Digital Camera Travel Tips

Picture taken on day 2 of our trek up Mt Kilimanjaro in June 2006, of Shira camp at 3840m (12,598 ft), on Shira plateau, looking across the clouds to Mt Meru.

As an example, a good friend of mine went to Africa to climb Mount Kilimanjaro and then go on to take in a safari.

His concerns were not just battery consumption, but the type of batteries his new camera would use. If he bought a camera that took only a proprietary battery (a battery made by the cameras manufacturer that can only be use with a specific camera or range of cameras), he would also need to take a charger and find a power outlet to plug the charger into. The camera he opted for could take normal AA alkaline batteries, rechargeables or long-lasting AA Lithiums. Because that size of battery was readily available in most parts of the world. If the batteries went flat, getting replacements wouldn't be too much of a problem.

Two other features that were important to him was a powerful optical zoom lens and he needed the camera to be able to take Secure Digital (SD) memory cards. With a powerful optical zoom, as opposed to a digital zoom, he could then zoom in on the animals from a distance, so instead of the animals being specs on the horizon in his photos, they would fill more of the frame, making for better pictures. 

Because he already owned a digital camera that took SD cards, he wanted his new camera to take the same type, therefore saving him money as he didn’t need to buy another type of card.

The camera my friend bought for his trip to Africa was a Canon S2is with image stabiliser and x12 zoom.