Wildlife photography camera. Help!

[Seventy]

We're off to the Kruger at the end of the month and I've been saying every time we go that I'll get a half decent camera.
I've had the ultimatum from her now though.
Been looking at compact systems - Olympus and Panasonic. Budget around £1000 ish for body and lens(es) but would like to spend a bit less! Want it to be a one time purchase that I can maybe add a bit to in the future.
Would rather buy new and was looking at these:

http://www.johnlewis.com/panasonic-lumix-dmc-gx8-c...

http://www.johnlewis.com/olympus-om-d-e-m10-mark-i...

Would very much appreciate opinions and pointers on body and lenses.
TIA.

[mizx]

I wasn't going to but should probably say the disclaimer; I don't subscribe to it all that much as I believe this allowed me to improve, and you'll notice the difference on the back let alone on a monitor, but it's not just having the half-decent camera that means you take half-decent photos. There's some good books around worth investing in.
___

I am biased as I have bought into m43 myself, but I personally think it's the system to buy into due to the range of lenses. CSCs in general are the way to go in my opinion if you want something that isn't too bulky or heavy to carry around, though lenses will cost you more than SLRs.

Something like the GX8 with the new PL 100-400mm is probably the ultimate in micro four-thirds for a trip like that... but getting on for £2k+.

At your budget, the Panasonic G7 is more similarly matched to the EM10-II, though ~£100 less. The Mk1 EM10 is ~£100 cheaper than the G7 but more than a year older.

The GX8 is a higher-end camera with the new 20mp sensor, and a little more bulky, though the G7 loses the in-body Image Stablisation over that, which the Olympus has.

For wildlife, you'll want to pick up the Pan 100-300mm or Oly 75-300mm. Bare in mind the Olympus lens has no IS, and if I recall the Panny has the better reputation, so may be the choice either way.

To start you off, if you can push to £1k total, £650 would get you the G7 with 14-140mm. Which would fill in the gap to the longer tele that the standard kit lens won't, and give you some overlap. 28-600 eqiv in 1.2kg...

Edited by mizx on Tuesday 17th May 09:25

[Seventy]

Thanks very much for that.
I've gone with the GX8 with 14-42 and added the 100-300 Lumix lens. Panasonic had a £100 cashback offer on which helps!

[Gold]

One thing you might want to consider is a second body as 200mm may be too long for some shots, changing lenses during a safari will end up with a sensor covered in dust. A second hand DMC-G10 is about £60 on eBay and you've also got a spare if something goes kaput.

[Weslake-Monza]

£20+ on a cheap monopod irrespective of what camera you buy, may prove to be money well spent.

[Tony1963]

Weslake-Monza said:

£20+ on a cheap monopod irrespective of what camera you buy, may prove to be money well spent.

Except for landscapes, a monopod is pretty useless on safari. Remember, you'll be in a vehicle most of the time, so you can't use a monopod, and if you get out of the vehicle, you're prey. A beanbag, empty when you leave home, fill at the destination, is far more useful. However, with image stab there isn't so much need as there once was.

[Colin RedGriff]

I've no experience with the mirror-less systems but I've heard that battery life can be quite short so you probably want to get a few spare batteries.

[Elderly]

Tony1963 said:

Weslake-Monza said:

£20+ on a cheap monopod irrespective of what camera you buy, may prove to be money well spent.

...... a monopod is pretty useless on safari. Remember, you'll be in a vehicle most of the time, so you can't use a monopod,

Then you were in the wrong type of vehicle!

[Tony1963]

Elderly said:

Then you were in the wrong type of vehicle!

Not at all. Open top Landrovers both times

[Seventy]

Colin RedGriff said:

I've no experience with the mirror-less systems but I've heard that battery life can be quite short so you probably want to get a few spare batteries.

Extra battery coming. About 320+ per battery so should be ok for me.

[Elderly]

Tony1963 said:

Elderly said:

Then you were in the wrong type of vehicle!

Not at all. Open top Landrovers both times

I don't understand the problem with using a monopod with an open top
4x4.
I've found a monopod invaluable on safari.

We were usually in small completely open sided modified Suzuki Marutis;
they were much more comfortable than the odd times we were in
a Landrover and importantly, they were VERY quiet and so you could get closer
to the wildlife.
I pitied the people we saw in closed vehicles with a hatch in the top.