single shot mode but it may cycle faster shot to shot and it definitely has a better/longer burst mode. And it has OIS. But the improvement still won't be life changeing.

What you really need is a dslr... even an entry level one will make a huge difference.

I went from a Fuji S6500fd to a Nikon D40 and it is totally in another league speed wise. Focus is nearly instant and it shoots at 2.5fps all the while continuing to focus and track the subject. Nothing in the P&S world can come close to this.

I know you said you don't want to spend much but as I said all you will be getting with an s6500fd/s700 etc is more zoom reach :-)

Check this out.
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1034&message=22765638

Cheers Darin
 
This picture was taken without chance to configure the camera. It was set in P mode at ISO 100, RAW format, full zoom, and it used a shutter speed of 1/400 and F4.9 Aperture.

I took the the picture just when this little fella was taking off.



--
My Fujifilm Arsenal
Finepix S6000fd for adventure
Finepix E550 all day camera
Finepix F20 wife's camera

Previews Cameras: Finepix S5200, A350, A303, 2650, 2600
Olympus D-100.
 
I'll have to agree with Darin. Since you mentioned outdoor sports, I think the Canons would be the best choice. I have the sd300 and the sd450 and both have a great continuous shooting mode. They will take pictures as long as you hold the shutter button or the card fills up. With the S3Is' zoom, you should have a great outdoor sports zoom camera for not much money (assuming the S3 is as good as the other Canon cameras)

I really like the sports mode on my s6000 in good light but since you have the F30 and don't like it, you may want to look at the Canons for the reasons stated above.
 
First of all, what are we talking about here, freezing subject or continuous mode?

I agree on the fact that is you don't like the F30 you might not either do the S6000fd. Now if we are talking about freezing pictures, i know as higher the ISO better the chances to freeze the motion, so Fuji will do better. Now if continuous mode is what is desire, Canon will do better because the reasons said above. Fuji only have 3 shots limits but canon is unlimited.

--
My Fujifilm Arsenal
Finepix S6000fd for adventure
Finepix E550 all day camera
Finepix F20 wife's camera

Previews Cameras: Finepix S5200, A350, A303, 2650, 2600
Olympus D-100.
 
You might consider adding a teleconverter or stacked teleconverters to the F30.

Good teleconverters cause very little light loss so that's not a problem.

I've had good success stacking a Nikon TC-E2 (2X) and an Olympus TCON-17 (1.7X) for a total of 3.4X. The TC-E2 by itself is an excellent and inexpensive lens. I got mine thru Amazon.com for $19.95!

These lenses are heavy compared to the camera - you must support both the camera and the lenses. This is not a problem in practice.

See earlier posts on how to add a 28mm filter ring to the F30 or other methods to mount these lenses.
 
I agree, I'm a little confused as well. If you're looking for good continuous mode then the Fujis aren't for you. My S6000 focuses very fast compared to my Canon S3, but the continuous mode is god awful and only does a burst of 3 pictures and then you have to wait like 5 seconds. For a better continuous mode you should check out the Sony H5 or maybe even give the H9 a try if you're willing to live with some of its goofy shortcomings. The Fuji will be able to stop action very well because of its high ISO capabilities but it's not the camera for you if you want a good burst mode. The Canon S3 has a great burst mode but focusing is very untrustworthy and it takes forever especially at the long end of the zoom.
Zeol1 said:
First of all, what are we talking about here, freezing subject or
continuous mode?
I agree on the fact that is you don't like the F30 you might not
either do the S6000fd. Now if we are talking about freezing pictures,
i know as higher the ISO better the chances to freeze the motion, so
Fuji will do better. Now if continuous mode is what is desire, Canon
will do better because the reasons said above. Fuji only have 3 shots
limits but canon is unlimited.

--
My Fujifilm Arsenal
Finepix S6000fd for adventure
Finepix E550 all day camera
Finepix F20 wife's camera

Previews Cameras: Finepix S5200, A350, A303, 2650, 2600
Olympus D-100.
Click to expand...
 
thanks for the info.

I do love my F30 for stills and works well capturing small movement I am looking for a bit more fill in the screen that is in focus and not blurred, I was hoping I did not have to pony up the bucks for a dslr but looks like i have no choice.

did find a D50 body that is selling for 150, i have a lens off an old nikon 400si film that i could put on it so i might try that route.

as for the continuous shooting, or final/top three, makes no diff to me, if i can get one or two good shots when my son plays, thats all that counts, most of the time the F30 can give me some good shots, but it seems like i have to take far too many or the iso gets jumped way too high.

Adva

"when everyone is out to get you, paranoia is just good thinking"
 
Adva said:
thanks for the info.

