New Digital Camera Advice

Last summer, I bought Nikon D5000 + Nikon 55-200mm f/4-5.6G ED IF AF-S DX VR Zoom Nikkor Lens + Nikon SB-400 AF Speedlight Flash, and I am very pleased with this combo, on a limited budget you can't beat it. The only issue with this combo is that I sometimes have to switch lens between the 55-200 with the 18-55 for wide angle or close-up shots. The alternative is that you will need to spend a lot more for a general purpose lens.

Hi Dipak, none of the APC-S (cropped) "kit" lenses are good quality. They sell for just a few pounds & you can't give them away on fleabain. But they are acceptable & give as good a pix as does any of the best of small sized point & shoot camera's.

It's like hifi - if you like to listen to music, then any Japaiwa or whatever does a good enough job if you are not appreciative of the finer aspects. But listen to a Naim or other high end set up & the whole world perspective changes

You will need to go one or two levels above the entry levels to get into the good category.
And that includes all the makes - inc Nikon & Canon.

The attached www link is for an English language German based test org called Photozone that specialise in lens testing
If a lens for you exists, then the data & very fair report lives in this place. Photozone

If I can talk Canon 'cause I know them best, but the same is true of all.
I would not advise a 1000D level, its cheap & plastic & designed down to the kit lens level. Get into the game & an upgrade is just around the corner.
Assuming you start with a 550D body, plus a flash, you ain't got the budget to get a good lens.
But other lenses can be considered:
Some of the mid level Canons are not so bad & all below a serious hobbyist/pro would be happy
e.g the EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 USM IS is rated as average but the rating is against some very elevated company, its like a rating for a 202/200 against a 282/500, but at 180(ish) quid it delivers, has IS (image stablising) and is in the cheapish category
3rd party alternatives should be considered (e.g.) a good general purpose lens is a Sigma 17-70, a whole step above the kit lens & a closer match to the more serious hobbyist Canons.

Good luck in your lens hunting minefield
Talking about hunting, I am leaving next week for South Africa on a 4 week hunting trip shooting anything in sight with my 50D / EF 100-400mm, plus a few other bits that fill a flight legal bag.

Mike, good luck! I'll be in Kruger as of next week, photohunting anything but hopefully catching some big cats. Weapon of choice is a 300mm f/4.0 prime, which is about as long and heavy as I'd want to go handheld.

EJ

quote:

Originally posted by EJS:
Mike, good luck! I'll be in Kruger as of next week, photohunting anything but hopefully catching some big cats. Weapon of choice is a 300mm f/4.0 prime, which is about as long and heavy as I'd want to go handheld.

EJ

One word. Monopod.

A monopod is worth taking, but I found mine to be useless in the Land Rovers and kayaks. During the day, the African sun should be more than enough, otherwise, auto ISO?

Tony

Agreed monopods are useless from inside cars & not much better from the back of a truck.
I use bean bag for low light and/or crank the ISO up, but as Tony sez, the sun is up pretty quick & 1/2000sec soon appears in the VF.

The 50D can go to 48k, very noisy but some shots need to be captured first, then if (IF) you get the time, back off & compose the set..
I once got a sequence of leopard at first light- almost dark in ISO terms. I started with 48k to get the shots in, then she just sat & poised for a few minutes in a perfect open light bush background, then jumped up a tree with me right underneath & began walking up & down, a real cat walk if there ever was one. She was so close overhead that I had to reverse back the 4x4 to get full frame shots.
I was able to stand in the open sun roof & with the 50D backed off to ISO 1600 & 1/125, eventually I even fitted the speedlight - she still carried on poising.

But the killer was all this was just 2km from Skukuza camp & my car was still on hard road !!!

A memorable day.

Mike, I envy your leopard. My closest encounter with a big cat was also near Skukuza: two cheetah's resting. Here's one of them.

EJ

Dipak

If you have your mind set on a dslr, I agree with the concensus that you can't go wrong with either a Nikon or Canon, the two undisputed market leaders in my opinion.

