new digital camera for travel: to buy or not to buy

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portlaire

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I am travelling to africa on safari later in the year. I want to ensure I have a good camera to capture what I hope to be a memorable holiday. I currently own a canon IXUS, 4 MegaPixel digital camera. I find the resolution as good as I will need and it is nice and slim for carrying on travel. However the major downside I have with this is optical zoom and to a lesser extend lens angle. I have 2GB of memory for this camera. In terms of photography I would class myself as a beginner and I would like to stick to digital. I'm undecided on whether I need to go and buy a more advanced camera with a greater optical zoom. Any opinions that may help me to decide whether I really need a new camera would be appreciated.
 
I wouldn't go on a safari without a digital SLR (Nikon or Canon are best). Make sure you get a 80-200mm zoom lens. The safari is a trip of a life-time and you want to have classy photos to look back on...
 
You don't have to get a true SLR camera (starting at about €600+, and that's without adding an 80-200 zoom) to get a good optical zoom. You can get a so-called 'bridge' camera like the nowadays.

I took on an older S5000. But don't go building up your hopes of seeing a feeding goldfinch on safari!
 
Thanks for the advice - but I'm not sure that I am really willing to spend a lot of money of a digital SLR. I was hoping something like the Tz3. It has 10x optical zoom. Is 200X really necessary - can't I ask him to drive the jeep closer
 
A 200mm lens on an SLR is not equal to 200 times optical zoom.

X10 times optical zoom is "similar" to a 300mm SLR lens
 
In the same position. Was looking at getting the Fuji F31d which is a development on the f30 which has great reviews. I was also looking at getting an SLR or even the "bridge" option you proposed Dr Moriarty but my only concern over the fuji bridge is that is uses AA batteries and my current camera is the same and I've had enough of running out of power hence the f31d as the battery life looks great - 300 shoots per charge.

Dr Moriarty whats your experience of the battery life of the Fuji - was considering the 6500fd. My experience to date has been point and click but i would like to improve my photo skills. looking at your link I would love to be able to take photos where the main object is in focus and the background is slightly blurred - love the effect. Can this be achieved with a compact digital or do i need the bridge / SLR and how easy is it to achiebe these effects withese cameras. As i said very much a novice and that is also influencing my decision.
 
whats the advantage in going for an SLR as recommended by DRMoriarty over a digital with say 10x optical zoom. Is it control such as light etc..?
 
just looked it up - seems that it would work fine. Both cameras use an SD memory card.
 
dk99 said:
Dr Moriarty whats your experience of the battery life of the Fuji - was considering the 6500fd.
Click to expand...
It all depends on use — switching on & off, zooming back & forth, shooting in low light are all things that eat up battery life. If I'm only taking the occasional few shots, a set can last weeks. If I'm taking pictures all day long, they can be dead by the end of the day! I use rechargeable NiMH AAs and always have a spare set fully charged, because you don't get much warning...
dk99 said:
...looking at your link I would love to be able to take photos where the main object is in focus and the background is slightly blurred - love the effect. Can this be achieved with a compact digital?
Click to expand...
That effect comes from shooting at a 'long' telephoto setting and/or with a wide aperture — which is why you'll often see it in sports/wildlife photos. It doesn't really make any difference whether the camera is digital or not, SLR or compact — just how long the lens's focal length is and how wide the aperture used.
portlaire said:
whats the advantage in going for an SLR as recommended by DRMoriarty over a digital with say 10x optical zoom. Is it control such as light etc..?
Click to expand...
SLR-type cameras tend to allow you to control that stuff more than compact/point-and-shoot models. Those shots of the birds were shot around the full telephoto end of the S5000's (38-380mm equivalent) zoom and in low light (hence at a wide aperture). But that Panasonic Lumix camera you linked to is excellent too, and a lot more compact for carrying around. One other difference is that its zoom goes from the equivalent of 28-280mm, as opposed to my Fuji's 38-380mm. 28mm is a nice wide angle to have for other purposes...
 
Ok so now the question of 'where to buy' - ebay have some really good deals whereby you get 1 or 2GB cards with the camera and its still a couple of hundred less than pixmania. The other option is to wait until I get to africa and see if I can get one for a good price there. What do you think?
 
I don't know that you'd necessarily make any great savings buying photo kit (or electronic items generally) in Africa, and if you wait until you're there then you don't really have any choice, if you want a camera for the purposes of the safari. Also, I suspect that there's probably a good chance you might get 'burned' with bogus/counterfeit goods (as often happens in, e.g., the Canaries).

See this thread on the Boards.ie photography forum. But to be honest, unless you're saving a lot, I wouldn't recommend going with eBay unless it's a very reputable seller. [broken link removed] seem to get a very good press over on Boards.ie.
 
thanks for all the info and advice. I've pretty much decided to buy that panasonic tz3 and probably from ebay - I've done some research on the dealer and they appear to be reputable. I'll let ye know how it turns out.
 
hey Doc,
Just wanted to let you know that after much research I decided to buy the finepix s5700. Just received it yesterday and so far I am very happy with it. Thanks again
 
Just back from an amazing holiday in Kenya and Tanzania. Safari was truly breathtaking - we seen some of the most amazing things. Here's a few:
Lions killing and eating a Zebra, Ostrichs mating, Vultures on a kill, Cheetah stalking and chasing an antelope, jackel catching and losing a hare, lioness with cubs, lions mating. It was unbielevable even our guide was astonished. The camera worked out very well, I still have a lot to learn about it though. Glad I went with the bridging camera, it will be sometime before I learn to use all the features and make full use of it.
 
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