Good camera for overland Africa trip

Hi....

Dunno if you can do it in Oz, but....

Here in The UK - you can (in some retailers, but not all), buy, try - and return for a refund.
Meaning, if you don't like it within a couple of weeks or so - take it back and try another.
What's nice for one - might turn out to be disappointing to someone else.
I've had a couple of Samsung compacts, the WB600 and the WB700. Both were very good for the price.
I now have an Olympus SZ31mr.
It has many features - that cameras twice the price don't have.
However, like every camera (no exceptions), it has it's plus and minus points.
Even if you pay upwards of £3,000 (I'm guessing maybe $AUS-4,500), the gurus will still find a downside.
Here's just one of many of the reviews on my Olympus....

http://www.ephotozine.com/article/olympus-sz-31mr-digital-compact-camera-review-19078

The price here (UK) is a little more than your budget however.
Best of luck with everything.

I'm not sure about the picture quality of that samsung in particular, but I wouldn't buy a samsung for travelling for one major reason:

Samsung cameras use Micro SD cards, which are incompatible with many internet cafes, photo stores, card readers, etc.

They do this probably to standardize their cards over their consumer electronics range, since their phones also use Micro SD, but nearly no other cameras use them.

I would look at something like the Canon Ixus 1100hs, Canon Powershot 230hs, Nikon S9100, Nikon S9300, Panasonic TZ25/30, etc.

Some of these are a little over your budget, but if you're buying in Australia you can claim back your GST (tax) at the airport, so long as you spend over $300 and within 30 days of leaving.

Samsung cameras use Micro SD cards

Some do, but not all.

At 300$ you will have to settle for a compromise. Those superzoom compacts will do the job, however image quality is compromised due to the much smaller sensor in those cameras. Image quality should be adequate for average users however and at 300$ you won't have other choices really if in need of a long telezoom for those wildlife shots.

Regarding image quality - a large optical zoom means a compromise in the optical quality of the lens,
so if image quality is what you're after, you should look for low zoom figures.
The best available compact camera in the $300 is the Canon S100, but it's actually closer to $400.

The next best thing is the Nikon P310, which has a small zoom but a large maximum aperture of f/1.8,
which lets a lot of light go through the lens, allowing the imaging sensor to work comfortably even in low-light situations.

If you're still after a large zoom compact, take a close look at the Panasonic ZS20 (TZ30 in other places) -
it's one of the best travel zooms available today. It is, in any case much better than the Samsung WB150
you suggested, and it costs well under $200 - you can see differences between them in this comparison .

Good luck,
eyalg

As good as the Canon S100 is, it doesn't have the reach OP wants; something like the ZS20 fits her needs/wishes better.

Thanks for the help guys! You've all been much more helpful than anyone on Yahoo Answers =) I'll definitely take your advice into consideration.

Cheers!

Unfortunately we aren't able to do that in Australia. That would be amazingly useful though lol! Thanks for the tips.

@JessicaOh: If you buy a camera from a Ted's store, you have 2 weeks to swap it out for something else. It's not usually for a refund, but you can swap it out for another camera, and pay the difference if it's more expensive, etc.