We had a similar topic quite a while back. Technology moves on.......but do present generation SLR cameras have fast enough autofocus to keep up with a badminton player's movements on court?
i'm just a novice in photography but i think autofocus is ok at certain distance but shutter speed priority is more important. Never own a camera in my life but is currently shopping for a digital camera. Like badminton rackets, i envy those camera prices in HK
I think yes if you think about other sports photographs, e.g. like those for car racing. Today autofocus systems are really sophisticated (I mean those on high end camera such as EOS-1V) - in addition, people usually use lens with motor built-in to take these sports photographs.
Cheung, I really can't help you too much with a 35mm SLR, but if you are looking at digital cameras, I believe the standard for sports photography is still the Olympus E-100RS, which has an image-stabilized 10x zoom lens, 15 fps speed and 1/10,000 sec. shutterspeed. It's main drawback is that it is only a 1.3 mp camera, meaning you won't be able to blow pictures up much past 5"x7" or maybe 8"x10". Cooler, by all means, you should be checking out the reviews and the several dozen forums at <www.dpreview.com> if you have not already discovered that website. DP (digital photography) Review is the Badminton Central of digital photography sites, except that it gets about ten times the traffic per month that this site gets all year. Like with any site, you should check out the reviews of cameras that interest you and then do a search in the forums for the particular cameras that seem best for you - most likely someone else has already asked and answered most of your questions. There are also links to several other useful digital photography websites. It is a great website. If you decide to buy from a mail order firm, beware, as there are an incredible number of scam artists and frauds selling cameras over the internet and from photo magazine ads (ignore the so-called approved advertisers - the magazines protect their advertisers, not their readers); most of these places operate out of New York City and New Jersey, I think because of poor enforcement of consumer fraud laws there. I would recommend B&H Photo and Adorama which are both highly reputable and although you will pay half-way between retail and the cheapest discounted price, you will get excellent advice, brand new goods with proper warranty, fast shipping at reasonable prices (as opposed to up to 1,000% markup on S&H charged by some places) and you can actually place an order without either being pressured to buy accessories at 300% over retail or having your order cancelled two months and ten phone calls after you placed it because you refused to buy those overpriced accessories. If you decide to go with another mail order store, check it out first at <www.resellerratings.com> What cameras are you considering?
OT How fast is autofocus SLR brett, thanks for all your advices. Yes, i did some reading of forum for feedbacks. Nice to know that b&H and adorama are not scam artists. I had been scouting a digital camera for the past 4 months. Ebay look scary to me. My #1 choice now is the minolta s404 from adorama, #2 is canon s30. The s404 is quite new(retailed in march/02) and most places were sold out. User feedbacks on the s404 are limited but it's a decently priced 4 MB camera. However, the s404 still has its drawback that most reviewer overlook. Have you heard of the new foveon X3 sensor? i think it's will give sony, nikon, canon, pentax etc some royal competition. However, i can't wait for 2+ years before it's cheap enough for us joe consumer. It is on a Sigma for 3000 USD.
Re: OT How fast is autofocus SLR Are you going to use the SLR camera to take photos of badminton players during games? I've heard that new cameras - Canon EOS; Nikon F5 or F100, are very fast. Probably Canon is faster than Nikon, at the end you should be the one who is going to decide which pictures you'll like best. I believe Nikon have sharper images while Canon's are softer. Taking pictures with camera, specially in tournaments should be tricky. Need good zoom lens with good speed - which could cost as much or more than the camera body itself. Then the skills to capture the image - I really suck here and the right negative for the occasion. After all these issues, if I have to capture images, I'll try digital/digital 8 video cameras (I believe digital cameras are not able to capture the fast paced badminton actions yet). I bought a digital 8 video recorder some time ago and recorded some of my sons soccer practices and games. Images are nice and crisp and also very very clear during slow motion playback.
Re: OT How fast is autofocus SLR Speed of shutter is not an important consideration. All modern SLR's have shutter speed of 1/250th of a sec which is quite adequate for badminton. I should have phrased the question as "how fast is the autofocusing system?". Can it keep up with a badminton player's movements on court? I am not sure they are up to the speed of F1 racing. As for lenses, I think 85mm at F2 should be OK for indoor lighting.
Re: OT How fast is autofocus SLR Think autofocus should be quick enough. You can see that there are very nice pictures in track and field - 100m dash, long jump, high jump, triple jump; gymnastics, etc. Badminton should not be a problem, I believe. I think most important is the angle - where you plan to take the picures. For lenses, I'm not too sure. 85mm I think you have to be beside the court. And not sure if the image would be small, if you say, taking a picture from the center of the court (where the umpire is), of a player in the baseline. A good friend of mine took some pictures of us playing - his equipment, Nikon F4, Nikkor lenses 80-200 zoom and Fuji film 400 ASA. He took them for fun only and since it was not in any tournament he also used flash to help. The pictures were very nice.
I think I've found the answer to my original question. I was talking to a amateur and despite the misinterpretation of my question (common in HK) eventually my persistence paid off. i get the impression that autofocus is not yet fast enough. As for Vivers statement about trackand field events, I suspect those images are taken at a greater distance with outside lighting with the following advantages: 1) greater depth of field 2) greater contrast for the autofocussing to work on. This amateur photographer still recommended the prefocussing technique.
I think your photographer friend is right. Are you preparing to take some photos in T & U Cups events?
didn't go When at the All china games, I saw quite a few amateurs up in the stands taking photos. Spoke with another friend about cameras yesterday Canon are very fast. Nikon brought out a new set of lenses called AFS which can autofocus much faster. The motor in the camera body is a factor. So a cheaper camera body will be slower than a more expensive one.
