By Jonathan Hanson

What’s a safari without a camera? If you can’t capture your quarry on film, all of your interludes with elephants and close-ups with cheetahs will forever be recalled as tales of the ones that got away. Get the right camera and master its functions so that when you set your sights on a scene in the animal kingdom, you don’t miss a shot.

Body
Some pros swear by metal-bodied cameras; others say polycarbonate (plastic) is better because it disperses impact stress. The truth is that both materials can be made incredibly strong if they’re manufactured right and reinforced properly. You can spot a flimsy camera body by simply squeezing it as you hold it normally. A cheap model will flex beneath your fingers. That's OK, but don't expect to beat it up and have it survive.

Automatic vs. Manual
Full-program exposure modes, which use the camera's meter and microprocessors to set both shutter speed and aperture for you, are becoming more and more sophisticated. But no such program is perfect. For full creative control, the camera should have a fully manual exposure mode too, as well as both aperture-priority and shutter-priority modes if possible. Preset program modes, such as "portrait," "landscape," and so forth, are helpful for novices but rarely if ever used by experienced photographers.

Functions
Useful features to look for include a depth of field preview button, which lets you check what will be in focus in the final shot; a mirror lock-up function, which eliminates the tiny bit of vibration caused by the mirror movement and makes tripod-mounted scenic shots a little sharper; and an auto-bracketing feature, which means that the camera takes three shots in succession, one at the meter reading, one under-exposed, and one over-, virtually ensuring that one shot will be perfectly exposed.

Flash
Built-in flashes are handy but lack the power needed for serious shooting. The flash also can be partially blocked by big lenses. An external flash unit will give you the versatility to handle difficult situations. Some can automatically (and wirelessly) control additional flash units, allowing studio-quality lighting effects in the field.

Lenses
An inexpensive camera with a good lens will take better pictures than the priciest pro body with a cheap lens. Buy the best lenses you can afford, either the camera manufacturer's own lenses, or those from a reputable aftermarket maker such as Tamron or Sigma. Standard lenses are fine for photo albums; if you dream of having your work published, consider springing for premium optics, such as those designated by APO, L, ED, or Aspheric. These produce the ultimate in resolution but cost about twice what standard versions do.

Jonathan Hanson is the author of Photography in the Outdoors.