Safari photography

[powling]

Im lucky enough to be going on Safari in South Africa later this year and just thinking about the camera gear to take.

Ive got an OMD EM1 with a and 12 - 40 and 40-150 lenses ... will this be long enough ?

If not then it opens up a whole can of worms in terms of whether to buy a longer lens but that possibly means switching lenses and carrying more weight. Alkternatively, I noticed at the weekend that a friend had a Sony RX10 with a 24 - 600 zoom !! She was phtographing a sports even and seemed really happy with it ? Would that be better option.

The image quality I guess wont be as good due to the comprimises with such a large range, but could that be better than either not enough length or the hassle of changing lenses etc ? Also in reality will the difference in image quality be that different ?

Any advice very welcome !!

[Tony1963]

Go to a park, sit and wait for a dog to run by 100 metres away, and photograph it. How does it look on your monitor at home? Animals in wild Africa generally don’t come very close much of the time. Yes, anyone who has been on safari will have ‘those’ shots with a cheetah on the roof of the car etc, but most stay well away from people, most of the time.

It’s up to you and your budget, and what you’re trying to achieve. If you’re after memories, a decent bridge camera will give more than satisfactory results. If you’re after anything that a keen wildlife photographer would produce, and produce repeatedly, you’re going to need a few thousand quid and lots of practice.

[TGCOTF-dewey]

Funnily enough, just got back from Botswana a week ago.

I bought a second hand 70-200mm F/2.8L IS USM. I've borrowed a mates in the past and it's, IMO, the best lens canon make...all round.

For a few photos I wished I'd bought an extender, but TBH the animals get so close, those instances were few and far between. Becuase the safaris are early and evening, the 2.8 + IS offers more flexibility with light + you get the lovely bokeh effect.

I shot mostly on auto and the pics were genuinely amazing. Like magazine good... Nothing to do with me mind, all down to the lens and the warm light you get. You really can't take a bad photo.

Having said all that, a modern phone will get you 80 percent there based on the pics others got.

ETA... You will need a good set of binos. That does make a bigger difference.

I also bought some canon IS L series binos and picking between the two... I'd have taken the binos over the lens and just my phone.

I used my FIL's decent birding binos and they were rubbish in comparison.

Edited by TGCOTF-dewey on Monday 12th August 18:29

[mikiec]

Been on two safaris recently with OMD cameras, I’ve a om1 and my wife a OM5. At minimum would want the 75-300mm lens, which my wife had. I had a 100-400mm and basically used that the whole time except for the odd landscape shot where I would switch to a shorter lens.

[MGJ2]

You also have to take in consideration that you will probably shoot in low light so a fast lens is better than a long, slow lens.

These were taken with a 200 mm (although I wished I had a 300 mm):

[powling]

Thanks for everyones comments ....

I'll try stalking out in the park and taking pictures of dogs !! I guess on safari its completely random of how close we will get to the animals.

Ive already got a 40 - 150 mm lens on m OMD EM1, which if I understasnd the 'crop' factor will give me the equivalent of 80 - 300 of full frame, so does the collective wisdon suggest this will be 'long' enough ? MGJ2 with your photos at 200mm was this on a full frame or 'cropped' sensor ?

[David_M]

The last time I visited a game park, I used a Canon APS-C plus their 55-250mm zoom (so approximately the same reach as your 150mm on the Olympus) and it was fine.

There's always a few times that you think "if I had a lens that was twice as long" but you will get a load of great photos anyway. This is assuming that it is a holiday where you take photos, not a trip solely to be a photographer (if that makes sense).

Also, don't leave the wide zoom behind when you go out - we stopped for tea/drinks or just to relax and look at the view, and you will get some great photos of friends and family then.

Alternately, you can get the 100-400 referenced earlier from Park Cameras used for c.£900.
https://www.parkcameras.com/used/lenses/used-micro...

[David_M]

powling said:

I guess on safari its completely random of how close we will get to the animals.

Forgot this one - sometimes you might get VERY close. Like when the ranger said firmly, "The elephants are going to walk around the Land Cruiser. Do not move suddenly, do not make a noise, do not reach out and touch them."

[Simpo Two]

powling said:

I'll try stalking out in the park...

I look forward to seeing you on the news!

powling said:

Ive already got a 40 - 150 mm lens on m OMD EM1, which if I understasnd the 'crop' factor will give me the equivalent of 80 - 300 of full frame, so does the collective wisdon suggest this will be 'long' enough ?

