camera advice

“I am going to Africa in May and want some advice on a camera. I currently use an Olympus c-7000 zoom, basically a digital point and shoot with a lot of bells and whistles. I've always been happy enough with it for backpacking and day-to-day type uses but I'm not sure if it is good enough for this big trip. I really don't see myself hauling an expensive slr on my usual trips but perhaps a trip to Africa will warrant an upgraded camera. Come to think of it, that probably answers my question - buying a fancy new camera would really add to the price of an already expensive trip.

Another question - how many of y'all have a quality printer for photos? What kind? How much does it cost to print a photo? How many use a photo service? Is your local drugstore as good as a fancy-pants camera store? How about Costco, Walmart etc?”

“Costco and Walmart are going to give you basically the same quality. Look for one that uses Fuji printers. I'm always happy w/ the photos.

Don't buy an inkjet for photo printing. Cost per page is too way high. For proofs get a color laser.

Probably under your league, but I'm happy w/ the Canon Powershot S5 (12x zoom) for less than $350 I got last week.”

“I would think that for a safari, a zoom lens almost the most important consideration. Little P&Ss are not going to give you that zoom.

Beyond that, let those with the SLRs contribute. I have a little P&S. I ***try*** to zoom, but mostly I need to move in close for close-up shots. Doesn't work too well when either A) the lion will be scared away, or B) the lion will attack and eat you cuz you're soooooooooo close. LOL!

Happy hunting. Congrats on the upcoming trip! Maybe ask Tango? I know she did an African safari...”

“ah - speaking of that, the S5 does allow you to add pro-lenses to the camera.”

“has your phone # changed?”

“Sarge - you misjudge me - I would cheerfully consider a camera for $350! I am already planning to spend money on a pair of binocs which will probably never go on one of my normal excursions. If I could keep my tech bill under a grand I will be happy.

Thanks for the input folks. This really isn't the type of thing I usually do and I want to get the most out of it. I also don't want to spend the whole trip behind a camera.”

“PepperDog,
Take the camera you have and are comfortable with, put the lens up to the binocs for a zoom lens, you will spend more time looking/enjoying and remembering which will be more memorable than spending all your time with 'shots' and setting up for them with some expensive piece of equipment you will spend 3/4 of the time getting used to anyway.”

“I have some great advice for you! Take me along!

Oh wait.. you want camera advice? hmmmm.. I'm the woman that can chop off the hood from Mt. Hood... So, I'll keep my tech advice to myself... LOl

Have a great trip! Can't wait to see pictures and trip report!”

“wow - what did we do before we had the internet???

I've gotten lost for the last couple of hours reading about cameras and am zooming in on the "superzoom" category. They are between the p & s and the SLR, both in features/quality and price. I think next I will go to the local camera hound shop and hold a couple of them. They seem to mostly be under $400. Of course my biggest frustration is the knowledge that within a month of making the purchase I will hear about the "next big thing" which will be cheaper and 10X better. I have to balance that with wanting to have the camera long enough to use it so I don't spend my days in Africa trying to figure out how to use my camera!”

“Panasonic is making some great superzooms. their one weakness is some noise in low light, but the one things about Africa is that the light is great, most of the time.

Can't go wrong with the Canon's or Sony either though.”

“Pepper, you can get point& shoots with 10x optical zoom and image stabilization built into the camera for under $500.

My son has one of the Lumix by Panasonic P&S
cameras it has a 10x optical zoom and takes pretty amazing shots. The 10x is pretty close to having a 300mm lens on my DSLR.

Canon, Nikon, Olympus, Sony all have similar cameras available too.

P.S. Can I stowaway in your luggage?
I would love to go to Africa!
last edited: 12/02/07 8:10:01 PM”

“I use Mpix for my printing. The Fuji Frontier Machines at Longs Drug and Costco do a nice job too but I still prefer Mpix.”

“I would love to have you along, Wind Walker. If I win the lottery between then and now I will bring you along as my photographer. (Don't hold your breath - I don't play the lottery).

I believe that the Lumex is one to the things they consider a "superzoom". The Lumex DMC-FZ18 is $330 - 400. I am leaning toward one of that class of camera.”

“The Panasonic Lumix has a Leica Lens...very nice German Optics for the money!”

“

"frustration is the knowledge that within a month of making the purchase I will hear about the 'next big thing' which will be cheaper and 10X better."

Check with Target and Walmart on returning things. One of them will give you 90 days and the other 30 days for making a return. They accept things without questions and give you cash for your exchange.

