Safari photos

[V8LM]

Taking the family on safari in August and wondered (a) what lens(es) should I consider and (b) what compact camera would be best for the kids (12, 14 and 17).

For (a), my current lenses include a 17-40 and 70-200 (Canon 1D with 1.3x frame). Should I stick with these two, or use a single but heavy 28-300? Or get an extender, and if so, which one?

For (b), any recommendations greatly received. I know of things like the Sony HX20, Nikon Coolpix S9300 and Canon PowerShot SX260; but have no experience with any. Good camera, long zoom, and compact are the requirements I suppose.

Thanks.

[Jasper3.0]

I lived in SA for two years and spent a lot of time realising that for the majority of animals and birds that you want to shoot, 300mm is the bare minimum, with 400mm as a better choice.

On my last trip in SA I rented a 400mm with Canon x2 with my own 70 to 200 and 1.4 x. This covered 99% of what I wanted to shoot.

This shot was taken with a 300 + 1.4. http://www.flickr.com/photos/baglephoto/7065225399...

So if you can I would look to rent a big lense, if at all possible.

[RobbieKB]

I've never been on a safari but I would guess you will need at the very minimum a 75-300mm. I would think ideally you would want up to 400mm or the 500mm lens if you have deep pockets. As fast as the compact camera question goes, I wouldn't be able to help.

I'm jealous though!

[Jasper3.0]

Where are you off to?

[NormalWisdom]

Depends where you go I guess. In the Masai Mara, I didn't need much more than 200mm as everything was within 30 yards of the jeep at some time or other........ My Sigma 18-250 served very well indeed (on a D50 at the time)

[V8LM]

Jasper3.0 said:

Where are you off to?

Ulusaba - http://www.ulusaba.virgin.com/

[Jasper3.0]

Very nice, we managed a couple of trips to the Kruger, but no where near as palatial!

Can get chilly in August and it will be dry as a bone.

[Japveesix]

V8LM said:

Ulusaba - http://www.ulusaba.virgin.com/

Wow, very jealous that looks lovely.

I'd take a 300mm lense if you can get one. 200 won't be enough for a lot of things. You'll get elephant and gazelles and so on wandering right next to the truck where any lens will do but the birds, the leopards hidden in trees 300ft away and the hippos/crocs half way across a river will need a longer lens.

Enjoy it though, I had an amazing time when I went and wish I'd had a better camera/lens at the time.

[xrrr]

V8LM said:

Taking the family on safari in August and wondered (a) what lens(es) should I consider and (b) what compact camera would be best for the kids (12, 14 and 17).

For (a), my current lenses include a 17-40 and 70-200 (Canon 1D with 1.3x frame). Should I stick with these two, or use a single but heavy 28-300? Or get an extender, and if so, which one?

For (b), any recommendations greatly received. I know of things like the Sony HX20, Nikon Coolpix S9300 and Canon PowerShot SX260; but have no experience with any. Good camera, long zoom, and compact are the requirements I suppose.

Thanks.

I was lucky enough to go a few years ago. I took a 40d with 70-200 f4 and 1.4 extender. It was good enough and versatile enough for most things. Very happy with the majority of the shots I brought home. http://www.flickr.com/photos/xrrr/sets/72157624079...

My quibbles were:
(1) A lot of the game drives are first thing and last thing in the day - therefore are lots of shadows. My f4 lens running at f5.6 with the extender on it struggled a bit with shutter speed
(2) The reach was not *quite* long enough

The benefits were:
(1) Quite a light set up to carry on the plane and also carry around all day
(2) I could take the extender off if we were close to the animals (I did have a 17-55 lens also that I used on occasion)

[_dobbo_]

I found my Sigma 150-500 was good for length but like the poster above struggled occasionally with light.

This was at 500mm and is cropped - we never got closer to any Lions or many other animals.



It can be much darker than you expect in the morning/evening



The overwhelming advice I'd give is for god's sake don't buy anything - unless you've got thousands to spend. Much much better to rent a nice fast telephoto zoom lens for the holiday. I wish I'd done this. My Sigma has never been on my camera again in several years now. I could have rented some insanely good Nikon glass for less money.

[Zelda Pinwheel]

I hired a Canon EF28-300mm f/3.5-5.6L IS USM from lensesforhire, well worth it.


IMG_3048 by katy_nicolson, on Flickr


IMG_4026.CR2 by katy_nicolson, on Flickr

We went to the Masai Mara in June so the weather wasn't great, but it was much quieter than it would have been a few weeks later - we were able to get pretty close to everything.

My 2p's worth:

1) Take FAST memory cards.

2) Put the camera down, stop and actually LOOK at things occasionally, you will be rewarded.

Have fun. I am most envious.

[V8LM]

Zelda Pinwheel said:

I hired a Canon EF28-300mm f/3.5-5.6L IS USM from lensesforhire.

Thanks all. Think I will do this.

As for the compact/bridge; it's either three CoolPix P510s (as they come in three different colours), or a Sony 200V, a Panasonic FZ150, and a Nikon 510. There will still be a fight over which colour or which camera though.

[LongQ]

V8LM said:

Thanks all. Think I will do this.

The other options would be to buy (new or used) and then sell on afterwards.

For an extended hire period it may be possible for certain lenses to work out at about the same cost Maybe even less cost but I would think that would require some luck is buying new.

