SL on Safari

[pop]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Removed one OTT post and some reactions to same.

[meerec]

280mm is not long enough even for big mammals. In January I used 600mm 90% of the time

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Neil -- get a better driver and tour operator !! Then 90-280 is ample on a safari for the big five.

I am keeping my canon 1d4 + 300/2.8 + 1.4x + 2x for birds only. And will be doing most of shots on my safari with the SL, M lenses and 90-280.

[meerec]

Has anyone here who has the 90/280mm got any wildlife pictures.......... the proof is in the pudding

I have a few nice dogs and my cat, really nice shots with 90-280 LOL

[bencoyote]

At what point do you have to give up on camera lenses and have to resort to things like attaching a camera to a Telescope or a spotting scope? For someone whose never gone on safari or tried to shoot birds and is just curious, what problems would you run into trying to do that?

 

Leica makes that Digiscoping setup https://us.leica-camera.com/Sport-Optics/Leica-Hunting/Spotting-Scopes/Leica-Digiscoping though they show that with the T rather than with the SL. Couldn't you do the same thing with a SL? With what little I know about optics I think you would just have a shorter tube between the scope and the camera to make the circle of illumination would be larger.

 

Why don't people use a setup like this on Safari?

[jmahto]

At what point do you have to give up on camera lenses and have to resort to things like attaching a camera to a Telescope or a spotting scope? For someone whose never gone on safari or tried to shoot birds and is just curious, what problems would you run into trying to do that?

 

Leica makes that Digiscoping setup https://us.leica-camera.com/Sport-Optics/Leica-Hunting/Spotting-Scopes/Leica-Digiscoping though they show that with the T rather than with the SL. Couldn't you do the same thing with a SL? With what little I know about optics I think you would just have a shorter tube between the scope and the camera to make the circle of illumination would be larger.

 

Why don't people use a setup like this on Safari?

I think it has to something with quality and complexity of setup. Nice article below.

http://petapixel.com/2012/11/09/digiscoping-a-look-at-using-a-spotting-scope-as-a-telephoto-lens/

 

I go the other way. I have Leica ocular that attaches to any R lens and makes it a spotting scope (with magnification of FL/12.5).

[Guest NEIL-D-WILLIAMS]

Neil -- get a better driver and tour operator !! Then 90-280 is ample on a safari for the big five.

I am keeping my canon 1d4 + 300/2.8 + 1.4x + 2x for birds only. And will be doing most of shots on my safari with the SL, M lenses and 90-280.

please post up or add a link to your Safari pictures. I'm especially interested in your Safari pictures taken with your 90/280

[Constable]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

I'm also going backwards and forwards on this one. I have a trip to private parks at the turn of the year and am vacillating between the combination 1DX ii with 100-400 mk ii and 100 mm macro for small crawly things and SL with 24-90 for everything else and fast action up close (totally bullet/dust/water/shock proof combination, two battery chargers no real difference in total weight and volume from variant 2 which is 5d mk iv and 5Dsr with 100-400 mk ii, 24-70 f2.8 and 100 mm macro (single battery system, not so good weather sealing, slightly heavier and more volume, high resolution capacity).

 

First world decisions but still difficult. Any thought or insights would be welcomed.

 

Ed

[steppenw0lf]

please post up or add a link to your Safari pictures. I'm especially interested in your Safari pictures taken with your 90/280

 

Hi Neil,

 

you posted that you have now your camera. So are you going to test the 4/600 with the SL ? I assume you have also received your Novoflex adapter.

Thanks for any results of your tests. (for example is the lens correctly recognized and does AF work, whatever the speed)

[thighslapper]

I may be a bit naive about all this ...... but don't atmospheric factors like heat haze etc. degrade image quality significantly beyond a certain point ?

 

I can see why some people might want to sit in a bus 500m away and shoot with a 1000mm lens to save their energy for lifting a gin and tonic later in the day ... but from what I can see of wildlife photography the 'secret' .... if there is one is getting as close as possible in the first place. 

 

Surely, image quality from a 2-300mm lens .... not to mention the technical issues with aperture/speed etc ...... is always going to be easier and better than with a much longer lens ...... if you can use your legs instead ?

 

I have some excellent kestrel images with the SL and stacked 1.4x and 2x extenders with the Apo R 280/2.8 ........ but even carting that lot round to the local village church with a tripod was a trial ..... let alone humping it around africa....

 

.... oh and if Neil gets eaten by lions having taken this ill-informed advice I never said it was a safe option ...... 

[Guest NEIL-D-WILLIAMS]

I may be a bit naive about all this ...... but don't atmospheric factors like heat haze etc. degrade image quality significantly beyond a certain point ?

 

I can see why some people might want to sit in a bus 500m away and shoot with a 1000mm lens to save their energy for lifting a gin and tonic later in the day ... but from what I can see of wildlife photography the 'secret' .... if there is one is getting as close as possible in the first place.

 

Surely, image quality from a 2-300mm lens .... not to mention the technical issues with aperture/speed etc ...... is always going to be easier and better than with a much longer lens ...... if you can use your legs instead ?

 

I have some excellent kestrel images with the SL and stacked 1.4x and 2x extenders with the Apo R 280/2.8 ........ but even carting that lot round to the local village church with a tripod was a trial ..... let alone humping it around africa....

 

.... oh and if Neil gets eaten by lions having taken this ill-informed advice I never said it was a safe option ......

Gordon

When I was on Safari in January I used my 600mm f4 90% of the time. This was in both the serriggiti and the Ngorangora crater where you cannot leave the roads/tracks. 9 days in 5 star accommodation for ~USD5k verses 1k a day in a private reservation.

I got what I considered amazing pictures with my then D4s and 600mm f4 plus on the ovation when animals came close I used D800 plus 70/200mm my 300mm f2.8 stayed in the bag.

In feb I've decided to only take just D5 and 600mm plus Leica Soo7 with Hasselblad 250mm superintendent

SL will stay in Malaysia

Pictures to follow