Best lens for a Safari
Discussion
Newbie to these waters so be gentle please, going on a Safari in May and currently have a Canon 350d with a Efs 18-55mm lens and a ultrasonic 55-200mm lens. I am under the impression I should get a 300mm lens as I will be mainly shooting from the back of a landrover or hopefully out the top. I also have bought 4 batteries and have 2 2gb cards and 2 8gb cards. Am I missing anything else? Completely new to camera stuff. We have a couple of 14mp point and clicks for backup aswell.
Shinobi said:
Sorry, I meant best in terms of size not best best. Thanks for the cheaper link I was hoping to spend under £150 but worrying that wouldn't be enough.
If I was going on safari I'd be wanting the best possible photo's to remember it by, if that means hiring a good quality lens rather than buying something cheap and nasty then so be it.For your budget you can hire the 100-400L for 18 days, do you need it for longer than that?
Dogsey said:
If I was going on safari I'd be wanting the best possible photo's to remember it by, if that means hiring a good quality lens rather than buying something cheap and nasty then so be it.
For your budget you can hire the 100-400L for 18 days, do you need it for longer than that?
That's a good price, not concerned about owning the lense as I don't think I'll use it afterwards to be honest. Thanks for the links and advice I think hiring is the way to go.For your budget you can hire the 100-400L for 18 days, do you need it for longer than that?
I used my 70-300IS (non-L, non-DO), and it was 'enough' - got some good photos, got some which weren't quite there. If I went again I'd be tempted to hire some L-series glass - vs the cost of the holiday, the hire cost is quite small. Also, the 300 range again was 'enough' - a 400 would be perfect. Take a shorter lens* too for when you're watching elephants / giraffe - you'd be surprised how close you get and how suddenly they fill a zoom-lens! 
I'd also take more memory - I was using a 20D (8.2Mp) and a 40D (~10Mp) (so I didn't have to swap lenses) and managed to rattle-off 30+ Gb of photos in 7 days, shooting RAW. So either get a back-up or get another couple of memory cards - 4Gb Sandisk III's should be enough and won't be that £££.
(Actually - how quick are your cards / how good is your camera's buffer / what's the fps? If you're lucky enough to catch a big cat going full-tilt, you'll have it on full-auto and won't want to be caught with a full buffer after 3-4 shots)
* Take VERY good care over lens-swapping - dust genuinely gets EVERYWHERE!
I'd also take more memory - I was using a 20D (8.2Mp) and a 40D (~10Mp) (so I didn't have to swap lenses) and managed to rattle-off 30+ Gb of photos in 7 days, shooting RAW. So either get a back-up or get another couple of memory cards - 4Gb Sandisk III's should be enough and won't be that £££.
(Actually - how quick are your cards / how good is your camera's buffer / what's the fps? If you're lucky enough to catch a big cat going full-tilt, you'll have it on full-auto and won't want to be caught with a full buffer after 3-4 shots)
* Take VERY good care over lens-swapping - dust genuinely gets EVERYWHERE!
Having been a couple of times I'd make sure you have a decent zoom as well as something reasonably wide.
On one trip there were elephants right next to the jeep as well as big cats about 200 yards away.
I'd probably go for the Sigma 50-500 as a do it all lens if we go back. It's massive though.
Some of the landscapes were pretty spectacular too. Ideally two cameras would be the best option (to avoid egtting dust into everything).
On one trip there were elephants right next to the jeep as well as big cats about 200 yards away.
I'd probably go for the Sigma 50-500 as a do it all lens if we go back. It's massive though.
Some of the landscapes were pretty spectacular too. Ideally two cameras would be the best option (to avoid egtting dust into everything).
Speed addicted said:
Having been a couple of times I'd make sure you have a decent zoom as well as something reasonably wide.
Definitely thisSpeed addicted said:
I'd probably go for the Sigma 50-500 as a do it all lens if we go back. It's massive though.
I use this (for a great deal of stuff). It is massive, and heavy but with the HSM an excellent low-cost (relatively) performer.Speed addicted said:
Some of the landscapes were pretty spectacular too. Ideally two cameras would be the best option (to avoid egtting dust into everything).
This is sound advice - Was in the Mara and the dust is.... well, dustier than a dusty thing...sleep envy said:
you'll need something with an image stabiliser and take an empty plastic bag with you - you can fill it with sand/dirt and rest the camera on it when shooting from the side of the jeep
Make sure the driver turns the engine off when he stops, too - diesel vibrations tend to counteract even the best IS!Interesting, lots of things I hadn't considered. I had read about asking the driver to turn the engine off and seem some mentions of bean bags so I think I'll pick one of them up aswell. Dust is going to be an issue I can see, no way I can borrow another camera unfortunatly.
Any more tips please keep them coming, this is very far outside of what I know.
Any more tips please keep them coming, this is very far outside of what I know.
we only had one camera body but two lenses - it wasn't that dusty however we went just after the short rain season - so we kept the camera in one of those cloth shoe bags
also, weight will be an issue if you're getting an internal flight to the safari lodge - we found there to be a very strict 15kgs limit so filled the empty bag once there
there's no point taking 1kg of sand/rice with you, they've got loads over there to spare
also, weight will be an issue if you're getting an internal flight to the safari lodge - we found there to be a very strict 15kgs limit so filled the empty bag once there
there's no point taking 1kg of sand/rice with you, they've got loads over there to spare
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