One benefit might be that you could get the lens earlier and familiarise yourself with it before going. That may be useful.

On the other hand you have the hassle of selling the lens.

[V8LM]

Good point. It hired one a few years back for Le Mans, so have some limited experience with it.

[starnberg]

I rented a 70-200 f2.8 (although non-IS) on a 1.6 crop body and it was long enough for 95% of what we saw plus generally short enough for action closer to the landy. Saw lots of 100-400s in use but, on a 1.6 crop at least, it's a pretty long minimum length. Swapping lenses is a pain with dust etc and fleeting sightings.

Monopod can be helpful as well while in the vehicle (though with a quick release).

[HereBeMonsters]

It depends how good your guides are. This was shot with a compact Leica:



This with a 70-300 Sigma (not at full range) on a Nikon D50:



Maybe get a 1.5x or 2.0x converter?

[havoc]

Dobbo, those lions are fantastic - beautiful capture!


Agree with the above - we were in Tanzania's northern-circuit and I had one body with a 70-300IS and another with a 17-50 f/2.8 on it. The 17-50 was only ever required for elephants* and landscapes.

I found the 300mm to be a little short at times...most notably when trying to get good photos of rhino, cheetah and all but one of the leopards we saw. 200mm will just frustrate you terribly, no matter how good the actual lens.

I'd either:-
- get a TC - the 1.4x may be a bit short but IIRC the 2x causes problems with either AF, aperture or both?!?
- hire a lens (probably the best bet...wish I had in some ways)
- take the 28-300 IF it's sharp enough at the long end (my 70-300 wasn't great at full-stretch, hence why I wish I'd hired a better lens)


Re: compact cameras - depends how clued-up your kids are. Something like a modern Powershot with 6x (or more) zoom, rudimentary IS and a fair level of manual control might be up for it, if they know how to drive it or if you can set it up for them. They've then got video capability too, which would be nice...



* Surprisingly large creatures, especially when you try and view them through a zoom lens!

[V8LM]

Update: I rented the 28-300 and that was the only lens I look with me. Where we were 300 mm on the 1D mkIII body (1.3 frame) was often plenty. Rarely did I need the 28, but was comforting knowing I had the capability. As was said, most activity is t sunrise and sunset, so light is an issue. The 5.6 of the 28-300 at 300 mm is troublesome. It is also heavy, but I knew that. Focussing in low light is very problematic. Also severe vignetteing at 300 mm.

Some examples:



1000 ISO, 160 mm, f20, 1/160.





ISO 3200, 180 mm, f5.6, 0.5 secs (handheld).





cropped, from this:



ISO 320, 300 mm, f6.3, 1/320



Also bought some Sony HX200Vs for the kids. Pretty amazing piece of kit - if only for the zoom:

View from the lodge taken at 4.8 mm zoom:



zoom to maximum optical zoom of 144 mm (30x optical zoom):



and then in-camera digital enhanced zoom:



These are the equivalent SLR shots taken at 28 mm:



and at 300 mm:

[tim-b]

I can't really see hiring lenses as making the most financial sense TBH - for a long trip the rates can really add up. If you buy 2nd-hand, chances are you can sell it for around the same you paid for it (minus ebay fees/postage if you go that route). Also it means you can get used to the lens long before you leave for your trip and learn it's limitations without it costing extra. There are only 2 drawbacks - don't damage it, and don't fall in love with it, otherwise the man-maths falls apart!

[LongQ]

tim-b said:

I can't really see hiring lenses as making the most financial sense TBH - for a long trip the rates can really add up. If you buy 2nd-hand, chances are you can sell it for around the same you paid for it (minus ebay fees/postage if you go that route). Also it means you can get used to the lens long before you leave for your trip and learn it's limitations without it costing extra. There are only 2 drawbacks - don't damage it, and don't fall in love with it, otherwise the man-maths falls apart!

True-ish.

For the more expensive lenses the temporary outlay might require a fair chunk of liquidity tied up for a while. And that's assuming you can find an example of the lens you are targeting when you need it.

For example I was looking at Canon 500 or 600mm opportunities yesterday. The few recent sales of the MkI 500mm f4 with IS suggest a price level of £3,700 to £4000. (The new MkII 500mm is about £8,500 at 'Highstreet' prices.)

But there not that many around. Whether this will change with the end of the summer sports season and the potential for improved availability of the new model I don't know. It seems likely that the price will stay much as it is. From memory I seem to recall that the lens sold at around £6,500 rrp when it was introduced. I would expect the used price to stay about the same as now for a while, given the cost of the new model.

For the 28-300 L WEX lists at £2099.

Recent eBay results suggest that used deals can be done at about £1100 to £1200 but not above that since £1500 seems to lead to no sale results. So if one assumes that insurance would be about the same, like for like, whether owning or renting the cost of hire would need to exceed about £1000 to make purchase from new an option. But purchase used, if one can find what you need when you need it, would indeed look quite viable.

All of which means that a used item deal, assuming one has the cash spare to invest, could be pretty good in terms of retained value - minus, of course, selling costs.

Buying new, on the other hand, would probably be best left to the agencies.

For more run-of-the-mill stuff I agree entirely although I guess that depends a little on what sort of deal one can get for the rental and how averse one might be to dealing with the sale after the holiday.