colorflow Posted July 20, 2009 Share #1 Posted July 20, 2009 Advertisement (gone after registration) I am planning for a trip to Kenya this fall. Would appreciate advice on what cameras and lenses to bring. I have 2 M8's and all the Leica lenses from 24mm up. I also have a few R lenses and bought a used Canon 20D to try them on. However, I have not had much success with focusing the R lenses on the Canon. I don't want to bring a lot of equipment but still would like to have some backup. Can I get by without a DSLR? Seems like one can get very close to the animals on these trips. I am thinking the 2 M8's with the 35lux and the 24Elmarit plus the 90cron, or the 50lux, 28cron and 135f4? Or should I consider getting the 5DII and take that with one M8? I have the R 35-70f4 and the 80-200f4. Thanks in advance. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted July 20, 2009 Posted July 20, 2009 Hi colorflow, Take a look here Need advice on camera/lenses for Africa trip. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
Bo_Lorentzen Posted July 20, 2009 Share #2 Posted July 20, 2009 Hello Alan, That is a difficult question... the last trip I did take I rarely managed to get past 150mm for most images. however there are times where a longer lens comes in handy. In SabiSabi sands the safari drives get very close to the animals and you can definitely get good shots of lions and elephants using the 135mm, but sometimes things get out there a little... Depending what your intentions for the trip is photographically, you might want to travel with a DSLR and big zoom for the distance work and leave the close up stuff to the Leica. I would bring a 15 for landscapes, a 35 and a 75mm for the M8 if I had a DSLR with a zoom for distance. Again, your comfort levels and personal preference / taste really dictates this. but on a typical safari drive experience, you can be comfortable you will come home with pictures using a M8 and a 135mm. the majority of my images ended up around 75mm. naturally not all drivers get equally close, however they tend to work hard for the tip. . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
akiralx Posted July 20, 2009 Share #3 Posted July 20, 2009 Most experts feel you need 400mm+ on a DSLR to succesfully shoot game animals on safari, so if that reach is more than you have, you may as well travel light and shoot other subjects with your M8s. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
michali Posted July 20, 2009 Share #4 Posted July 20, 2009 Alan- I do photographic safaris for a living. The advice here so far is spot on, take the M8 for the closer stuff and a DSLR with the 80-200mm for some of the more distant animals. For the M8 I would take the 24mm, 90mm & 135mm, if you've got space take the 50mm as well, even though I rarely use my 50mm in the field. More often than not you'll find yourself using either the wides for landscapes or the teles for close ups, seldom in between. If you want to get a rough idea of what I'm talking about have a look at my website, you'll see where I've used both the M8 & the Sony DSLR for wildlife shots. Hope this helps. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandokan Posted July 20, 2009 Share #5 Posted July 20, 2009 Do you have a "focus confirming" R to EOS adaptor? What focusing problems were you having? Did you try the focus chart test? For my trip to Africa, I was planning on taking the Pany G1 with the R-80-200 and also a 2x converter, which would effectively give me 160-800 for the range as well as the M8 with a 28 and 50 for close up work. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
guidomo Posted July 20, 2009 Share #6 Posted July 20, 2009 Your 200 on a 5DII will give you only marginally more reach than the 135 on the M8. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMB Posted July 20, 2009 Share #7 Posted July 20, 2009 Advertisement (gone after registration) I asked a similar question regarding a trip to Namibia a few months ago. In the end, I went with two M8 and a range of lenses, from the CV15 to the 135/3.4. Here is my subjective experience regarding the safari part of the trip. On several occasions, I found my longest lens (the 135) to be too short (e.g., when shooting birds). More importantly, however, I found the lens quite difficult to focus on any distance between say 10-40 meters and I had quite a few out of focus shots. May be it was misaligned or I was simply not good enough. I took quite a few shots with my 90/2.8 and 75/2. Good results throughout. On the safari, where you get reasonably close, I found the 28-35-50 very useful, in particular as I used a polfilter (which I could mount on one lens and then use for 3 focal lengths). Overall, as much as I like the M8, I don’t think it is the right tool for shooting wildlife. Not that one cannot good results (I am quite pleased with a few shots I took) but a SLR with a good zoom and autofocus is better and will normally increase your chances of getting good results. Did I regret not having (bought and) taken one for the trip. No at all. In fact, I realized that if you want to get really good shots, taking pictures must be the primary objective of you trip and you have to organize your trip accordingly (like spending several hours on one spot and waiting for something to happen). And even then you have to be lucky and very patient. While I would have been able to get a few more good shots from the safari if I had had a SLR, I don’t think I would have produced any extraordinary and stunning shots. One final advice: Get a good set of binoculars (and if you are traveling with your partner or family get more than one). It is a lot of fun to observe the animals, but you need good binoculars. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaay Posted July 20, 2009 Share #8 Posted July 20, 2009 I too am going on safari later this year and have already given though to what to take within the limits of what i can carry and have decided on my M8 with 28 cron for landscape, group shots of my family etc. and my Canon 1DIII with 70-200 f2.8 for the wildlife. This gives me all the reach i want combined with fast, accurate AF as i don't want to miss a shot manual focusing (of which i'm no expert!) The 1.3x crop on the 1DIII is very helpful for this type of photography. Typically i find the 1DIII an excellent companion to the M8 for all my personal and professional photography. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PasMichiel Posted July 20, 2009 Share #9 Posted July 20, 2009 Why not the 1Ds (mkII or III) then? it's a full frame. And yes there is an adapter with focus confirming chip. The red dots light up. And you don't have to set the aperture fully open before focussing. