Camera Recommendations Please.

[FiveHoursSleep]

We are going to Namibia for a few weeks and the recommend that we take a camera with a 55-200mm or a 70-300mm lens for wildlife photography.
We looked at hiring but then decided we would be better off buying second hand and reselling afterwards.
Can anyone recommend something to be looking out for?

Are you talking DSLR or bridge camera? How close are you going to be getting to the wildlife? More importantly, how much do you have to spend?

I'd say 300mm is the absolute shortest you want on the long end of the lens, if you can get up to 400mm that would be better.

I'd say the 70-300 would give you a far better reach than the 55-200.

Especially if you are using a crop sensor in which case your 70-300 is actually 105-450.

I recently bought a Nikon D40 DSLR on ebay for £200 and also a lens 55-200mm (new) for £129. The whole package takes superb pictures. The 70-300mm lens is considerably dearer though you can buy them used on ebay. I checked lots of reviews and selected various cameras based on picture quality, then just sniped the one I wanted!

I have a little Canon S100 which I love dearly for the close up , day to day stuff. We want something solely for the wildlife.
We have no idea how close we will be getting , it depends on the wildlife. Probably mostly 'over there, somewhere' but sometimes we might get lucky.

Ah right, sorry I misread. I thought you already had a body and just wanted lens advice.

As for buying then reselling, that's not a bad idea at all. Second hand camera equipment tends to hold it's value fairly well.

Depending on your budget, I'd probably recommend a Nikon D80 along with a Tamron 70-300. The D80 isn't the latest camera by a long shot but it will be affordable if you purchase it second hand and so you won't be gutted if something happens to it.

Think it was niceguy2 who recommended SLR to me!!! Very good advice