www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

I have a work colleague who's asked me for help in choosing a camera. She's a beginner but will be going on holiday to Indonesia later this year and wants a camera to use primarily for wildlife. She's been looking at the Canon 400D, my previous model which I believe is now discontinued and has been replaced with the 4000D. As a beginner I've suggested going for a bridge camera such as the Panosonic Lumix range since I know several people on here swear by them and the images are certainly not to be sniffed at, but my only experience is with Canon SLR's. Can anyone give additional advice on a suitable camera that is versatile enough to get decent images of close up and distant subjects without needing too much knowledge of the technical side of things. I will link her to this thread when there's enough input

Many thanks

Paul

this is what i have been using for the last 8 years:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Silver-Digital ... ympus+sz14

very easy to use for a non-expert. the rechargeable batteries last for several days in the field.

When I visited Sabah in 2015, I chose an Olympus E-M5 camera for reasons explained on my website at http://home.btconnect.com/mike.flemming ... ah2015.htm
In my opinion bridge cameras are frustratingly slow for wildlife, leading to missed shots, while DLSRs, or at least their lenses, are too big and heavy.
The micro four thirds system provides long telephoto reach with compact lenses.

Mike

Get an entry level DSLR, Canon or Nikon.

I've never used a bridge camera so I'm not qualified to comment on those, but I have recently restarted using my DSLR for butterfly photography because I found the autofocus on my (otherwise excellent) compact macro to be very hit-and-miss, leading to many missed shots. I would not now change back.

As it happens, that DSLR is a 400D, which I've now had for over 10 years with no complaints. I still generally feel I am limited not by the body of the camera, but by the lens in front of it, which is probably a decent sign (I would probably choose to upgrade my telephoto lens before I consider upgrading the camera body). The major exception to that is when I'm using my excellent Sigma 105mm macro lens (which I bought after strong recommendations by many other UKBers, and after a full summer of use, would recommend in turn!) in low light conditions, as the 400D only goes up to ISO1600. And I've also had trouble when photographing very dark species (e.g. Mountain Ringlet, Scotch Argus) in JPG only, as the white-balance and contrast haven't been terribly well handled by the camera - but this issue can be completely avoided by shooting in RAW.

I can certainly recommend the Panasonic Lumix Range. I have an FZ150 and it is fantastic for clos-ups, general panoramas and has a great zoom. No faffing around changing lenses, etc.
I had an SLR in the "film days" and took it with me to Africa, but spent so much time carrying and changing lenses that I missed a lot of decent shots. I admit that a really good DSLR with the right lenses will produce a superior picture, but for a beginner I can't think of anything better than the modern equivalent of the FZ150.

I would second Nick's comments regarding the Panasonic Lumix. I also have an FZ150 and have found it to be really versatile and capable of some great images - recently took it to Costa Rica for a fortnight, along with my Canon EOS700D SLR + 100mm macro, but mainly used the Panasonic Lumix for a huge variety of wildlife from butterflies to sloths, monkeys etc. It has the advantage of being lightweight and small enough to take easily on day trips, and will give you the chance to photograph pretty much anything you wish, without having to carry extra lenses.

What I would strongly recommend is that whatever decision your friend makes, she purchases the camera well in advance of her trip and practises like crazy for a good few weeks beforehand, with a variety of subjects at different distances/light conditions etc, using a whole range of camera settings, to really get to know what settings give the best result in any given situation.

Many years ago I made the mistake of taking a brand new DSLR (my first) to Lesvos, having not used it previously. It was the one and only time I have seen False Apollos, and due to my unfamiliarity with the camera I came back with rather poor photo's, even though they looked OK on the screen on the back of the camera whilst I was out in the field. It is a mistake I shan't repeat!

It is also always a good idea to upload onto PC/laptop to fully check out the quality of your practise shots first, especially if preparing for a a one-off or very special trip that you might not get to repeat.

One word of caution - depending on your friend's photographic experience - I have a friend who purchased an FZ1000 recently, and he has had quite a few problems getting correctly exposed images on many of the less automatic settings. This model seems to behave somewhat differently to the older FZ150/200 models and may require more user intervention of ISO/exposure compensation etc.

Thanks for the advice guys. It's actually for her honeymoon in Indonesia next summer so plenty of time to practice taking shots. She's very much a novice but when I've recovered from my surgery I will let her have a play with my canon for a bit so she can get an idea about the various settings etc and take things from there

CallumMac wrote:The major exception to that is when I'm using my excellent Sigma 105mm macro lens (which I bought after strong recommendations by many other UKBers, and after a full summer of use, would recommend in turn!) in low light conditions

I love the Sigma 105! Seems there are some really good deals on it at the moment, e.g. Wex and LCE are offering it at £299. Heck of a price for a heck of a lens!