Sport Photography: Digital Cameras & SLRs

For sport photography, the best digital cameras will have non-existent shutter lag, a long zoom and fast operation. Most digital compacts still have a slight shutter lag which can mean the difference between capturing the sporting moment or a nice picture of the crowd in the background. Pressing the shutter halfway before taking the picture can reduce shutter lag to less than .01 second on many cameras and this may help to capture a fast moving subject if the camera is also pre-focused on the subject or a nearby object.

Most digital SLR cameras start instantly and in the majority of cases, shutter lag is non-existent. This is ideal for sport photography as SLR cameras can also be coupled with large telephoto lenses with wide apertures but these can be very expensive. Some camera bodies or lenses also provide image stabilization or vibration reduction through moving the CCD to counter balance movement or by having vibration reducing parts built into the lens itself. This allows the user to handhold the camera and take a shot in lower light conditions than is normally possible without the use of flash but ideally, a tripod should be used for best results. The dominant players in the digital SLR field include Canon, Nikon, Olympus and Pentax with Panasonic and Sony as the newcomers on the market.

Except where otherwise stated, all the digital cameras recommended for the sports photographer have fast operation, low shutter lag and a 4x or larger optical zoom lens. These recommendations are provided as a general guide and the final decision as always is with the camera buyer. Camera specifications change constantly and therefore it is advisable to check these before buying.

Best Digital Camera & Digital SLR Camera choice for Sport Photography

Canon Powershot G9
For: 12 mega pixels. 35-210mm (35mm equiv) optically stabilised zoom. Full manual controls with hotshoe for external flash. High resolution 3" TFT. SVGA movies. Fast operation. RAW format. Face detection. Compact size.
Against: Lens could be wider & faster. Noise at higher ISOs.

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Fujifilm FinePix S8000fd
For: 8 mega pixels. 27-486mm (35mm equiv) zoom lens with CCD shift stabilisation. Fast operation. Full manual controls. Powerful flash. High resolution 2.4" LCD. RAW format.
Against: Camera does not have a Fujifilm super CCD. Noise at higher ISOs.

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Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18
For: 8 mega pixels. 28-504mm (35mm equiv) Leica zoom lens with optical image stabilization. RAW format. Hotshoe. Widescreen movies. Full manual controls. Fast operation. High resolution 2.5" TFT.
Against: Noise at higher ISOs. Small sensor.

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Nikon D40X Digital SLR Camera
For: 10 megapixels. Small & lightweight. Interchangeable lenses. High quality images. Bright viewfinder. 2.5" TFT. Best in class resolution. Raw format. Fast operation. 3 fps continuous shooting. Low or no noise upto 800 ISO.
Against: No autofocus with non-AF-S/AF-I lenses.

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Olympus Evolt E-510 Digital SLR
For: 10 mega pixel live MOS sensor. Built-in image stabiliser. RAW format. Full manual controls. Hotshoe. 2.5" TFT with live view. Very fast operation. Supersonic Wave Filter for removing dust. Compact & light.
Against: Small viewfinder.

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Canon EOS 40D Digital SLR
For: 10 mega pixel CMOS sensor. Digic III for fast operation. Hotshoe. Big bright viewfinder. High resolution 3" TFT with live view. RAW & sRAW (small RAW). Self cleaning sensor. Full manual controls.
Against: None

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Sony Alpha A700 Digital SLR
For: 12 mega pixel CMOS sensor. CCD-Shift Super Steadyshot system. Full manual controls. Hotshoe. Bright 3" 920,000 pixels TFT. Sealed against dust & moisture. HDMI terminal. Bionz Image Processor for fast operation.
Against: None.

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Nikon D300 Digital SLR Camera
For: 12 mega pixel CMOS sensor. Nikon EXPEED processor for fast operation. Self cleaning sensor. Bright 3" 922,000 pixels TFT. HDMI terminal. Live view. Full manual controls. Hotshoe. Backwards compatibility with most Nikon lenses.
Against: None

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Digital camera reviews edited from many varied sources.