Sony A300 user with questions

[tuned200]

First off, please be easy as I really dont understand DSLR's yet. I have take several great still photos but Im finding that I really want to take sports photos and nighttime photos. I currently have the stoc lens(18/70) and a Sony 55-200.

I hope to take quality photos of my son in various sports, including football and wrestling. Currently, since im still way lost, and action photo results in bad blurring. I have purchased a A300 for dummies book and im reading it but I seem to forget what to do in a pinch. Are there any rule of thumbs that work well for my application?

TIA.

[Landis]

Welcome to the Zo. AS a general rule of thumb, you want to probably use a higher ISO (400 to 1000) for the sports shots, which will allow you to use a higher shutter speed. Using Shutter Priority will probably help you. Don't worry, you'll figure it out soon enough.

[brucep]

Welcome to the Photozo. What should we call you?

My short, free tutorial, Get the Most out of your Digital Camera (http://brucephilpott.com/photos/DigitalPhotography.pdf) (2MB PDF), covers the basics of f-stops, shutter speeds and ISO's and how they relate to each other. I hope that'll help you get started.

[Sarge]

I'm going to try to explain as I go, but I encourage you to learn all you can about photography terminology and how your camera works internally to have a better understanding of the advice you'll get here.

Well, for night time sports, you'll need faster glass (or "glass with a wider aperture"). The 55-200 you have, aside from it being a telephoto lens, is probably the worst sony lens for sports at night. It has a very slow autofocus and a maximum aperture that isn't wide enough to let in enough light.

The Sony 70-200 G lens has a constant 2.8 aperture, which works great in low light sports. Unfortunately, this lens costs about $1700. There are 3rd party alternatives, such as the Sigma 70-200 f2.8, which costs around $800. Combine this lens with your ISO set at about 800 or 1600, and you've got some great, non-blurry sports photos!

[MIKEZILLA]

the other guys pretty much said what i was going to say........in my limited experience with shooting sports, i can tell you a couple of things for certain. 1- you are gonna have to shoot at some pretty high ISO's. i havent been able to shoot under 1600 at a basketball game. 2- you are going to need a fast lens. "fast" in 2 ways 2.8 plus the ability to focus quickly. an example would be my tamron 17-50 it is 2.8 BUT the focus is slow making it not a great lens for sports.

[tuned200]

Ok, I have a basic understanding now of my lens capabilites.

I will read the PDF above and post back with more questions. Thanks guys for helping out.

[tuned200]

OK, I read thru the link, thanks for posting it Brucep.

My question is a sony specific question. As I most likely will not be doing a lot of night "sport" photos, but hope for more day "sport" or moving photos, will my current lens work or what would you guys recommend for a novice on a budget?