Fkaufman3 Loc: Florida, LA ie lower Alabama

Will be going to South Africa on 18 day tour in Feb next year, I have many camera choices, mirrorless nikon and Sony as well as many lenses from wide to 150-600 and 200-500, 70-200 2.8. But am thinking of just taking nikon p1000 as prime and p900 as backup and no other heavy gear, bus tours and game drives, also rainy season I think, what advise? Am 75 years old with some carrying problems, but on buses and vehicles.

Kencamera

I am 79 and we did a similar trip in 2018. I use Canon gear. My advice is to take one of your longest lenses for distant game and birds. I used a 7D Mark II (APS-C) with a 100-400mm lens and a 1.4 extender for 900mm. Sometimes the game gets very close and so you need a camera with a lens suitable for that. I took a full-frame 5D Mark III with a 24 to 105mm lens. The combination worked just fine. Enjoy your trip. Ken

sb Loc: Florida's East Coast

Agree with Ken, except I did not use an extender and rarely wished I had it on, and I was using a full-frame camera. The 400mm was almost always sufficient.

APSHEPPARD

I went when I was 79 also. Took a Nikon D500 APS-c with Tamron 16-300 and Nikor 80-400--gave me a capability from 24-600 equivalent with the crop format. It worked out very well. Now have Canon R5 with 24-240 and 100-500 R lenses plus 2X R teleconverter. My son is leaving Thursday for South Africa and has borrowed the 100-500 and teleconverter to take which is really a lightweight system. The R5 is 45MP so lots of crop flexibility.

fromafar

definitely agree with Ken... we have traveled to Africa several times on 'photo safaris/game viewing safaris' and have found the combination Ken describes is well suited for all your needs. 2 cameral bodies with the pre-mounted lenses mentioned, eliminates the need to swap lenses out and possibly missing the 'great photo'. Take the photos but also take time away from the 'photography' to enjoy what you are seeing, especially the animal interactions....

JBRIII

As with everything, to me it depends on what you plan to do with the photos, masterpiece poster size or for memories.
Been there twice, seeing criters done from open, 4x4 types vehicles, conditions can be very dusty i.e., do want to change lenses. Range can be a problem, from close enough to touch to far away. We like bridge cameras that can cover it all, also light in weight. Only problem there can be low light performance if you go out late. We watched a leopard hollow out an antelope and SX camera got very noisy as light went bye, bye. Now have a Canon R for the future. Will take that and an SX70 if we go again.

1grumpybear

Been to South Africa 3 times on Veterinary tours. First time took every thing but kitchen sink. Second time it was my D850 with the 24-70 and D5 with the 70-200. Third time the D6 with 70-200 and 24-70 in my pack. The picture shown was shot with 200-400. They would dart the animals, take blood samples to make sure the animals were ok. The helicopter was for locating. The animals would start to wake up after about 20minutes. The experience is incredible that is why I went 3 times. The tour was for veterinarians and there were at least 6 when I went on tour.

(Download)

windshoppe Loc: Arizona

Took the same trip and used the same gear. Couldn't agree more.

Zooman 1

I was 75 when I went used 2 Canon bodies. The 100-400mm was used for most of my photos some with and some without the 1.4. Some I used a shorter lens, but wished I had not, except for landscape.