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandymc Posted July 20, 2009 Share #10 Posted July 20, 2009 Kenya, or at least the parts I've been to, tends to be fairly open scrub, rather than, e.g., South African bushveld, so I second the suggestion that you probably want at least one 200mm+ lens. Sandy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfokevin Posted July 20, 2009 Share #11 Posted July 20, 2009 One thing I would add to your M8 kit if going out into the desert/bush where the sun can get intense and glaring is an E-Clypse EyeCup - It acts as a sun shade and a good rest against your sun glasses... It was great on my recent trip through Western Egypt... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcuthbert Posted July 20, 2009 Share #12 Posted July 20, 2009 Quick hint from the bush. We don't call it a safari here, that term was dropped in the early 1900s by the colonial crowd. It's just the bush, or going on a bush drive. Nothing annoys the locals more than a "safari" connotation Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
colorflow Posted July 20, 2009 Author Share #13 Posted July 20, 2009 Thank you all very much for your very helpful advice. Sounds like I may want to bring a DSLR along with 1 M8. My problem with focusing on the 20D with focus confirm is the red light is lit for quite a range, so exact focusing is not possible. I am hoping I can do better with the 5DII using a better screen. BTW, does anyone have any comments about the Canon 70-300 4-5.6? It would give me a little more reach. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
colorflow Posted July 20, 2009 Author Share #14 Posted July 20, 2009 ...If you want to get a rough idea of what I'm talking about have a look at my website, you'll see where I've used both the M8 & the Sony DSLR for wildlife shots. Hope this helps. Mike, great photos. Were most or all of the animal shots taken with the Sony with the 300mm Zeiss? Alan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
colorflow Posted July 20, 2009 Author Share #15 Posted July 20, 2009 I too am going on safari later this year and have already given though to what to take within the limits of what i can carry and have decided on my M8 with 28 cron for landscape, group shots of my family etc. and my Canon 1DIII with 70-200 f2.8 for the wildlife. This gives me all the reach i want combined with fast, accurate AF as i don't want to miss a shot manual focusing (of which i'm no expert!) The 1.3x crop on the 1DIII is very helpful for this type of photography.Typically i find the 1DIII an excellent companion to the M8 for all my personal and professional photography. Jaay, I wish I had your will power to just bring one lens each for the M8 and the 1DIII. I find myself leaning towards the 24-35-135 combo plus a 80-200 or perhaps the Canon 70-300. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaay Posted July 20, 2009 Share #16 Posted July 20, 2009 Alan - If you are referring to the 70-300 DO lens (green branded) which is very compact for a lens with such a reach then it is a good well built lens but is soft wide open and a bit slow at f5.6 at the 300 end. A 70-200 f2.8 with a 1.4x or 2x extender will be sharper and faster. If you own anything Canon this is THE lens to own. The E-S super precision matte screen is what you need for using the R lenses to stand any chance of focusing through the VF. However - you can only buy these screens for 1 or 5 series cameras and it will be too dark for any lens slower than f2.8 and not accurate enough for anything much faster! For example a f1.4 lens will give a beautiful bright VF image but you will not be able focus accurately at a distance or with a moving object - nightmare! The best solution is to buy converted Contax N AF lenses. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ro1and Posted July 20, 2009 Share #17 Posted July 20, 2009 My wife and I went to Tanzania a little over a year ago. I didn't own a M8 at the time but, if I do it again I would take my 35mm f1.4. There were a number of low light situations that begged for the f1.4. If I had a 21 or 24 1.4 I would take then instead. Regarding the DSLR I had a 80-200 with a crop factor of 1.5, there were many shots I wish I had a longer zoom. The birds there are incredibly beautiful and long zoom is necessary. Interestingly the best shot of the trip came from my wife's Dlux2, she took a picture of an older Massai women that is hanging in our hallway. Enjoy your trip, we have travelled many places but Tanzania was by far the best. Roland Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted July 20, 2009 Share #18 Posted July 20, 2009 I've been travelling Africa for six weeks a year for over twenty years now. Yes, you can get by with an M8 and a 135, but expect to miss many shots you would like to have taken and many of your images will be animal-in landscape shots. If you are a first-timer or once in a lifetime visitor, don't even consider taking anything less than a DSLR and 400 mm equivalent. Take a zoom. You will be confined to a vehicle and will have no option but framing in the camera. the M8 is ideal for people (very important in this continent!) and landscape, so by all means tak e that too. Night falls early and electric light is a luxury, so take a fast medium or short lens. Forget about a tripod in a safari vehicle. A beanbag is what you need. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
colorflow Posted July 20, 2009 Author Share #19 Posted July 20, 2009 Thanks again everyone. So maybe the Canon 70-300? Would that be too slow? I just don't think I want to carry the 80-200 2.8 around. Just had my 65th b'day. BTW is the 50D much improved over the 20D? Would that be better than the 5DII for this trip? I am still bringing the M8 and 3 lenses, so moderator please don't move/remove this post:) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfokevin Posted July 21, 2009 Share #20 Posted July 21, 2009 Thanks again everyone. So maybe the Canon 70-300? Would that be too slow? I just don't think I want to carry the 80-200 2.8 around. Just had my 65th b'day. BTW is the 50D much improved over the 20D? Would that be better than the 5DII for this trip? I am still bringing the M8 and 3 lenses, so moderator please don't move/remove this post:) You might try a Nikon/Canon Forum... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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