Safari with a Canon SX50 HS

[rpcrowe]

Different strokes for different folks

My son-in-law is bringing his father to Africa for the dad's 70th birthday. He plans to shoot any safari using his Canon SX50 HS Bridge Camera. I asked him if he wanted to borrow one of my Canon crop DSLR cameras and my 400mm f/4L IS lens and he declined.

He said that he didn't want to lug heavy equipment and spoil his Africa adventure with a lot of photography. That is diametrically opposed to what my feelings would be about going on a safari. I wouldn't trouble myself going on that trip except for photography...

Now that I consider it, the SX50 HS will probably be the best choice for him...

He is familiar with his SX50 HS

The camera has an awesome telephoto range

He is not that interested in photography and just wants to go on safari to see the animals.

He will never print any of his images, instead he will post them on his Facebook page or email them to friends.

He is really a terrible photographer (having little interest in images) so I seriously doubt that bring more sophisticated equipment would equate to better images. Very possibly the reverse would be true...

I will try to convince him to, at least, bring my bean bag. I hope he will!

[Shadowman]

I wonder what the safari consists of, is it mostly in a vehicle or are they going to set up observation posts? I often get accused of not enjoying my trips because I always have a camera in front of my face, for others they want to interact with their surroundings.

[FrankMi]

It sounds like he is going to have a great time Richard!

I had a friend that refused to take pictures because they couldn't compare to what he saw with his own eyes and didn't want his memories downgraded by the limitations of a photograph. As you say, 'Different strokes for different folks'.

I suspect that your son-in-law won't see the value of dragging your bean bag around either, but as he is happy doing it his way, I'd just let him enjoy himself.

[rpcrowe]

I wonder what the safari consists of, is it mostly in a vehicle or are they going to set up observation posts? I often get accused of not enjoying my trips because I always have a camera in front of my face, for others they want to interact with their surroundings.

People say that about me! However, I can vicariously relive my adventures through my photos. They only have their memories to rely on!

Often when I revisit an image, especially to reprocess it, I can actually relive the emotions (contentment, excitement, frustration, etc) or the physical feelings (hot, tired, cold, hungry, etc.) that I experienced when I shot the image.

My wife is usually quite patient with my shooting but sometimes gets frustrated. She opted for a bus tour around Athens. That's the way she likes to see things. We stopped the bus at the presidential palace to see the Evazone guards in their kilted regalia. The guards began to change but the bus wanted to leave, I heard my wife shouting at me to get back to the bus.

The nice thing about being partially deaf (jet noise and gunfire caused it) is that I can always yell, "I can't hear you!" in situations like that!

[Mike Buckley]

They only have their memories to rely on!

One of my most special memories of two safaris spanning 6 days is of a scene that neither my wife nor I have any photos. Our memory of that scene is no less special than all the memories of the scenes combined of which we have photos.

Based on my limited safari experiences, the bean bag would be no help.

[davidedric]

Hi Richard, as a veteran of quite a few safaris, I would say take the sx50, without a doubt.

The zoom range and small package will be a help,

If he's only going to look at them on line, I think the IQ will be quite good enough

Take your bean bag by all means, though in my experience they are of limited use

But the kicker is to take the camera that you know how to use. Safaris, especially your first can be very exciting, and you don't want to spend time fiddling with buttons and missing shots. I'd have a slightly different take on Mike's comments. By having a camera you are familiar with you can take pictures and still enjoy the animal viewing (especially since you won't be obsessing with getting the perfect shot, like some of us would be )

He probably already knows this, but a decent pair of binoculars are an absolute must to get most out of the trip - rent if you don't have and don't want to buy.

Better warn somebody though - safaris can be addictive!

Dave

[rpcrowe]

Re: Binoculars...

I never thought of advising those. It should be obvious but, thanks for the advice. I don't remember if he has binoculars appropriate for the trip.

He is seriously considering purchasing a pair of Canon Image Stabilized binoculars to use on the boat he recently purchased because on the moving boat, he tends to get sea-sick viewing through a standard pair of binoculars. However, he might not have the Canon model before his trip and they might just be overkill for that trip.

I have a pair of light 7x35 binocs that I could loan/give him for the trip.

I am thinking that a light weight monopod would be a handy gift for his trip.

Our families don't exchange Christmas gifts but, often give each other neat things throughout the year. I recently gave him my older 270EX flash (replaced the little flash with a 270EXii) and a Joe Demb Photojournalist FlipIt. His flash images are improving drastically since he started using the 270EX both indoors and for closeup outdoor fill. Especially when bouncing the 270EX he has eliminated the awful glowing eyes when shooting his dogs...

He is using his frequent flyer miles to pay for my wife's flight to and from Hawaii when she and our daughter do the Hawaiian Islands Cruise this summer. Since the cruise spots were given to the to us by a good friend who runs a tour booking service (and who had received the tour spots as a comp and couldn't arrange the time off) the cost for my wife's cruise will be only what she spends on shore excursions and for drinks on the boat...

