lens for African Safari?

96offsuit

Im heading on a 3 week african safari next August and Im looking to get a decent telephoto lens around €600 mark for the job. I've currently a 18-135mm lens, but since I'll be travelling in an overland truck i'd like something with a bit more power.

any suggestions and places online where to look?

cheers,
mike

Covey

What fit, kinda important?

Ricky91t

I know smeone who took a nikon D40 and a 70-300 vr just so they had a cam with them.The photo's were good but they sid they thought tbey neededs a better lense maybe a sigma 135-400 or the 50-500 if you're willing to spen abit more
http://www.7dayshop.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=777_1&products_id=99504
by the way thats a canon
if you're on nikon theres this
http://www.7dayshop.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=777_1&products_id=99548
and another one
http://www.7dayshop.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=777_1&products_id=99543
18-135 sounds like a nikon??

nilhg

96offsuit wrote: »

Im heading on a 3 week african safari next August and Im looking to get a decent telephoto lens around €600 mark for the job. I've currently a 18-135mm lens, but since I'll be travelling in an overland truck i'd like something with a bit more power.

any suggestions and places online where to look?

cheers,
mike

I think the general rule is, the longer the better, the faster the better, at your budget you will probably get one but not both.

Online places in the sticky, keep an eye out for posts by leinsterman, he's in Africa ATM.

quilmore

I've been to africa myself
at the time with a 70-300 4-5.6
I'd say the ideal lens (if you have a nikon camera) is the 80-400 VR
there is plenty of light, no "need" for a 2.8
VR will do you more than 2.8 in this case

get spare batteries and a portable storage device (hard disk with memory card slots), cards and one or even 2 batteries aren't enough for even a day

96offsuit

sorry guys...yeah I have a nikon d80.

Ricky91t

As im guessing this is your first safari??Im guessing you wont be attemping action shots like following cheetah's at slow shutter speed's.If you're not going to i think you wouldnt need VR or f/2.8 the weather will be very sunny there and if you're using auto it will bring the shutter speed's up to 1/500 which wont produce much camera shake.Also the 2 lens i showed you has a tripod mount so you could buy a cheap monopod off ebay http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/XL-PRO-Camera-MONOPOD-fit-SONY-CANON-OLYMPUS-PENTAX-etc_W0QQitemZ310008435610QQihZ021QQcategoryZ3325QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
This would help with any camera shake and i hink there would be enough space on the jeep to use it.This will also take some of the weight off your arms.By the way the above lens are in sterling but they will post to ireland:D

templeathea

Make sure you bring a 50mm prime as well in case the dust screws up your zoom

Paulw

Leinsterman is currently on safari. He has his 70-200mm, his 100-400mm for wildlife, and then a macro and a wide angle for landscapes.

Personally, I'd leave the 50mm at home, and bring as long a lens as you can get.

soccerc

96offsuit wrote: »

sorry guys...yeah I have a nikon d80.

Blatant advertising but This lens would be perfect

qwertz

Don't bother changing lenses in the wilderness or you will be cleaning your gear every evening. Sand gets everywhere.

You might want to consider a teleconverter since your budget is quite low. Alternatively you could rent a lens.

SOL

I'd actually say that if you are going on a jeep safari you would wand a fast lens rather than a long one, because being able to take photos on a moving jeep requires exceptionally fast shutter speeds, (I know it is bright on safari but the faster the better),

and secondly I found that when shooting from a Jeep you are relatively immobile (sounds contradicotry in know) but it means that vegitation gets in the way so most things that are far away are too obscured to be worth photographing, with the possible exception of birds. To that end I'd reccomend a 80-200 f2.8 which is probably slightly over budget, and a teleconverter aswell if you come across must have long shots.

I cant overstate the importance of a monopod. Buy one. It is imperative for any kind of weight of lens becuase you will be holding it all day.

I'd also say that given that it is the holiday of a life time it would be very silly not too buy what you need in terms of camera gear, batteries, I'd imagine the holiday is going to cost fair whack.

If you want to see some of the photos I took on safari, all of the following (except the wideangle ones) were on a 80-200f2.8 with a D50, I had a gitzo monopod, the cheapest one they do afaik. http://www.flickr.com/photos/quiglec/sets/72157601456148394/

stcstc

have you thought of hiring something instead


you might not get another chance to go on safari, why not make the most of it and hire a serious piece of glass instead of buy a compromise

ThOnda

This one, maybe?

melekalikimaka

http://www.camerarmor.com/products/?brand=Nikon&model=D80

this too

Ricky91t

ThOnda wrote: »

This one, maybe?

