kenbowes

In 6 weeks my wife and I will embark on an Africa trip of a lifetime visiting and going on safaris in Kenya,Tanzania and South Africa. I have been considering my photographic equipment and planned techniques and think I have the best approach for me but would appreciate opinions from those who have traveled before us. In the past in trips to India and the Far East I have taken only one camera my Sony A7Markii with a 24 to 240 lens and generally been happy with it. However photographing animals and birds probably requires greater reach so I plan on taking my Canon sx50 as well. I am not overly impressed with the quality of photo with that camera’s very long reach so have purchased a Minolta F8 500mm mirror lens. I know the limitations of a mirror lens but am prepared to live with it as I cannot afford a conventional 500 mm lens, don’t want a large heavy lens and certainly can’t envision traveling with a tripod on a safari vehicle. I have been impressed with the quality of image I get with it handheld in good light. Perhaps this is a testimonial to the Sony in camera stabilization system. My hope is that with both the Canon sx50 and the mirror lens I will be able to capture the distant wildlife I see. My wife will be taking my Canon G5X which is small and unobtrusive yet for conventional snapshot travel photography gives very acceptable images. The above is certainly a lot of equipment. I have read that dust is a real problem on safari and I will not want to be changing lenses while out on safari so will have to be very selective on days I mount the mirror lens. I also understand that electrical outlets may be a problem and the Sony eats batteries so I have purchased 7 batteries and 3 chargers as well as external battery banks. Again maybe too much stuff! I am prepared to be shot down but would appreciate all opinions.

breck Loc: Derbyshire UK

take a bean bag empty and fill it on arrival you will need some form of camera stabiliser and a bean bag is ideal for most safari trucks

DrPhrogg Loc: NJ

Consider a monopod that you can also use as a walking stick.
Since you still have time, rent a 500 mirror lens to see if that is what you want. I bought a 500mm Tamron for a trip to Alaska (big spaces) and found that, except for a few bears, it was more lens than I needed. It was too much lens for Denali even at 35 miles away. I have a Canon 70D and carry a 28-105mm and a 70-300mm. No matter what I carry (I have several other lenses) I find that I use these two 95% of the time.
I suggest you take a day trip, pretend you are on your safari, and see what you use. I live on the New Jersey coast and use the beach for long distance tests. If you discover in Africa, that you should have brought.......too late.

mas24 Loc: Southern CA

I have the Phoenix 500mm f8 mirror lens I bought about 8 years ago. If the Minolta version is anything like mine, I can tell you that is not an easily managed lens. Good luck and enjoy your trip.

dsmeltz Loc: Philadelphia

These two remarks do not go together.

How much are you spending on the trip? Tamron makes a 150-600 g2 for your camera that has gotten good reviews for $1,399. It is a once in a lifetime trip!

Hank Radt

Or get a trekking pole that has a camera mount. I have an old Leki trekking pole which serves me well; I know that Manfrotto makes a couple of varieties as well. I also have a monopod, but prefer these; they also collapse and, depending on your backpack, can be carried there.

Have fun!

kenbowes

Sounds like a great idea...will do. thanks

kenbowes

I have a monopod and plan to take it. I have bought a mirror lens and it seems pretty good for bird photography --I have used it quite a bit lately for that. I also own a Tamron 400 mm lens but it is just too big to lug around and would need a tripod to use it . thank you for your suggestions.

kenbowes

I have actually been surprised at the optics of the lens I have. Granted the fixed F 8 and lack of zoom is less than ideal but so far it seems to work for bird photography which is what I want to use it for. I am also pleased with its relatively small size.

Thanks for you comment.

kenbowes

I guess it comes down to how you want to spend it. I do have a 400 mm lens which is too big to carry on this trip and suspect the Tanron you mention would be too. Thanks for your interest.

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

I have a Rokinon f/6.3 lens for my APS-C camera. I found it hard to work with at first, but the more I use it, the better it works for me. It doesn't do what a $$$$ zoom would do, but it is lighter and cost only $100 roughly. I view it as just another compromise I have to make to get life to work for me.

kenbowes

To date I have similar views about my mirror lens.

kenbowes

I am not familiar with a trekking pole but will explore it on the internet. Thanks for the suggestion.

sb Loc: Florida's East Coast

I just returned, and 98% of the time I used my 100-400mm zoom, and while there were a few times I might have appreciated a little more reach, I would not have wanted to have a bigger or heavier lens. Incidentally, everyone in my small group turned out to be Canon shooters, and the 100-400 was generally all that was used except for the trip leader, who had a really nice 400mm lens. Although I used the 100-400 at its' maximum reach a lot of the time, I would not want to be limited to a fixed lens. There were quite a few times I could not have changed lenses, so having the zoom lens was appreciated.

asimodulex Loc: Atlanta, GA

We have been to Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa Safaris. Canon SX50 is an excellent back-up camera for Safari. Sure you can take any camera that feel comfortable with I took my Canon D7 with 400 L lens. Sure used it too. I would say you will have 75 to 80% chances to take pictures of BIG 5 from 10 to 70 feet away. Have your DSL or whatever second camera that you are taking with you with long lens and SX50 and you will be good to go for your game drive.

All the lodges in Kenya have electric outlets that you will be able to charge your batteries during the night time as well as day time. In Tanzania, most of the safari vehicles are equipped with power strip too so that you could charge your batteries while in your game drive. Just take a couple of the International power converters as in African countries the voltages are 220 and we here in US have 110.

take a lot of SD cards, preferably 16G and keep changing them on a couple of days time though they are not full as if something goes wrong with your card you won't loose all of your pictures.

Other then that, don't worry, have fun. I am 100% sure you will surpass your expection by 1000%.