One of my daughters has gone through about six cameas this way. She returns one and uses the cash to purchase the newer, improved model, usually at about the same price.

During our long, camping trip this past summer she bought a new tent. It got damaged, so she returned it to another store and used the money for a new tent. This, too, got damaged and was returned after the trip. So now we have no tent to store, but have the cash. She, also, made one of the camera exchanges along the way!”

“One of my daughters has gone through about six cameas this way. She returns one and uses the cash to purchase the newer, improved model, usually at about the same price.


Hey, do me a favor. Tell your daughter Sarge says "bite me".”

“Hmmm, NS, sounds like your daughter is scamming the companies on her purchases, hmmm???

RE: cameras. I think our one editor has that Panasonic. It was her choice for that very 10x zoom (and the fact she is rather large and can't get close to take pictures at school concerts... or similar... or anything...)”

“Some photos on Flickr shot with that very camera...DMC-FZ18
That's an 18x Optical Zoom and it has Image Stabilization!

"Camera shake is the number one cause of blurry, out-of-focus pictures. That's why Panasonic Lumix digital cameras come equipped with advanced Optical Image Stabilization (MEGA O.I.S.) that detects even the tiniest camera movement, then automatically adjusts the lens to compensate. With MEGA O.I.S., you're ensured sharp, clear pictures every time without any loss of image detail or clarity."
last edited: 12/02/07 10:58:07 PM”

“I have an Olympus C-5000 which I've had for almost 4 years. Love it but am thinking of upgrading myself to an Olympus SP-550. Olympus makes great cameras!”

“Thanks for all the great advice. An Olympus is tempting because I have a C-7000 zoom and I assume I could swap cards. But the Lumix sounds pretty sexy.

The camera swap thing doesn't sound like my style. Too honest I guess.”

“I'm an SLR gal, myself. I have a Nikon D100 (no longer being sold). and got a 70-200/2.8 long lens for my outdoor nature photography.

YES, it adds a hefty dent in the pocketbook and YES, it also is extra load to carry, but I wouldn't be satisfied with just a small point & shoot either....

However, I must add that i bought a Nikon only because I already had a Nikon N80, so it didn't make sense for me to get a Canon Rebel EOS...which is actually cheaper in price. Now, you can buy some of the SLR cameras for a lot less than a few years ago...


Also, I've seen some kind of adapter lenses that can be used on the P/S cameras-- no idea what the quality of the lenses are, but you might want to check around to see about it-- If I remember correctly, the "zoom" lens screw right onto the front of some of the P/S cameras.

I have heard good things about the Nikon Coolpix cameras as well.”

“I got a Panasonic Lumex 18X zoom!! I've been having a lot of fun. Hopefully y'all can follow this link to see a few photos I took with it:

http://picasaweb.google.com/AnnieB0731/FunWithNewCamera”

“come on!! look at my pictures!!”

“Nice bobcat pics.”

“that was the thrill of the day!”

“Cool Pepper...I love Bob Kitties!!!
So you are ready to go on Safari...already shooting big game and everything. :)”

“I love this thread!”

“Thats Bobcat pic was a once in a lifetime shot...awesome!”

“Wow!

I bought my Lumix when it was 12x and maybe 2 mega pixel. Now I see you can buy them with much higher resolution.”

“This camera is pretty awesome. Thanks for all the nice comments everyone.”

“Very nice pics! Nice camera!”

“

Hey Pepper do you have Photoshop?
Hope you don't mind, I did a minor levels adjustment to lighten the photo and cropped it.

It is so much fun to watch these critters in the wild.”

“nice pepper!
last edited: 12/29/07 10:45:38 PM”

“Thanks, WW. I do have Photoshop but haven't messed with it enough to figure out how to do anything useful. The kitty does look much better with a little tweaking. It has been pretty overcast the whole time I have had the camera but I am having fun with it.”

“With the full resolution shot you prolly have on your computer you could also crop in a lot tighter on the kitty too.”

“Very nice Pepper! Where were you when you took these?

How your pups handle the kitty encounter? :)”

“Nice catch PD! I saw my first bobcat this year (after hundreds of years in the woods, lol) and was geeked for weeks.


When my aunt and uncle opened up their cabin this spring, they discovered a bobcat with a litter living under the floor. Way cool!”

“Wanderer - The bobcat walked across the road when I was up highway 16, almost to highway 20. Fortunately we had already hiked so the dogs were pretty conked out and didn't see the cat. The waterfowl photos were at the wildlife area at the west end of the causeway. I had never been down there - it is pretty cool.”