On the Ball

The camera also had plenty of speed. On a long 300-millimeter lens, Nadal's 120-mph serve was frozen in time, just before it nearly blasted me in the head when I was down in the press pits.

At an outer-court match, Justin Gimelstob vs. David Ferrer, I tested the Olympus' other lenses.

The camera handled wide-angle and portrait work nicely. I had nothing to do but wait for Gimelstob to do something worth shooting, which took some time. He's a baseline guy. He just stands there and blasts away. Charge the net please, will ya?

Canon Ball Run

Next, the Canon.

The EOS 1D IIN is the state-of-the-art in top-of-the-line digital cameras for capturing action.

The unit limits resolution at a relatively light 8 megapixels; other cameras in this price range have an insane 16 megapixels of resolution, if not more.

But the Canon can run at 8.5 frames per second for almost 45 exposures, a pace as blistering as Nadal's serve.

The Canon comes in a full metal and rubber housing that could be mistaken for a gym weight. And the unit has every conceivable feature: full video outputs, hundreds of control settings, a 2.5-inch bright liquid-crystal display screen.

Nevermind that I missed the rest of the Serena Williams match because I could not figure out how to work the thing. Or that I was asked to keep out of an outer court match because I made too much of a scene still struggling to figure out how to work the thing. Or that it took most of the rest of the day to finally figure out how to work the thing.

Because when I did figure out how to work the Canon? Oh baby, what a camera.

The Canon EOS is the 82nd Airborne of image assassins: Have the Canon in your hand, you bag your shot. It's that simple.

I could not trip up the EOS. At 30 feet, 60 feet, 150 feet it was all dead-on in-focus exposure. I even got a full-frame of Chris Everett in the CBS Booth. The shot would have been an artful, blurry mess on most rigs, but not the Canon -- it was as if Chris was standing right next to me.

	Serena Slams It

Now, cost aside, these cameras are not without their issues.

Bulk is a big problem. Even the relatively light Olympus weighs nearly two pounds with lenses.

And the Canon? Forget it. Expect to lug around 10 pounds of camera, lenses and other accessories. These cameras are a commitment to carry.

But who cares? The Olympus E-330 is a terrific camera for the money. If you are looking for decent present this Christmas, consider it.

But if you want a terrific camera, a no-compromise "I am going to get that shot no matter what" unit, then the Canon is for you.

I personally can think of no better way to spend a few thousand dollars -- at least, at the moment.

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