Camera for Safari

[Millwall Paul]

I'm due to go on holiday / safari in Kenya in May for my honeymoon and am looking to get a reasonable camera to take with me for the safari side of things. We'll be going round the Massai for 6 nights and I dont think my old exilim will do it, it was great for my hunting safari's but this is a photographic one so need something better, have any of you gents / lady's got anything you could recommend? I'm a complete novice when it comes to cameras so don't know what kind to go for, digital slr or just a decent compact? Having never been on this type of safari before I don't know what the photographic distances will be so really don't know ehat kind of lenses i will need. I really don't want to spend much more than 600 - 700 as I now know how expensive weddings can be - that'll teach me! So any advice or recommendations from more informed people will be great.

 

Thanks in advance

 

Paul

[Wsm]

Paul

 

Can't go wrong with one of these

 

http://ukvarminting.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=8045

[Ronin]

TonyH or Stag1933 may be the best people to ask (Tony is a pro I understand and Hubert takes some exceptional pictures)

 

 

If it were me, I would go for a digital SLR and decent quality lens plus a converter.

 

 

It may be more than the budget.

 

 

I guy all my camera gear from Grays of Westminster, if you would consider 2nd hand, they are very, very good to deal with (if you decide on Nikon)

 

Spent £000's with them "unseen" and never been disapointed.

 

 

It may be that a high end compact or bridge style camera is better for your needs.

[TonyH]

I'm due to go on holiday / safari in Kenya in May for my honeymoon and am looking to get a reasonable camera.................... any advice or recommendations from more informed people will be great.

 

Thanks in advance

 

Paul

Congratulations Paul - you might think you're getting married later than your friends did, but I was 41 when I finally succumbed! However, it was to the right woman, so worth waiting... Ronin is right about my status but alas, all it means is that I know a lot about photography and certain kinds of camera - it does not mean I know what would suit you, and there's no reason for me to be familiar with what's on the market either. My instinct is to suggest that a DSLR, cool and trendy though it might be, is not what you need: it's what an "advanced amateur" would get, but it's fairly bulky, complex, and if buying new you wouldn't get a particularly wonderful DSLR for £600-700 AFAIK.

But at that price level there are some genuinely very good compacts available, and two spring to mind: the Canon G11, and the Panasonic GF-1. They have excellent specs, and will turn in repro-standard pics good enough for some pro purposes. If Varmartin is on here (can't remember - it's Martin, from St Agnes way in Cornwall) he recently got the Canon and could tell you about it; the GF-1 is very new, not sure of availability, check it out. I'd go for the latter. Either camera is far more portable than a DSLR, you can learn to use it quickly, and it should be available for significantly under your max budget, which should help with the wedding expenses.... I trust you're taking a rifle as well!

HTH, TonyH

[varmartin]

Hi ...I did indeed just get a Canon G11, and can highly recommend it.

 

There are loads of reviews on the net about it and as TonyH has said it was either the G11 or the GF-1 that was on my short list.

 

I went for the G11 because it can do nearly every thing a DSLR can, less change lenses.....

 

Some images....this is the largest photobucket will let me upload.

 

Ok..its just a close up of a leaf or two...but a test image all the same...

 

 

And a few snaps at the beach `Perranporth` in Cornwall.

 

The images shot directly into the sun were set to `snow` scene mode.

 

the others were on full ` auto`...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Millwall Paul]

Hi

 

Thanks for the advice gents it's really given me some food for thought. I know what you mean Tony about waiting for the right lady, the one I'm marrying was definately worth the wait! I'd love to have taken my rifle to Kenya but I believe hunting safaris were banned out there in the late 70s / early 80s? My fiancee even said we could go to SA and do some hunting on the honeymoon but the flights were just too dam expensive - which is a real bugger as I love SA and the scenery. So we're going with the cheaper option which is Kenya all the lads at work that are Kenyan Sikhs keep telling me how fantastic it is out there plus in May the weather should be good as well. As the fiancee loves her photography I thought I'd buy her the camera as a wedding present, but as I know less than nothing about cameras all the advice I've recieved has been fantastic and very helpful.

 

Thanks

 

Paul

[casts_by_fly]

Hi Paul,

 

I'm in the same boat as you, except we got married 3 years ago. We're doing a safari in May (first 2 weeks) and we're getting a new camera to go with us. We're doing Kreuger for a week and Mauritius for a week. I considered the Panasonic GF1, however the price is high for what you get. You can get a better quality DSLR with two lenses and accessories for the price of the GF1.