I do love my F30 for stills and works well capturing small movement
I am looking for a bit more fill in the screen that is in focus and
not blurred, I was hoping I did not have to pony up the bucks for a
dslr but looks like i have no choice.
Click to expand...
I,like some others here, am still a little unsure of your exact needs. Can you explain a little more please. What do you mean by "fill in the screen that is in focus ". More zoom? ... DOF (depth of field)... A dslr has a smaller DOF.

You also say you don't need continuous burst mode. If this is the case then the S6500fd will have the reach you desire and a deep DOF. But it still won't foicus as quick as a dslr. AND the focus system can't track a moving subject like a dslr.

Darin
 
Adva said:
did find a D50 body that is selling for 150, i have a lens off an old
nikon 400si film that i could put on it so i might try that route.
Click to expand...
A D50 (or any dSLR) will be far better at handling sports/action than the typical P&S.

I'm not familiar with a Nikon 400si. I have heard of a Minolta 400si? Are you sure the lens is a Nikon F-mount? Note that many old Nikkor (Nikon) manual focus lenses won't meter on the D50.

Steve
 
just dragged out the camera and yes its a Milnota 400si, had nikon on the brain

here are some examples, on this one the ball is in focus but like a pinpoint everything around it is getting fuzzy.



and others









course I realize that I am not a professional, but ive tried on sports mode and they just seem too fuzzy. I know no camera is perfect.

on the still side I love the F30





 
Shooting sports indoors in what are generally poorly lit gym's is tough for almost all cameras. Of course DSLR's will give you a few more options at getting decent shutter speeds, but if you really need to shoot indoor sports prepare yourself for a long expensive learning curve.

Now, take that with a grain of salt because what you might find acceptable I might not, or vice versa. I use DSLR's and I still hate to shoot sports indoors.

This is one from a horribly lit, but seemingly bright indoor soccer arena, what I mean is it seems bright to your eyes, but still have to shoot ISO1600 and maybe 1/200 shutter speeds:



Good luck, Ted
--
http://photobucket.com/albums/y260/tdkd13/
 
Adva said:
here are some examples, on this one the ball is in focus but like a
pinpoint everything around it is getting fuzzy.

Click to expand...
The first few pics ALL suffered from motion blur (not focus problem). They are all taken at iso200 and less than 1/30th sec.

All of the blur you see is a combination of camerashake and motion blur.

To freeze the action you need a faster shutterspeed. This means a higher iso and more noise. NB OIS it of little use here.
Adva said:
and others

Click to expand...
This one is obviously taken in sports mode. The camera has used iso3200 (not available in most P&S cameras) and a shytterspeed of 1/400th sec. This has frozen the action but of couese the picture is noisey (smeary look) from the high iso.
This is actually pretty impresive for iso3200.
Adva said:
course I realize that I am not a professional, but ive tried on
sports mode and they just seem too fuzzy. I know no camera is
perfect.
Click to expand...
As I said above most P&S couldn't even do this. The Fuji F30 and S6500 are definitely a class above the rest of the pack here.

This is an extremely difficult shooting situation, and really requires a dslr and a fast lens... $$$$$$$.

Darin :-)
 
Adva said:
I own a F30, and for the most part I love it, I do not however like
the sports mode, course I never bought it for that reason, I wanted
great photos.

I am wanting a zoom camera that will take some action shots, but
don't to dump a load of cash on it.

I've looked at the fuji s700 and the sd6000, has anyone had good
success at some action shots? IE soccer, football, and or basket
ball?

Thanks

Adva
Click to expand...
Forget Fuji this time, u need a Panny FZ8, they are being sold for amazing low price too.The best and fastest superzoom on the market.Period

Cheers

M

--
'Everyday above earth is a gooooooooood day'
Mike Mad-Dog Adams
 
mpmp said:
Adva said:
I own a F30, and for the most part I love it, I do not however like
the sports mode, course I never bought it for that reason, I wanted
great photos.

I am wanting a zoom camera that will take some action shots, but
don't to dump a load of cash on it.

I've looked at the fuji s700 and the sd6000, has anyone had good
success at some action shots? IE soccer, football, and or basket
ball?

Thanks

Adva
Click to expand...
Forget Fuji this time, u need a Panny FZ8, they are being sold for
amazing low price too.The best and fastest superzoom on the
market.Period

Cheers

M
Click to expand...
For indoor shots like the OP has shown the Pany would be near useless.

It would be Ok outside in good light (fast and good OIS). But indoor shots like these need high iso. This is Fujis domain.

No P&S will really do the ob fully.
What is really needed is a dslr with fast glass...but expensive.

Darin
 
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