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Best camera & lenses for African Safari
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Jun 13, 2019 14:56:10   #
cambriaman Loc: Central CA Coast
 
From my African Safari experience, I suggest, in today's world, two camera bodies, one with a long zoom like the Nikon 200-500 and the other with a wide range zoom like 18-300. I never changed lenses during the trip. I did take a Nifty 50 and a 20-35 WA and never used them. It was a few year ago, so the Nikons were a D100 and a D300 and the lenses were a Tamron 18-250 and a Sigma 150-500. Great results, the tour director bought a DVD of some of my images to use for advertising the trip.

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Jun 13, 2019 15:44:24   #
jaycoffman Loc: San Diego
 
maxlieberman wrote:
That may not be part of the question, but it should be part of the answer. Weight is a real consideration. First, you have to get your gear to where you are going. For most of us, that means carry-on. You have to lug it, and in the case of big glass, also be able to fit it in available space. Second, you have to lug it wherever you go. If you have the strength and stamina, more power to you. Third, if you are lucky, you may have a bean bag or monopod for support, but many of your shots will be hand held, and the heavier something is, the harder it is to hold steady by hand., particularly if you are patiently waiting for your target animal or bird to change position. Fourth, as I mentioned previously, if your safari involves travel by air while in Africa, you may be flying in a single-engine Cessna Citation where there might be a weight restriction. Do you want to choose whether to leave your lens or your clothes behind?

I'm not saying not to bring your 600mm bazooka lens; just consider all of the implications vs. what you wi9ll be doing with your pictures. With a modern DSLR and good 70-300mm zoom, you should be able to severely crop a shot (even if taken with a crop sensor camera) and enlarge the resulting image to 16 x 24.
That may not be part of the question, but it shoul... (show quote)


EXCELLENT REPLY--this perfectly describes my experiences too.

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Jun 13, 2019 17:32:28   #
carl hervol Loc: jacksonville florida
 
A d750 with 80 to 400 an a 18 to 75

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Jun 13, 2019 17:50:08   #
HelenC
 
Replacing everything-camera & lenses.

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Jun 13, 2019 17:51:38   #
HelenC
 
Thanks for the detailed info!

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Jun 13, 2019 17:59:13   #
HelenC
 
Thanks for your detailed reply. Weight sure is an issue!

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Jun 13, 2019 19:50:04   #
DWilling
 
HelenC wrote:
Thanks for your detailed reply. Weight sure is an issue!


When I went several years ago, we were allowed a total of 30 pounds. Don't think you can put your heavy stuff in backpack or purse. All were included in weight.

While walking and looking at a resting cheetah, I tripped and fell flat on my face and my sx50 and binos. The camera was toast from the sand. Just glad I didn't take my D500 out for that stroll. Two cameras are a good idea but probably mostly leave one in the tent.

In my most recent trip, not to Africa, I just took my new Sony RX100vi and love it. The pictures are amazing and you can crop and still get excellent detail. And the weight was wonderful!

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Jun 13, 2019 20:14:46   #
Hip Coyote
 
azted wrote:
Same here, except I have the E-M-5ii coupled with the penny 100-300. Absolutely great shots, hand held. I caution against having two bodies as I found that the lurch of the jeeps on the rough trails caused a lot of damage to my body by the second camera around my neck. Also, you are at times in close quarters and worrying about the second body and where it swings is not worth it! Leave the second body as insurance in a room safe.


Great thoughts...I will have my camera bearer (my wife) hold one of the camera!

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Jun 13, 2019 20:38:38   #
stangage
 
For wildlife shooting I have found that my caneon 5d IV with the 100-400 zoom and 1.4x teleconverter is the best overall. Reaches out more than a quarter mile when needed but is short enough except when a lion or cheetah decides to brush the side of your jeep. Minimizes the need to even think about changing lenses. I do bring along my 16-35 for the daily sunrise/sunset shots or those vast open spaces with a miles long single file row of wildebeast. Don't bother with a tripod or monopod. Just gets in the way in the jeep which on most safari game drives you are confined to. While I bring along my whole case of gear set in a roll around on the game drives I use a Salvatore Bug Out Bag which is extremely useful when the time comes that you do want to change lenses. Brought along a bean bag but never used it. The jeep is never a stable platform unless you're the only one in it. Stand up, use your best shooting posture and keep the shutter speed above 1/1500 th with the stabilizer on. FYI. Bring along 1 or 2 cloth baby diapers. Good for light rain protection and, in the rare instance you may want to rest the camera on the jeep frame it provides a good pad. Then at the end of the day you can use it to wipe the day's dust accumulation away.