 

My current #1 choice is the Nikon D40, but they are discontinued. So I think I am going with the D5000 which is the next model up in the range. The kit lenses are 18-55 and 55-200, both autofocus (AF-S) and both vibration reduction (VR). You can get both lenses, the body, plus bits for right around £500.

 

Thanks,

Rick

[stag1933]

Look at the Panasonic `Lumix` first .

They do one with an 18X zoom Leica lense which is a fixed lense model of smaller size and less weight than an SLR .

I have a Nikon D80 SLR and four lenses to fit but on such a trip I would only take my `Lumix`.

It uses the popular SD cards and has simple internal editing facilities also `macro` and `anti-shake mode`.

 

I would not touch a Nikon D40 for if memory serves me correctly it has a different lense system to the plentiful old `F`types .

 

HWH.

[Redfox]

Having see the results off Stags Panasonic Lumix FZ18 I bought one just over 12 months ago and have not been disapointed at all, the as he says have Leica lenses which are as good as you can get. The latest model with some extra facilities and improved processor is this one http://www.ukdigitalcameras.co.uk/prod.asp?i=4735

It will do all you can imagine and then some.

I have a full range of Professional Nikon film cameras and lenses and a fair amount of Cannon stuff too, which I used to earn a crust or two, but for on a trip like this I wouldnt hesitate to take the Panasonic and a hand full of SD cards. Just remember the Xray kit at the airport and remove any cards from the camera or they will be wiped clean, the seller I have posted will sell you and xray safe bag for the cards or you can put them in a clear plastic container and ask for them to be hand inspected, ( mind blowing to lose all your pics/memories as you get off the plane), enjoy yourselves and lets see some pics after you get back.

Redfox

[Millwall Paul]

Cheers for the xray tip Redfox, I'll have to remember that I'd never even given it a thought about the xray wiping the card. They are some stunning photo's Varmartin. At the moment the better half prefers the look of the G11 and as it'll be her camera I expect I'll end up going with what she wants. One that she has said she definately doesn't want is a DSLR as she doesn't want the hassle of changing lenes and a great big bag to carry.

[varmartin]

Down scaling them to fit them on this page does them no justice at all...They are a world apart on my PC and when printed look as good as you could wish for ..

[TonyH]

... Just remember the Xray kit at the airport and remove any cards from the camera or they will be wiped clean, the seller I have posted will sell you and xray safe bag for the cards or you can put them in a clear plastic container and ask for them to be hand inspected, ( mind blowing to lose all your pics/memories as you get off the plane)..

Airport scanners have no effect on digital memory cards, and it makes no difference removing them from the camera. Shooting digitally is actually a great relief now since there is no longer the slight concern that one's film might be fogged by scanning - I say "slight" because that problem was greatly exaggerated, and the great majority of pros I've communicated with over the years never experienced any problems with carrying film through airport scanners. Getting a hand inspection of film was very iffy anyway: in the USA it was in theory guaranteed on demand though not always in practice; and at Heathrow they would rarely co-operate... Those so-called "X-Ray Safe Bags" were a waste of time I'm afraid: if a scanner operator saw on his screen a large dark lump impervious to scanning he'd either turn up the power (if it was in the Third World where many scanners are dodgy anyway) or demand that you empty it and submit the contents for scanning. This is doubly true now that everywhere is so security conscious.

Backing up data is always important though, and ideally you might have a laptop with you for that purpose - or in the case of a shooter, maybe the PDA you carry into the field with your ballistics software. And you can burn your images onto disc while abroad, then post the disc to yourself at home, or leave it abroad in safe hands. I do practice what I preach and i've never experienced (or heard of) memory cards being affected in this way. I'm flying to Marrakech on Saturday, with kit, lots of memory cards, laptop, back Tuesday - and if my images get screwed up in any way you'll hear my howls of outrage...

[casts_by_fly]

Look at the Panasonic `Lumix` first .

They do one with an 18X zoom Leica lense which is a fixed lense model of smaller size and less weight than an SLR .

I have a Nikon D80 SLR and four lenses to fit but on such a trip I would only take my `Lumix`.

It uses the popular SD cards and has simple internal editing facilities also `macro` and `anti-shake mode`.

 

I would not touch a Nikon D40 for if memory serves me correctly it has a different lense system to the plentiful old `F`types .

 

HWH.

 

 

HWH,

 

No, same mount as all Nikons for the past 30-40 years or so. The only difference is that the D40 (and D60, D3000, and other entry level nikons) don't have an AF motor built into the body. So you can use the old lenses, but you have to manual focus them. The newer lenses are AF-S and AF-I and have a focus motor built into the lens.