Amaize

Here’s a bit of an alternative view. If you are not fully committed to this tour, cancel and set up a private tour. Maybe it would be a shorter time, cost-wise, but far more satisfying. With where you are at, keep camera equip very simple — recommend just one body and your 150-600 lens. Why ? Most likely when you are in a 4X4 there will probably be 4-6 people. You will be looking out just one side of the vehicle, and will be limited in your views. Not much room at all to move about. You will have even less interesting views from a bus. Carrying a load of camera gear will just be a waste. 150mm can probably catch most of the closer animals and the 600 is a great stretch for most of your shots. Here’s an other option to add — iPhone 13 or 12 — promax. You can shoot in Raw. You could get a Ulanzi ST-14 Iron Man III 360 Tripod Smartphone Mount. An excellent piece of equipment. You can set it up with a simple tripod and get great shots of the close up subjects plus do broader landscapes. The key is keeping the iPhone very stable on the shots, and if you do, you will have excellent material to work with for prints. I’ve done 2 extended safaris in the Serengeti in last 3 months. I had the open top 4X4 to myself, one with daughter. I fixed a small tripod on the roof in the front corner, with the Ulanzi, for the iPhone. Sometime I just clicked on video as we drove — past thousands and thousands of migrating wildebeests. Also with cats hunting — especially the cheetahs — I clicked on the iPhone video while I shot stills. You can zoom in/out pretty easily. If you want to up things more, consider getting a Moment telephoto and wide angle lens for the iPhone. They produce excellent results. You will need a Moment case to hold the add on lenses. One Nikon and one iPhone will give you great results though if you imagine doing more extensive photo work, I think you will be disappointed in this type of tour. Check with health recommendations/your Doc — consider Malarone, 1 tab daily, for Malaria prevention (I have no idea about S Af). I tend to do Cipro 250mg daily to prevent travelers diarrhea. Check out something like Hopehealth N95 masks. You will need for flying plus be cautious if you go to any markets. Will all on this tour be vaccinated ? I’d be very concerned if no guarantee on that. Dust was an on/off thing when in the 4X4 and these masks were very comfortable to slip on when other vehicles are ahead of you or fly by and stirring up dust. You can always get some native cloths to cover up camera when not in use. One more health issue. Try to get in walking and as much exercise as you can — now and on safari. You may be sitting for quite extended periods and it is a significant risk for muscle loss. Build your legs up now ! This is a huge issue especially with your age.

Hip Coyote

This is a re-post of mine that is somewhat applicable. I also added focal length data from two different safari sites...one where the drives can drive right up to the animals (off road) and one in a national park where the guides are limited to the roadway. It makes a huge difference. The first data shot is from Medikwe where drivers were able to drive off road. The second was in Etosha, Namibia where drivers were limited to roads.

FWIIW, I respectfully disagree with one lens suggestions. At times, the animals were close enough to the safari vehicle 150 would have only been able to capture their eye. They can be quite close. My data has some limitations in that it is from all raw photos I took at those locations. I need to cull more shots, but you get the idea. I hope this posting helps you. Some of the data might be skewed because I took photos of people such as family, our guides, etc...which you will too.

Also, a smart phone should be at the ready as well..makes for a great impromptu back up. The comments about the add on lenses makes sense to me.

I also added a little shot of an animal I shot on the way to dinner...to prove that you should have a camera with you at all times.

REPOST is as follows:

First of all, I am envious of your trip. I've been to Africa and cannot wait to go back. Remember, you go for the animals and come back for the people. Seriously.

When I was there I found it absolutely necessary to have two cameras set up for the scenarios I was going to run into in the bush. I carry M4/3 equipment (which is much lighter btw and was perfect for my trip). I had one body with a 12-100 (24-200 FF equivalent) and one body with a 100-400 (200-800 FF eq). I was THE perfect set up. The roads can be quite dusty so changing lenses in the bush is not an option. In fact, I had a backpack on the seat between my wife and I and eventually kept my cameras in some light weight sacks on my lap to keep the dirt off (it was way beyond dust..it was dirt.) I think next time I would use a pillow case or similar. Keep a blower with you at all times. Clean all gear at the end of the day.

You will be surprised at how close you will be getting to animals. Double check the parks you are going to...in some parks, guides drive off road and get very close to animals and in some they are limited to the roads...if your guide goes off road and you have some 500 mm lens on your camera, it just wont work. You will wish you had wider angle lens. The opposite is true for the longer range shots..so you need to be prepared for wide and tele shots.

I think if I had regular sized equipment (photographically speaking) I would consider a bridge camera and a smaller point and shoot. The Nikon P1000 and maybe another smaller camera might be all I'd take. I saw people with massive white lenses in safari vehicles and they looked awkward and unwieldy. One guy was armed for loooong range shots only to find that the animals were practically riding with us in the car. I am sure he got a nice photo of an elephant's eye...but that was about it. One had to be prepared for the right shooting circumstances. An iPhone would have worked better. You may get a Nat Geo pic but most will be memories for you and your wife (and girlfriend if she goes).

