Please help with help for few more camera settings for my African Safari (Page 2): Hi Phil, It is Larry again. Other's are correct. You are concentrating too much on settings!!! Don't...

timbuktutraveler

philklim wrote:

Dear Forum, br I have one last request for my Afri... (show quote)

Hi Phil,
It is Larry again. Other's are correct. You are concentrating too much on settings!!!
Don't obsess over it. The main thing is too use you brain to compose the picture you are going to take.
If you use the settings in Alexander White's book you will be fine. I knew almost nothing about digital when I went on Safari last fall. I shot many photos in Aperture & Shutter priority and things turned out great. And don't forget Photo Capture after you take any movies. Please get over this settings stuff!!!

philklim Loc: Harrisonburg, Va.

Larry,
Thank you for your continued advice.
My Safari is not a photographic safari and our guides speak most Swahili.
So that is why I am focusing (no pun intended) on settings .
Will continue to practice.
Phil

philklim Loc: Harrisonburg, Va.

DavidPine wrote:

I suggest you buy a book from Steve Perry - Back Country Gallery. He's an accomplished wildlife photographer. It's a good deal.

Dear dave,
Will buy Steve's book.
Thank you for the suggestion
Phil

philklim Loc: Harrisonburg, Va.

traderjohn wrote:

The same settings that you use in wherever you are shooting birds in the US. The circumstances are the same the location is different. About 5 years ago we went on a SilverSeas 30 day cruise. Everyday the staff, tour guide gave you insight as to conditions and settings. Yours may do the same....Have a good time.

Thank you for your advice,
Phil

philklim Loc: Harrisonburg, Va.

sr71 wrote:

f8 and be there

Thanks,
Great Advice
Phil

National Park

It's long, but this Steve Perry video contains lots of good tips for taking photos of wildlife:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9YBeNBoKVw

Hip Coyote

This is a repost of one of my comments on Africa.

First, search UHH for African Safari info. There are a lot of topics and posts that are invaluable.

I just got back from a trip to S. Africa and Namibia. A bit different situation in that (I think) animals in Kenya are in a more open environment, thus more movement. Right now, it is summer. That means that the bulk of the animals will be looking for water at watering holes rather than puddles...thus it is easier to get photos of them. (Again...different parts of the continent..so take that into account.) I absolutely positively recommend that you take two bodies. It can get very very dusty quickly. No way of changing lenses in the back of a safari vehicle. I had two micro 4/3 bodies...one with a 12-100 Pro Oly and the other with a 100-400 Leica Panasonic. I used the 12-100 most of the time, but did need the reach on a few occasions. The combo was perfect. (This will also be determined by where you go and if your guide can drive off the roads..in some instances we were allowed to and in others, we were not.) I recommend the 24-104 and the 100-400. Using a 2x crop factor that was a total of 24 to 800! Also, as mentioned, some people take a Sony bridge camera. I would think this would work well too. Maybe next time for me.

Also, I set up a pre-determined custom setting so that if there were action type shots, I could press a button and put my camera into a shutter priority- auto ISO- focus tracking - high speed mode. I used it once at a cheetah run. Usually I was either manual or A priority.

Animals get active at night...but often, game drives are not allowed at night. When the sun starts setting, you will quickly find that it gets dark and the limits of your camera will be tested. (As I said, mine was an M4/3 so I had more limitations than you.) You really have to bump up the ISO to get any kind of shots.

People think they are going to go to Africa and get Nat Geo pics...it may happen, but for the most part the photos will be memorable, but not Nat Geo quality. To do that you have to spend many many hours / days watching / tracking animals. You might get lucky to see a predator / prey chase or something, but don't count on it.

Take a pocket rocket, several lens pens, micro cloths and cleaning solution to deal with the dust. I had to clean my cameras, almost like guns, at the end of the day. On one game drive in the desert, they were covered in white powdery dust.

There are people in Africa! Interesting, wonderful people! I prefer people photography to animal photography any day of the week...including Africa. Do what you can to do some cultural adventures...meet the people. You wont be sorry.

Finally, once in a while, just put the camera down and enjoy the experience. The animals, etc...constantly looking through a view finder is no way to experience the place. Enjoy.

FJS

For shooting and "Big-5" and plains game, be prepared to shoot in low light. The animals generally are most active at dawn and dusk. And bracket your exposures if you have time.

philklim Loc: Harrisonburg, Va.

RWebb76 wrote:

This is a repost of one of my comments on Africa.

First, search UHH for African Safari info. There are a lot of topics and posts that are invaluable.

I just got back from a trip to S. Africa and Namibia. A bit different situation in that (I think) animals in Kenya are in a more open environment, thus more movement. Right now, it is summer. That means that the bulk of the animals will be looking for water at watering holes rather than puddles...thus it is easier to get photos of them. (Again...different parts of the continent..so take that into account.) I absolutely positively recommend that you take two bodies. It can get very very dusty quickly. No way of changing lenses in the back of a safari vehicle. I had two micro 4/3 bodies...one with a 12-100 Pro Oly and the other with a 100-400 Leica Panasonic. I used the 12-100 most of the time, but did need the reach on a few occasions. The combo was perfect. (This will also be determined by where you go and if your guide can drive off the roads..in some instances we were allowed to and in others, we were not.) I recommend the 24-104 and the 100-400. Using a 2x crop factor that was a total of 24 to 800! Also, as mentioned, some people take a Sony bridge camera. I would think this would work well too. Maybe next time for me.