 

 

Cheers for the xray tip Redfox, I'll have to remember that I'd never even given it a thought about the xray wiping the card. They are some stunning photo's Varmartin. At the moment the better half prefers the look of the G11 and as it'll be her camera I expect I'll end up going with what she wants. One that she has said she definately doesn't want is a DSLR as she doesn't want the hassle of changing lenes and a great big bag to carry.

 

 

If DSLR is out, then the G11 and GF1 would be what I'd consider. The GF1 is an interchangable lens format like a DSLR, but it doesn't have a viewfinder so a lot of the bulk is taken away. They are much smaller than a DSLR and only slightly bigger than most point and shoot cameras. The picture quality I've seen from them looks great (up to DSLR standard) but the price is also more than most entry DSLRs.

 

Thanks,

Rick

[bruxie hill]

hi

i bought my wife a canon eos 1000d for her christmas

and it is an amazing piece of kit great entry level dslr camera

it was £500 and came with 2 lenses a 18x55 and a 75x300 she has taking some great shots with it

all the best bruxie

[stag1933]

casts_by_fly.

The `different lense system` I referred to was the lack of the auto-focus facility and not the old standard F mount.

 

I have for sale a boxed, as new, D80 digital body, a boxed Tamron 28-300mm lense, a boxed, as new 105mm Micro Nikkor, a cased 170-500mm APO Sigma and a 28-70mm Nikkor. [all lenses A/F or manual choice.]

Sensible offers for all or any welcome.

 

HWH.

[casts_by_fly]

Shame you didn't post that about 5 hours before you did. I ordered the D40 with the Nikkor 18-55 and 55-200 VR lenses. Though I'm going to assume you would want more for your D80 than I wanted to spend (please don't correct me if I'm wrong).

 

Thanks,

Rick

[Redfox]

Quoted from "Bob Flood on Yahoo"

 

In the US, western Europe, Japan, and Australia, the gate security x-ray machines work like an electronic flash - a pulse is used to generate the onscreen image. So little radiation is used that film isn't harmed unless it goes thru an awfully large number of times. Checked baggage goes thru a CT scan that delivers 200-300 millirem, and that will ruin film.

 

But computer chips aren't affected - theoretically, a photon could happen to hit a spot just right to flip a zero to a one or vice versa, but you'd have a bad time trying to find it in the image.

 

In "third world" countries, things are different. They use the old continuous beam x-ray machines (mostly old hand-me-downs from us), but the radiation isn't the problem - the tube can emit a pretty good magnetic field in the course of producing the x-rays. Putting cards in your pocket will probably get you caught in the metal detector and could cause serious hassles and maybe a missed flight. Best to save your images onto CD before you get to the airport so you don't have to worry.

 

Redfox

I could go into more detail, for instnce the walk through magnetic scanners in many developing countries are low tech old models with higher magnetic fields, and so on.

Its your pictures so you take whatever precautions you feel like, but there are always the barack room lawyers who have never had a problem with this that or the other, who are then amazed when you take their advice and do have a problem.

Redfox

[TonyH]

In the US, western Europe, Japan, and Australia, the gate security x-ray machines ...[snip]...Its your pictures so you take whatever precautions you feel like, but there are always the barack room lawyers who have never had a problem with this that or the other, who are then amazed when you take their advice and do have a problem.

Redfox

Just curious: are you a pro photographer, and do you have repeated personal experience of carrying film & CF cards through scanners? Is your name Bob Flood? If not, then you have a Doppelgänger, since a single Google unearthed on the first page a post on the US-based PhotoNet board by good ol' Bob in which the text is identical to your first three paras, word for word: I would hate to think you actually don't know much about this, and had just lifted the info from the Interweb…

I'm not a "barrack room lawyer" but a working pro doing commercial and reasonably high-end editorial features for glossy mags, sometimes national broadsheets incl colour supps. I've never had film damaged by scanners, though I know personally one or two who have, even though this problem never affected most people; and I've never had CF cards or computer data corrupted by scanners, at airports in UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Morocco and North America. A friend phoned yesterday so I mentioned this: he said, "I think it's a bit of a joke that flash cards can be affected, unless they change the technology..." He's done lots of top end stock shooting for Getty in e.g. France, and just got back from Canada. Another chum does very high level automotive photography, things like a week on the Riviera shooting the latest Bentley; he's never had a problem with CF cards either. Via pro forums I belong to, I've similarly not come across anyone among an international variety of busy pros reporting any issues with cards & scanners.

