As I don't do sports my experience with shooting action is mostly limited to birds. I guess it is more difficult, because I can't tell the birds to go there and there and do that and that when I yell "action!". But as slow as this camare is, it would be much better this way. Going in position, setting the camera on high speed series, prefocussing, and waiting for the trick to happen is the easiest way (ENTER COOT).
Besides the fact, that the heavy image noise above ISO 100 makes it difficult to get action-stopping shutter speeds, the major drawback of this camera is the long time to prepare for the next shot. When shooting fine jpg in single frame mode, the screen goes black, then shows the picture taken, and after 2 seconds the camera might be ready for the next picture, meaning you have to go through the process of framing, focussing, metering and exposure again. When your subject is moving, frame to frame time is about 3 to 4 seconds. Deactivating the review option doesn't help a fraction of a second! And in serial mode your screen stays black from the first frame to the last! Try to follow a bird in flight ...
The WAGTAIL ON ICE I had hopping and picking nervously before me for about one to two minutes and I took a shot whenever it turned its head in my direction. I've got about 6 pictures. In 4 of them the bird had moved it's head or whatever and was too fuzzy (ISO 50!). Having a medium class DSLR would have resulted in dozens of pictures. Same with the MALLARDS struggling their way through the ice, or the FIGHTING FOR BREAD. I knew both times, I had to wait for the right moment. Hit or miss, I thought, but what I've got is something in between.
In spite of all this, somehow I've got a few pictures of birds in flight (WIDGEONS, STORK) by following a simple procedure. Having the camera ready (by luck or by foresight), framing as fast as possible, pressing half down to engage the autofocus while panning, and pressing fully down as soon as the autofocus locks. If I had waited for a better composition, the birds might have been out of focus again (I haven't tried continuous autofocus yet, as it is buried deep down in the options menu). The pictures would have been better, if they had been made later in the day when the sun was low and would have lit the bellies of the birds. But they told me they had other business to do than to fly in circles until sunset ...
When you know the camera and its capabilities (and deficiencies), it can give you a decent picture of things that move around. But if you can't prepare the action yourself, you have to keep one thing in your mind: ONE SHOT IS ALL YOU'VE GOT!
--tinu--