Going to South Africa: Being new to this forum, I find it very educational. That said I would like some advice on lenses for a long trip to Zimbabwe,Botswana and South Africa. I use a...

guyaurora Loc: Aurora, Ohio

Being new to this forum, I find it very educational. That said I would like some advice on lenses for a long trip to Zimbabwe,Botswana and South Africa.
I use a Nikon D3200 with a 18-55 and 55-200 VR lenses.

Are theses satisfactory for landscape and close ups of the animals.
Any suggestions will be appreciated. I will also take 4 batteries and 4 32gb class 10 SD cards.

dylee8 Loc: South Florida

I just returned from a trip to South Africa, and have the following suggestions.

You will be taking two types of pictures - Safari and everything else. For non-safari such as street, scenes, etc what you have is sufficient.

For Safari, you need two things in the lens - no lens changes, and zoom up to at least 300 (i.e. 450 equivalent for D3200). For Nikon lens, you might consider at the very least (in order of preference); 28-300, 18-300, or 55-300. Of course there are better, more expensive, and longer reach lenses besides these ones.

zoomuin Loc: 3rd Rock from the Sun

I had been to South Africa on a safari and brought with me same choice of lenses, but I was shooting film (slides) so my advice to you on digital storage is that with only 32 gigs you may be short on storage. I went digital shortly after that trip. Consider taking more storage because you will be visiting several venues and shooting opportunities will be very abundant everywhere. Advice not related to photography, hydrate yourself and take good amount of electrolytes. Vaccination is a must with dosage of anti-malarial medication. My doctor even gave me some antibiotics to take with me just in case I need it and I did after being bitten by a tick. Bon voyage!

whwiden

You may want a second camera. A bridge/super zoom like the Nikon B700 is worth a look. With that, you might not need to purchase another DX lens. And you will get plenty of reach. I used one on a recent similar trip. For birds, your current set up does not have enough reach.

Fotomacher Loc: Toronto

Consider the Nikon 200-500 f/5.6 VR lens for your trip. Reasonably price for the reach, not too heavy and great IQ.

stuparr935 Loc: Dallas, Texas area

I've been to South Africa three times and any thing short of 300mm is too short for those long shots like a leopard hidding in a tree! The best zoom lens you could use is a 70-300 Nikon or any other zoom with at least the 300mm which actually gives you 450mm max zoom due to the sensor size and that is still hand-holdable... a sand bag would be great if the people who will be taking you on the safari outing have them. Good luck and happy hunting for the the Big Five....

cambriaman Loc: Central CA Coast

Definitely, a second body is in order. Back in 2008 we took what we had then: A Nikon D5000 with a Sigma 150-500mm lens, a Nikon D200 with a Tamron 18-270mm lens and a Sigma 10-20mm WA zoom. We never used the WA, never had a need.
Today, I would take my Nikon D300 with the Nikkor 200-500mm lens and my D800e with my Nikon 28-300mm lens. I would not bother with a WA lens. Never change lenses in the bush. In fact, you will probably want to have your cameras and lenses professionally cleaned upon your return to civilization.

Sladecam Loc: Vancouver, BC

guyaurora wrote:

Being new to this forum, I find it very educational. That said I would like some advice on lenses for a long trip to Zimbabwe,Botswana and South Africa.
I use a Nikon D3200 with a 18-55 and 55-200 VR lenses.

Are theses satisfactory for landscape and close ups of the animals.
Any suggestions will be appreciated. I will also take 4 batteries and 4 32gb class 10 SD cards.

Am guessing you'll be shooting jpeg? If so, your card count may well be fine, depending on "how long" you're going. If RAW, I'd respectfully suggest you're radically under-carded. Even if you could backup/download and then reformat daily, you'd only have 1600-1700 total shot capacity. I too went to SA a year and a half ago and was debating on whether to buy a Nikkor 200-500 f5.6 before going. Thank goodness I did. The bulk of my safari pics and surfing ones (Jeffrey's Bay...a gem of a spot) were taken with that lens. In fact, I've taken more pics with that lens than all my other lenses combined (mostly wildlife). Can't say enough positive things about the lens. Sharp, fantastic VR, not at all too heavy for what it is and terrific value. Others suggest a second body and I agree (I only had my D750 at the time) but if I had to choose between a second body and that lens, I'd pick the lens. On your D3200, it'll give you effective reach of 750 mm too.

Base_fiddle

I'll add my two cents. When I was in SA, a 300mm zoom wasn't enough. I agree with others who have said that. I also would recommend a second camera for when the zoom is too much. It's also better because you wouldn't have to change lenses in the back of a Range Rover. Antibiotics and diarrhea pills may come in handy. If you have a hard time waking up, bring something to get you going for the very early rides in the mornings. Most of all, enjoy the trip!

stuparr935 Loc: Dallas, Texas area

Sorry I must have gone brain-dead..... of course the new Tamron 150 to 600 mm zoom. It's hand-holdable and VR and not too heavy. I have used one for about 15 minutes and if I ever need more reach, like another African trip I'll go directly my camera store.... this is the best advices any one can give you. Have a great trip..... Stu

silveragemarvel Loc: Keller, Texas

Search my post Africa Safari photos in Photo Gallery. I returned 2 weeks ago from S. Africa safari (So. Africa, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe). Had 2 cameras - Nikon D800e with new Sigma 100-400mm lens for wildlife and Sony a6500 with 18-105mm for wide shots. I was quite satisfied with results from the Sigma.

Marilia Loc: Dallas, TX

Didn't he say he's taking FOUR 32GB cards? Not enough?

Tigger1 Loc: Surrey, BC Canada

guyaurora wrote:

Being new to this forum, I find it very educational. That said I would like some advice on lenses for a long trip to Zimbabwe,Botswana and South Africa.
I use a Nikon D3200 with a 18-55 and 55-200 VR lenses.

Are theses satisfactory for landscape and close ups of the animals.
Any suggestions will be appreciated. I will also take 4 batteries and 4 32gb class 10 SD cards.

Definitely take your battery charger! Add a Nikon 200-500mm f5.6 lens or an equivalent Sigma or Tamron and you are all set. Would suggest a second camera body equivalent to or newer than your D3200 such as a D3300 or better. If you are NOT taking a method of backing up your four 32gb memory cards, then I suggest taking 8 cards, particularly if shooting in RAW format. Each year I visit each of the three countries you are visiting plus Tanzania and Zambia and come home with no less than 8,000 photos from each trip. I carry 16 64gb cards and shoot in both RAW and jpg format depending on which camera I am using, (D7200, D5100, Olympus OMD EM10 Mk11). Have you tried shooting video clips with your D3200? If not, I suggest you practice a little before going to Africa. Sometimes a short video clip really tells a story better than a series of still photographs, just my opinion!
If this is your first trip to Africa or to any of the three countries you are going to visit, you are in for an eye opening mind bending experience of a life time!!
Have a great trip.

Regards,

Garth

guyaurora Loc: Aurora, Ohio

I will be taking a minimum of 4 32gb SD cards and 4 batteries. Do you feel I need more storage? I will probably shoot either Raw or Raw+JPEG.

guyaurora Loc: Aurora, Ohio

Thank you for that excellent response. When I visited the Galapagos and Machu Pichu last year I took around 2400 pictures. That was 15 days. Africa will be 27 days. So I will up my storage for sure. What about a couple of 128gb cards? I am going to trade my 55-200 for a 55-300 lens. What do you feel the difference between the D3200 and D3300 is?