You are of course correct to highlight the potential increased risk in parts of the Third World or shambolic places like the former USSR - which is why I mentioned it myself in a previous post, along with the desirability of backing up image files to disc. Maybe you're just emphasising the 3rd World thing? It would be a pity to exaggerate the danger and put people off. And whether or not you are Bob Flood, it would be genuinely interesting to hear your qualifications for writing about CF cards and airport security.

Regards, TonyH

[varmartin]

I have never had a problem with Xray machines/hand held scanners `wiping` CF, SD , smart media, XD or film........in any of our airports

Or Hanover in Germany, Antalya or Dalaman in Turkey, Menorca Airport or Mahón Airport, Orlando International Airport. or Cancun in Mex, to name a few...

[bluebell]

excuse me butting in on the thread but have any of you had experience of using a 'gizmo' to attach a DSLR to a spotter scope? Was wondering if this was a more cost effective (and lighter) way of getting really long range shots than going for 400mm+ lenses? Cos sometimes I just cant get close enough for the shot I want

[Redfox]

I have indeed quoted Bob Flood and accidentally left his name off the top of the post, he had put succinctly, the facts which I already knew, and so I used it rather than type it out again. I have indeed worked as a professional photographer, some years ago but decided I was better off in my profession as an engineer. I have travelled extensively all over the world in that profession and have taken photographs for both technical and informational purposes in many of these locations. I have lost some film in the developing countries to the effects of x-ray machinery and have experienced difficulties with the digital cards as well but to a lesser extent , they dont fail through the clearing effect of magnetic radiation on things like floppy discs or tape, but due to induced currents in the electrical circuitry.

I did not emphasisie 3rd world countries, that as you point out was bobs phraseology , I said developing countries, none of which are in your "visited" list or Varmartins.

You seem to have a penchant for picking arguments and display many of the attributes have experienced with other photographers over the years. I trust this answers your queries and I will of course give due credit to Bob Flood.

Redfox

[TonyH]

I have indeed quoted Bob Flood and accidentally left his name off the top of the post...

Well that's cleared up then...

I did not emphasisie 3rd world countries, that as you point out was bobs phraseology , I said developing countries, none of which are in your "visited" list or Varmartins.

Same difference: one expression is more PC than the other but who cares. The sort of work I do is not generally to be found in the 3rd World, but if you like I could get you expert opinion from photogs with whom I'm in touch that have much experience travelling to those parts of the world.

You seem to have a penchant for picking arguments and display many of the attributes (I) have experienced with other photographers over the years. Redfox

Huh? I was querying your qualifications to offer this specialised advice - rightly so, it seems. Perhaps you dislike on principle disagreement with your opinions. I don't think photographers in general - a disparate bunch - are particularly stroppy, but they do get impatient when folks offer sweeping suggestions about kit or techniques, based on insufficient knowledge or expertise. And citing that stuff about scanners without acknowledgement led to unnecessary confusion.

Regards, TonyH

[Redfox]

I have found many professional photographers whose knowledge and expertise I can only admire and wish I was in their league, I have also found a great many others who are more impressed with themselves than the reat of us are.

As for qualifications to give help/advice I have quoted enough to indicate more than passing experience both in parts of the world visited regularly and the photographic side too.

It is yourself who wishes to get into ever more technical areas which are totally unnecessary in this instance for the person concerned. It may however make you feel better / superior whatever floats your boat.

I have all the qualifications needed to follow my chosen profession and in the photographic area too for the work I used to do and had the use of a complete lab with all the equipment needed to produce photographs, posters , books and publicity material, including offset litho printers collaters binders etc.

At 63 years of age, with the good fortune to have much experience , I have no need to justify myself to you or any other keyboard warrior.

Subject closed, find someone else to annoy.

Redfox

[TonyH]

I have found many professional photographers whose knowledge and expertise I can only admire and wish I was in their league, I have also found a great many others who are more impressed with themselves than the reat of us are..... keyboard warrior.

Ouch! The boot is on the other foot, mate, and you've been outed. You tried to assume an air of expertise by citing stuff you lifted off the Web, but you found someone who knows more about it - in an entirely practical as opposed to theoretical way - and this clearly offends your amour propre. Stick to engineering, something about which I freely confess I am almost wholly ignorant and would not presume to preach about.

In the meantime, I hope Paul has not been so thoroughly alarmed about scanners that he won't let his bride take the G11 to Africa! Take the precautions already mentioned Paul, and I'm sure you'll be able to show us some pics.

Yours, TonyH

[Redfox]

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