[rpcrowe]

I have been reading the SX-50 HS User Guide and was surprised that, apparently, you cannot screw a 67mm filter directly into the lens and that you have to use a 67mm adapter. This seems to be a pretty poor engineering plan?

However, in doing some quick internet research on using filters with the SX-50 HS camera, it seems that one can also use a 58mm adapter.

I have a very decent Hoya 67mm Multi-Coated filter that I can give my son in law, so there is no need for him to go to a smaller filter in order to save money.

However, since you can use a 58mm filter, I might guess that a 67mm folding rubber lens hood might not vignette. I have spoken to him and in the interest of simplicity, he would much rather rotate the front element of the CPL by rotating the lens hood which you can do with any screw in lens hood.

Even if the hood vignettes at the most wide angle shot, he could always collapse the hood a bit when shooting wide angle.

[Panama Hat & Camera]

Different strokes for different folks

My son-in-law is bringing his father to Africa for the dad's 70th birthday. He plans to shoot any safari using his Canon SX50 HS Bridge Camera. I asked him if he wanted to borrow one of my Canon crop DSLR cameras and my 400mm f/4L IS lens and he declined.

He said that he didn't want to lug heavy equipment and spoil his Africa adventure with a lot of photography. That is diametrically opposed to what my feelings would be about going on a safari. I wouldn't trouble myself going on that trip except for photography...

Now that I consider it, the SX50 HS will probably be the best choice for him...

He is familiar with his SX50 HS

The camera has an awesome telephoto range

He is not that interested in photography and just wants to go on safari to see the animals.

He will never print any of his images, instead he will post them on his Facebook page or email them to friends.

He is really a terrible photographer (having little interest in images) so I seriously doubt that bring more sophisticated equipment would equate to better images. Very possibly the reverse would be true...

I will try to convince him to, at least, bring my bean bag. I hope he will!

Richard,
I have Canon SX50 HS and I can affirm that it is a nice camera despite not having the same image quality of a DSLR.
In the daytime, with good light, probably he will take decent photos of static subjects and terrestrial animals in motion (not little birds in flight). During the night or in low light conditions, the camera can have some difficult to focus correctly.
The advantages of SX50 for him are his familiarity with the camera, the small size of the photo gear, the awesome zoom range (24 to 1200 mm FFE focal distance) and the very efficient IS (image stabilization). I took hand held photos of the moon with 1200 mm FFE and 1/200 (please see The Moon @1200mm FFE).
He should carry with him a spare battery and a second memory card. The use of a UV filter to protect the lens is highly advisable.
Most of superzoom cameras can't attach a filter directly into the lens and believe me, despite not being the ideal, the filter adapter FA-DC67A is very useful (I have one).
To carry the SX50 (with the spare battery and the 67 mm UV filter, with cap, attached to the camera), a small Rezo TLZ 20 LOWEPRO LP34590 is enough to protect the camera and is easy to use.
I have a monopod and I like it very much.The usefulness of a monopod will depend on the kind of the safari. Inside a bus, it won't help your son-in-law. The camera IS (without monopod) is more effective than using the monopod without IS (please see Try to guess which photos were taken handheld, with monopod or tripod, with or withou). The use of IS and monopod together is very good for long focal distances.

I hope this helps you and your son-in-law.
All the best.
Antonio.

[rpcrowe]

My son-in-law emailed me some of the 10,000 images (no typo: TEN THOUSAND) he shot while on safari and they don't look bad at all. This is especially true considering his level of photo expertise and the fact that they were shot with a bridge camera. These are from his email, I would imagine that the originals might be a bit better. I have permission to post these...

[Paniaa]

Love the lion in the tree, the zebra are great too.

[jcuknz]

If you buy the appropriate sized filter/close-up lens it is a simple matter to cellotape [et al] it to a 'badly designed' lens ... it just has to be the same diameter as the lens housing .... on the other hand there are things such as step-down filters. Without knowing the camera I'm guessing the filter thread is at the edge of the lens housing and the actual lens is smaller....I have my Lumix 14-140 adapted this way to take my 'standard' 55mm close-up lens/filters [ from other earlier cameras ] rather than buy 58mm's.

I have been sold on the idea of travelling with a bridge camera for some years now so I'd say SX50HS or similar from other makers will be ideal ... I think currently Panasonic with the FZ70 have the longest reach though once you go past x24 the differences are marginal and since most start from a wide angle, 25mm etc, the reach is not really much better than my old FZ50 and Raynox 2020 telephoto adaptor ... why I didn't upgrade and eventually went to MFT where I can crop for the equivalent reach and still have the same IQ.... and much better for most of the shots when I do not need to crop.

I would suggest a Pany G would be small enough for traveling comfort and give you the results if fitted with the 14-140 ... I now have the GH2 which is a bit on the heavy side in comparison but it is what I will be travelling with in future.

