In addition to your passion for sporting events and photography skills, it is also important to pay attention to your photography equipment. Learning how to photograph sports events is different from other forms of photography.

In this type of photography, you need to act fast, have eye for details, and should know the right equipment to use and the tricks to adopt. Failure to do all these things will render the photography job dull, boring and even worthless. As an aspiring sports photographer or an enthusiast who simply want to snap a piece of the sporting action, it pays to understand the kinds of photography equipment required, and the tips and tricks that can make your experiment work.

From Snapshot Cameras to DSLR Cameras, in Different Lenses

Thanks to new photography technologies, enthusiasts and passionate individuals can capture sporting events using a variety of cameras. The most basic equipment is your snapshot camera. This is readily available, and can prove handy when you want to take instant pictures of an ongoing sporting event.

Although this is compact and readily available, snapshot cameras pose serious limitations and problems for the individual who wants to capture the best sporting action. These cameras feature small sensors, and often deliver poor quality pictures.

Also, you will notice that this camera will not allow you flexibility when shooting or capturing a peak sporting moment. Some camera users also complain about the performance of snapshot cameras using low light, due to small pixels. If you insist on using snapshot cameras, you should choose cameras that feature built-in zoom lenses. And when using this type of camera, it is advisable that you get close to the action, and should be great in covering basketball or a dance competition.

But if you are looking to take sports photography seriously, then an investment in DSLR cameras is recommended. These types of cameras, especially the latest models, work well for sports photography and capturing the moments. These cameras come at a higher price point, but you can get the ones with a ‘kit lens’, with zoom quality of 18mm to 55 mm. These are cheaper, but you need to contend with its slowness, in terms of auto focus and focal ratio.

Most of the high-end DSLR cameras in the market will give a real-time and authentic look of the sporting event, using the lens. Panning is great with DSLR since you no longer have to worry about the flickers created by the electronic view finder. This is also option, thanks to its manual zoom, allowing enthusiasts to configure the focal length. And speaking of brands, the best ones in the market right now are supplied by Nikon and Canon.

Shots in Rapid Succession and JPEG-Tricks to Capture the Best Sporting Moment

In sports photography, timing is everything. This is the reason why experts recommend capturing a series of shots, in rapid succession. You can get the best results if you invest in a high-quality (and expensive DSLR). But if you are on a budget, the best that you can get is 3 fps, for Nikon D3100. It also helps that if you can get a faster memory card, so you can save more shots. Keep in mind that there are some units that may slow down after shooting a specified number of shots.

Pay attention to the kinds of images that you want to capture. Instead of raw, make sure you shoot in JPEG so that you can save on precious memory, especially if you are trying continuous shots. A sporting event can be messy and will test your patience, especially when waiting for the downloading of raw files to be completed. Make your life easier when shooting images outdoors by opting for JPEG, and using the best DSLR.