zoso

I will soon be taking an African Safari and would like to know what suggestions you might have on which lenses to take with me. I have a 150-600mm lens, a 70-200mm lens, a 17-35mm and a 28-75mm macro lens. Also would you recommend taking a mono-pod or tripod (I don't normally use ether with my 150-600mm). Thanks for your suggestions.

MtnMan Loc: ID

Just returned from one. All you need is 150-600. No monopod or tripod. I lugged former and gave it up after one day in Safari vehicle.

There will be a few times animals are too close for 150...but not many and you can wait.

If you plan to do any of the walking tours something lighter is good too; e.g. 70-200 IF it is significantly lighter.

I mostly used a D800 and 200-500. While I have great images I don't think I'd lug it again. My D5300 with 28-300 was perfect for walking and may be all I take next time.

rogerl Loc: UK (Harrogate, North Yorkshire)

We've done a number of safaris. Definitely the 150-600mm lens will cover almost everything. If you have room, slip in the 70-200mm as well. Take a beanbag - not tripod or monopod.(maybe this one: http://www.jessops.com/online.store/categories/products/jessops/the-pod-green-camera-supp... [this is UK but they should be available in US as well])

Bird Dawg Loc: Georgia

I am going on a Safari in Oct. At this point I plan on taking 2 cameras. 18-140 on one and 70-300( rent ) on the second camera. Will be reading and listening to many "wise" Hogs for more ideas to consider. Thanks.

zoso

Thanks, that's very helpful

zoso

not sure what a bean-bag is but I'll look into it. Thanks

rogerl Loc: UK (Harrogate, North Yorkshire)

A bean bag is a soft bag filled with beans or other materials which enables you to rest the camera/lens on it to reduce shake or vibration. The "pod" which I mentioned screws into the lens tripod fitting so moves attached to your lens (I picked mine up on Ebay for 99 pence (UK) + postage!

wcuster Loc: The Sea Ranch, CA

I have been to Africa four times and will be there again this August.
1) Assuming that you will be in a safari vehicle a lot depends on its layout and the number of people in the vehicle. Will you have a full row to yourself, be able to stand and rest your camera on some support, etc? When in Tanzania we were in a Land Cruizer with an open top (see my profile picture). We had only 2-3 people per vehicle so I could stand and rest a 600mm lens on a beanbag on the perimeter of the roof opening. This worked well. However some vehicles have bench seats with 3 people per row. In that case shooting is more difficult as you might not be able to stand, use a tripod, monopod or beanbag, or move from side to side.
2) I would definitely bring a long lens. In open areas (savanahs) I regularly used a 600mm f/4 lens, sometimes with a 1.4, 1.7 or 2x extender. I got some good distant leopard shots that would have been poor or impossible with a shorter lens. There are also small, nice colorful birds (rollers, bee eaters) that may need a long lens. The newer 150-600 Sigma or Tamron or long zoom Nikon or Canon or equivalent lenses would be a good alternative to the 600mm Nikon f/4 I used.
3) However sometimes the animals may be very large (elephants, giraffes, rhinos, hippos, etc) or close to the vehicle. In that case I used a 28-300 lens. The wide lens is also nice for panoramas, walking in towns, etc.
4) If you will be in wetlands and on a boat, your options will be limited by the seating and number of passengers. Some tour operators (CNP Safaris from S Africa that operates on the Chobe river in Botswana) have custom boats with seats the rotate 360 degrees and attached tripods with Wimberley heads and loaner 600mm lenses. This configeration is ideal. In other boats you might be limited to hand holding a shorter lens.
5) If you can find out the type and configeration of your vehicles, number of passengers, ledge for beanbag or space for monopod, terrain (open areas, woodlands, etc) this will give you a better idea of the best lenses. For me a long fixed or zoom lens (extending to at least 400mm) and a short zoom (28-300) would be a good combo.

I would definitely try to get a photo of your planned vehicle to see its setup and degree of crowding and also an itinerary with the likely terrain and types of animals.

Walt

MtnMan Loc: ID

Beanbag useless on Safari vehicles I had at 4 different camps.

wcuster Loc: The Sea Ranch, CA

Depend on vehicle. Our open top vehicle (see profile picture) was ideal for beanbag usage.

MtnMan Loc: ID

300 marginal but OK if APS-C (DX) camera. That's all my wife used and she has many great images.

MtnMan Loc: ID

Yes. None of mine were that type.

All were open with three tiers of seats. Although some had center seats they were never used. Three of four had canopies but they didn't interfere. Nothing to rest a beanbag on, though. Usually standing was discouraged and unnecessary.

I was able to use monopod but it was more awkward and a liability for swinging around so I ditched it after one drive.

BTW I tried the seat next to the driver on one drive. That was a mistake as the grass was in the way. Third tier gives best viewing angles...but roughest ride. We had a group of six so normally our own vehicle or sometimes two. Plenty of room and we rotated seating.

I mostly used aperture priority and "Easy ISO" on the D800. That meant I could use the thumbwheel to change ISO to get a high enough shutter speed for sharp handheld (normally 1/500). For the last couple days I switched to M and auto ISO. That worked better.

rogerl Loc: UK (Harrogate, North Yorkshire)

I found it ideal on open jeeps, roofed jeeps (both in Africa & India) & the raised-top vehicles used in Tanzania

MtnMan Loc: ID

BTW I brought a beanbag based on recommendations here. Never able to use it with our vehicles. But it might have been nice if one of those types of vehicles.

I didn't need it though as the VR on the Nikon 200-500 is awesome and makes sharp images handheld at 500 mm. I mostly kept the shutter speed above 1/500 also to ensure sharp images. All came out sharp. ISO higher than I prefer on some images but the D800 does well with ISO up to 6400.

zoso

Walt, these suggestions are very helpful. I don't have any extenders but it sounds like i need to get one. My guess is a 2x extender would be best???