| on most DLSR's you have full control over the camera, for instance, im using a nikon d100, for the action stuff i use it in shutter priority mode, this means i select the shutter speed i want on the control wheel and the camera automaticly selects the correct apeture, this is done instantly, if you select apeture priority you control the apeture and the camera selects the shutter speed. you also have full manual mode where you control everything from an internal light meter in the view finder. on the d50 you have all of the above plus a preprogramed auto mode and 6 scene modes so i amagine there will be a default sports mode, you will probably find this on some higher end compacts as well, its basicly a safe shot mode that pushes the shutter speed up so you catch the action, the other masive differnce between dslr and compact is shutter lag, the time it takes for the picture to be taken from the second you press the button, on my coolpix (an older one) this makes it imposible to take good action shots the delay is far too long, this is also afected by light conditions.
as for auto focus, its a bit contentionus, i belive canon has the best auto focus system onthe market at the moment, but the speed is dictated buy the lens, all year ive been using a 70-300mm nikon with a max apeture of f5.6, and its 's been fine......so i thought until i bought a new lens its only a f3.5 but the way it focuses is unbelivable, soooooooo much faster and more accurate, on my old lens it took 7 seconds to go from max to min focus, on the new one that time has been reduced to 3 seconds and that makes a huge difference.
basicly having a shit hot top of the line camera does not automaticly make you a fantastic photographer, it just helps when youve got your basic technique working for you, but if youve got a shit hot camera, lets say a canon d1s mk2 for instance and your using a bargin basment lens it would be a bit like dipping your mars bar in bulluga caviar, yeah its going to work but it could be a lot better. these days the auto focus systems on cameras is very good, but the quality is in the lens. |