Need some help from the pros

[Master Yoda]

Here is the problem I am running into. I am using a Panasonic DMC-FZ30 and trying to take pictures of my kids indoors at their karate tournaments and I am having less than good results.

The lighting at these gyms is typically pretty poor. I have the camera shooting in continuous mode so I can't use the flash. When using the sports mode the camera makes the shutter speed to slow due to the low light so the pictures come out blurry. I have tried shooting in a manual mode with an aperture setting at around 3.4 or 3.2 (max for this camera) and the fastest shutter speed I can get and still get an image which is usually around 1/25 to 1/50. The camera is not an SLR so noise is a real problem at ISO above 200.

So the question is what can I do to improve the quality of these pictures? Is there some kind of affordable external lighting that I can put on the hot shoe of my camera or is there an after market flash that will work in a 3 shot per second continuous mode?

Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[dolbyman]

that external lightning must be VERY bright to lighten a large scenes (and to avoid shadows) there must be more that one spot light

does your camera have a flash trigger for some external flash ?

 

[Master Yoda]

It does have a hot shoe but I don't know of any other triggering input or output.

Here is a link to Panasonic's specifications on the camera as well as Digital Photography Review specs.


panasonic

DPreview

 

[barnum42]

All I can suggest is wind the ASA up and live with the noise - I think of it as the same trade off when you get grain from high speed traditional film. It adds atmosphere.

However it's strange that it only goes to 400ASA. My old clunky Fuji winds up to 1600ASA - albeit at a reduction of megapixels.

 

[Master Yoda]

All I can suggest is wind the ASA up and live with the noise - I think of it as the same trade off when you get grain from high speed traditional film. It adds atmosphere.

However it's strange that it only goes to 400ASA. My old clunky Fuji winds up to 1600ASA - albeit at a reduction of megapixels.

In my research before buying a new camera is seemed like some of the older non SLR models had higher ISO limits than the newer ones but the quality still fell off around the same level. This is only a guess but I thought is was due to the fact that those higher ISO levels were basically useless due to the amount of noise in the pictures. After seeing the amount that was there at 400 I could only imagine how bad it would be at 800 or god forbid 1600.

 

[barnum42]

After seeing the amount that was there at 400 I could only imagine how bad it would be at 800 or god forbid 1600.

Swings and roundabouts. For my camera's limitations I'm happy to get a grainy useable shot rather than none.

However my camera's best settings are not a patch on yours, so I don't get such a drop in quality :lol:

1600:

The above has been resized by fotopic (the only way you can direct link to them) below is a link to the "full sized" version. It's been photoshopped to remove the cables of the tumble monkey aparatus.

http://images.fotopic.net/?id=8371704&noresize=1

 

[Master Yoda]

Is your Fuji by chance an SLR? With my mother in laws Rebel XT I can jack up the ISO much higher and still get good results but my Panasonic FZ30 is not an SLR so it suffers from high noise at relatively low ISO settings when compared to an SLR.

This is actually one of the better pictures from the tournament. It has been brightened using Picasa. Notice the leg out of focus due the shutter speed having to be set too low in order to get a workable image.

Here is the rest of the album and as you can see the outdoor burst pictures come out fine as do the indoor flash pictures. It is just those pesky indoor burst pictures.

album

 

[barnum42]

It does not have interchangable lenses, but is a what you see is what you get arrangement.

S602Z - an old 2002 model that I got a couple of years ago from a second hand dealer.

Camera details:

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/fujis602z/

The high speed capability is one of the main things that sold it to me.

 

[barnum42]

Just for kicks, do you have a 35mm SLR ? If so, you can put 400 or even 800 speed film in it, and set the ISO to 1600.

Or 1600ASA. Before he got an SLR digital camera, a friend of mine use to load Fuji 1600 film to take shots of stage shows. That film produced great results.

 

[KeithVH]

W/o spending money, you don't have much choice. Based on the numbers in the OP, we're talking EV6 or 7. That's really dim actually. There may be some cheap external lighting but it won't last, can be very bulky and you may not be allowed to set it up (lightstands, etc.). Cheapest solution is to get an external flash that has slave capabilities. When your onboard flash fires, so does it. However, when you momentarily blind a competitor with the flash, be prepared to deal with the coach.

Second option would be film but that's a whole investment. But could happen for ~$3-400.

The best choice would be a low-end dSLR like the Rebel XT or Nikon D50 and one lens and crank on the ISO. There'll probably be less noise in the XT at 1600 then the Fuzzy at 400. No substitute for speed and a bigger sensor. Sorry.

 

[PhotoDave219]

Best solution is some sort of an off camera flash.

Long and the short of it, errr... Buy a D-Rebel.