Travelling for a year in Africa-Need to buy a camera

[stevenisher@hotmail.com]

I am gooing travelling for a year in Africa and I need to buy a camera to catalogue the trip. so I am looking for a camera with a big zoom (10x-12x optical) at least 5megapixels that has a long battery life (pref. able to take both Lithium Rechargeable as well as standard AA) and of course i want to be able to take good pictures!

So far I've had my eye on one or two:

Kodak Easyshare Z7590
Kodak Easyshare Z740
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ20
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ5
Canon Powershot S2iS
Sony DSC-H1

HELP:eek: I don't know which one is best for me. I need advice

[sredd68]

From what you're asking for only one Kodak super-zoom uses AA's and that's the Z740. All of the others uses a proprietary battery (KLIC-5001). I wish I could help you more but I can't. I don't own any of the cameras you're looking at. From the photos I've seen from the Z740 its seems to be a very good camera. Good luck in your search.

[BonjiB]

I would highly recomend the panasonic fz20. I shot with it for a while before deciding to upgrade to the 30. The lens is amazing. It produces some truely stunning results and that 12x zoom is always a plus. The only problem is it takes a battery pack. No AAs and no option to take them either. So that's the drawback for your situation otherwise i'd say fz20 absolutely no contest. It's up to you though. If it's not THAT big of a deal to you the fz20 is definately worth having over the other superzooms in terms of image quality. If i were in your situation i'd invest in an additional battery pack (even if it's a cheap 3rd party one just for backup purposes.) So there's my 2 cents. Good luck! :)

:: EDIT :: Mods, I think this thread might do better in the "what camera should I buy" section rather than in kodak.

[Rambler358]

Also take a look at Kodak's new P850. No AA capability, but the batteries are cheap enough were you can buy a few and recharge when needed. The P850's 12x zoom and IS are great.