Compact for Safari

DanielB

DanielB

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Friend of mine is heading on safari this year and is after a compact camera to record the trip. Not looking for a DSLR and has a budget of about £400. Any recommendations?
 
borrow or rent a DSLR with a 300mm lens or zoom from whatever to 600mm

if he knows how to use a DSLR - if not stick it on auto and hope for the best

How much is he spending on the trip - what a waste without some good photos and memories of the trip

(inexpensive option would be buy Nikon D300/D7000/D7200 and Nikon 70 300mm VR)
 
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If it has to be a compact then I’d recommend something from the Panasonic TZ range. I’ve had one for years (can’t recall which, my daughter uses it now) and it’s got a usefully long zoom range and fits in the pocket. I don’t particularly rate the image quality compared to an SLR / mirrorless (small sensor, etc), but if your friend isn’t as fussy as us photographers on here then I’m sure they’ll find it ideal.

Can’t recommend a specific model from the range as there’s been loads over the years so probably the newest model they can get for the budget.
 
viewfromthenorth said:
If it has to be a compact then I’d recommend something from the Panasonic TZ range.
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I'll second that.

The TZ series is ideal for anyone who wants to travel light and get pictures at a distance. They are truly pocketable (for a given size of pocket) and easy to use. Here are some random samples from mine...

Slow worms in composter Panasonic TZ40 1020272.jpgGeese swimming Panasonic TZ40 1000725.jpgPigeons kissing in silhouette TZ70 P1030357.JPGBird in tree TZ70 TZ70 P1030506.JPG
 
I'd look at Panasonic fz1000 and fz1000ii
Ideally a Sony rx10iv but that's 2.5x the budget.
 
Not sure which version of the RX-100 was the first with the decent reach but one of those might come within budget.
 
BillN_33 said:
borrow or rent a DSLR with a 300mm lens or zoom from whatever to 600mm

if he knows how to use a DSLR - if not stick it on auto and hope for the best

How much is he spending on the trip - what a waste without some good photos and memories of the trip

(inexpensive option would be buy Nikon D300/D7000/D7200 and Nikon 70 300mm VR)
Click to expand...
He's not a photographer - just wants something a bit better than a camera phone to capture some memories and specifically wanted something that didn't have interchangeable lenses.

Thank you for the suggestions, I'll do some research on them all.
 
DanielB said:
He's not a photographer - just wants something a bit better than a camera phone to capture some memories and specifically wanted something that didn't have interchangeable lenses.
Click to expand...
It's always a problem, when people ask on line for advice about camera choice. Those who reply tend to specify, not so much what they have but what they'd like to have. I fear that the effect is to push too many newcomers away from the whole idea of buying a camera.
 
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