<p>Okay…someone around here usually knows something about almost everything…</p>
<p>I want to buy a new digital camera which does not make everyone’s eyes red in the photos and which will take action pictures…ie kids running on a soccer field or basketball court, puppies chasing the deer down the side of the fence at warp speed…:)</p>
<p>Pretend price is no object, and I’ll negotiate on ebay…</p>
<p>what should I get?</p>
<p>I think the Canon cameras are very good about identifying faces and eliminating red eye. I have one of the Power Shot Elphs. Canon also makes good lens.</p>
<p>Red eye is due to reflections off the retina and is caused by a flash located close to the lens. Software can help correct for this, but the best solution is to use a camera and lens that will function in lower light without a flash. When a flash is needed, DSLR cameras typically can use a bounce flash or flash bracket. This can help to avoid red eye and also helps reduce the harsh flash and can give a more natural look to your photos.</p>
<p>Sports photography requires a camera with a highly sensitive (and large) sensor. The best is probably the Nikon D3 ($5000-7,000). You will also need fast (i.e. large) high quality lenses. You might want to start with a 70-200 f 2.8 ($2500) and a 400mm f2.8 ($9000). Lenses with focal lengths beyond 400mm would be great for longer distances but they do get expensive.</p>
<p>So, with the red eye thing, it’s about getting the flash away from the lens? Hmmmm. I didn’t know that.</p>
<p>I think sports photography may be out of my budget given what you are saying…wow. I had no idea. Thanks guys.</p>
<p>edad nailed it. kids running on a soccer field or basketball court are among the most challenging situations. You need a camera that focus fast plus fast lenses. The lower level DSLR simplely does not focus faster enough to freeze the action. </p>
<p>There are basically two families you should consider - Nikon or Canon. Nikon wins in wide angle/landscape while Canon wins in sports/telephoto. </p>
<p>Nikon D3 is designed and well known for sports because the fast focusing capability. You should also understand the FPS capability. I believe D3 could do 11 frame per second. That is plenty fast to capture most of actions. On soccer field , you really could not time it just right for a goal shoot, so 11 FPS works really well. That 70-200mm F2.8 VR is a must for Nikon user. You could save some $$ by buying a version I product (~$1600), but not recommended. Buying a cheap piece equipment then upgrade later is THE hole to burn money.</p>
<p>Most of the modern DSLR has the capability to set up a flash remotely. So, you could pick the righ location for your flash (SB 800 ~$400 or SB 900 ~$500) to complete eliminate red eye. Mind you, most of the basketball court may not allow any flash. So, a fast lens such as 85mm F1.4 (~$1000) plus a D3 could make your shoot much easier.</p>
<p>[Sports</a> Photography Tips by Jerry Lodriguss](<a href=“http://www.astropix.com/SPORTSPIX/NSC/CAMERAS.HTM]Sports”>http://www.astropix.com/SPORTSPIX/NSC/CAMERAS.HTM)</p>
<p>This guy knows what he’s talking about with regard to sports photography.</p>
<p>I compete in the sport of dog agility, and there are photographers there every weekend who sell their work. They pre-focus on a particular spot, then take the photo as the dog comes into that spot. They are working in low-light conditions. They can’t use flash. Big autofocus lenses are the name of the game. Nikon seems to be the brand of choice. </p>
<p>If the stop-motion photography is important to you, start with the lens that will capture what you want to capture, then get the body. You will have the lens much longer than the camera body, especially with digital photography.</p>
<p>edad is right. In low light situations, our pupils dilate to expose more retina. Some “soapbar” cameras use a pre-flash to almost completely elimimate the red eye effect. It is either a low intensity flash that happens right before the main flash (our Sony cameras), or a bright red light (D’s Nikon). This corrects the red eye problem by making everyone’s pupils smallerright before the picture is taken, and as the result, there is less reflection from the retina.</p>
<p>Okay, thanks.</p>
<p>which sony camera?</p>
<p>I think the sports and motion might be more of a long-term christmas present idea and so thanks for all those recommendations.</p>
<p>Short term, though, I would like to get the red out, immediately for party and family get together pictures, some taken at night. Thanks guys. very informative.</p>
<p>If you’re going to get a digital camera, you should also get some software to work on the photos. Photoshop Elements is not bad (I use both that and the full Photoshop; PE has all the fundamentals). Once you have the software, it’s VERY easy to get rid of red eye in photos, so it’s not nearly as much of a problem as you’d think, which allows you to get a camera where you don’t need to put the flash off to the side.</p>
<p>I’m very happy with my Lumix DMC camera. Really good Leica optics; 10x optical zoom. </p>