Haha what happened to that:D
Maybe rental is a Good idea calumet in the uk do this might be able to get a cheao flight over and back
http://www.calumetphoto.co.uk/ctl?ac.ui.pn=common.IncSel&ac.ui.if=text/rentaldest.jsp

96offsuit

Great information and suggestions guys...keep em coming! As I'm only a newbie to the whole DSLR world your advice is greatly appreciated.

stcstc

calumet have a branch in belfast, dont need to fly to the uk, you can just hop on the train instead

the only issue with hire is that you need to give a credit card that could take the full value of the lens as deposit, they dont take the money unless ya doa runner though

cgf

A lot of what you are going to be able to shoot will depend on what season it is, as in dry or rainy.

Rainy season you are going to have to get close as the vegetation will prohibit distant shots where as in the dry season you will be able to get distant shots.

Can I ask where in Africa you are going?

I was in Namibia & Botswana for 3w on a camping safari end of Oct / Nov, the tail end of their dry season and we saw massive amounts of game and bird species.

Had these 3 lenses with me

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EF-70-300mm-f-4-5.6-IS-USM-Lens-Review.aspx

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EF-28-135mm-f-3.5-5.6-IS-USM-Lens-Review.aspx

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EF-50mm-f-1.4-USM-Lens-Review.aspx

A bigger zoom would have been handy but the 300 did a reasonable job. The 28-135 was handy as the walk-around and the 50 was good for closeups of rock art etc.

Make sure you have hoods and cleaning equipment. Over a 3-week trip your camera & lens will get dirty and you will need to clean them.

I had a few of these with me (bought b4 they hiked their delivery charges);

http://www.7dayshop.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=777_1&products_id=99796

Enjoy, it's an amazing continent. If you haven't been there before it's way different.

96offsuit

cgf wrote: »

A lot of what you are going to be able to shoot will depend on what season it is, as in dry or rainy.

Rainy season you are going to have to get close as the vegetation will prohibit distant shots where as in the dry season you will be able to get distant shots.

Can I ask where in Africa you are going?

I was in Namibia & Botswana for 3w on a camping safari end of Oct / Nov, the tail end of their dry season and we saw massive amounts of game and bird species.

Had these 3 lenses with me

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EF-70-300mm-f-4-5.6-IS-USM-Lens-Review.aspx

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EF-28-135mm-f-3.5-5.6-IS-USM-Lens-Review.aspx

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EF-50mm-f-1.4-USM-Lens-Review.aspx

A bigger zoom would have been handy but the 300 did a reasonable job. The 28-135 was handy as the walk-around and the 50 was good for closeups of rock art etc.

Make sure you have hoods and cleaning equipment. Over a 3-week trip your camera & lens will get dirty and you will need to clean them.

I had a few of these with me (bought b4 they hiked their delivery charges);

http://www.7dayshop.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=777_1&products_id=99796

Enjoy, it's an amazing continent. If you haven't been there before it's way different.

hey,

Im going on a 3 week overland safari. starting off in cape town then up to Namibia & Botswana and finishing off at victoria falls. yes I can see how the camera would get dirty...what cleaning equipment would you recommend? Whats the story with been able to recharge batteries along the trip? We'll be camping every night as part of the safari so I don't know what's to be expected regarding electrical outputs etc..

quilmore

96offsuit wrote: »

hey, Im going on a 3 week overland safari. starting off in cape town then up to Namibia & Botswana and finishing off at victoria falls.

in VF is (was there a few years ago) an aligator farm with some sort of zoo
the crocs are great
but they also have a high path over the lion's enclosure, very good for pics

get as many batteries you're budget allows you (alternate batteries on ebay are cheap and work almost as well as original for a few months or even a year), you don't want to carry your photographic equipment and not to be able to take pictures because the juice your batteries is gone

qwertz

Consider getting insurance for it as well.

96offsuit

Was just looking up about a 70-300mm VR lens for the D80....found this:

http://www.pixmania.com/ie/uk/380911/art/nikon/af-s-vr-70-300-mm-f-4-5-5.html

What do ye guys think of that lens? Its got VR and abit of zoom ability.

cgf

96offsuit wrote: »

hey,

Im going on a 3 week overland safari. starting off in cape town then up to Namibia & Botswana and finishing off at victoria falls. yes I can see how the camera would get dirty...what cleaning equipment would you recommend? Whats the story with been able to recharge batteries along the trip? We'll be camping every night as part of the safari so I don't know what's to be expected regarding electrical outputs etc..

