I got all excited seeing your photo...my husband and I are going to Borneo next September! It's been a dream trip for us! When were you there? I especially love shooting wildlife, looking forward to seeing lots on that trip!

I think I'm going to take the mirrorless plunge. I've kinda decided on Sony, just looking for model recommendations. Besides everyday photography, mostly shoot wildlife and sports. While price will be a final consideration, I don't want recommendations based on price, please. Ready, set, GO!

I'm not sure why you seem annoyed by this question? I just asked it a few days ago, so I guess I take your topic personally. In my case, I was hoping to get some recommendations from others with more experience than me in the location I am going and a different genre of photography than I'm used to...I really thought that was what this forum is for, to share and help each other out. ??? If I see a topic that has no interest to me, I just scroll down to another topic...not that hard to do....

Thanks for your reply! I see you do photo workshops in that area, so I really value your opinion. If it helps (several responders have asked), we are going to the north rim of the Grand Canyon and this trip is geared toward photographers.

Some of the replies are not helpful...my camera bodies are both Nikon D500 and I'm not buying another camera for the trip. :) But I am thinking of renting a 14-24 mm/f2.8 to take. Will that be a good choice for the landscapes?

For wildlife I have these options: 70-200 (my favorite lens...but sometimes I wish it were longer!), 80-400, 200-500 (very heavy for me as I am a 65-year-old woman), and a 500 prime. I also do have a 1.4 converter that works well on my 70-200 but seems to slow focus on the 80-400.

Also, I'm not a big fan of tripods but I do have one. Should I take it?

We usually go on wildlife-centered trips, so this is a little out of my normal shooting zone. I am hoping to get some wildlife shots as well.

I do acknowledge your advice for one body...I am just taking a second body as a back-up but don't plan to carry 2 around. We won't be doing hard-core hiking. Also at Bryce, we'll be doing a helicopter trip.

Thanks so much for any recommendations!

We are flying and therefore limited on space and weight (my husband is my “sherpa” and he also has limits. Ha ha!) Planning to take 3 lenses. I do have a nice assortment of longer lenses for wildlife but thinking of renting a wide angle lens for the incredible landscapes. Thanks for taking time to share your wisdom…most responses were quite helpful.

My husband and I are heading to the Grand Canyon, Bryce, and Zion the end of September on a photographic trip with NatHab. I have 2 Nikon D500 bodies I will be taking. What lenses do you recommend? I normally go on wildlife trips so I'm wondering what would be best for these landscapes. And also hope to get a few wildlife images too! Thanks for you help!

If you know a teacher or principal personally, they would probably let you go in with them after hours. Especially if they know you are a serious photographer. :)

I am so excited for you! I just finished a 10-day safari in Botswana and it was INCREDIBLE!!! This is a great time (great for travelers, but not great for the tourism industry) to do safari...there are few travelers and most of the time we were the only guests at the camps. We very rarely even met another safari vehicle on the road let alone at a sighting. You've had a lot of great suggestions by folks on here...here's my 2-cents-worth:
**Take 2 camera bodies, one with the longer lens (your 150-600 will be great!) and one with a shorter lens, as well as a cell phone which is especially great for videos.
**I mostly used shutter priority, only going manual occasionally for sunrises/sunsets/very low lighting. Often you have only seconds to capture the image and I need my camera (usually smarter and quicker than me! :) ) to help me get the right settings. I often, especially for birds, monkeys, babboons, leopards in trees against a sky background, needed to increase my exposure compensation. Just don't forget to set it back to 0 afterwards (voice of experience).
**Take some AMAZING shots (you will!) and then put your camera down and just soak up the moments...you are in AFRICA!!! ENJOY!!!

I am typing this reply from our hotel room in South Africa. We just arrived today and tomorrow we fly to Botswana and begin our 2-week safari. We’ve been to Africa a few times and The Africa Adventure Company (headquarters in Florida) is our favorite

I am SO EXCITED for you!!! I've been several times and leaving again on Sunady for 4 weeks in Botswana and Kenya. Africa is special. Like someone else wisely said, take some time just to soak up the experience and realize you are in AFRICA! Getting there is the worst part, but when you arrive you will know it was all worth it! Can't wait to hear about your experiences!

Hi Valerie! After getting frustrated waiting on my laptop to process photos, I splurged and bought myself a Dell gaming computer from their Alienware series. After researching it extensively, many people said if you want power and speed, a gaming computer is the way to go. I cannot believe how FAST this machine is!!! When I move a photo from Lightroom to edit in Topaz Sharpen AI (or DeNoise), I can barely click on it before the preview has already loaded. Lightning speed...truly amazing!!! It was a tad over $3000 I think, but I probably overdid it trying to get the most power I could. I am very pleased!
BONUS...my grandkids think I'm a cool grandma with an Alienware gaming computer (although I've never played a computer game and doubtful I ever will...ha ha!) that has a glowing Alien icon on it. Lol!

Thanks SO MUCH to everyone for taking the time to help me out! I purchased a Dell XPS 13 today...I have a Dell 17" now and really like it so that played heavily into my decision. I'm excited to get it and put LR and PS on it.

Now this may seem like a silly question to some, but...can I use Lightroom and Photoshop when I don't have internet? I've never tried but assume I can, even though I lose the "cloud" functions. My plan is to download my photos onto it and then in my free time (we'll have a few days at sea so I know there will be some down time) at least go through and cull them and perhaps edit them. But we won't always have internet and I'm hoping I can do the editing without it.

Oh man...I just saw this!!! And of course I just purchased a Dell XPS 13 today!!! Not good timing.... Just curious, why are you selling? Sounds like a great laptop...

My husband and I are taking a 3-week trip to Antarctica and I'd like to buy a small, lightweight, but powerful laptop that I can use to download my images as well as install Lightroom on so I can edit them as we go. Space and weight of luggage are at a premium, so I need small, lightweight, yet plenty of memory/hard drive. Oh...and I prefer a PC not a Mac. I've never had a "travel laptop" so this is all new to me. What recommendations can you give me? Thanks in advance!

Hey Girl...I hear you! I'm 64 and, while several inches taller, I totally understand your dilemma. I'm a strong country gal in good health but I still struggle with the heavy lenses. I have tripods but prefer to handhold...a tripod or monopod is just another thing to carry! I bought the Tamron 100-600 a few years ago and hardly used it then sold it because of its size. Same with the Nikon 200-500...loved the lens, but not practical to carry around for very long. I found the Nikon 80-400 to be somewhat better, although it doesn't operate well with the teleconverter (searches too long for focus). I splurged last spring and got the Nikon 500 prime and I love it! It's long, but doesn't feel as heavy and takes fabulous photos handheld. Someday I will probably take the plunge into mirrorless, but for now this is working out for me. Good luck...we're not getting older, we're getting better, right?!