Choose the right camera for taking action shots.
When choosing the best digital camera for taking action shots, you should first decide whether a point-and-shoot or a DSLR is more appropriate for your needs. Then, consider three important aspects of the camera's functionality: frames per second, image stabilization and low-light capabilities.
Frames Per Second
When purchasing a digital SLR or point-and-shoot camera, determine the model's "frames per second" capabilities. This indicates how many times the shutter can open and close per second while holding down the shutter release button in continuous mode---essentially, how many pictures per second the camera is capable of taking. Four frames per second is considered somewhat slow, while up to 12 frames per second is considered excellent. The more frames per second your camera can shoot, the more successful you will be in capturing the action.
Image Stabilization
Many of today's digital SLR lenses and point-and-shoot camera models feature "image stabilization," which compensates for camera movement and results in clearer photographs. Compensating motion is activated to dampen the movement of the camera caused by an unsteady hand. This feature is excellent for action shots, when you wish for a moving subject to be clear and in focus.
Low-Light Capabilities
Lighting conditions play an important factor in successfully photographing action shots. The camera must be capable of providing properly exposed pictures in low light or ambient light conditions, while maintaining a fast shutter speed to prevent the subject from being blurry. Determine the camera model's maximum ISO setting. The higher the ISO number the camera is capable of, the better it will photograph in dim light. A camera with a maximum ISO of 1600 will require a slower shutter speed and not capture the shot as well as a camera with a maximum ISO of 6400.
Other Things to Consider
How quickly the camera can autofocus on a subject will also effect how well action can be photographed. Look for a camera that has a larger number of "autofocus points." A camera that uses five points of focus will autofocus on a moving subject more slowly than a camera that uses fifteen points of focus. Also, consider the "buffer size." When multiple pictures are taken in rapid succession, photos are temporarily stored in the camera's memory buffer to give the camera time to save the images to the memory card without interrupting the ability to continuously shoot. Top cameras today can buffer up to nine JPEG files or up to six RAW files. Finally, determine your camera's "shutter lag" time. This is the delay between the time the shutter button is pressed and the time the camera actually records the picture. Look for a shutter lag time of less than three-tenths of a second, which is ideal for capturing action shots.
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