11 Best Cameras for Safari (with Lens Recommendations) 2024

There’s not much to choose between the top full frame mirrorless models. Sony, Canon, and Nikon offer solid options. But the Sony a1 comes out on top—if you can afford it! I have a couple of them. And I’m always amazed by the image quality and how easy they are to use.

The a1’s secret is the lack of trade-offs. It’s hard to find a safari camera with such all-round features. It has a high resolution and frame rate, great autofocus, and a deep buffer. Plus, it has good low-light performance. The a1 somehow manages it all!

Also, it’s very easy to use. The EVF is astonishingly bright and clear. The main buttons and dials are all well-positioned. And there are lots of customization options.

You can save three drive modes. This means it only takes seconds to change from portrait to action settings by turning the main dial.

Battery life is often a problem with mirrorless cameras as they have to power the EVF. But I’ve noticed I can get far more frames than the official CIPA total for each charge. And shooting an 8K video isn’t a problem, either.

I don’t even bother using my battery grips anymore. I don’t need the extra battery life. And the reduced weight makes it easier to shoot handheld for long periods.

But shooting wildlife in portrait format isn’t as easy. And I get blisters on my right hand after a long day in the field!

The Nikon Z9 is the one that got away! I wanted a full frame mirrorless camera. This was before I photographed the polar bear migration in Canada last year.

I had hoped the Z9 would be on sale before I went. I had a lot of Nikon lenses. So it would’ve been handy if I could’ve bought a Z9 and used them with an adaptor.

In the end, the Z9 didn’t come out in time. That meant I had to trade in all my old camera equipment. And I took out a hefty bank loan to afford two Sony a1 camera bodies and all my new lenses!

The Z9 is almost twice the weight and size of the a1 with a lower RAW frame rate. So I’m happy I bought the a1. But the Z9 does have an ultra-bright EVF. And it offers a good combination of the major features. The Nikon Z9 vs Sony a1 comparison shows how close these models are!

Those include sensor resolution, autofocus speed, eye recognition, buffer depth, and low-light capability. It also has 8K / 60p video thrown in for good measure!

On the downside, there’s no easy way to select focus areas while using the EVF. So you must keep clicking on the eight-way controller.

The Z9 also doesn’t have the a1’s ability to save universal custom presets. Instead, you must click through the Shooting Menu and Custom Settings banks. That takes far too long if your sighting only lasts a few seconds!

I can never decide between the Canon EOS R5 and the R3. The R5 has more megapixels, But the R3 has a higher frame rate and a few other bells and whistles… including Eye Control AF (autofocus).

When in doubt, I favor the model with the larger sensor. And the R5 wins—just barely!

The specifications are like the Z9. It has the same camera sensor size, max RAW frame rate, and the highest video quality.

The eight-stop in-camera body image stabilization (IBIS) helps reduce camera shake with long lenses. The updated Dual Pixel AF II is almost at the level of Sony’s AF systems. That’s due to the use of Deep Learning to track both people and animals.

But the electronic viewfinder is not as impressive as the one on the a1. It has a lower magnification and resolution.

You also don’t get blackout-free shooting. And video recording is limited due to overheating (unless you buy the “C” version). The fastest shutter speed is slower. And battery life is much shorter.

The EOS R3 is a full frame Canon camera that offers 195 fps, Dual Pixel AF, and minimal rolling shutter. It also has endless battery life if you shoot in bursts.

There are also a few other innovative features helpful in wildlife photography. Eye Control AF allows you to direct the focus point by simply looking toward a particular part of the EVF.

And the AF-ON buttons have optical thumbprint readers. These let you move AF points around. Plus, you can scroll around magnified images while using the viewfinder.

The IBIS system provides up to eight stops of built-in image stabilization. It even works with unstabilized EF lenses.

But the price of all those advantages is a smaller sensor. That’s why the R3 doesn’t come higher up this list… even though it’s actually bigger than the one on the 1DX Mark III, Canon’s flagship DSLR camera.

