Help finding a new camera for a safari

Melm0

Melm0

Melm0

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Joined
12 Jun 2005
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Leeds
Hello all,
I have been looking to buy a new camera for my holiday in July, and went to get some advice from a shop yesterday. I was shown and advised to get the Olympus Stylus 1.
My requirements are basically that I need to be able to zoom in on wildlife without losing any quality, and not overly bulky so I can easily carry it out with me.
I'm an absolute beginner when it comes to photography so didn't want anything too fiddly or complicated. I quite liked the Stylus 1 but wanted to ask for a bit of advice before taking the plunge. I am open to ideas and not fussed on the manufacturer really.

Hope someone can come to the rescue!

Thanks!

Mel
 
Not loose any quality? All superzoom lenses/cameras trade image quality for their focal length it's not going to happen.
What's your budget? To get the best you need to learn at least the basics otherwise you're going to sit at 100% zoom half press shutter and the pop up flash will pop up :p
 
Hi,
Yes I am planning to obviously learn how to use it before I go. And I don't travel until the last week in July so I am sure I can get something done with it before then. I am willing to put the effort in. Maximum £500 or there abouts really.

What alternative would there be if I still wanted something to zoom in with?

Thanks for your help :)

Mel
 
What are you doing with the photos? If you're just loading them onto facebook etc then there shouldn't be a problem with something like a super zoom but don't expect quality for prints to hang on the wall :p
 
Can I be radical and suggest just enjoying the safari not through the lens of a camera? :)

Without good quality equipment (which super zoom cameras don't fall into) it is highly likely you won't get any amazing photos as on safaris the animals are normally very far away. From experience I can testify that just observing and enjoying the moment will give you much better memories than any photos you take will.

By all means take a camera but don't worry too much about the zoom as results will disappoint.
 
Oh I would never put them on the wall, I know they aren't going to be that amazing! I was hoping to do a little "book of memories" sort of thing so the prints wouldn't be that big.

Hi Greedy, I am staying in a national park resort that has a watering hole immensely close to the rooms/lodges. Whilst there we do have free time as the game drives are early morning and then into the late afternoon. I know myself that I am not a "photo junkie" but as you can imagine there isn't much to do in free time other than have lunch and then laze about in the sun. I always find it difficult to sit still :p I couldn't go on a beach holiday for a week and sit on the beach ALL week, I need to keep busy!

Ah well I might do a trial and buy a cheaper one than the Stylus 1 and try it out at YWP or something :p

Thanks :)
 
I reckon a decent stabilised superzoom should do reasonably well in good light - certainly good enough for web size and small prints. Fuji HS50 or Canon SX50 perhaps? Depends what you mean by 'not overly bulky' really. These certainly aren't pocketable but will happily sit in a small camera bag on a neck strap or whatever.
 
Hi King4aDay, I will be carrying a bag with me anyway with water/suncream so as long as the camera isn't huge I can't see it being a problem :) . The cameras I saw on Saturday were mostly "lens heavy" as I had asked for ones with decent zoom. I will have a browse now at those two you have mentioned.
Thank you very much

Edit: This is like walking down the wine aisles of a supermarket - how much variation can there possibly be?! Gahhhh
 
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So I bought the SX50 and have been to Yorkshire Wildlife Park today to test it out and i'm really impressed. I don't know how to upload the photos to here but I love quite a few of them, considering I'm useless with cameras.

Thanks again guys :)
 
Where are you going specifically? It can be very dependent on what sort of distance you will be shooting. I did national parks in Namibia and Botswana and even at the watering holes I was generally using a minimum 300mm for individual animal shots.

I see you just bought one so I won't go in to too much detail but I was going to suggest a used Panasonic GF series camera and a 100-300 zoom lens. Tiny in size but would be significantly better than any super zoom.
 
I'm assuming flickr has changed since i last looked on it? Normally there is a share option which allows you to share your photos easily.


Untitled by Melm00, on Flickr


Untitled by Melm00, on Flickr

Ah right checked now, you were using the mobile site. I flicked it back to the main flickr site and i had the option of sharing it, grabbed the BB code and there you go
 
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