Beginner Im sure this has been asked a 1000 times .....But

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Christopher
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Ok, I'm going on a once in a lifetime trip in a few months to Africa. We need a new camera currently we have a sony A 5100. However we would like to upgrade, our budget is about 1000 for the body and the lens. Maybe as high as 2000, but that seems a bit much for a person hat had to google the difference between DSLR and SLR. Any suggestions on what to buy?

Thanks
 
There is a huge difference between 1000 and 2000

im a nikon user so i cant comment about sony but if i had your budget i would buy some mirrorless for weight saving
 
I know you have mirrorless at the moment, but for a trip like this I think you'd benefit from keeping it simple, so one of the sigma or tamron 150-600mm lenses will give you a huge range.

I think you can only get these for DSLRs (happy to be wrong) so put one on a camera from either the nikon d5xxx or d7xxx range and you've got great options in the middle of your budget.

If you buy used, and sell when you get back you're not going to lose much money either

Mike
 
You might want to consider a bridge super-zoom camera. No fiddling with changing lenses.
 
Ok, I'm going on a once in a lifetime trip in a few months to Africa. We need a new camera currently we have a sony A 5100. However we would like to upgrade, our budget is about 1000 for the body and the lens. Maybe as high as 2000, but that seems a bit much for a person hat had to google the difference between DSLR and SLR. Any suggestions on what to buy?

Thanks

Are you safari-ing or visiting as a general tourist? You don't mention a need to photograph distant wildlife, but IF you did that would make a difference. You also don't mention whether size & weight is important or not.

After using an A5100, I think the image quality from a bridge camera would seem disappointing - having personally used a bridge camera in Africa, stuff at the long end of a superzoom tends to be very soft, and often of lower quality than might be had by cropping an image from a decent 70-200 lens.

You could stay mirrorless. Do you have many lenses for the A5100? The obvious thing is an upgraded Sony.
 
Ok, I'm going on a once in a lifetime trip in a few months to Africa. We need a new camera currently we have a sony A 5100. However we would like to upgrade, our budget is about 1000 for the body and the lens. Maybe as high as 2000, but that seems a bit much for a person hat had to google the difference between DSLR and SLR. Any suggestions on what to buy?

Thanks

Well, the first thing I'd do is work out why I thought I needed a new one, what I'd like to take pictures of and in what conditions. Long lens to photograph animals a long way off? A wide lens to capture the scenery? Something that's good in low light? Something that can take pictures silently? Etc... I'd maybe make a list of things I wanted and use that as a guide when looking at what to buy.

I like compact kit so I'd look at the Sony A6xxx series and the Panasonic GX80 and GX9. Other than those I have a Sony A7 which I like. It's a FF camera and it's cheap for a FF camera.

You mention a lens and I assume this means you want one lens and not several lenses. If that is the case Johns suggestion of a bridge or superzoom could be a good choice but on the other hand you may be perfectly happy with a Sony A7 and a 35mm f1.8... but I doubt it :D
 
Taking an unfamiliar camera (or anything really) on a ‘once in a lifetime trip’ is asking for trouble. Ditto taking only one camera or one lens etc etc. You are familiar with Sony (and the A5100 is not that old and gets good reviews) so I would stick with that but add an A6xxx series, like Alan says, plus a suitable but different lens from whatever you have. You write ‘we’ so there are at leat 2 of you so 2 cameras may find simultaneous use.
Depending what you already have and what kind of trip it it is (Africa sounds like wildlife) you could add something different like a compact (not if you have decent phone cameras) or a bridge camera. But I think 2 Sonys with different lenses (no changing in dusty conditions) would suit.
 
Thanks everybody! We will be shooting animals from far away, I hope. The decision to get a second camera is because my wife wants her own and does not want to share with the kids and me. She wants to get a better camera then the current Sony A5100. We do have a long lens for the A5100 but I'm not sure the specs I will look later today. Wanted to get a better camera then what we currently have, if I'm going to buy a second set up. What about a Nikon D7500 with a 70-300mm f/4.5-6.3G ED Lens?
 
They're both APS-C cameras and maybe image quality will be a bit better on the newer camera but I'd be surprised and maybe pleased if it was so much better that it blew the older one away... The Nikon is a conventional DSLR though and not mirrorless, so there's that, as if you got another Sony mirrorless you could maybe share and swap lenses with the A5100.
 
