Quote:
Originally Posted by ShipItMehr
Hi guys. I'm in the market for a superzoom camera to take good quality pictures of tennis matches. Can you recommend me some good ones?
Doing superzoom instead of DSLR to save money for now. Thanks!
Well If you must have a superzoom, and are trying to save money, my recommendation would be the Panasonc Lumix DMC FZ1000. At $800, it currently retails for $100 less than the Canon PowerShot G3X. Furthermore the G3X doesn't come with a viewfinder. For good shots of tennis you'll want a viewfinder. It will cost you $250 extra. (All prices U$.)
But do you really need a superzoom? If you are shooting from courtside, you don't. You won't need an Equivalent Focal Length (EFL - that's focal length in 35mm full-frame equivalent terms) of more than about 200mm. If you are shooting from 10m back from courtside, you will want an EFL of about 300mm. 400mm from the nosebleeds.
If you only need an EFL of 300mm there is a cheaper option than a superzoom that may well give you better photos. Currently you can buy a Nikon D3300 dSLR with the 18-55mm and 55-200mm kit lenses and a camera bag for $650 after instant rebate. On the D3300's APS-C sensor, this will give you an EFL of 300mm. Plus you get a much larger sensor, so less noise and better colour, and a wider maximum aperture diameter at maximum zoom, so you can use a faster shutter speed to freeze action better and blur out the distracting background a bit more. The sensor also has more pixels, so your images will probably be a bit sharper. Since the D3300 is a dSLR, it will probably be able to focus faster and more reliably on moving targets like tennis players or in low light.
If you need 400mm EFL reach, then you can get the D3300 with 18-55mm kit lens plus the 55-300mm lens for a total of $900. It will actually give you 450mm EFL.
You won't need the 18-55mm kit lens for tennis, but I think it always comes with the D3300 in retail sales in North America.