Does anyone have any experience with a zoom lens for an iphone camera? Do they work well, take good photos, etc? What kind of distance can they achieve?

Looking at possibly using one of these for african safari in lieu of renting a camera...or should I pony up and rent a camera/zoom lens?

TIA

Rent a camera. A good one. Rent a lens. The best one you can afford.

iPhones are convenient. They are not cameras.

TxAg82 said:

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Rent a camera. A good one. Rent a lens. The best one you can afford.

iPhones are convenient. They are not cameras.

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I mean splitting hairs (or maybe just semantics), but I'd say iPhones are actually great cameras for 99% of what people shoot these days. But I do agree, not for this.

Yeah - we are saying the same thing. iPhone cameras are convenient (and now pretty great) cameras for most everyday situations.

A safari to Africa is not an everyday situation for me. But I'm not a TexAgs millionaire so what camera to use on my safari is not a problem I have had to face yet. lol.

100% agree with SKF here.

If you want a comfortable middle ground (without breaking the bank), consider renting a Nikon P1000 or P950 for the trip. They're superzoom bridge cameras, and you've probably seen viral videos demonstrating the effectiveness of their zoom capabilities. Have it delivered about a week before your trip. Keep it on "P"/Auto and play around with how it works every chance you get. Practice figuring out how to hold/support it at longer zoom lengths, and review the photo files to see how well you did.

It'll be way better than a phone at the safari parts of being on safari, but it's far less prone to user issues and being overwhelmed than if you rented an interchangeable lens camera with a bunch of glass and you don't know how to work any of it. A P1000/P950 is going to struggle in anything other than broad daylight, but I imagine that's when you're out in the jeep the most anyway.

Good advice. I've done a handful of safaris, with and without a good camera, once with just my phone. I don't have a single shot from the phone safari worth looking at. the zoom on a iPhone Pro or equivalent doesn't have the reach to get you out there to what you're seeing. Anything with a 300mm equivalent or better zoom is what you're lookong for, whether it's a fancy camera or a point and shoot with a big zoom.

htxag09 said:

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TxAg82 said:

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Rent a camera. A good one. Rent a lens. The best one you can afford.

iPhones are convenient. They are not cameras.

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I mean splitting hairs (or maybe just semantics), but I'd say iPhones are actually great cameras for 99% of what people shoot these days. But I do agree, not for this.

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are they great cameras for what 99% of people shoot these days, or do 99% of people shoot b/c they have their iPhone in their hands?

looks like you are in Dallas.

If you were in Houston, I have a canon 70-100is F4
canon 70-200is F4

and/or a Tameron 150-600 F5-6.3
Tameron 150-600 F5-6.3
you could use for free.

agracer said:

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htxag09 said:

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TxAg82 said:

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Rent a camera. A good one. Rent a lens. The best one you can afford.

iPhones are convenient. They are not cameras.

---

I mean splitting hairs (or maybe just semantics), but I'd say iPhones are actually great cameras for 99% of what people shoot these days. But I do agree, not for this.

---

are they great cameras for what 99% of people shoot these days, or do 99% of people shoot b/c they have their iPhone in their hands?

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Don't know. I'm not a photog aficionado but do have a decent Nikon camera.

I do personally know paid photographers who stopped taking their cameras to things like birthday parties because their iPhone pictures of those type events are good enough for them.

Alternative is to book one of the tours that comes with the cameras and zoom lenses already rented and included, with new memory cards for you already in the cameras. A buddy of mine did that and he said it was the greatest thing ever. He didn't have to rent a camera and long lens to haul it across the globe but he had the pictures he wanted at the end of it.

You can rent lenses and camera bodies here: https://www.lensrentals.com/

We have rented lenses several times and been extremely happy with their service.