mcveed Loc: Kelowna, British Columbia (between trips)

I used a D7000 and the original 80-400 lens, so the equivalent of 120-600mm. I found most of my shots were between 80 and 300 (equiv 120-450). Greg Sweeney suggests that a 70-200 lens on a crop body is all that is needed. To a certain extent it depends on where in Africa you are going and how good the guides and drivers are. Different vehicles are used in different areas. In Kenya the safari vehicles are enclosed with pop-up tops which open up for you to shoot out of. In South Africa they are open land rover types with canvas tops (so no where to rest a bean bag). I think your 70-300 will do in a pinch but you would be better off with a 70-200 f2.8 and a 1.4 TC. This would give you a faster lens for the early and late hours when the light is best and the animals are most active, and more reach when the light is bright.

DaveHam Loc: Reading UK

For what? Where?

I work in southern Africa for about 6 months every year. The terrain you can come across on a safari trip depends on where you are, and to some extent what you are doing. It's not all flat plains with 600mm lenses - in the bush a 200mm can be too long.

A bit more location information would help.

wcuster Loc: The Sea Ranch, CA

Agreed.
Need to know safari location, vehicle setup, how many people/vehicle, handheld or stabilized mount, etc.
We have been in many place in Africa. Sometimes a short (28-300) zoom was right, other times a long (600 w/extender was best). Two bodies, one with a shorter lens and one with a telephoto will be helpful.

Need to get details on terrain, number in group, and vehicle BEFORE heading to Africa.

Walt

palmergap1969 Loc: Brandon, MS

I have in my arsenal of lens the Tamron 150-600mm lens. Great lens to reach out farther. Obviously, this lens is heavier at 12 pounds, but great to have available. Works great with my Canon 5D Mark III and Canon 5D SLr cameras.

mcveed Loc: Kelowna, British Columbia (between trips)

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PAR4DCR Loc: A Sunny Place

If this is a one shot deal looking at renting a lens of your choice.

Don

gary northrop

Like wcuster, we've been to Africa 5 times; Mamibia is our destination in May. I've used an array of good Canon bodies and L lenses, plus a Tamron 150 --600mm.

Our best long-distance photos were taken with my wife's Canon SX 50, with the 1200mm capability. She dropped it after the last trip; it can't be replaced, so we'll take a Canon SX60 on our next trip. (If my main purpose wasn't landscape shots, I'd consider leaving the big Canons home!)

Terry in Indiana Loc: rural Indiana

The reach you need depends on where you are going. In east Africa (Kenya and Tanzania) we were in national parks and had to stay on the roads, so while many animals were very close others were often a ways off. In that case, renting a 500m lens was a very good option. We did Safari in Botswana this fall, all in private reserves where the drivers went off-road and we were very close to the animals. I used Nikon 70-200 with 1.4 teleconverter and it was plenty (often too much!) of reach. You're in for an incredible experience!!!