all depends on the location too,
if your local field is cut out of the woods then its simple to stand in the trees at the edge of the field and take action shots from the sideline,
(beware of those odd branches that your camera focus' on though just as your about to take a fantastic pic, ending up with a picture of a twig and a blurry mess in the background
)
Im currently using a Dimage Z10 (konica minolta), cant affor anything more expensive at the moment
being a student and all that.
But it does the job for what i want at the moment. Usually take pictures of bands at gigs, done a few promo shots etc but want to get into the actions shots of paintball etc (aswell as playing!!) usually end up taking pictures of the last round in the day cos iv ran out of paint! haha!
Definatly take the advice of danrandon, the faster the write speed of your camera the faster you can be taking that next shot,
I may not have a mega expensive camera but when i upgraded my memory card i saw a hell of alot of difference in the way my camera functioned (and therefore in the quality of my photos) immediatly.
Total n00b point though, which im sure eevveerryyybody already knows about, if your camera needs batteries (and doesnt come with a rechargable), buy the most expensive ones you can!
spending £20 on a decent set of rechargable batteries is invaluble. might sound alot, but theres nothing worse than having to wait an age for your flash to recharge cos your batteries are nearly dead oinly to take the next photo and the thing die on you!
was in maplins the other day and spotted a small "spy" camera which works on a radio frequency or something, didnt have much explanation with it, but it got me thinking about making a hopper/mask cam as the thing was teeny. obviously wouldnt be the best quality but it would most likely prove to be a laugh!!