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My kids started sports this year and we needed a different camera. We didn't want to get too carried away with one price wise but still wanted a decent one. I ended up getting one at best buy, Canon Power Shot SX30 IS. Will this be ok for basketball and football or should I return it for a different one. Any comments or suggestions would be helpful. Thanks.

Check dpreview.com and see what they have to say about it. I don't know much about that particular camera, but indoor sports are challenging even with the best gear to the usually poor lighting. Any lense that with a large aperture (i.e. low f number) has an advantage because it lets in more light and allows you to work with faster shutter speeds and still avoid blurring due to the action.

I have a SX20IS and it works decently for basketball - but NEEDS a well-lit gym. And I'm talking high school, not a larger college type gym!
For football, I doubt it will work very well if it is a night game. Daytime you would be fine.
Since your kid is "starting sports" I'm guessing that he is later elementary or JR HIgh? that means football under the sun and smaller gyms (hopefully good lights). My feeling is you would be fine with your camera

I honestly wish I would have shelled out a bit more and gone for a DSLR. I also take pics of my hunting situations - when I want to take zoomed pics of deer, etc -- not as good as it could be. A DSLR would be better in most (ALL) situations. HOWEVER, this is a lot more $$$ also! I also wish I could do more with focus and depth of field - only have faces or things like that in focus. CAN'T do it with my camera - at least no on purpose!

Thanks for your comments. Guess I'll do some more thinking.

I had the Canon SX10IS. It was really a great camera. It handled the majority of my needs. It was that minority that really bugged me though, so I ended up getting a DSLR.

For most folks though, that camera would be just the ticket. Even sports were a snap for the Canon. The big difference compared to the DSLRs though was low light conditions. Baseball and football outside - no problem. Even the action of kids jumping in the pool was easily frozen by the camera with very good image quality. Basketball, etc. - I took the shot below at a Suns game. I was across the court and up high in a suite. The shot is ok, but you can see I'm starting to pick up some noise. I wasn't great at manual settings back then, but I don't think that mattered much in this case. For kids sports though, you would be much closer than I was (and that crazy girl did end up dunking that ball). You do have that hotshoe for a flash. That would be great for indoors candids, but probably not bright enough for indoor sports.

As an fyi...the only landscape type shot I've had printed to hang in my house is also pictured below. Computers don't do it justice - I had it printed to 18x24" and it came out just beautifully - very clear and sharp colors. I shot it with the little super zoom.

For shots in a gym, you'll need to turn off the flash. It won't help a bit and having it on will adjust the settings to it. You'll need to set the aperture wide open and have a fast shutter for action shots. It'll take some practice to get it right.

The SX30 is a great choice. easy to use. Just need to play with it a bit to get the right settings for the variuos places you intend to use it.
That's the beauty of digital...no cost to experiment.
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Thanks