The Sony a7R V has only just come out and is a major evolution. The high-resolution sensor is the same, and the readout speed is limited. That means the highest frame rate doesn’t change. And it leads to significant rolling shutter with 8K video. To avoid that, you really have to shoot in 4K or, even better, in the cropped Super 35 mode.

But the a1 has a dedicated AI processor and a Bionz XR processor. This means the autofocus has been dramatically upgraded. It can now identify parts of people’s bodies. This includes their torsos (with “pose estimation”) and their faces and eyes. It can also track airplanes, cars, trains, and even insects!

Another handy new feature is combining animals and birds into one setting. I’m still stuck with separate Human, Animal, and Bird options on my a1. That’s a pain when you forget which mode you’re in… especially since there’s nothing in the EVF to tell you!

That leads me to the new EVF. It has been “borrowed” from the a1. The a1’s EVF is big, bright, clear, and sharp. When I first used it, I actually forgot I was “watching TV” rather than seeing the real world outside!

With a larger 3.2-inch tilt and flip LCD screen with higher resolution, the EVF is a big advantage. I almost always shoot while looking through the EVF, but there’s nothing this new screen can’t do!

Finally, a few more features are helpful for wildlife photography. It has two new CFexpress card slots now. This means the buffer is effectively infinite (unless shooting in uncompressed RAW).

Focus bracketing is also now possible. But the camera can’t put the final image together for you. So you have to do it using Sony’s Imaging Edge software (or a third-party equivalent).

IBIS now offers eight stops of stabilization to deal with camera shake. And the 241 MP Pixel Shift High-Res mode can now take movement into account!

The Sony a9 II is the “sports-oriented” camera in Sony’s line-up. But what’s good for sports photography is also good for wildlife photography!

The full frame sensor doesn’t offer very high resolution. But there are several benefits:

• A high RAW frame rate to take action shots
• An enormous ISO range for low-light shooting
• 14-bit uncompressed RAW files for more image details
• Oversampled 4K Ultra HD video for more recorded pixels

You also get simple but accurate and rapid autofocus. And there are two dials and a joystick for choosing the AF point. Plus, there is five-axis image stabilization and a touch-enabled LCD. All of that comes in a weather-sealed body.

It’s a shame you only get slots for SD cards. But the Gigabit Ethernet and USB 3.2 ports let you transfer files fast over FTP (File Transfer Protocol). And the new Wi-Fi system works in the 5 GHz band.

Like many Sony models, the customization options are excellent. The a9 II allows you to save up to seven sets of FTP and camera settings. That means, in theory, seven different photographers could use the same camera!

The rear screen and touch interface could do with an upgrade. But the only real problems come when you try to shoot video. There are no picture profiles for Log capture.

And the exposure settings are carried over between stills and video. So you must set up custom memory banks if you want to shoot both.

The Sony a7 IV is a full frame mirrorless camera that offers a decent RAW frame rate with a deep buffer. The IBIS system provides 5.5 stops of stabilization. But it’s slightly jerky at times.

It can also shoot 4K video up to 30p (oversampled from 7K). And there are various other options. They include Super 35 / 60p, 10-bit Log, H.265, and S-Cinetone color mode. Plus, it offers breathing compensation when using high-end Sony lenses.

There are extensive customization options available. But the camera gets it right straight out of the box with image quality and autofocus capability. The sensor provides excellent detail, and noise reduction is adequate at lower ISOs.

You can also create 10-bit HEIF files for HDR displays using the Hybrid Log Gamma (HLG) standard. These are designed to capture a wider, more natural range of tones. And you can view them by connecting your camera to an HDR TV with an HDMI cable.

The AF system is powerful and easy to use. And you can turn on Face/Eye Priority for the best results. Tracking is nice and “sticky.” So the camera isn’t fooled by the subject looking away or someone else moving to a closer position.

The latest firmware has improved the Eye AF feature. But it’s still not up to the standard of the a1. And you might even be better off focusing manually!

If the price of the a7 IV is steep, you can always opt for a7 III or the a7C compact version.

