Compact camera Around the £100 for taking skatepark images

[Phil Bennett]

Guys

Has anyone had any success at taking these kind of images with a compact camera. A friend of mine has asked for a recommendation for a camera for his son (12) to take images of his mates at the skate park.

I aint got a clue if its even possible to get decent shots of this type of activity with a compact, any advice would be most welcome.

Phil

 

[OldCarlos]

Might be a tough ask with fast moving subjects (presuming he wants it for `action` rather than portraits) & changing light.

 

[woof woof]

Hmmm. Not too sure if a £100 compact could do it. Maybe too slow to meter, focus and shoot.

An older Panasonic LX1, 2 or 3 might be found under budget and you can set them to manual and zone focus and then shoot very quickly and it's not too difficult to learn or maybe an older MFT body and a manual lens? Could very probably get a Panasonic G1 and a Zuiko / Rokkor / FD 28mm f2.8 + adapter for under £100.

I know this is my answer to almost every photographic gear question but it's a fun and cheap combo and could well get some good shots Not exactly compact though.

 

[strumstrum]

you would get a used Nikon J1 w/ kit lens for around 100 squid, great tracking function and a decent vid mode aswell with up to 400fps straight out of camera(albeit at a low resolution).

its worth a look at.

 

[andrewc]

Rather than a traditional camera, how about one of the new GoPros - the £ 100 Hero. Will take 5mp stills, but for filming can be stuck almost anywhere.

 

[Phil Bennett]

Thanks for the replies guys. I'll let them know the options.

Many thanks again

Phil

 

[pingu666]

lomo fisheye ;-)

 

[Nod]

Not a bad shout! There's one apparently floating around the Post Office somewhere (they allegedly lost mine when it was out on a tour of members...) Cheap enough to be semi disposable, focus free and has a built in flash.

My normal recommendation for a compact is the baby Fuji XF-1 but that'll probably be a touch over budget (might not be - last one I bought new was £139) and the shutter lag would mean plenty of missed shots until your mate got the suss of it.

 

[damianmkv]

My experience of the xf1 and skate park is that it can be done but it's not ideal.


above by damianmkv, on Flickr

 

[Nod]

It can be done but probably not by a beginner! Hell, I've managed a couple of shots of red squirrels with one but they are caged (more to keep poxy greys out than the reds in!) and quite tame.

 

[Phil Bennett]

Thanks for the added comments guys.

Phil