Hi kids…
I get a few questions about what I use to shoot roller derby pictures. I am currently shooting with a Nikon D90 and lately have switched to a Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 VR lens. I really like this lens because it’s very fast. Not just aperture-wise, but It can autofocus faster than just about anything I have seen. I am no professional by any means and I learn a lot at every bout. Lately I have been working on exposure and focus, trying to get better technical qualities out of the images I take.
Why doesn’t your point and shoot camera take good pictures at roller derby? It’s not broken, it’s just not meant for that sort of thing. Here’s why: (real photographers may skip this explanation, it is intentionally simplified for the people who hold up a little Coolpix and want to know why everything on the track looks bad)
- Mostly, because the shutter speed isn’t very fast, so roller girls will look blurry. They skate fast and the camera captures a blur. Take a picture of you waving your hand in front of your camera. See? Same thing, only bigger.
- The lighting in the arena usually stinks. Even if your camera has some sort of “sports” setting with a faster shutter, you can’t get a bigger lens on it to let more light in. Even if you could, there is nowhere for that light to go – the size of the image sensor (the electronic “film”) in a point and shoot camera is usually very small compared to a DSLR camera or 35mm film.
- The shutter isn’t very responsive on most of those cameras. There is a lag between when you press the shutter button and when the photo is taken. With a SLR camera there usually isn’t any lag unless you have autofocus turned on and the camera is confused for some reason (it happens).
- The focus and zoom controls are kind of slow so you can’t change them quickly to respond to what you are seeing.
The good news is that a point and shoot will take great pictures before and after the bout, and they are a lot less bulky for after-parties and stuff.