Based on your request for a "much more professional camera" and a camera to take on safaris (I assume something like African safaris), it sounds like you are looking to purchase a dSLR. A dSLR would be a step up (or several steps up) from Sony Cybershot cameras. Actually there are dozens of different Sony cameras with the name "Cybershot", so I'm not sure if you're referring to a point and shoot camera or a super zoom/bridge camera. Either way, a dSLR would be a much more professional camera and probably the type of camera that most photographers bring on an African safari.
If you're looking for a dSLR camera, honestly you can get great pictures with any of the dSLR cameras out there right now, regardless of brand and regardless of model. I don't think you can go wrong with any of the cameras out there. Probably the very most important thing to look for in a dSLR camera is how it fits and feels in your own hands. See if the menus are intuitive to you. Some people prefer Canon dSLR cameras. Some people prefer Nikon dSLR cameras. Some people prefer Sony dSLR cameras. Others prefer Pentax.
I've never been on an African safari, so I can only guess at what you may need or want to look for in a dSLR camera. I would guess that you would want something pretty rugged, feels pretty sturdy, and has good weather sealing. If you're looking at Canon dSLR cameras, any of the Canon Rebel cameras would be excellent entry-level dSLR cameras. However, they are very lightweight and plastic-feeling. You might want to consider something like a Canon 60D, or if you're willing to shell out more money, perhaps that Canon 7D. These are larger, more rugged-feeling cameras.
I would also guess that you'd want a camera with faster "frames per second". The entry level Canon Rebel cameras can shoot up to 3 to 3.7 frames per second. That's probably good enough for safari photography. For the next step up, the Canon 60D can shoot up to 5.3 frames per second. I, personally, much prefer having a camera that can shoot >5 frames per second, especially for things like sports photography.
Probably the most important thing for safari photography is not what camera body you purchase, but what lens you actually bring to an African safari. You will likely need a versatile telephoto zoom lens, especially one that is weather sealed and rugged. I would guess that the minimum focal lengths you would need would be a
70-200 mm lens, although I have a feeling that 200 mm may not be enough "reach" or zoom for an African safari. If you go with Canon, consider the
Canon 100-400 mm lens. This will give you a huge telephoto zoom for a
relatively reasonable price (emphasis on "relatively"). There's also a brand-new
Canon 70-300 mm lens that apparently works very very well for African safari photography. In fact, here is a link from CanonRumors.com about a photographer who used this lens exclusively during an African safari:
link.
Also, there was a wildlife photography book that was made available as a free download yesterday via dpreview.com:
Wildlife Photography: On Safari with your DSLR: Equipment, Techniques, Workflow. If you missed the opportunity to download this book for free yesterday (like I did...I just found out about this right now), you can purchase this book on
Amazon.com:
link to Amazon.
Besides the camera, I think there are some other photography accessories that you'll need to purchase as well, including things like a beanbag.
Of course, everything I described here is assuming that the "safari" you mentioned above is actually an African safari. Instead, if you were really referring to the Kilimanjaro Safaris at Animal Kingdom, then you certainly need much less equipment than what I described above. For Kilimanjaro Safaris, I would probably pair any dSLR body with a 70-200 mm lens, and set for a superfast shutter speed like 1/1000 or 1/2000 of a second, or faster.
Again, since I've never been on an African safari, I'm only guessing at the type of camera equipment that you would need on a typical African Safari. Also, I only mention Canon dSLR camera bodies and lenses above only because I personally shoot with Canon cameras and lenses, so I am more familiar with Canon offerings. Other brands (like Nikon, Pentax, Sony, etc.) will most likely have very similar dSLR camera bodies and camera lenses to the Canon stuff I mentioned above.