I'd skip the tripod. I would have never used it. Cant use it in the bush because you cannot get on the ground usually, lest a critter might want to eat you. And if you do (we did...had an interesting encounter with a rhino whilst on foot), you have to be mobile. There may be a way to do some nighttime astro stuff, but keep in mind, animals are active at night.....eating. You cannot just go out and start shooting away. You say you will use it around the lodge...maybe...but during the day you probably wont need it and at night, you may be limited to staying indoors or have an escort because critters can invade the camp or the camp has no fences. You are not in Kansas anymore and there are real animals that will feast on you...or at least bite you resulting in your demise.

Most of the animal photography i did was far more close than I would have expected. Like maybe 20-50 feet. I could have left my long telephoto home and only missed a few shots. Again, depending on where you are viewing animals and off road capabilities will determine your lens length. In spots such as Kruger, you will need a longer lens...in private reserves, probably not.

Be armed at all times! Meaning take a camera everywhere you go. We were walking to dinner in Namibia (kind of freaky in that we were in a camp with no fencing and no escort to dinner and a watering hole nearby...no elephants in the camp but there were lions) and some bush babies were poking their heads out of trees. I slapped the camera into Auto with a high iso and got some decent shots. Speaking of auto iso, you should consider getting familiar (or you may be familiar) with the concept...it works pretty well.

I found no need for a computer. I just put my little SD cards in a holder and hoped for the best. Having a drive back up makes sense. You need a lot of dust and dirt mitigation stuff...blowers, leaf blowers, what ever.

I set up a pre-set on both cameras to capture very fast movements of animals in case we were lucky enough to see a chase. Never happened except at a cheetah preserve in Namibia. But I suggest you do it. When and if that happens, you will not be able to respond fast enough to capture the chase without a preset. I usually shot in Aperture mode. Animals were not really active.

I took a flash and never used it. Some folks bring one with a snoot. Most game reserves do not allow it for obvious reasons.

Remember, you are a rich American (assuming here). Tip generously. You will find that the Africans will try to make your trip as pleasant as possible. In Namibia, I tipped $100 for a two night stay and the receptionist got teary-eyed. You visit a village, try to buy things and leave some money there. You will see some people in very dire circumstances. Covid has drastically impacted the Africans. Be prepared and be generous.

One way to keep weight down is to figure out which lodging place has laundry facilities or laundry services...we were at a few spots where they did it for free, other places they did it for a very low cost. I did a little timeline of when we were doing laundry and found that we really did not need a lot of clothes. I found it much easier to pack for Africa than say a trip to the East Coast of the US.

I know that is more than what you asked for. But I want you to have the best trip possible. Two last pieces of advice. 1- Sometimes, put the camera down and just BE THERE. I did it a few times and it was memorable. Thinking I was in the middle of the bush, watching a lion eat some critter, I was with family, and darned lucky to be able to do it. 2- Talk to people. We were at Robben Island where Mandala was imprisoned for 25 or so years. The crowds went off and I was left with the Robben Island tour guide...who was a prisoner there for about 15 years. Very long story short. He was an anti-apartheid fighter. He was a convicted terrorist (from the ruling White perspective). Was trained in Angola by the Cubans to fight the white ruling party (Afrikaans) in South Africa. He and his fellow resistance blew up bridges, power stations, etc. They were careful to not harm people (so he said) because they knew they would eventually win and have to live with the whites. We talked about weaponry, philosophy of their strategies, family, struggles, etc. It was a memorable day.

PM me if you have additional questions.

Rick

JBRIII

I believe the Nikon mentioned is a bridge like the Canon SX60 or 70. I whole hardily support taking one. I was actually able to touch a Rhino in one location (it was that close and ok'ed). Cats can also be that close, but keeping your limbs is best so no touching. They treat elephants very seriously and keep some distance from them. Hippos mostly in water and at some distance. Only got to walk around in one location with armed guides. Mostly from vehicles on what passes for roads in many places, washes, gullies, etc. I could see a large heavy lens getting beat to pieces in some cases.

Hip Coyote

Inthink a bridge would be perfect. When I go back may just rent one

Fkaufman3 Loc: Florida, LA ie lower Alabama

Thank you for all the good info. The Nikon p1000 and p900 have ma lens of 3000, and 2000, mm both stabilized I hope that will do, but still considering D810 with 150-600 tamron,thanks again

DickC Loc: NE Washington state

Glad the Rhino was okay!!