I did a similar camping trip ( http://www.wilddog-safaris.com/safari_tours/delta_and_dunes/ ) for 2w, a circular route from Windhoek to Windhoek. Headed to Okavango Delta in Bots, then to Etosha in Northern Namibia, down along the Skeleton Coast, into the Namib desert and then back to Windhoek. Great trip. Okavango is extremely different to the rest of the terrain - we spent 2 nights "bush" camping there on an island and had some close encounters with elephants. The noise in the bush can be a bit off putting when you are trying to sleep but eventually you get there.

With regard to charging batteries, I had a battery grip for my 350d and a spare single battery which I never had to use. Almost every night we were at a campsite that had power so was able to recharge as we went along. If you see the expression "bush", it means you will be out in the boonies, no power, no running water and you'll need a spade for a dump

For cleaning I brought a basic cleaning kit - some cloths, paper, a blow yokey and a cleaning pen. I brought about 10 gig of memory. I'm not experienced enuff to shoot in raw format so most were using the presets on the camera so they didn't take as much space. One habit I got into was to swap the cards after every few days regardless of whether they were full or not. The basic theory behind this was to minimise the loss of shots least a card ever go corrupt - I'd sooner loose 2 or 3 days shots than a weeks....

You will need to take care when you are in the Namib desert. The sand is fine and will get absolutely everywhere. Try to avoid changing lenses other wise you will get sand into your camera body - which ain't good.

You will need a local power adapter - they use the old style round 3 pin plugs in Southern Africa - you can get them locally upon arrival. Another yoke I found handy was ( http://www.maplin.co.uk/module.aspx?ModuleNo=115319&doy=24m12 ) which allows you to charge usb devices i.e. MP3 players, some digital cameras etc. Cuts down on the amount of adapters etc you need to carry.

In Namibia & Bots, in the larger towns you will have access to 'supermarkets'. They tend to be 1 stop shops and will have anything & everything you want. A lot of the SA chains have moved in, similar to British stores & here.

If you are working off a budget, make sure you keep a few quid for the rafting at Vic Falls (about 100 US $ I think) - great crack. The water shouldn't be too bad in August. A gang of use did it at the end of October a few years back and nearly every rapid was white knuckles time. Make sure you go on a 'participation' raft when you do the paddling - it's a real adrenaline buzz. The down side is the climb back out of the gorge - a killer but the bottle of beer at the top is nectar

Enjoy, a great continent and you'll have some great experiences.

96offsuit

cgf wrote: »

I did a similar camping trip ( http://www.wilddog-safaris.com/safari_tours/delta_and_dunes/ ) for 2w, a circular route from Windhoek to Windhoek. Headed to Okavango Delta in Bots, then to Etosha in Northern Namibia, down along the Skeleton Coast, into the Namib desert and then back to Windhoek. Great trip. Okavango is extremely different to the rest of the terrain - we spent 2 nights "bush" camping there on an island and had some close encounters with elephants. The noise in the bush can be a bit off putting when you are trying to sleep but eventually you get there.

With regard to charging batteries, I had a battery grip for my 350d and a spare single battery which I never had to use. Almost every night we were at a campsite that had power so was able to recharge as we went along. If you see the expression "bush", it means you will be out in the boonies, no power, no running water and you'll need a spade for a dump

For cleaning I brought a basic cleaning kit - some cloths, paper, a blow yokey and a cleaning pen. I brought about 10 gig of memory. I'm not experienced enuff to shoot in raw format so most were using the presets on the camera so they didn't take as much space. One habit I got into was to swap the cards after every few days regardless of whether they were full or not. The basic theory behind this was to minimise the loss of shots least a card ever go corrupt - I'd sooner loose 2 or 3 days shots than a weeks....

You will need to take care when you are in the Namib desert. The sand is fine and will get absolutely everywhere. Try to avoid changing lenses other wise you will get sand into your camera body - which ain't good.

You will need a local power adapter - they use the old style round 3 pin plugs in Southern Africa - you can get them locally upon arrival. Another yoke I found handy was ( http://www.maplin.co.uk/module.aspx?ModuleNo=115319&doy=24m12 ) which allows you to charge usb devices i.e. MP3 players, some digital cameras etc. Cuts down on the amount of adapters etc you need to carry.

In Namibia & Bots, in the larger towns you will have access to 'supermarkets'. They tend to be 1 stop shops and will have anything & everything you want. A lot of the SA chains have moved in, similar to British stores & here.

