| Good wildlife camera equipment on safari can make | | | | compared to a compact but that is only half the |
| the difference between pictures you will be proud to | | | | story. The lenses that you need to purchase for |
| show your friends and family when you get back and | | | | decent wildlife photography often cost more than |
| ones where it's difficult to figure out exactly what | | | | the camera itself making it a very expensive business |
| you were photographing because it's only a fuzzy | | | | indeed. |
| black dot surrounded by green vegetation. | | | | And a bulky camera body and multiple |
| I take wildlife photographs for a living and I have had | | | | interchangeable lenses do add to the weight of your |
| to quickly figure out what the best cameras and | | | | luggage and the inconvenience of carrying everything |
| lenses are to get the job done effectively. | | | | around with you. |
| Digital or Film - Which is better for a safari? | | | | Digital compact cameras on the other hand are not |
| Wild animals are very unpredictable. That's one | | | | extremely expensive and the results that you can |
| aspect of safari photography that makes it so | | | | obtain from them are almost on a par with a digital |
| exciting because you never know what you are | | | | SLR camera and you don't have to worry about any |
| going to get but this also means that the number of | | | | additional lenses if the compact you buy has a |
| pictures you need to take to get a keeper increases. | | | | decent zoom covering the range from 80mm to |
| And if you use film that can become very expensive | | | | about 300mm. There are a few of them on the |
| whereas with a digital wildlife camera you can take as | | | | market that do have lenses like this and the range of |
| many as you want and then just delete the ones | | | | the zooms increase every year. |
| where the lion has ducked behind a bush, the | | | | And compact cameras live up to their name by being |
| cheetah has blurred because the autofocus locked | | | | relatively small and light and one lens means no |
| onto a twig in front of it and the exposure of the | | | | additional weight or carrying and no time wasted |
| hippo was way off because of the reflected sunlight | | | | changing to another lens to suit the situation. |
| in the water. | | | | The Best SLR Digital Wildlife Camera for Nature |
| You can also make consistent use of bracketing to | | | | Photography |
| get the perfect exposures without worrying about | | | | If you have decided to go with a digital SLR then by |
| cost or running out of film which can be a problem in | | | | all accounts the best one to purchase for wildlife |
| certain remote areas of Africa where safaris take | | | | photography at the moment is the Canon EOS 20D |
| place. | | | | due to the blinding speed of its shutter release (near |
| So more is better in this case but what about | | | | instantaneous) and its continuous shooting speed of 5 |
| quality? The fact is that digital quality is fast catching | | | | frames per second to a maximum burst depth of |
| up to film unless you fall into the professional | | | | twenty three frames. It also powers up in next to no |
| category and are going to be selling your safari | | | | time at all. |
| pictures or entering them into competitions. In that | | | | This wildlife camera is as fast as you will ever need |
| case it might be better to stick to film because the | | | | to freeze wildlife action and get the picture in the can |
| trained eye will be able to spot the difference but in | | | | before the animal moves off into the undergrowth. |
| most other cases digital quality is more than | | | | There are other SLR cameras that are nearly as |
| adequate. | | | | good like the Nikon D70 and the Pentax ist D so take |
| Digital also gives you valuable feedback while you are | | | | a look at them too before making a decision. |
| still on safari so that you can try and improve on that | | | | The Best Compact Digital Wildlife Camera for Nature |
| elephant picture with the ear cut off the next day. | | | | Photography |
| You also have a lot more control over the final | | | | Canon comes up trumps again in the compact |
| product because you can use software like | | | | camera category with the Canon Powershot S2 IS. |
| Photoshop to enhance and fine tune your pictures. | | | | The factor that makes this camera ideal for safari |
| Digital SLR or Compact Wildlife Camera | | | | wildlife photography is its huge 12X optical zoom lens |
| A safari is the dream trip of a lifetime and it's a great | | | | (36 - 432mm equivalent) with a built in image stabiliser |
| opportunity to get some fantastic wildlife pictures but | | | | which cuts down on blur when using such a massive |
| it's not necessary to buy the latest and greatest | | | | zoom lens. |
| digital SLR and lenses to get them unless you are | | | | A 5 megapixal sensor is more than enough to |
| planning to take nature pictures for a living or are a | | | | produce stunning safari images and as long as you |
| serious photography enthusiast and are going to | | | | can live with a slight shutter release lag and power up |
| make regular use of the camera and lenses after the | | | | delay this compact wildlife camera is perfect for a |
| safari anyway. | | | | safari trip. |
| The cost of a digital SLR wildlife camera is high | | | | |