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Hey Guys, I'm curious as to what power zoom and mega-pixels everyone has on the camera they carry with them while out stalking animals (not the big SLR you leave in the truck). What I'd like to know is if you found the zoom powerful enough and resolution clear enough to take photos of other animals you encountered but were not hunting, say that kudu hiding in the bushes or the group of lechwe off in the distance. Thanks for the input! ____________________________ If you died tomorrow, what would you have done today ... 2018 Zimbabwe - Tuskless w/ Nengasha Safaris 2011 Mozambique - Buffalo w/ Mashambanzou Safaris | ||
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Once you've been amongst them, there is no such thing as too much Zoom.  ( I´m reading Will´s book) I always try to take the SLR with me, sometimes the tracker or gamescout will take it. With a small pocket cam chances are slim to get so close for a "good" photo. I have a 100-400 and 2X converter for my long shots. | |||
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I use a Canon Powershot S3. It has regular(optical) and digital zoom. Don't be obsessed by numbers. With digital cameras it is all in the sensor and processor and Canon's is one of the best. I have an SLR film camera as well. Peter. Be without fear in the face of your enemies. Be brave and upright, that God may love thee. Speak the truth always, even if it leads to your death. Safeguard the helpless and do no wrong; | |||
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I used a powershot with 10 mega pixels. make sure your camera is set on the highest setting of pixel quality. The pic was at 70 yds when she charged took camera out of my pocket and shot and then we ran off. Found this at home after safari. USE the AA E batteries. Always in my bellows pocket Mike  | |||
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Sod's Law stipulates that on eight out of ten occasions, you will have the wrong camera. Unless you happen to be Anton Dahlgren. Anton and Saeed would be good ones to answer your question.  SUSTAINABLY HUNTING THE BLUE PLANET! "Political language is designed to make lies sound truthful, murder respectable and to give an appearence of solidity to pure wind." Dr J A du Plessis | |||
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Kalahari Lion (Bots 07)  | |||
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We have tried practically every camera with super zoom, and have decided that for hand held photos one should avoid anything more than about 12-18X zoom. You will take the photos, they will look fine on the camera screen. But, as you put them on your computer, you will notice that they are not so clear after all. I take several cameras with me to try on safari, and I honestly believe the Panasonic TZ7 or TZ10 are the best that are available right now. They are small enough to fit in your pocket. Have a 12X optical soom - ignore any so called DIGITAL zoom, it is nothing but a smoke screen. Look at my hunt report, many of the photos there have been taken by a TZ10. | |||
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Kodak has a camera that we specifically designed for hunting based on experience in RSA and Botswana. It is a pocket camera with 8x optical and 14 mp. It is the M580. If you go to www.kodakoutdoors.com, you can see it there. Martin | |||
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I have used a couple different brands of small digital camera in Africa and most work well enough for what I wanted.The picture quality was acceptable. the durability is a problem if you drop on or get it wet. but for the price and the advantage of having a very small light weight camera with you at all time was great. I have got a few very very good pictures that equal my more expensive bulky multi lens camera with the tone | |||
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Saeed, has much more experience than I, and is probably more discerning as well. Having said that, my Canon has digital as well as optical zoom. You must understand that digital zoom is NOT magic. You cannot see detail that was never there, hence, the processor "makes up" the pixels that it inserts. My Canon has an image stabilizer (I believe) that helps keep the image steady. The digital zoom has been helpful on occasion. Peter. Be without fear in the face of your enemies. Be brave and upright, that God may love thee. Speak the truth always, even if it leads to your death. Safeguard the helpless and do no wrong; | |||
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[QUOTE]Originally posted by Peter: The digital zoom has been helpful on occasion. P[/QUOTE digital zoom is just another name for cropping the image.. Just if you do it in your camera you cant really decide what portion to enlarge. | |||
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Lets throw water and dust resistant in the mix. Whats a good camera if you get caught in a down pour or spend days riding in the back of a truck in the dust? | |||
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keep the pocket camera in a zip lock bag in your pocket.that keeps water and dust out. I always keep my other camera in a good quality camera bag till I needed it | |||
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has anybody play around with the nikon 3100? | |||
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Don, That dodges the question. I have tried that several times and am looking for a better solution. Since I dont have a decent camera I can start from scratch and look for what I want. | |||
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CrossL PM sent  | |||
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I have been in teh rain on numerous occasions, and the camera has been in my pocket. They do get wet, but it does not seem to bother them too much as long as they are not immersed. Once I fell in a mudhole, all the way to my shoulders! I had a Canon pocket camera. I got it out of my pocket, got the battery out. When it deied it worked just fine. | |||
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Cross L, Take a look at Olympus cameras, they have a line of camera models that are very rugged, dust-proof, water-proof, shock-proof. I've had an Olympus Stylus for several years, got it after our other pocket camera crapped out due to salt-water spray while fishing in the Caribbean, even though I did the "zip-loc bag" thing on that trip. Our guide had an Olympus Stylus, and he had that thing dripping with salt water while taking pictures, so I had to get one. I've taken my Olympus to Africa several times, even had it under water, all with no problems. I carry it in a leather belt case while hunting, and leave the big camera in the truck. The Stylus Tough-8010 is currently their top model in this rugged line of pocket cameras. If you're looking for a DSLR that's more rugged than average, check out the Pentax K series. Dale | |||
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+1 olympus has several good models on the market reasonable price good quality | |||
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This is a lot like asking the question "What's the best gun to have when you see a trophy gemsbock?" The answer is "the one you can put your hands on immediately". The world's finest camera is worthless if it is too bulky, delicate, or complicated to have with you when you need it. Having a good (and there are many of them) super-compact pocket camera in your pocket at all times helps assure that you won't miss a key photo opportunity entirely. I advise sacrificing megapixels, zoom, etc. for size and simplicity. Those little cameras will do as well for the obligatory "bagged trophy" photo as any multi-thousand dollar camera on the market. If you want a second, more sophisticated camera to ride in the vehicle, or to carry when you are not hunting but are accompanying a partner, then look at the slightly larger models with more pixels and a larger zoom range. Don't make the mistake of assuming that one that advertises "15X" zoom has the highest magnification. Its lens may start with a very wide angle (about 1/2 of "normal" 50mm equivalent), thus its magnification at the top end is only 7.5X or so. One which starts at "normal" and has "10X" zoom will magnify 10 times. Don't get me wrong -- the wide angle is useful -- but if your interest is in telephoto, then the "15X" model is less powerful than the "10X" model. There are a lot of good cameras out there on the market, and every few months they get cheaper (or they add features for the same money). Unless you really want to get deep into sophisticated lighting, depth of field, and other artistic endeavors, stay away from the (admittedly great) SLR's and look for a viewfinder camera with the features you feel you need. It will be simpler to operate, less likely to break, much less expensive, and more likely to produce a high quality photo when in amatuer hands. Be advised that Sony and Olympus use "proprietary" cards instead of the ubiquitous SD card. The proprietary cards are a bit more expensive than the SD's for the same capacity. This doesn't make Sony or Olympus poor buys, it's just something you need to take into account. Those proprietary chips (cards) may not be available in as many out-of-the-way places as the SD is. | |||
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What a buncha complete amateurs we have online here. ALL THINGS BEING EQUAL! It's what my girlfriend says... "More is better!" | |||
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Not true and when you "up-res" the image you lose all of the imagined gains. | |||
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