If you are working off a budget, make sure you keep a few quid for the rafting at Vic Falls (about 100 US $ I think) - great crack. The water shouldn't be too bad in August. A gang of use did it at the end of October a few years back and nearly every rapid was white knuckles time. Make sure you go on a 'participation' raft when you do the paddling - it's a real adrenaline buzz. The down side is the climb back out of the gorge - a killer but the bottle of beer at the top is nectar

Enjoy, a great continent and you'll have some great experiences.

Now that is some quality information from someone who's been there and done it...thanks alot mate. Yeah my biggest worry would be the recharging of batteries etc...I can handle the no running water and everything else. I'll def bring a battery grip and about 2/3 spare batteries.

May I ask what lens did you bring? I've an 18-135mm for my d80 and thinking of investing in a 70-300 VR lens for the trip.

cgf

96offsuit wrote: »

Now that is some quality information from someone who's been there and done it...thanks alot mate. Yeah my biggest worry would be the recharging of batteries etc...I can handle the no running water and everything else. I'll def bring a battery grip and about 2/3 spare batteries.

May I ask what lens did you bring? I've an 18-135mm for my d80 and thinking of investing in a 70-300 VR lens for the trip.

Had these 3 lenses with me for a Canon 350D

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/R...ns-Review.aspx

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/R...ns-Review.aspx

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/R...ns-Review.aspx

Used the 70-300 most of the time. A 400 would have been nice but would find it hard to justify the spend.

Any other Qs on the trip drop me a PM

One thing to bear in mind is that some folk can become too focused on taking photos while on a trip - photo's are good for looking back but the main thing is to enjoy the place while you are there.

mervifwdc

Good advise above. Basically I would beg borrow or steal to have about 3 batteries with me as well as a charger for the times you'll be camping away from power for a few days. Even where there is power, you'll have a bus load of people queueing for it (overlanding - right?) and it may only be on for a few hours per day. Don't be afraid of the ebay cheapos.

Bring plastic zip lock bags for stuff to keep the dust out of them - especially your camera cleaning equipment.

Organise a bean bag for yourself. Something like a wash bag with a good zip, then locally buy a bag of rice and shove it into it. Hey presto, solid camera mount for when you want it.

I'm going to disagree with some of the opinions above about the amount of light. The best shots are to be got at sunup, and sundown. At those times, you may not have so much light, and all the help you can get will be needed. so, fast lenses, VR (IS for cannon), beanbags, monopods etc, all come into play. Cheapest being the beanbag. Note that if you are in a vehicle on a game drive, don't be afraid to ask the driver to kill the engine when you want to take a special shot. otherwise the engine vibration will come up through the beanbag of monopod.

Dont't be afraid to use ISO to help your shutter speeds. If our not used to shooting with a long lens, then as a rule for a 300mm, keep the speed over 1/400 or so. 400mm keep it over 1/500 or so. Practice with the long lens before you go and look at your results at 100% on the computer at different speeds.

As to focal lengths, you will always want longer. Especially in Botswana where you can get some pretty open areas. When in Botswana, the Chobe National park is about the best. And in Kasane (town at entrance nearest to Vic falls) you can do amazing evening boat rides on the river with great game viewing from them. I'd say 300mm is the absolute minimum you want. I've used a 400mm and a 1.4 extender on it. and still wanted more. I'm not familiar with Nikon gear, but a 80-400VR sounds like heaven to me.

Shoot raw if you can, there are relativly inexpensive cards and download devices now so storage is not the issue it was 3 years ago. The exposure is a killer to get right, again, all the help you can get.

And mainly - enjoy the hell out of it!

Merv.

Calina

just on the batteries - I strongly reiterate what has been said about having a few.

I ran into this issue in Morocco where there was no electricity at the camp and we were relying on a diesel generator for a few hours power every day and I had to compete with mobile phones for time.

oh and I had three with me.

96offsuit

Yeah i totally agree with the plenty of batteries issue....i intend bringing a battery grip and about 5 batteries in total. What exactly is the purpose of the beanbag by the way??

kensutz

To provide support for shooting long range shots and reduce camera shake.

Ricky91t

Set of 2 Batteries
around 20 + p&p maybe buy two sets so you can charge before you leave and have around 2,500 shots between them and your original battery

stcstc

have a look on 7dayshop, i bought some on there, for my canons, only like 10 stg for 2 and they actually bigger power than the canon proper ones

mervifwdc

By placing the beanbag on anything solid (rock, car roof, car door window etc) and then sitting the camera and lens on it, it becomes as solid as a tripod, but can be used in safari trucks. Some of the safari drivers even carry them if you ask.

96offsuit wrote: »

Yeah i totally agree with the plenty of batteries issue....i intend bringing a battery grip and about 5 batteries in total. What exactly is the purpose of the beanbag by the way??