mborn Loc: Massachusetts

Two bodies. I was lucky when I went to Botswana, the safari company supplied a long lens and a pro body. I had only to pack a second body with a w/a and medium tile lenses

Fotomacher Loc: Toronto

Interestingly, I was shooting with two bodies a few years ago, a D300s and a D700 and a bag of FX glass from 16mm fisheye, AFS 17-35mm f/2.8 all the way to a AF 80-200mm f/2.8D. It was cumbersome so I traded both bodies (plus cash) to get a D810 which I figured would be great since it has 2 crop modes in addition to 1:1.

I dropped the D810 in Botswana with a AFS 300mm f/2.8 lens attached. The impact broke the bayonet mount off the camera body. There is no camera shop in the Okavango delta but I was able to buy a loaner D7000 body from a photography guide for US$250. The lens survived the fall and all of my batteries were compatible as are the lenses. The drop was not an accident, it was a stupid, careless poor judgement call. And I was lucky. 2 bodies are not necessary. But when I go to Namibia in 2020, I am taking the D810 and a E-M1 that I use with my wife’s lens collection. We’ll have 3 bodies for 2 people so we should be OK.

rogerl Loc: UK (Harrogate, North Yorkshire)

Two bodies (& the idea of buying a used one rather than renting sounds worth considering). We went to Antarctica in 2004 with film cameras. I had a pocket camera & wife had a Nikon DSLR. One morning I found my pocket camera had inexplicably died. Murphy being firmly in charge, when we arrived onshore my wife found her Nikon wouldn't focus. One of the expedition crew was also shooting Nikon so he lent us his body so we could establish whether it was her camera body or lens playing up. It was the body (when we got back to Uk it turned out that the shutter curtain [a film camera, remember] was twisted). We were therefore without either camera until the expedition crew member said "do borrow my spare Nikon body" (there are some nice people around!) which she used for the rest of the trip. Take two bodies!

I don't have a roller case. Instead I use Lowepro backpack which fits nicely into a cabin bag; we then tend to leave the cabin bag with the tour company on arrival to pick up again on departure & use the backpack on safari (particularly useful if you're flying by small plane between parks as small plane sprefer soft baggage).

Did I mention - take two bodies?!

sb Loc: Florida's East Coast

I would put the 100-400 on your full-frame body. When I went to Sought Africa last year I did that and almost never needed more reach - and your result in doing that will be better photos (which you can crop if needed).

berchman Loc: South Central PA

You will not get "more reach" putting the 100-400 lens on a DX body. You will only get a narrower field of view. The image will not be brought closer as it would if, for example, you substituted a 10x binocular for an 8x binocular.

mizzee Loc: Boston,Ma

BowwowLenses is a good company. I’ve dealt with them a couple of times and they are EZ Peasey to work with. For your second camera, I’d suggest a mirrorless/micro 4/3s or a bridge or a super zoom. Weight will be an issue for you, so choose wisely!

alphonso49uk

I had the same conundrum on a safari to tanzania. I ended up buying a cheap d3200 to go with my d750 and 80-400 mm lens.I used the 80-400 a lot on the cheap d3200 and got excellent results. If youre shooting in daylight the lens is more important than the camera.

windshoppe Loc: Arizona

We did a safari in South Africa last year. I took my Canon 5DII with 24/105 lens and my 7DII with the 100/400 along with a 1.4 extender. Bought a double sling and had them both at the ready at all times. As far as I'm concerned that combination was ideal and I would highly recommend it. I should add that I purchased the 7DII a few months before the trip and was glad that I did, as I found the learning curve to be rather steep with that camera. Have a great trip!

Bird Dawg Loc: Georgia

I took 2 and it worked out perfect. 1 rented 100-400 and my walk around lens 24-120. Never changed lens outside.
Check out Lensrental.com - great company to do business with.
You are in for a treat.

johntaylor333

Two factors - if you will be taking any flights in small planes (to remote safari lodges, which many of them are), the baggage allowance is TINY and you should check. You can typically only take a camera, a lens, a book, changes of clothing and spit kit.

Also, the increased pixel count on the 5DIV would make it almost the same when cropped as the 7DII with its crop factor. MUCH better high ISO performance on the 5DIV (game drives are usually at dawn and dusk, so light is low). Think about the Canon 1.4X Extender for your 100-400 if you are worried about reach. I used this exact setup (5DIV, 100-400, 1.4X) but rarely found myself using the extender - see pictures, all at 400mm. We went to Kroger in 2014 and Namibia/Botswana/Zimbabwe in 2017. All great.

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genesampson

As said a DX on the long lens and FX on short one preferably that use the same batteries. Extra sd cards. Been to Africa 5 times and here now. Cleaning equip. If carry on weight limit take one out and carry it thru check in....only had that issue once. Never check high $$$ anything. A bean bag may be helpful depending on the vehicle. I took off filters for faster focus and better light. Be careful because you may find Africa is where you belong. Learn all you can about the San Bushmen as our mothers DNA goes back to them. Just my experience.

larryhav Loc: Charlotte, NC

Thanks John. Great photos!

BarbB

I am in exactly the same situation, with a trip planned to Namibia and South Africa and Victoria Falls next spring. I also have a 5DM4 and love it. A shortwhile back I asked this forum a similar question..The responses also were pretty stong toward a second back up body. At first I was thinking used 7DM2, but the 80D kept coming up as an option. People (including my local camera shop) suggested that body for a couple of reasons..The touch screen was similar to my 5DM4, and the dynamic range was better (they said) than the 7DM2, and the camera was less expensive. My plan is to use the crop sensor camera with my 70-300L and use my 5DM4 with my 24-105 most of the time. I am waiting to see if Canon announces any upgraded bodies for the 80D or 7DM2 after Photkinia in September, hoping that the prices might drop further on the 2 bodies that I am considering. As of now, I am leaning toward the 80D. I also considered renting, but for a 3-4 week rental, the cost is half the cost of a used body. Seems better to have the used body as a backup,and then I alsway have the option to sell should I decide I do not need it. Let usknow what you decide, and I would be most interested in hearing how it worked out on your trip! I am sure you will have a spectacular time!

catsanddogs

Hi-
When I went to Africa, I rented another body. Kept my 24-105 on one and my 100-400mii on the other. This made it easy to switch when something requiring a different range came up (ie elephants are just a bit big :) ) and kept dust from getting into the works.

philo Loc: philo, ca

One thing about going on your trip you won't be carrying around two bodies. You will be ride in a van or what ever. things happen so fast you don't have time to think let alone changing lens.
One other thing carry at least 4 fully charged batteries. S....happens and you don't want to lose power. Your camera becomes a paper weight without power. Take it from me i carried one extra battery and it was dead and so was I.