Digital Camera For Safari - Any Advice?

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toddy1985

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Hi

I am looking to go on safari in Kenya next March for my honeymoon and I want to buy a decent camera for for the trip.

I don't have much experience with cameras so any advice for a beginner would be great!

I'm looking to pay a max of £500 for the camera and all accessories but I'm not sure what would be best things to buy. Obviously I need something with a decent zoom, produces good quality images and isn't too complicated for a beginner but everytime I look at a camera there seem to be a few problems with each.

I've been looking at the Fujifilm FinePix HS20EXR, and Panasonic Lumix FZ45 as they seem to have good reviews and a good zoom but I'm not sure if I need any other extras as well (lenses , filters etc). They also seem to have a couple of issues either with overheating, image quality or noise levels.

As I'm a beginner can anyone recommend any books to give me some basic knowledge?

One good piece of advice I have picked up is to buy it sooner rather than later so I can get some practice in.

Any advice on a camera or accessories would be really appreciated.


Thanks for your help
 
I bought my first DSLR this year and after a lot of browsing and advise went for a new Nikon D3100.

Very pleased with it and the lens it came with is good too (not as good as a proper telephoto though). Jessops are doing them for around the £400 mark (with a cash back deal) IIRC.

The best bit of advice I had was to go to Jessops and try holding a few to see how they felt to hold and use.
 
A couple of years ago I had the same dilemma when a surprise holiday to Egypt was on the cards. I was using point and shoots at the time.
Having looked around I decided my budget and knowledge didn't justify a DSLR so I went with the Pansonic FZ18, (it was the new one at the time). I found it very good and with the zoom range pretty useful.
As with all smaller sensor cameras the low light capabilities and fast auto focus weren't the best but in a bright sunny country they produce good shots, and it even takes in RAW if you want better quality.
I would get a small bag to put it in, spare batteries and memory. I got all the accessories from Amazon at good prices.
One word of warning, After a year and a half I found myself pushing the camera and wanting more. I Now have another drain on my resources!
 
They take you out early morning and late evening usually so the light is not great. Look for something with a large lens (low f number in the specs) that will be good in low light. The animals can be quite close at times so while a good zoom is not a bad idea low light performance is the thing to look for.
A DSLR is the tool for the job if you want the best results but it is big, heavy and expensive when you add the cost of a fast (low f number) lens or two. More info here if you want to go that far

Oh and welcome to the forums :)
 
I don't know if you're interested in a DSLR as an alternative? £500 would get you some decent used kit although maybe not quite the equivalent zoom you're currently looking at. Off the top of my head though it would get you something like a used Nikon D80 and a used 70-300 (equivalent 450mm ish) VR lens. It would be a superb combo but as I said maybe you're after more reach. Achieving much more with a DSLR on your budget may prove tricky. Above 300mm ,things seem to start getting pricey.
 
i went to kenya last summer with my old Nikon d40 and 55-200 (if i remember rightly it was 1.3x crop) so effectively a 260mm and i thought that was fine actually (some pictures on my flickr as a bit of a shameless plug by me :LOL: if you want to see what 250~mm would get you. So depending on your budget/taste - if you could get something like that ^^^ D80 and 70-300 i reckon that would be a cracker for what you're looking for
 
If you have never used a DSLR, and do not have the desire to learn how to use one, then don't buy one. If you want to invest time into learning how to use a camera and it's functions properly, then go for it.

If you do not want to invest a lot of time into learning too much, then get a bridge camera - The Fuji HS20 looks great, and has only just been released, so the price will drop by £100 before christmas, just like it's predecessor did when released this time last year.

WIth a DSLR, you buy the camera, and it will come with one or two lenses. Then you will need to buy a spare battery or two, extra lenses etc.etc. which all adds up.

With the bridge, you don't need to buy any more lenses, they use AA batteries so you may want some good rechargables.

Either camera will need memory cards, a bag, filters if you want them etc.

The bridge will work out cheaper, thats a promise.

But with cost comes a compromise. The images will not always be as good as with a dslr. The camera will not always be as quick as with a dslr. BUT many of the images taken will be just as good, and most of the time it will be just as fast.

The HS20 will also offer you lots of things that a lower priced DSLR cannot. These include Live view (using the screen to take photos, rather then the viewfinder), having a flip out screen so you can take shots above/below you easily, HD Video - whilst safari photos are good, your going to want some film too, Panoramic mode etc. etc.

With regards the overheating, I am sure fuji will sort that soon, jsut get a later model camera if you are concerned.

The HS20 gives a lot of bang for the buck, but yes, to a well trained eye image quality may suffer. However, people have been taking photos with a thing called film for years, and with cameras that didn't have auto focus, let alone clever things like Image Stabilisation and still took great photos.

I would say that you need to think long and hard about how much time and money you want to invest. If you have the time and money, get a DSLR. if you don't get a bridge. All the shots on my gallery were taken with a predecessor of the HS20, and one of my shots very nearly made this years TP calendar (not wishing to brag;)) so they can take very good photos.

Photography is about the person pressing the buttons, not the camera.
 
Oh, and get a camera bean bag as a support either way!
 
If you want to learn to use a DLSR. I'd get a Cheap Canon/Nikon Body and rent a nice big zoom. And just buy a kit lens/nifty for non wildlife stuff.
 
Thanks everyone for your help, it's given me plenty to think about!

I'm still not sure what to get but I've got a better idea of what to look for now and I'm sure I'll be spending a long time in Jessops trying a couple out.

Thanks again
 
I shoot with both a D90 DSLRand a HS20EXR bridge camera and I love them both.when I go out to shoot real serious photos I take my D90, but for the times I need or desire to go light and still get good photos I grab my Fuji HS20EXR. The HS20 gives you a real lot of bang for your buck. For example it has one of the best panorama modes. You can set it to sweep 120, 180 or even 360 degree panos.The camera even stitches them together for you. It has several continuous shooting modes. It will also shoot 720 p HD videos. But because I am an avid DSLR shooter it was important for me to have a bridge camera that also offered a manual zoom ring and focus ring on the lens. Speaking of the lens it goes from 24mm wide angle all the way to 720mm for bird photography. Need more flash then the onboard flash has to offer? Yup you guessed it it even has a hot shoe for an external flash. I love both of these cameras can you tell? LOL.
 
Hello, i would reccomend the lumix x90 bridge camera; reasonble priced, great zoom (26x optical zoom/ 676mm) and not heavy or big :smile:
 
For a similar trip I bought a bridge camera especially. No worries about lens changing, no dust problems, no faffing about in a Land Rover, good results and if it got nicked, so what. I used a Panasonic FZ18 - now on model 38 I believe, review below. Great little camera. Of note, the French couple we shared a wagon with had exactly the same camera. I sold it afterwards - wish I'd kept it now.......

http://www.trustedreviews.com/Panasonic-Lumix-DMC-FZ38_Digital-Camera_review
 
I agree with the fuji HS20, i have had a couple of Fuji bridge cameras, the 9600 and the FS100 both great cameras and they do produce good results. I also agree with Davek, no dust issues, etc, plus the 720mm will mean that you don't have to get too close to them lions :)
 
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