Gary Knutson (Yahoo! gallery) (Yahoo!, FZ10 forum, 17 June 2004)...
Taking pictures indoors, especially of sports in non-professional venues, is quite difficult. There just is barely enough light. I was able to take some acceptable (to me ;-) photos at high school basketball games MOST of the time. Some gyms were just so poorly lit that I could do nothing.
Here's what to do:
1. Set ISO at 400 (you may be able to use 200)
2. Set the aperature (f-stop) to 2.8
3. Now you can see what shutter speeds are available. Stopping sports action takes a faster shutter speed. (1/100 sec?)
4. Use the motor drive-multiple images option {burst mode}. This will take several images in succession. You have a better chance of getting what you want. A faster SD card helps here, because it takes time for the camera to process the images.
5. You'll have to anticipate the action. For example, when I wanted to get a picture of the ball going through the hoop on a free-throw, I had to snap the photo just after it left the shooter's hand. The image is not recorded instantaneously as it is in film cameras.
6. You'll probably need to adjust the white balance, as halogen lights are used in sports arenas
...
Without a very expensive camera (digital SLR), indoor sports are difficult to capture. However with the camera you have (stabilized f2.8), with some practice and experience, I think you can make it work.
{Picture above taken by Gary Knutson with FZ10. ISO 400, processed with Noise Ninja. Click above image to see larger version of picture}