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Jun 13, 2019 21:11:54   #
Architect1776 Loc: In my mind
 
maxlieberman wrote:
That may not be part of the question, but it should be part of the answer. Weight is a real consideration. First, you have to get your gear to where you are going. For most of us, that means carry-on. You have to lug it, and in the case of big glass, also be able to fit it in available space. Second, you have to lug it wherever you go. If you have the strength and stamina, more power to you. Third, if you are lucky, you may have a bean bag or monopod for support, but many of your shots will be hand held, and the heavier something is, the harder it is to hold steady by hand., particularly if you are patiently waiting for your target animal or bird to change position. Fourth, as I mentioned previously, if your safari involves travel by air while in Africa, you may be flying in a single-engine Cessna Citation where there might be a weight restriction. Do you want to choose whether to leave your lens or your clothes behind?

I'm not saying not to bring your 600mm bazooka lens; just consider all of the implications vs. what you wi9ll be doing with your pictures. With a modern DSLR and good 70-300mm zoom, you should be able to severely crop a shot (even if taken with a crop sensor camera) and enlarge the resulting image to 16 x 24.
That may not be part of the question, but it shoul... (show quote)


Hopefully those who have equipment already know it's weight. Then I am guessing they have the intelligence to know what they can carry and their stamina. Then they most certainly researched the tour, contacted the tour directly and got information as to walking, weight limits if any. etc. If they haven't figured out how heavy or light their equipment is in relation to their strength and stamina there is absolutely something wrong with them.

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Jun 13, 2019 22:36:19   #
Jack 13088 Loc: Central NY
 
I didn’t see if you said how much time you have to practice. The good stuff tends to happen quickly so I recommend NOT changing cameras and risk fumble fingers. As far as lens goes I wouldn’t bother with anything longer than 340 mm on DX or 500 mm on FX. But I wouldn’t ignore having a wide angle capability. In 2010 we carried my D70s with a 18-200 and my daughter’s D300s with an 70-200 w/ 1.7 telextender. Never wished for a longer lens. BTW you should have heard you will not change lenses in the field. Period!

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Jun 14, 2019 02:02:21   #
jdub82 Loc: California
 
I agree with the responses that have suggested a Bridge Camera of some type as a good option. In the summer of 2017 I spent 3 weeks in Kenya. I was there primarily for humanitarian/missions work. The only camera I took was my Canon SX50. For me, weight and bulk of gear was very important. It is necessary to keep all your equipment with you at all times when traveling in Africa. My SX50 fit well into my go bag, which I carried with me at all times. I was able to get some fantastic safari shots with my SX50, a few of them are hanging on my walls. The SX50 has a tiny sensor, but in good light produces excellent pictures.

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Jun 14, 2019 02:46:45   #
HelenC
 
Thanks for the great info!

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Jun 14, 2019 06:05:02   #
John Gerlach Loc: Island Park, Idaho
 
I have led more than forty photo tours to Kenya over the past 30 years and my next one is in September. Here are the lenses I take: Canon 200-400mm with the built-in 1.4x, Canon 600mm f/4 III and a 1.4x, and a 70-200, plus the Canon 1DX Mark II and the 5D Mark IV. I carry the two big lenses and two camera bodies on the plane with me in a backpack that is regulation size. I do a lot of birds, so I like long lenses. Indeed, my guides in Kenya say my groups photograph more gorgeous birds than anyone else, but of course, we go after mammals too. You also need reach when doing the smaller animals and also lion and cheetah cubs. Some prefer to crop a lot, more than me, but overall the 200-400mm zoom, with a possible 1.4x is truly ideal when confined to a landrover in Kenya. Also, big lenses are not a problem on my tours as everyone has their own roof hatch and row of seats so shooting out either side of the vehicle is easy. Many tours tell you everyone has a window seat, but that does not help much when the subject is on the opposite side of the vehicle, so be careful who you travel with if your goal is photography.

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Jun 14, 2019 10:54:40   #
HelenC
 
Thanks for the detailed info!

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