jdm Loc: Cape Cod

One of my dearest friends is headed to Africa next month. I offered to check in with the awesome Hogs for advice on her upcoming trip. She’s headed to Cape Town for 3 days, then a total of 9 days at 3 safari camps in the Okavango Delta in Botswana, then 2 days at Victoria Falls.

Any recommendations would be welcome! Also, do these locations present any challenging conditions for keeping her gear clean and safe? Her kit includes:

Olympus OM-D E M10 Mark II
- 45 mm lens
- 14-150 mm lens
- 75-300 mm lens

Many thanks for your thoughts.

rgrenaderphoto Loc: Hollywood, CA

Take the lenses, but do not change them in the field. I've been told the dust is unbelievable

jdm Loc: Cape Cod

Thank you, rgre! I've heard the same. I'm really interested in hearing about things to protect her gear (like the raincoat thingies and such) as I want to assemble a "take care of your gear" kit for her trip. Her gear is brand new.

Thank you for your response.

mcveed Loc: Kelowna, British Columbia (between trips)

The best thing you can do for her is to encourage her to get out and get really familiar with that new gear. A users manual has no place in a safari vehicle. I would also recommend that you buy her another OMDEM10 and recommend that she put the 14-150 on one and the 75-300 on the other and never change lenses. Also suggest she either keep her camera in the bag when the vehicle is moving or take some type of light weight bag that she can put the camera into while the vehicle is moving. I would also recommend that she do some testing at high ISOs and using her software to reduce noise - just so she knows how high she can go with ISO while on safari. F6.7 in the very early morning will often strain the trade off between shutter speed and ISO - best to know how high you can go.

jdm Loc: Cape Cod

Thank you, Mcveed. I will certainly pass your advice along!

Dsrapa Loc: Outside of nyc

I have an omdem10 very slightly used in excellent condition for sale. Let me know if interested. Also I have done the exact same trip without the falls. At the time I used a small lumix point and shoot 20x zoom. Have surpringly good pix because light is good. Recently in the Galapagos used a canon sx50 that I bought used. No lens changing, easy and quick.

Matt from Palo Alto

I've bodyguarded 12 African Safari (220 days in the bush with 0 casualties to clients or their staff) but the magic of Africa lures me back! Botswana is the 2nd safest country in Africa after Namibia but Capetown has some safe areas and unsafe areas. Walking around there with a camera bag is NOT a good idea just like there are safe and unsafe parts of San Francisco or any other US city so I would suggest a small, unobtrusive point and shoot for there and to stick with her group. I agree with the other posters about NOT changing lenses in the field and to get a second OMD body. A "bean bag" is very useful for wrist or elbow support when shooting from a vehicle with lots of other photographers moving around. The Delta is magnificent but she really needs to be careful at night so a small strobing high intensity, 1,000+ lumen flashlight is useful. There are over 35 known poisonous species of snakes in Africa so the constant beam flashight is useful for detecting them. I raked the sand around our tent in Botswana so when we returned from safari, the staff had left the screens open. I tracked 2 snake trails going into our tent. I beamed under our beds and two cobras were using it as a honeymoon suite. I let the staff deal with them. I beamed the brush from our dining room area to our tent another night, saw 2 eye reflections, hit the strobe and the leopardess who was waiting to ambush us fled. I've also used a strobe to scare off hyenas and baboons at night. Africa is NOT Disneyland's version of wildlife. To put it in perspective, I've had 1.6 billion seconds of enjoying Africa and only 10 not so safe seconds.
Pay attention to the BEST and usually the oldest guide in your camps.
Lens hoods and good UV filters at all times will help. Sometimes polarizing filters are useful. Good lens brushes are useful since canned air may or may not be available in Capetown when she first lands.
Before she goes, "a journey of 1,000 miles begins with one step", towards her doctor for an arm and butt full of shots for her specific areas of operations.
Powdered electrolyte solutions, sun screen (applied 30 minutes before going out) microfiber, ventilated blouses/shirts, a decent brimmed and ventilated hat with a chin strap, polarizing sun glasses (I always buy inexpensive ones from Cost Co and give them as gifts to our guides who really appreaciate them) Lightweight parkas with hoods are nice for the rides in the morning and at dusk.
Keeping the photographer safe is even more important than taking photos so pay attention to your guides.
Hang on for dear life in your vehicle when animals don't obey the "rules of etiquite" about leaving people in vehicles alone, having been charged 3 times by elephants, 2 times by hippos and 2 times by lionesses, where our quick thinking guide drove away but on one escape, a leaf spring was broken and 2 tires were punctured by thorns which made for a wild ride and a need to use the bush as a bathroom facility afterwards, which is NOT a good idea so don't go far and get back to your vehicle as soon as possible.
Still, I'd go back to Africa...its that magical.

camerapapi Loc: Miami, Fl.

I would take the camera with the 75-300 in the field leaving the other two lenses behind.
Simply be careful of the environment protecting the camera and also be careful of the many bumps you will go through during the ride in the vehicle. It has been known to disrupt some delicate mechanisms inside the camera like the image stabilizer.
At the end of the day blow the dust from the lens and camera and if it is necessary to clean the optics be very careful because to scratch the optics with dust is a risky business. Always blow the dust first and then use a soft brush to finish the cleaning before you use any cleaning kit on the lens surface.
I have never been to Botswana but I have heard that conditions can be tough.

jdm Loc: Cape Cod

Thanks, Dsrapa! I will pass this along.

jdm Loc: Cape Cod

Great advice, camerapapi. Thank you!

jdm Loc: Cape Cod

Wow! I think you have more fun than I do! Thank you for your generous and thoughtful post! Lot's of great info here.

Peter H

A long time ago I journeyed through S Africa, Botswana, S Rhodesia and Mozambique to Malawi. I used a lovely Olympus Pen F half-frame camera with a single 40mm lens. I had no problems in 30 months with clmate, weather, dust or storage. I cannot imagine any problem out there that you couldn't get at home.

jdm Loc: Cape Cod

Thanks, Peter. What a lovely photo!

philo Loc: philo, ca

Have her take a few garbage bags.. Easy to carry and the price is right.
Vic. Falls is a waste of time. It is so wet you can't see the falls and you really have to protect your equipment. Have her go to the bridge between the two countries and shoot the falls from there. Above all stay away from the flea market sellers they will take your teeth before you open your mouth. there are no bargain there.

The Rev

Check itinerary with a Public health Travel Clinic connected to CDC
On my three safaris I have used my Tamron 18-270 lens most of the time and have published photos as a result. Also, GI problems are almost assured. Take drugs for it and drink only bottled water.