ricardo, thank you so much for this very useful information! This is my first wildlife photography trip. I am leaning towards going to S Africa for my nephew and his wife went there on their honeymoon last year and sung its praises.

I really enjoyed your photos of the birds. However, I have never taken photos of birds. They are very fast! I also appreciated your warning about the Congo. The pillowcase makes sense to me as it is compact when folded but large enough for the lens/camera.

It is an OM Solutions (formerly Olympus) OM-1 Mark ii. Since 2000, I have always had 2 camera bodies as my one camera died on my bucket list trip. So I had to use my cell phone for photos...not very good quality in 2000. I just purchased the 300-1200mm lens for micro 4/3s have small sensors and cannot take a lot of cropping. M 4/3s are relatively new to me. I started with digital cameras in 2000 with a Canon 5D. I ended with the Canon 5DM4. It became too heavy to hold. I do have a tripod but it isn't my favorite tool. I cannot change it quickly. I thought since all the advertising said "wildlife", it would make sense to purchase the lens for large animals.

I already have (in 35mm terms) a 24-200mm Pro and a 80-300mm Pro. Given the close proximity of the animals to the vehicle, I may have to return the 300mm-1200mm (it weighs almost 5 pounds but the IS is fantastic!) The only other trip that I thought I would be using it on is this November going to Hudson Bay in Canada and photographing the polar bears. Given it cost $2700, it's expensive for only 2 uses. I could rent the lens instead.

You have given me a great deal to think about for which I am very grateful. I started to look at your photos but given it is almost midnight, I need to wait until tomorrow. I am looking forward to it for the bird photos were fascinating!

Thank you ricardo for all that you shared.

Thank you Dmazur for your insights. I especially appreciated the comment to leave my tripod at home! All kidding aside, the IS on the OM-1 M2 (formerly Olympus) is very impressive. When reading your post, I could "see" the dry season water holes with many! people gathered around. That would be very frustrating for me. If it is rainy, then there will be more bugs...so many decisions!

I am traveling by myself meeting up with a photographic tour. When I am close to finalizing the trip, I will ask about nighttime shooting. That said, I would have to practice at home first with the strobe as I have never used one before. The idea sounds very interesting though!

I do have two camera bodies. The webbed belt is interesting given the 300mm-1200mm (35mm equiv) weighs almost 5 pounds. I do have one question though. What is the "foot" of the lens? I would think it is where it attaches to the camera body but if it is hanging down while I am moving, wouldn't that put too much stress on where it attaches to the camera? I did search asking about the "foot" of the lens, but Google, in its infinite wisdom, returned "focal" length results! :(

Again thank you Dmazur. The water hole scenario, especially, requires some additional thought on my part.

Hello! I am planning a 2025 African Safari. I am interested in large game (lions, gorilla's, elephants, etc. It is a bucket list vacation.

I just purchased the OM Solutions 150-600mm lens (300-1200mm 35mm equivalent), but is is not weather sealed. I have web pages that detail, by month, the overall weather for each month.

It appears that it is BEST to go when it is dry and dusty for that is when large game gather around shrinking waterholes.

If I do go then, what type of precautions should I take to protect the lens from dust? Has anybody been on an African safari who can tell me anything that they learned? Is the lens only good for borders, for which I don't have the skill set.

Anything I forgot to ask that I should know? Many thanks in advance! Linda

Hello! I am planning a 2025 African Safari. I am interested in large game (lions, gorilla's, elephants, etc. It is a bucket list vacation.

I just purchased the OM Solutions 150-600mm lens (300-1200mm 35mm equivalent), but is is not weather sealed. I have web pages that detail, by month, the overall weather for each month.

It appears that it is BEST to go when it is dry and dusty for that is when large game gather around shrinking waterholes.

If I do go then, what type of precautions should I take to protect the lens from dust? Has anybody been on an African safari who can tell me anything that they learned? Is the lens only good for borders, for which I don't have the skill set.

Anything I forgot to ask that I should know? Many thanks in advance! Linda

Great album on Flickr! These are truly amazing wildlife shots. Personally, I am just as interested in landscapes and scenery as I am in animals. I am adding pictures from a recent trip to Lake Nakuru National Park in Kenya.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/zug55/albums/72177720311370578/
There are different ways to approach a safari photographically, and what you want to get out of this will determine the equipment you will take.

As ricardo00 stated, Africa is a big place, and without knowing where you plan to go it is difficult to give good advice. I would agree with pretty much everything he said.

I want to stress that changing lenses in the field is not advised because safaris tend to be dusty. So I would take two bodies, each with a dedicated lens. I use Sony full-frame equipment, and I put my trusty 24-105mm on one body and the 100-400mm GM on the other. I also have the 1.4x extender that gets me to 560mm. (The set from Lake Nakuru that I posted above was shot entirely with these two lenses.) You want to have a standard zoom because often animals get very close and because there are ample opportunities for great landscape shots.

Your 150-600mm lens (300-1200mm 35mm equivalent) would be great for birding, but probably too long for everything else. For all practical purposes, 600mm (full-frame) probably would be enough reach, certainly for larger animals.

Traveling during rainy season can be tricky (depending on where you go). Roads can get impassable during heavy rains. (I just noticed that you mentioned South Africa in a later post. There, roads tend to be a little better, depending on where you go.)

There are many safari threads on UHH--I would take some time to dig them up

I like mizzee went to Tanzania and witnessed the Wildebeest crossing the Mara, amazing. Take two camera bodies and two lenses, one on each of the cameras. One for telephoto and one for wider shots, perhaps a 24-105 (48-205 35mm equiv.). We were told to take a hand towel to cover the cameras when not in use to avoid as much dust as possible. Take several lens cloths and keep a clean one in your pocket. If you have a rocket blower and wear a vest you may be able to use that as well. I found the dust manageable with precautions. We also took an empty bean bag and our guides purchased beans to fill them and collected them at the end of our tour to take home to eat. Overall enjoy and do not lose sleep over a dusty camera/lens. Hoping this helps. Gary

The best advice I would have for handling dust is something like these blowers for use on the lens before any other cleaning as the dust can scratch the front element. They are also useful for blowing dust off the exterior of the camera and for moving dust off the sensor. The latter should only be done indoors out of the wind and more dust.

Thank you, gwong1, for your helpful suggestions and encouragement! I used to have a vest; will have to revisit that. I really enjoyed reading about the bean bags to support your camera. I will check Amazon for bean bags. I don't know where I would find an empty bean bag. The bean bags I have found in the grocery store are all made of cellophane. I will purchase a rocket blower...for some reason, I have never used one! Thank you for the reassurance that the dust is manageable with precautions. I needed to read that!