[Mike Buckley]

Richard,

It's clear that your son-in-law had a fabulous time and will have great memories preserved in the form of photos.

I'm not surprised that he took 10,000 photos. My wife and I took probably about 7,000 while spending six days on safari. Photographing moving animals at about 6 frames per second generates a lot more photos than shooting landscapes at about 1 frame every ten minutes.

[Downrigger]

One of my most special memories of two safaris spanning 6 days is of a scene that neither my wife nor I have any photos. Our memory of that scene is no less special than all the memories of the scenes combined of which we have photos.

Thanks for that, Mike.
Paradoxically, making photographs of where you are CAN get in the way of seeing where you are, in the way of "being" there. I think this is so especially when one is trying to capture a lot, rather in a hurry. I think it is not true if one is able to take all the time one wants, without pressure to move on, to capture the essence and story. In this latter case the work of making the images becomes an affectionate meditation on one's surroundings; one of those activities where absorption stops time. This is extremely difficult when obligated to the schedule of others, unless they are willing to put down their iPhone, earphones, and guidebook, and enter into contemplation also.

[rpcrowe]

I think that one of the advantages that my son-in-law had was that on all the trips, he had reserved the safari vehicles for just the his father and himself. IMO, that would be the ideal, albeit expensive, way to do a safari.

I can only compare this to fishing for albacore tuna on boats out of San Diego. You can either do the trip on a crowded party boat with fishermen lining the rail literally shoulder to shoulder or you can opt to charter a smaller boat for up to six fisherman (appropriately called a "six pack"). The party boat is the cheaper option but the smaller and less crowded six-pack is far more fun and a better choice if you want to come home with fish. It all depends on what you can afford and what you are willing to afford. I have long decided that I would rather take one or two trips a year on a six-pack (with friends) rather than several on the party-boat (often called "cattle-boats") crowded with strangers...

That now is a moot point. It is nice to have an affluent son-in-law. He has purchased a 38 foot trawler and that will be how I do my fishing from now on...

[Mike Buckley]

he had reserved the safari vehicles for just the his father and himself. IMO, that would be the ideal, albeit expensive, way to do a safari.

Having spent four days on safari with groups of six to nine people plus a guide driving the vehicle and two days with my wife and I on our own in our car, there are very different advantages to both kinds of safaris. I have never done a private drive with a guide, but one clear disadvantage of that type of drive is that there are fewer pairs of eyeballs looking for animals. I am very certain that our group of six plus the guide saw animals that we would not have seen if it had only been the two of us plus the guide.

The primary advantage of a private safari, whether with a hired guide or not, is that you can stay at one place as long as you want. When my wife and I were on our own, we stayed at one water hole for over four hours. That probably would not have been possible with a group of six to nine people and a hired guide.

[Shadowman]

Tell him he's doing well.

[AB26]

Hi Richard,

A client of mine asked my opinion on buying a new camera after hers was stolen. She is an elderly lady with not much knowledge of cameras. I advised her to get the Canon SX 50. For those whom are not really serious about the finer detail in photography I think the SX 50 offers more than they can handle.

For those far away wildlife shots it is good enough for those whom only want a picture as something to show friends and family. Even if the shot is a little blurred they don’t mind, it is a picture they will keep.

I guess it is a case of horses for courses. Why bother about WB, ISO settings, noise and resolution if you only want a picture.
We, as the crazy ones wanting something more than just another picture, sometimes expect others to share our passion for better images. The happy snappers look at us and ask , why do you lug around such a heavy load?

The “old” man might just surprise you with a couple of very good shots. As long as he enjoys the trip and leave the more sophisticated shots to us “crazy” ones, let him be.

[JR1]

Hope he has a great time.

I think the problem with a "safari" is that we all watch the docus on tv and expect to go out and shoot lions etc in the wild when in fact tv channels spend months getting their shots.

I shoot in the highlands and other places and as long as you go out without expectations you will end up happy

I think the latest sx50 types are great, not for me but good cameras, I usually take a single body and w/a + Tele when shooting but I have seen Proams who just love to impress people with three bodies and more lenses than Jessops

[JR1]

Having spent four days on safari with groups of six to nine people plus a guide driving the vehicle and two days with my wife and I on our own in our car, there are very different advantages to both kinds of safaris. I have never done a private drive with a guide, but one clear disadvantage of that type of drive is that there are fewer pairs of eyeballs looking for animals. I am very certain that our group of six plus the guide saw animals that we would not have seen if it had only been the two of us plus the guide.

The primary advantage of a private safari, whether with a hired guide or not, is that you can stay at one place as long as you want. When my wife and I were on our own, we stayed at one water hole for over four hours. That probably would not have been possible with a group of six to nine people and a hired guide.

That is what we are doing next year, just us, two weeks, and one guide