jam25mack

Howdy,

Non camera nerd here looking for some info.

Thinking about buying a DLSR for our upcoming trip to Nambia so I can shoot the animals and shit.

Don't know much about them other than they're expensive and the images are massive.

So has anyone got an recommendations for a good starter kit - camera, a lense (or two, battery, memory card and tripod.... preferably sub 2K AED.

Or where is best to go find such a bundle.

Cheers.

I promise no animals will be harmed as part of my shooting!

scrubbedexpat141

Bought mine in Carrefour after lots of research. Went with a Canon.

Most people seem to go with Canon or Nixon as the body, most come with at least one lens as the starter (generally 18-55mm type thing I think). Will probably / more than likely want a longer one as well, but don't need to go silly.

I'd go into a really nice camera shop, ask them questions and play with them, then decide which one or two you like best and go find for a great price. Often those big ticket items are great in Carrefour or Sharaf DG. The latter you can pay with in airmiles if you have that airmilesME thing (we just got a brand new washing machine for 90 dirhams thanks to that).

tooboocoo

I can whole-heartedly recommend the Fujifilm X-series. All the features of a DSLR with 2/3 of the size and weight. And Fuji lenses are - for the money - exceptional. Plus, you won't look like a Rambo wannabe 'cos most of the Fujis are rangefinder style, so your face isn't completely obscured while looking through the viewfinder - it's in the corner.

Millhouse

scrubbedexpat141

Classy, in a cupboard.
Mine's in a cheap IKEA drawer.

csdf

Honestly (and I own a Canon EOS 60d DSLR), I'd go for a mirror-less these days. DSLRs are so bulky in the days of smartphones that, unless you are 100% dedicated, you'll find it a hassle to use and prefer the smartphone. Mirror-less offers you the flexibility (and quality) of swappable lenses with an appreciably smaller size, so making it more likely you'll carry it around and actually use it (outside of this particular trip). If you do go for a camera with replaceable lenses, and you're going on safari, you'll want a really long telephoto lens otherwise all your animals are going to look tiny. At least a 300mm. A 400mm even better. But at these distances, you're going to get massive wobble so you'll also need a tripod or monopod (some of the more expensive lenses/cameras have image stabilisation so that will help a bit).

You can get fixed focal distance lenses (e.g. a 300mm telephoto lens will always and only be zoomed in to 300mm), or you can get variable focus lenses (e.g. 75-300mm, which can zoom in and out). The latter are much more flexible but generally have lower quality as the optics have to be able to compromise to accommodate all the distances. Pragmatically, much better to get a zoom lens as, unless wildlife photography becomes a full-time hobby, a fixed focus 300mm or 400mm prime lens will have limited applicability.

Oh, and it used to be possible to rent cameras and lenses. It might be worth doing that, just for this trip, than buying everything only to never use it again.

Millhouse

jam25mack

Thanks for the above info. From what you've all said it seems like a 'mirror less' camera would be more suitable as its unlikely i'm going to go into full David Bailey mode, although I do have a knack of taking some decent pictures and it'd be nice to have the option of a good (not professional) quality camera.

Will check out what is out there deal wise and i'm sure I'll be back for opinions.

Cheers

jam25mack

Fancy selling it on to a new home?

Just been reading reviews on it and although its getting a bit long in the tooth a 2019 review still has it up there with newer models.....

Millhouse

jam25mack

No worries. Worth a punt.

I just had a brainwave and checked my airmiles..... and I think I have about 2,000 AED of credit on there. I can see a weekend trip to Sharaf DG in my future!

scrubbedexpat141

BOOMTOWN.

14,000 is a hundred dibs. It's a game changer.

jam25mack

Yup, that's what I saw..... found out i've got nearly 280,000 miles... ;-)

Now looking at:

Sony a6400

Sony a6100

Leaning towards the first one but will see what deals they have in terms of lens, tripod, battery, cards etc.

;-)

DXBtoDOH

As a veteran of many a safari and owner of an expensive camera, just be aware of the following:

1. Those amazing wildlife photos you see in mags were taken with superexpensive amazing cameras with lens 1-2 meters long.

2. Wildlife sometimes stay stationary long enough to snap a few pictures. Other times they don't. Or they're too far away. Some of your best memories of safaris will not be captured by cameras unless you happened to have it out by chance.

3. No one really cares about your safari photos except your mum and dad, well, your mum really. And she'll forget about it a minute later because 'that's nice' summarises it well enough. And she goes on safaris all the time too. I also won't forget the time my sister said my photos were amazing when everyone else said the link didn't work and they couldn't see the pictures.

4. Heavy cameras are damn heavy to be toting around all over the place.

5. Safaris are very dusty. Your cameras will get dusty.

6. Do you want your memories of an African safari to be via the camera lens or your own eyes?

Second the comment to get something light and easy.

littlejimmy

I'd recommend looking at the buying guides on here and decide what is best for your needs and budget. There are some pretty good compacts with 1" sensors and long lenses like the Sony RX10 series which give decent results (not pro level) and save you having to lug around loads of lenses and kit.

https://www.dpreview.com/reviews/buy...g-zoom-cameras