FSATIN Loc: Westchester, NY

I'm planning a safari and I have a canon 70D. I have a canon 70-300, Canon 300L f4, Tamron 150-600, Tamron 16-300. I also plan to take a Lumix zs100. I don't want to take more than one lens so I would appreciate any help from others who have taken this trip.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

I've heard a safari can get you surprisingly close where a zoom is needed where only a long prime could "overshoot". In a 1 lens decision from this list, the 70-300 (if the L) or the 150-600 would be the choice.

Nalu Loc: Southern Arizona

I think the limit on air travel is 40 #'s but I am told that most airlines will allow for a little more. I doubt that you want to check it. So, take 40#s worth. But if you are over, make sure you have a good travel bag so you can check it without the risk of damage. I assume you don't get to do this that often, so take all the glass you can.

gwong1 Loc: Tampa, FL

FSATIN, It would be best when you o on safari to take two cameras and not change lenses while in the safari jeeps. The dust in Africa is very bad, in fact take a towel to cover you camera/lens to keep dirt to a minimum. With that said, the 70-300 will do the job for most shots, but you will want more reach, so take the 150-600 on camera 2. The 16-300 would be nice, but I do not think it is the quality of the 70-300. I used the 70-300 and a 400 when I went, the majority of my shots were with the 70-300. Good luck and enjoy. Gary

Bobbee

I went to Kruger, A guy I was working with in Johannesburg said he goes and shoots with a 300. His pictures were really nice. I would start there. I had to travel light and only had my 24-70 on a D800. Although the Kruger trip was decided on while I was working at SARS in the city. 24-70 even with the D800 capacity, way not enough!!!! I did get some nice shots but........................

Enjoy, people were telling me 'oh!!! My bucket list" I was like really????? After coming back from the weekend trip I was going "REALLY !!!!!"

skywarrior

In an ideal situation I would take a Canon 100-400 Is ll with a 1.4 TX lll. Sell off a couple of the others to help pay for the new lens. The Canon 10-400 is an amazing lens that can even be used as a macro in most situations. Just check out some of the lens test sites, they all agree this lens beats any zoom on the market and most of the primes too!

sb Loc: Florida's East Coast

I was just reading an article that said that for years they had always recommended the Canon 70-200 as THE best single safari lens if you had to choose one - but they are now changing their mind because the quality of the new 100-400IS II is sooo good, that they say that IT is the single best safari lens to have. I am planning on upgrading my version 1 100-400 to the new model before a safari next year and will have my 24-105 on my second body. I have never been to Africa, but most of those who have been strongly say not to plan on changing lenses in the field due to the dust level.

skywarrior

By then they will have the up graded 24-105 IS ll tested and on the market too, if its dramatically improved it too may be worth taking a look at........

SteveR Loc: Michigan

I have a fb friend who does a lot of world traveling. His primary lens is a Sigma 150-500mm. He just spent time on safari in Kenya in July and took some fantastic photos with that lens. I would suggest that you pull him up on fb and go to his timeline and view them. His name is Benno Ibold. His photos are very sharp. You will be impressed. He does take other lenses with him when he travels for closeup photos of insects, flowers, etc., but I don't think he had an opportunity to use many of those on this trip. I would think, though, that you would want to take something to cover the wide vistas. View his photos and I think they might give you an idea. He does take two cameras, so I'd imagine he keeps the long lens on one and a shorter, wider lens on the other. I also have downloaded a photo of how he packs his backpack, if you're interested. Due to airline requirements, he has it down to the kilogram. You'll be amazed at the photos that he got on this safari.

ronf78155 Loc: Seguin Texas

Canon 100-400 IS-L with the L series 1.5 multiplier is a must.
I'd also take my 28-105 L series

Nalu Loc: Southern Arizona

If one gets picky, although I agree that the 100/400 IS II would be a great lens to have along (including the 1.4x), wouldn't it be nice to have something a little faster for those low light (early AM/PM) outings?

mas24 Loc: Southern CA

It sounds good to me, Hoggers recommending the 70-200mm and 24-105mm lenses. The 70-200mm is a favorite for pro NFL photographers too. The most recent Canon 100-400mm with 1.4X teleconverter is one bad ass Canon lens. The 24-70mm/24-105mm and either 70-200mm/100-400mm are very good choices. As for changing lenses is a dusty environment. One has not experienced the late summer Santa Ana Winds of the Southwest America. If Africa has dusty winds like that, then it could be a problem changing lenses. I recommend taking a Bridge Camera as a backup like the Canon SX60.

ronf78155 Loc: Seguin Texas

Set the ISO to 400 or 800...problem solved, with pretty much zero loss of image quality

Tigger1 Loc: Surrey, BC Canada

Your crop sensor 70D will perform well using your 70-300 or your 16-300 in most lighting conditions. Take which ever one has the widest aperture at 300mm. Your Lumix will do well on those occasions when you are in very close to the animals. However, the foregoing comments assume you are on safari on the open plains of east Africa (Tanzania, Kenya or parts of Zambia). If you are gorilla trekking in the jungles of Rwanda, then you will need a fast, short lens such as a 35mm f1.8 or better yet a 24mm f1.4 so that you can keep your ISO as low as possible. From my experiences in east Africa photographing the "Big Five" my 70-300 took 55%, 18-200 took 20%, 200-500 took 5% all at 500mm and my 35mm f1.8 took 20% while gorilla trekking. Using either my Nikon D7200 or D5100 depending on which lens was on which camera. Assuming you are going during the dry season, and are on the open plains, dust can be a problem so be prepared. As you wish to limit yourself to one lens, my suggestion would be either your 70-300 or 16-300mm, which ever lens is fastest at 300mm. If for some reason you decide to leave your Lumix at home, then the choice is obvious, take the 16-300 Tamron. Just my opinion, based on three East African safari experiences. Good luck and please post some pics on your return.

edwin01

On my trip I used a 70 to 300 zoom on my canon and found it was perfect for most shots. the drivers can get really close to the wildlife.