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I pixel peep when I crop a lot, like with wildlife shots.

The electronic/silent shutter is the default option on my Sony A7III. There are many advantages to silent shooting. There are no downsides to this other than banding (and rolling shutter).

Banding is a known issue with certain types of lighting, as described by others. The problem with this is that as a lay person it is not always possible to predict whether artificial lights will cause banding. Furthermore, sometimes it is easy to miss it when you check your pictures in camera. (I learned that the hard way.) For that reason, I always switch to mechanical shutter when shooting in artificially lit indoor spaces.

The other possible issue is rolling shutter, the distortion of a fast-moving object in your image. A ball in motion can look like an egg. Switching to mechanical shutter will solve this problem as well.

I live in Naivasha, Kenya. We have a house keeper who dusts everything in our house three times a week. If you live in the US, you have no idea of how much dust there is in the air in many parts of Africa. There is nothing ridiculous about this.

Yes, exactly.

But by doing that you can't go wider than 36mm full-frame equivalent, which in some cases is not wide enough, at least for me.

A lot of it depends on what you want to capture on a safari. Some people want to have close-ups of animals. In this case, having a long lens on a DX camera body makes sense. I live in Kenya most of the year, and I like to take images of animals in the context of gorgeous African landscapes. I often shoot at 24mm for sweeping landscape shots.

I shoot with two Sony full-frame bodies, the A7III with the Sony 24-105mm and the A7RIII with the Sony 100-400mm, sometimes with a 1.4x TC. The 42 MP of the A7RIII allows me to crop substantially, thus extending the reach a bit. This suits my photographic style, but this does not need to apply to anybody else.

This sounds about right. My only concern would be that this setup will not cover the middle lange from 70 to 300 mm (full-frame equivalent). If you flip the two lenses you can close the gap but lose both at the wide and long ends. Except that changing lenses in the field is not recommended on a safari. But l guess you know the drill.

The Sony/Zeiss 35mm f/2.8 is my favorite street photography lens. It is tiny (120g) yet a superb lens.

So many erroneously believe that they can crop endlessly with modern mirrorless cameras. As your example shows, cropping has its limitations.

As this is an indoor shot, you probably used a higher ISO setting. Cropping highlights noise from the increased ISO setting and accentuates the relative softness of your lens.

So my advice on cropping is simple: don't. Get the shot right when you take it. Crop with your feet and/or your zoom lens. If you want a portrait of the boy, take another picture zooming in on him.

Yep, you can't display prints online.

Flickr ain't bad--at least you can upload the original file size so your image can shine with all its details--not on a smart phone though.

If you are serious about this, you might create your own web site.

I agree with that. El Yunque National Forest is very close to San Juan, and driving in PR is easy.

I was in PR a year ago and booked a day trip from San Juan to El Yunque National Forest. This was a real bust. All these tours hype the waterslide at Las Paylas, which isn't even in the El Yunque National Forest. The area might be lovely, but it has become a victim of overtourism. On the way back, we stopped at a mediocre beach. There was little of photographic interest on this tour.

If you decide on a tour I would book specifically a photography tour. If I could do this again, I would rent a car on go off on my own.

I am not questioning the SAB testing. All I am saying is that we should understand what they are testing and what the parameters are, otherwise we might over interpret the results. If SAB specifically tests which lenses are best able to provide the resolution that a 61mp camera requires, then this test has a limited validity if you shoot at 24 or 33mp.

I would not disagree with this. However, many people do not shoot at 61MP now and may not in five years. In that case, a test that specifically examines a lens when attached to a 61MP sensor may not be as relevant.

I think that it makes a big difference whether you test a lens on a 61 MP or 33 MP body, which is the sensor OP is using. Older lenses, like the Sony 28mm lens, show their limitations on high-resolution sensors while performing well at lower resolutions. This is why the Sony Alpha Blog tests have to be taken with a grain of salt.

Size matters--at least for street photography. The Sony weighs 200g, while the Viltrox weighs 367g, and is accordingly a lot larger. I have used the Sony 28mm f/2 for street and liked the results. Yes, the Sony 28mm is an older lens, but it performs well in every respect. I use the Sony Zeiss 35mm f/2.8 more frequently as I prefer 35mm for street. Plus the lens at 120g is tiny. To me, speed doesn't matter much for street as I shoot at f/8 anyway to increase the depth of field.

Dear Linda,

Congratulations--I think that this is a good choice.

Let me address some Kenya-specific issues that have come up, as I live in Kenya most of the year.

Malaria primarily is endemic near Lake Victoria and at the coast. Kenya is different from other safari destinations because many destinations in Kenya are at a much higher altitude. My house near Naivasha is at an altitude of 2,100 meters, so there is no malaria here. The same is true for other destinations like Nairobi, Nairobi NP, Lake Naivasha, Hell's Gate NP, Lake Nakuru NP, Aberdare NP, and so on. Even in Maasai Mara, malaria is rare. Generally, in altitudes above 1,500 meters the risk is much lower. In other, lower-lying destinations malaria is mostly seasonal: risk is highest during the rainy season and right after. Depending on where you go, bringing a good mosquito repellent and protective clothing will suffice. I am sure your travel provider will give you more information on that.

Other illnesses: I would check with your medical provider (or travel clinic) to make sure you have the necessary immunizations, like yellow fever, hepatitis A and B, meningitis, cholera, and typhoid. If you start planning now you have plenty of time.

Food safety: your tour company will take care of that. I eat on the local economy all the time and never had a problem. When I eat out, I generally stay away from uncooked foods. Fruit at the market is fine. Always drink bottled water, which is easy to find in Kenya. Lodges, hotels, restaurants, even little stores, etc. have it readily available.

Climate: in higher elevations, Kenya has a moderate climate. In Naivasha, where I live, temperatures don't ever reach 30 degrees Celsius--a really hot day is 28 degrees (82F). The nights are generally cool and even cold, so bring long-sleeve shirts (also for malaria protection) and a light sweater. In lower altitudes temps are little warmer but not intolerable. Only the Lake Victoria area and the coast experience really tropical climates. Keep in mind that the sun is very intense so it may feel very hot and uncomfortable in the sun. Bring a good hat, sun screen, sun glasses, and protective clothing.

The main rainy season here is April and May (we are in a dry spell now, but a wet Easter is forecast). The secondary rainy season is late September to late November. Patterns can shift a little, particularly due to climate change. Since you plan to travel in September you will be at the end of the dry season--I assume you picked the date because it is migration season at Maasai Mara.

Scammers. Most people are honest here, just like everywhere else. Scammers do exist, with a bit of common sense they are easy to spot. On a safari, you will be mostly sheltered from that anyway.

Snakes: they do exist, obviously, and some are venomous. Frankly, I have seen only one so far, a harmless one. You will spend most of your time in your safari vehicle as in Kenyan national parks you are not allowed to get out except for in designated areas. There are some exceptions: you are allowed to walk in Hell's Gate NP because there are no big cats there.

If you have any questions please send me a private message.

Have a great trip, Peter