The Nikon Z7 II and Z6 II are like the Canon R5 and R3 in that they offer a trade-off. You can choose a high resolution. Or you can opt for other benefits like frame rate and low-light capabilities. Again, I prefer a larger sensor. So the Z7 II comes out on top.

The extra megapixels allow the camera to produce more detailed images. And you get quality 4K / 60p video (with a 1.08x crop). It has an extra Expeed 6 image processor, XQD, and CFexpress card support. This means a deeper buffer, a higher frame rate, and improved autofocus.

The AF system works down to -3 EV at f/2 (or even lower with Low Light AF). But the camera’s Eye AF does have a habit of front-focusing slightly. And the tracking mode doesn’t always stick to the same point on the subject.

The other problem? Tracking and face and eye detection don’t work together as they do with Sony and Canon models. That means you often must switch between different modes depending on the shot.

The low native ISO of 64 reminds me of my old D850. It’s useful if you want the highest possible image quality and dynamic range. This is particularly true at sunrise or sunset when the contrast is high.

A complementary benefit is five-axis image stabilization. This should help reduce the effects of camera shake.

The ergonomics and usability are slightly disappointing. The viewfinder resolution is low. And the tilting touchscreen is not a patch on a fully-articulated LCD. You also must buy an external recorder to shoot a 10-bit Log or RAW video.

Unlike the Z9, the Z7 II doesn’t have a built-in integrated grip. You can buy an MB-N11 battery grip as an optional extra. But the battery life is pretty good even without that. And you get USB charging and a separate plug-in charger.

The Nikon Z6 II is the low-resolution sister of the Z7 II. The feature set is almost identical to that of the Z7. But the lower-resolution sensor does mean a higher frame rate (with a single AF point).

You can still shoot 4K video using the whole sensor up to 30p. But Ultra HD / 60p comes from an APS-C crop (enabled using the latest firmware).

The Canon EOS R6 is a more affordable version of the R5. It has a reduced feature set but a user-friendly interface. It provides excellent RAW and JPEG images. And they have good dynamic range and low-light performance.

You also get Dual Pixel AF II (with 100% AF coverage) and eight stops of IBIS. And it has a decent frame rate with either the mechanical or electronic shutter.

As with a lot of Canon cameras, the video performance is good. The autofocus works well when shooting video. And the separate banks of settings make it easy to switch between video and stills.

The R6 offers 4K / 60p video in both Ultra HD and DCI (standard for the film industry). And you can save clips in either RaW or H.265 format.

You can also shoot 10-bit 4:2:2 footage. You can use C-Log (for color grading) and HDR PQ (for high-definition TVs). And you can do so without needing an external recorder.

But you get a noticeable rolling shutter in 4K. And overheating is such a problem. So you can’t record for longer than 30 minutes. Trying to take still pictures cuts down that time even more.

There is no support for high-speed cards. But you do get a lot of “standard” Canon features. These include comfortable ergonomics, weather sealing, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and a fully articulated touchscreen.

Unfortunately, that also includes non-optional noise reduction. And that limits sharpness at low ISOs.

With such a small Micro Four Thirds sensor, the Olympus OM-D E-M1X is a pretty big camera! But it’s built for speed and ideal for sports and wildlife photography.

You can shoot at 18 or 60 fps with AF / AE (autoexposure) lock. And it has Dual TruePic VIII processors with a 121-point hybrid autofocus system. That provides subject recognition for trains, race cars, and planes or helicopters. Pro Capture mode also lets you save images you take before you even press the shutter!

Overall, the OM-D E-M1X is packed with features. These include the following:

• Live ND multi-shot mode to show long exposures without filters
• Five-axis IBIS (up to 7.5 EV) and an accelerometer to deal with camera shake
• Handy built-in GPS to show where you take your photos
• Temperature and pressure sensors for extra metadata

You also get IPX1 weather sealing. And there is a fully articulating touchscreen and a built-in battery grip.

The video performance is good. It can capture DCI 4K / 24p and Ultra HD 4K / 30p clips at 237 and 102 Mbps. You can also use OM-Log400 for easier color grading.