Newbie needs help selecting a camera.

OhhKayy this is getting much more involved than I expected.
Perhaps I should tell you what I need the camera to do then you can suggest possible solutions.
1. Take stills from close up to maybe a hundred yards distant.
2. Take video at same distances. Up to several hours worth a day.
3. Must be absolutely quiet at all times. No shutter noise or auto focus noise. No on off beeping, etc. It is a hunting safari.
4. Must have battery life to last all day doing more video than still images.
5. Must have a way of saving 13 days worth of the above. That is how long the trip is.
6. It would be nice if I could use my old minolta lenses but a super zoom that does not need lenses would be ok also.
7. Lets try to keep the cost under $500 unless that is unrealistic.
8. There are 2 of us going on this and a lot of video will be captured on a gopro but that is so wide angle as to be useless at distances over 50 ft.
I am open to any and all suggestions.
Thank you all very nuch.

Bruceruth1988 wrote in post #19453555
OhhKayy this is getting much more involved than I expected.
Perhaps I should tell you what I need the camera to do then you can suggest possible solutions.
1. Take stills from close up to maybe a hundred yards distant.
2. Take video at same distances. Up to several hours worth a day.
3. Must be absolutely quiet at all times. No shutter noise or auto focus noise. No on off beeping, etc. It is a hunting safari.
4. Must have battery life to last all day doing more video than still images.
5. Must have a way of saving 13 days worth of the above. That is how long the trip is.
6. It would be nice if I could use my old minolta lenses but a super zoom that does not need lenses would be ok also.
7. Lets try to keep the cost under $500 unless that is unrealistic.
8. There are 2 of us going on this and a lot of video will be captured on a gopro but that is so wide angle as to be useless at distances over 50 ft.
I am open to any and all suggestions.
Thank you all very nuch.

The several hundred yards part is going to be a problem with keeping cost under $500. You have a lot of requirements and not really the budget to accommodate those requirements.

Bruceruth1988 wrote in post #19453555
OhhKayy this is getting much more involved than I expected.
Perhaps I should tell you what I need the camera to do then you can suggest possible solutions.
1. Take stills from close up to maybe a hundred yards distant.
2. Take video at same distances. Up to several hours worth a day.
3. Must be absolutely quiet at all times. No shutter noise or auto focus noise. No on off beeping, etc. It is a hunting safari.
4. Must have battery life to last all day doing more video than still images.
5. Must have a way of saving 13 days worth of the above. That is how long the trip is.
6. It would be nice if I could use my old minolta lenses but a super zoom that does not need lenses would be ok also.
7. Lets try to keep the cost under $500 unless that is unrealistic.
8. There are 2 of us going on this and a lot of video will be captured on a gopro but that is so wide angle as to be useless at distances over 50 ft.
I am open to any and all suggestions.
Thank you all very nuch.

Given those parameters, ewspecially the ones I highlighted, I would recommend a compact super-zoom like the Canon PowerShot SX70 HS. Decent wide angle, great telephoto, just a tad over your budget but not by much. Or a Lumix DC-FZ80 which ticks off all your boxes and is less expensive. Toss in 4 or 5 batteries, and a couple SD cards and your set. Or for something a little smaller, a Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX99. Any of these will do just fine.

gjl711 wrote in post #19453564
Given those parameters, ewspecially the ones I highlighted, I would recommend a compact super-zoom like the Canon PowerShot SX70 HS. Decent wide angle, great telephoto, just a tad over your budget but not by much. Or a Lumix DC-FZ80 which ticks off all your boxes and is less expensive. Toss in 4 or 5 batteries, and a couple SD cards and your set. Or for something a little smaller, a Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX99. Any of these will do just fine.

I heartily echo this. What you want requires high end gear and a learning curve to know how to use it. One of the all in one sulerzooms is the best option although the motorized zoom will have some noise.

I just realized I have a Canon PowerShot SX500 IS that apparently still works. Perhaps I should just use this? Are there advantages to buying something newer?
Thanks

Bruceruth1988 wrote in post #19453955
I just realized I have a Canon PowerShot SX500 IS that apparently still works. Perhaps I should just use this? Are there advantages to buying something newer?
Thanks

More megapixels, better tech, zoom range, in camera effects like digital zoom, etc probably? Try the powershot and see what you get.

Sx70 = more resolution, more zoom, and better ISO noise management. ..

There are some other differences. The SX500 is HD video (1280x720) and the SX70 supports 4K (3840x2160). The SX70 also supports more video modes. Also the SX70 has a much newer Digic processor so more features. Also, the SX70 has wireless and Bluetooth connectivity. This allows for the use of a phone app to control the camera.

Oh, one other thing. I think that the SX500 is jpeg only, yes? The SX70 also supports raw as well. Gives more flexibility after the fact for post processing.

How does the Lumix DC-FZ80 compare?

In my opinion you cannot go wrong with Fujifilm mirror less cameras. I was in a similar situation to you, just starting out and I went with the Fuji ecosystem of lenses and bodies. The results have been fantastic. Great prices for used gear and almost flawless performance. This is my unsolicited opinion

Solonger wrote in post #19454262
In my opinion you cannot go wrong with Fujifilm mirror less cameras. I was in a similar situation to you, just starting out and I went with the Fuji ecosystem of lenses and bodies. The results have been fantastic. Great prices for used gear and almost flawless performance. This is my unsolicited opinion

Doesn't the Fuji cameras still have shutters? OPs condition #3

gjl711 wrote in post #19454280
Doesn't the Fuji cameras still have shutters? OPs condition #3

The Nikon Z9 was the first camera to be able to dispense with mechanical shutter https://www.digitaltre​nds.com …camera-mechnical-shutter/

"The camera is able to ditch the mechanical shutter thanks in part to that Expeed 7 processor, which boosts the scan rate, thus almost eliminating rolling shutter distortion entirely, even when shooting at its maximum shutter speed of 1/32,000th of a second. Flash sync is available at up to 1/8000th of a second with high-speed sync (HSS) enabled, or 1/250th of a second with it disabled."

OK thanks all for all the help so far. Been doing a lot of looking at the super zooms and I think it would be helpful for me if the camera had an articulated display in addition to all the other requirements.
Looking for suggestions.
Thanks again

$500.00 budget rules out pretty much anything i would actually recommend having been in Africa a few times.


For me, the budget set up would be a 5D4 and a Canon 100-400mm V2 plus something like a 17-40mm or 24-105

Taking it down a notch, a Canon 7D2 and a Sigma 150-600mm and EF-S 18-135mm

If you do go with a DSLR, minimum focal length should be 400mm. Right now there are very affordable options from Tamron and Sigma (and even Canon but that's RF/mirrorless)
But even these bargains are $7-800 new.

Of course used on the 3rd party lenses you can save a lot. I sold my Sigma 150-600mm C for about $550.00 on this forum.

My opinion, take it or leave it, is don't skimp on a once in a lifetime trip.

Of course the other caveats above reduce any my recomandations as well