Telephoto Wildlife Photography

[RCrosby]

Need advice on best equipment for the following:
I spend a lot of time in a small kayak and enjoy sneaking up on deer, turtles, moose, beaver, etc. I want a camera with decent point and shoot telephoto capabilities. A small kayak just doesn't work for a tripoded, long lensed camera like I might use if taking pics from a tree stand or other solid platform.
I'm hoping (in vain?) to find something, new or used, for not more than $300.00 or so.
Any advice, suggestions, etc. will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Rob

[Dylan8i]

sounds like a super zoom point and shoot. one with IS.

[Loupey]

To me, it sounds like a good application for the Canon S3 IS. A 12x optical zoom, 6MP, image stabilized, fairly small, and close to your price requirement.

I don't have one. But I have been contemplating getting a kayak and this camera for some time now.

[mjs1973]

To me, it sounds like a good application for the Canon S3 IS. A 12x optical zoom, 6MP, image stabilized, fairly small, and close to your price requirement.

I don't have one. But I have been contemplating getting a kayak and this camera for some time now.

You took the words right out of my mouth Loupey. This is the exact camera that I thought of when I first read this post. I have also been thinking about getting a kayak, and this camera! (I wish it took CF cards tho.) I was thinking it was quite a bit more expesive than RCrosby's $300 budget. After looking it up on B&H's site, I realized that it was a lot cheaper than I originaly thought. B&H has if listed at $370. If that isn't too much over the budget, I think it would serve your needs pretty good. Of course I would want to get my hands on it before I bought it just to see how it feels. If the S3 is too expensive, you can get the S2 brand new for $305.

The stats are pretty close on both of them. The S3 has 6mpix vs 5 on the S2, and it also has a little bit bigger LCD screen. The ISO settings are a little differnet as well. Be sure to check out the reviews page on this site to see what people who use this camera think about it.