Also, I set up a pre-determined custom setting so that if there were action type shots, I could press a button and put my camera into a shutter priority- auto ISO- focus tracking - high speed mode. I used it once at a cheetah run. Usually I was either manual or A priority.

Animals get active at night...but often, game drives are not allowed at night. When the sun starts setting, you will quickly find that it gets dark and the limits of your camera will be tested. (As I said, mine was an M4/3 so I had more limitations than you.) You really have to bump up the ISO to get any kind of shots.

People think they are going to go to Africa and get Nat Geo pics...it may happen, but for the most part the photos will be memorable, but not Nat Geo quality. To do that you have to spend many many hours / days watching / tracking animals. You might get lucky to see a predator / prey chase or something, but don't count on it.

Take a pocket rocket, several lens pens, micro cloths and cleaning solution to deal with the dust. I had to clean my cameras, almost like guns, at the end of the day. On one game drive in the desert, they were covered in white powdery dust.

There are people in Africa! Interesting, wonderful people! I prefer people photography to animal photography any day of the week...including Africa. Do what you can to do some cultural adventures...meet the people. You wont be sorry.

Finally, once in a while, just put the camera down and enjoy the experience. The animals, etc...constantly looking through a view finder is no way to experience the place. Enjoy.

This is a repost of one of my comments on Africa. ... (show quote)

Thank you for your advice
Phil

philklim Loc: Harrisonburg, Va.

RWebb76 wrote:

This is a repost of one of my comments on Africa.

First, search UHH for African Safari info. There are a lot of topics and posts that are invaluable.

I just got back from a trip to S. Africa and Namibia. A bit different situation in that (I think) animals in Kenya are in a more open environment, thus more movement. Right now, it is summer. That means that the bulk of the animals will be looking for water at watering holes rather than puddles...thus it is easier to get photos of them. (Again...different parts of the continent..so take that into account.) I absolutely positively recommend that you take two bodies. It can get very very dusty quickly. No way of changing lenses in the back of a safari vehicle. I had two micro 4/3 bodies...one with a 12-100 Pro Oly and the other with a 100-400 Leica Panasonic. I used the 12-100 most of the time, but did need the reach on a few occasions. The combo was perfect. (This will also be determined by where you go and if your guide can drive off the roads..in some instances we were allowed to and in others, we were not.) I recommend the 24-104 and the 100-400. Using a 2x crop factor that was a total of 24 to 800! Also, as mentioned, some people take a Sony bridge camera. I would think this would work well too. Maybe next time for me.

Also, I set up a pre-determined custom setting so that if there were action type shots, I could press a button and put my camera into a shutter priority- auto ISO- focus tracking - high speed mode. I used it once at a cheetah run. Usually I was either manual or A priority.

Animals get active at night...but often, game drives are not allowed at night. When the sun starts setting, you will quickly find that it gets dark and the limits of your camera will be tested. (As I said, mine was an M4/3 so I had more limitations than you.) You really have to bump up the ISO to get any kind of shots.

People think they are going to go to Africa and get Nat Geo pics...it may happen, but for the most part the photos will be memorable, but not Nat Geo quality. To do that you have to spend many many hours / days watching / tracking animals. You might get lucky to see a predator / prey chase or something, but don't count on it.

Take a pocket rocket, several lens pens, micro cloths and cleaning solution to deal with the dust. I had to clean my cameras, almost like guns, at the end of the day. On one game drive in the desert, they were covered in white powdery dust.

There are people in Africa! Interesting, wonderful people! I prefer people photography to animal photography any day of the week...including Africa. Do what you can to do some cultural adventures...meet the people. You wont be sorry.

Finally, once in a while, just put the camera down and enjoy the experience. The animals, etc...constantly looking through a view finder is no way to experience the place. Enjoy.

This is a repost of one of my comments on Africa. ... (show quote)

Thank you for your help
Phil

timbuktutraveler

philklim wrote:

Larry,
Thank you for your continued advice.
My Safari is not a photographic safari and our guides speak most Swahili.
So that is why I am focusing (no pun intended) on settings .
Will continue to practice.
Phil

I understand, Phil... but with the info I gave you you should be able to take great photos.
Yes my guides spoke English, but we never asked them about photos. The photo(s) were right in front of us
and the guides don't really know about photography.

philklim Loc: Harrisonburg, Va.

timbuktutraveler wrote:

I understand, Phil... but with the info I gave you you should be able to take great photos.
Yes my guides spoke English, but we never asked them about photos. The photo(s) were right in front of us
and the guides don't really know about photography.

Larry,
Thanks
Phil

bwana Loc: Bergen, Alberta, Canada

philklim wrote:

Dear Forum, br I have one last request for my Afri... (show quote)

Settings:
- P(rogram) Mode
- Minimum Shutter Speed: 1/125 or maybe 1/250 sec.
- Auto ISO
Covers pretty much any situation.

bwa

Bill P

robertjerl wrote:

In my opinion you are getting too concerned with t... (show quote)

Bravo. You are so right about spending more time seeing and less time overthinking.

And no one can go wrong taking advice from Joel Sartore.

jtwind

Point and Shoot Nature Photography by Stephen Ingraham. He shoots with that camera and has lots of info including specific custom settings.