Hi all -- first post in the photography forums. I'm going to the Galapagos in about a month and want some advice.

I'm no photography pro, but I really enjoy travel photography and am usually able to get some pretty good shots through experience / trial-and-error using my high-quality point-and-shoot camera (Canon SD980IS). I'm wondering if I should stick with this approach for the Galapagos or invest in an SLR.

I'm afraid that my point-and-shoot will fail because capturing movement is one of the most difficult things for me with this camera. When I'm shooting sports or animals, I often get a blurry image and I can't find a mode that gives me a fast-enough shutter speed to avoid this. (I don't know what if anything I'm doing wrong, or that's just how it is.) Also, the camera has a 5x zoom that's pretty good for landscapes, but I'm afraid that it will be terrible if moving animals are far away.

I'd be willing to invest in a low end SLR and start learning how to use it, but I'm wondering if I'm better off using the point-and-shoot because I'm comfortable with it and know how to make it work in most situations. I know a SLR is objectively better than a point-and-shoot, but what would be the best thing for this situation? Thanks.