You can't know for sure because you don't know how far away the subject will be. It also depends on the framing you want (head of lion, whole lion, group of lions, group of lions with trees to one side etc)

I use a 70-300mm on a Nikon 1.5x crop sensor so I'm 'up to' 400mm in FF-speak. I wouldn't want anything less for a safari, not that I've been on one. Remember that if you have enough pixels to start with, you can crop half away which makes it 'up to' 800mm.

Anyway, sod the logic, buy a new lens, you know you want to

[biggiles]

I've hired for safaris. Very easy, good value; I've used https://lensesforhire.co.uk - perhaps see if they have suitable lenses for your camera. It means you can have the very best kit for your trip.

In the Canon world, a 100-400 "safari lense" and crop sensor works very well (but it depends on whether you're birding or seeing elephants close-up!).

[TGCOTF-dewey]

We were at three different sites for ours.

We had lions, hyenas, and elephants within touching distance of the vehicle and the rest were 10s of meters away.

I took this (default so not even HQ setting) with my p30 pro which must be 5 years old now and battered with a dirty lens. I'd decided not to take my SLR as we were in canoes.

It was just after it had mock charged us so was also a very hurried pic.

So anything remotely camera shaped is going to be amazing TBH.




As I mentioned though, the biggest difference was good binos.

[Boringvolvodriver]

There will be times when you will want a shorter lens for when the animals get closer.

When we went to SAI bought a second hand LUMIX bridge camera with a 1inch sensor and 20mps.
Think it was up to 600mm FF equivalent. This picture blew up to 60 by 40 pretty well



I then sold it for what I had paid.

Where are you going for the Safari in SA?

[MGJ2]

powling said:

MGJ2 with your photos at 200mm was this on a full frame or 'cropped' sensor ?

A cropped sensor: Fuji XT-4

[powling]

Thanks everyone ... will have a look at options renting vs buying etc.

Jasey ... those Giraffs are well camouflaged !!!

[Boringvolvodriver]

powling said:

Thanks everyone ... will have a look at options renting vs buying etc.

Jasey ... those Giraffs are well camouflaged !!!

Here’s the two headed version!

[Boringvolvodriver]

To show you what the LUMIX bridge can do and why a wider angle also helps a couple more gratuitous photos!

[Elderly]

powling said:

Ive got an OMD EM1 with a and 12 - 40 and 40-150 lenses ... will this be long enough ?

That depends on YOUR style of photography and what your aims are.

If you want to take good 'reference book' type images of say this is what a lion looks like,
or you want to photograph individual birds, then I don't think that your 40-150 would be quite long enough
(trade it for a Panasonic 50-200 which is also lighter)..

I know what an elephant looks like and so I try to produce something different
and I don't use a really long lens; The abstract of the side of the elephant and a tree trunk was taken
with a FF equivalent of 240mm, the other two, 90mm and 62mm.

Your driver/guide can make a huge difference, as will the type of vehicle, and other people with you in the vehicle,
we only had one other couple in the vehicle and we gelled well.

Our favourite vehicle was a little OPEN SIDED Suzuki Maruti, very quiet, very nimble, our driver/guide could get us very close if needed. Some sort of LWB closed vehicle holding too many people with a top hatch
which only one person at a time can access is a bad idea.
.
Also the time of year and the topography - looking for an animal in long grass in the wet season .......

Despite your camera having IBIS, I would take a monopod for shooting a the longer end, just rest it on the floor of your vehicle.
Think about back-up, maybe buy an old model EM5 or something, nobody wants them and they are really cheap.
and batteries, charger etc.

It's a great experience!. I trust you'll love it.

[Tony1963]

One more thing:

- as is always the case with wildlife photography, you can’t ever be prepared for every situation all the time with the ideal lens. Even sat in a bird hide in the U.K. every now and then something unusual happens, such ans a kingfisher sits in the hide six feet away, and you just have to smile and do your best with what you have.

If you think your current kit will probably be ok for most shots most of the time, as someone mentioned above: buy some good binoculars. They’re not cheap, but if you buy the right pair, you’ll be leaving them in your will.

[VTECMatt]

Not going to lie, if you haven’t been before enjoy the moment. I’m heading back to SA in January and it is amazing. I took a 70-300mm Nikon lens, it was fine but found that maybe something like a 50-500mm would have been better. Quite a price difference though.

Edited by VTECMatt on Saturday 17th August 22:33

Edited by VTECMatt on Saturday 17th August 22:45

[lancslad58]

Have you thought about hiring a lense? Guy I worked with hired one for a trip to Iceland. couldn't justify buying one so just hired one for a couple of weeks. There looks to be plenty of places offering a hire service.