Thanks everybody! We will be shooting animals from far away, I hope. The decision to get a second camera is because my wife wants her own and does not want to share with the kids and me. She wants to get a better camera then the current Sony A5100. We do have a long lens for the A5100 but I'm not sure the specs I will look later today. Wanted to get a better camera then what we currently have, if I'm going to buy a second set up. What about a Nikon D7500 with a 70-300mm f/4.5-6.3G ED Lens?

300mm isn't that long really.

Maybe one of the M43 systems would be a better bet as the crop factor will give you longer reach.
 
Have you given any thought to getting a camcorder . Not only for taking videos but also for stills. If you want reach take a look at what mine does ,a panasonic HC-X900m although the range has been updated since I got mine.

just watch it all to see what you can do


all from a small camera that sips into a pocket easily. I would have thought this would be the ideal, small -light- easy to carry- good stills - excellent video- great for distance shots without a lens change . and top of range for that kind of money you want to spend.

fbVsQ6D.jpg

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zocBr0JOGUk
 
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Thanks everybody! We will be shooting animals from far away, I hope. The decision to get a second camera is because my wife wants her own and does not want to share with the kids and me. She wants to get a better camera then the current Sony A5100. We do have a long lens for the A5100 but I'm not sure the specs I will look later today. Wanted to get a better camera then what we currently have, if I'm going to buy a second set up. What about a Nikon D7500 with a 70-300mm f/4.5-6.3G ED Lens?
If you usually photograph animals you possibly have a good idea of what focal length you need, otherwise you could practise on garden birds and scale up to get an idea, you may find it surprising how long a length is needed to fill the frame! Also look at photos on Flickr etc which are the kind you want and see what focal length etc was used.
 
Thanks, everybody this is really confusing to someone out of the know.
However, I think we might have come up with a camera. What do you think about a
Canon D80 with a EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM Lens 800USD
and a Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS II USM Lens. 400USD

Junk? ......... Way to much?
Just go buy a 1-time film camera you will get better shots with that, you poser. :):):):)

Is a DSLR bad/old???? I thought it was a better camera?

"Have you given any thought to getting a camcorder. " She wants a camera sooooooo..... happy wife = happy life.
 
Thanks, everybody this is really confusing to someone out of the know.
However, I think we might have come up with a camera. What do you think about a
Canon D80 with a EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM Lens 800USD
and a Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS II USM Lens. 400USD

Junk? ......... Way to much?
Just go buy a 1-time film camera you will get better shots with that, you poser. :):):):)

Is a DSLR bad/old???? I thought it was a better camera?

"Have you given any thought to getting a camcorder. " She wants a camera sooooooo..... happy wife = happy life.
$800, what country are you buying in? This only makes a difference to pricing and availability, though model names do vary by country.
 
Thanks everybody! We will be shooting animals from far away, I hope. The decision to get a second camera is because my wife wants her own and does not want to share with the kids and me. She wants to get a better camera then the current Sony A5100. We do have a long lens for the A5100 but I'm not sure the specs I will look later today. Wanted to get a better camera then what we currently have, if I'm going to buy a second set up. What about a Nikon D7500 with a 70-300mm f/4.5-6.3G ED Lens?

As expected, you are getting lots of conflicting advice :). Always happens when someone asks a 'what camera, lens, etc' thread. And the real dilmena is that all of the advice is 'correct' - there is no 'best' solution.

The D7500 would be a good camera. Nikon makes several 70-300mm lens, with slightly different 'names'. For example, one has 'f/4.5-6.3' while another has 'f/4.5-5.6'. The former is for a 'crop body' camera while the later is for a full-frame camera. Either would work well on a D7500. Just make sure to get the one you want.

Many safari drivers are able to get close to animals. There are occasional photos/video of cheetahs or leopards climbing on the jeeps or even walking inside them. So, you won't always need long lenses.

If you want a longer lens than 300mm, you could consider the Sigma or Tameon 100-400mm lenses. They should be around $600-700US for a new lens.

The Canon 80D is a good camera but I can't comment on the lenses you suggest.

Talk with your safari company about whether they can provide you with bean bags to support the camera on the car window to add stability to it.

And to re-iterate some earlier advice - don't buy something at the last minute. Learning a new camera takes time. Learning to take long telephoto photographs takes a long time too. Buy early and enjoy taking photos around home, a local zoo, etc.

And, most important - have a great time, especially if you will have kids with you.
 
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