You have probably already done this however, if not, I would recommend you give some thought to the size/ bulk of an slr and whether you would find that a problem (physically having to carry the body/ lens/ lenses/ flashgun/ etc around) or if having a large camera/ lens set up would pose any kind of a problem for any of your proposed subject types.

I ask this because more often than not, I find myself carrying a compact Leica D-Lux and don't bother with the larger gear. Results ultimately aren't as impressive however, the opportunities to take discrete photos are much greater in my experience and I think it is a gem - especially when using RAW format.

Leica have just launched the D-Lux 5; a largely re-badged Panasonic LX5 with a non-interchangeable lens of 35mm equivalent 24mm - 90mm. Info here:

http://www.dpreview.com/news/1...092127leicadlux5.asp

An alternative dslr which offers a high quality sensor in a much smaller than standard body is the Panasonic GH2 which will come to market later in November. I have no experience of these but the idea holds quite a bit of appeal if you don't have a problem with an electronic viewfinder. Some info here:

http://www.dpreview.com/previews/panasonicdmcgh2/

Hope this is of some help. Now then, back to the safari....

Peter

quote:

Originally posted by Tony Lockhart:
A monopod is worth taking, but I found mine to be useless in the Land Rovers and kayaks. During the day, the African sun should be more than enough, otherwise, auto ISO?

Tony

I actually found the monopod to be useful, standing up in the back of the landrovers.I also carried it when on foot. It let me shoot 400mm with Velvia. I'd agree that it would get in the way in a kayak. Each of us has their own style, though.

Winky - Standing up in open backed safari Land Rovers is a BIG NO-NO
Assuming you were not self driving - your ranger should have made that clear in the regulation safety talk.

Most animals don't see people as such when sitting in cars & trucks, but stand up & the human form is clear to them. They become instantly spooked & the most likely result is you get to see the rear ends disappearing into the bush, but I have seen the reverse once or twice.

I was at a Sabi Sand camp called Nottens in 2007 & coincidentally we had a nice Canadian couple & daughter sharing our truck. We were parked between a group of aggressive rhino's & peaceful buffalo herd having a territory stand off & the Canadian guy stood up to get a better camera on the rhino's. In an instant the buffalo bulls advanced in a hostile mock charge & the rhino's as is their tradition came in from the other side. But keeping in mind the second rule of safari do's-n-dont's is to always switch engines off, the truck complete with standing man made a very rapid start & GTF out of here. Our standing man ended up in a big heap - wasn't you was it ??

quote:

Originally posted by Mike-B:
Winky - Standing up in open backed safari Land Rovers is a BIG NO-NO
Assuming you were not self driving - your ranger should have made that clear in the regulation safety talk.

Most animals don't see people as such when sitting in cars & trucks, but stand up & the human form is clear to them. They become instantly spooked & the most likely result is you get to see the rear ends disappearing into the bush, but I have seen the reverse once or twice.

I was at a Sabi Sand camp called Nottens in 2007 & coincidentally we had a nice Canadian couple & daughter sharing our truck. We were parked between a group of aggressive rhino's & peaceful buffalo herd having a territory stand off & the Canadian guy stood up to get a better camera on the rhino's. In an instant the buffalo bulls advanced in a hostile mock charge & the rhino's as is their tradition came in from the other side. But keeping in mind the second rule of safari do's-n-dont's is to always switch engines off, the truck complete with standing man made a very rapid start & GTF out of here. Our standing man ended up in a big heap - wasn't you was it ??

Our vehicles weren't open backed and were designed for standing up, with a portal cut in the roof, a bit like a big sunroof. The vehicles were hard-tops and I didn't feel that we were in any danger from animals. We didn't stand whilst the vehicle was moving of course, and virtually every other vehicle we saw was similarly configured. The animals never seemed "spooked" by our presence at all. This was in Tanzania.

A friend of mine in Botswana a few years later was not so lucky when an angry elephant mum charged and overturned their vehicle and then rammed it for 10-15 minutes. She described it as "Jurassic Park, but elephants instead of T-rexs". Driver had, in contravention of park rules, left the track to get a closer look at the herd which included some young calves. A closer look was certainly obtained.