<p>I think for what you want, you can get away with a point-and-shoot digital camera, if you learn to use the controls. The ‘avoid red eye’ setting flashes the flash a few times before shooting the picture, and IMO this works quite well for the average photographer. The Lumix (and probably other cameras) has a low-light indoor setting as well as a sports photo setting. If you become experienced with using these, you’ll be able to shoot sports photos well. My camera even shoots video, and while it’s not great quality it’s good enough for most casual needs.</p>
<p>The absolute beauty of these little digital cameras is that you can shoot away w/o cost, review your photos, pitch most of the bad ones and keep the good. Getting some practice with these settings is cheap and easy! I suspect that most of the under-$300 digitals these days offer the settings that can give you what you need. And they are small enough to take anywhere.</p>
<p>I love Photoshop elements, but honestly it’s a big learning curve and not necessary to avoid red eye. If you have older shots and want to edit those, it’s great, and once you learn that control, the red eye reduction feature works quite well.</p>
<p>I am really impressed with my Sony Cyber-shot. Went to the store looking for something else and found this for under $200. It has all sorts of settings like landscape, soft backgound, low light with flash, low light w/o flash; settings to take shots of food, pets, waterside, underwater, face of friend with city lights at night in background, and bright white (like shooting pics of snow scenes). Also has more traditional settings, smile detection settings, and can shoot panoramic, macro, telescopic, and wide angle. Really small and easy to carry. Lots of goodies for the money, and I’m very happy with the results.</p>
<p>If you want night shots, then read about the Lumix series because they have larger sensors. I use a Canon PowerShot 960 IS most of the time. It’s very small so I can stick it in my pocket and use it more. It can take excellent pictures and I find adjusting the settings relatively easy - as in switching from cloudy to sunlight setting.</p>
<p>thanks guys. Those all sound good. Now, I am armed and dangerous and have printed the thread for future camera forays. I’m going to look at the Sony Cyber-shot and Canon power shot to start with, for the first phase of operation drive everyone crazy with my camera, and then the other ones in the holiday season…
when H is desperate for gift ideas. I knew you guys would know.</p>
<p>poetgirl, our Sony Cybershot camera is almost 6 years old, so even if I tell you the model number, you will not be able to find in stores. Digital P&S camera models evolve quickly. I find B&H website to be very useful to read reviews (and research features):</p>
<p>[Point</a> & Shoot Digital Cameras](<a href=“http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/buy/Point-Shoot-Digital-Cameras/ci/8612/N/4294538180]Point”>http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/buy/Point-Shoot-Digital-Cameras/ci/8612/N/4294538180)</p>
<p>and I end up buying from them. :)</p>
<p>[Product</a> reviews and prices, software downloads, and tech news - CNET](<a href=“http://www.cnet.com%5DProduct”>http://www.cnet.com) is where we go to learn, compare and shop for all digital ‘stuff’.</p>
<p>Husband is a serious amateur photographer. He has had a Canon G9 for about 2 years and now just upgraded to a Canon 50D.</p>
<p>Amazingly, he sees that he will be able to sell his G9 for as much if not more than what he paid for it! It will go toward a second lens for the 50D.</p>
<p>In the US, there are about 3 million annual upgrades from point and shoot to DSLR cameras. You better hope your husband is not too much of a “serious amateur.” Many of us start with an introductory DSLR and quickly spend thousands more on lens, tripods, flashes, memory chips, photo printers, etc, etc. Serious photography is not cheap even at the amateur level.</p>
<p>edad, you must have heard the phase - "to get a man broke, give him a brand new DSLR. "</p>
<p>I do keep all my expenses in an excel sheet. “upgrading” is the worst and most expensive thing. I wished I known it then to start with a good body and a set of F2.8 zoom lenses of 12-24mm/24-70mm/70-200mm.</p>
<p>The cool thing is that unlike a teenager I can actually learn from YOUR mistake. 
No, but seriously, I appreciate everything I’m learning. H is a fly fishing fanatic and now that the kids are getting much older, he’d like me to go along. I’ve done it a few times, but I think I would enjoy taking pictures during those trips much, much more. So, yeah, thanks again. Oh and thanks for those links, the choices are varied.</p>
<p>To the ‘Dads’-</p>
<p>We have battled that ‘upgrade’ devil for many years in this house!
Two musician men that are constantly searching for the next bass, amp, tuba, etc.
Photography is DHs only vice, could be worse!</p>
<p>The one in one out method is pretty effective. We have limited hobby budgets.
So when DH mentioned the NEED for a DSLR, he knew the G9 would have to go. Someone on ebay will get a nice G9 kit soon, with original boxes, manual, extra storage discs, batteries, two cases, etc and DH will get the lens he is stalking. He might have to put a FEW $$$ towards it but not much. It’s a plan that works for us and our small house that can only contain so much ‘stuff’!</p>