fotografr Posted July 21, 2009 Share #21 Posted July 21, 2009 Advertisement (gone after registration) Looking at several of Mike's photos on his website, I don't think I'd go with less than a DSLR and 600/4. When I saw that he took the photo of the spitting cobra with a 90mm lens on his M8, it pretty much blew me away. Had to have been about one or two meters away from it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted July 21, 2009 Posted July 21, 2009 Hi fotografr, Take a look here Need advice on camera/lenses for Africa trip. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
dseelig Posted July 21, 2009 Share #22 Posted July 21, 2009 If you are put off by the weight of the 70 200 f2.8 get the 70-200 f4 and an extender much sharper then the 70-300 do lens wide open. But still light weight.Get an 1.4 extender for a little more reach. Me it sounds like a once in a lifetime trip I would take a 300 2.8 with 1.4 and 2 x extenders. I would also get a 15 mm or 18mm lens for the leica just to have something wide. David Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
carcam Posted July 21, 2009 Share #23 Posted July 21, 2009 I am envious of your trip and hope to do it someday. I'm sure you will have a great time. I also use a 5d2 and M8.2 and take these both traveling. I think you will like the M8 best in the mornings and evenings, around people, the campsite, etc. But you will get way more good pictures with a dslr of the animals. I am probably one of the few fans of the 75-300 DO lens. It's small, relatively light weight and makes wonderful pictures IF you're at f/8 period. Wide open, it's too soft. You will probably be taking most of your animal pictures during the bright light of day and then it would be perfect. The 50D has the benefit of the crop factor so you'd be over 400 with the same lens but it has some low light, noise issues which wouldn't matter using it during the day. Have fun! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest malland Posted July 21, 2009 Share #24 Posted July 21, 2009 Alan: I went to Botswana in April where on private game reserves you can are taken off-road and don't have to stay on tracks as you do in national game parks in East Africa, which means you have a lot of opportunities to get closer to the game. I shot with mainly with a Nikon D300 and a 70-200mm/f2,8-VR lens with a 1,4x TC. Most of my pictures were taken at the far end of the zoom, which becomes 280mm with the tele-extender, or an EFOV of 420mm. Nevertheless, I found that I still had to crop ever half the pictures. I found the viration reduction essential because it allowed to me shoot as slow as 1/160sec with the far end of the zoom without a problem. I liked hand holding the lens because it allowed me to use the same type of approach as in street photography and achieve get the immediacy and intimacy that I wanted.For landscapes I used the the M8 and mainly the Sunnicron-28. You can see the pictures here My advice therefore is to bring a 70-200mm and a lens that that goes up to 400mm as well. In my view a zoom is preferable for this purpose than a prime lens because in a vehicle with other people in it one has limited ability to control the distance to the animals, which in any case may be moving towards or away from you. —Mitch/Potomac, MD Wild Beasts of Botswana - a set on Flickr Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimleicam3 Posted July 21, 2009 Share #25 Posted July 21, 2009 I went to Africa before my M8. Used a Canon 20D with 24-105 f/4, but mostly used a 100-400. If I ever go again, I would bring those same two lenses, and a M8 with something very wide to take in the vastness of Africa. have a safe trip. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SJP Posted July 21, 2009 Share #26 Posted July 21, 2009 A 135 is about 180mm equivalent on the M8, on the Olympus Pen EP-1 it is equivalent to 270mm and I believe it has electronic image stabilisation. That should make nice compact combo. I would certainly consider this myself assuming the IQ of a 135 on PEN is acceptable, maybe others have already tried that? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted July 21, 2009 Share #27 Posted July 21, 2009 Advertisement (gone after registration) I can give you a rundown on the gear I take: Leica M8, 15 - 21/2.8 - 35/2.0-50/1.4 - 90/2.0 DMR 35-70, 105-280, both Apo-extenders Digilux3 +kit lens ( backup), R ring and 180/3.4 apo for walking About 9 Kg in a backpack My wife will be taking a D-Lux4 and Video camera. Wildlife: You MUST take a lens (preferably zoom) in the 400 range. It need not be fast. Day drives end at dusk at six, it is useless for nightdrives (if any) anyway. On a nightdrive the M8 with the 90 works best. Off-road may be possible outside the National Parks and in (expensive) Private Concessions, as Mitch mentions. It may take you closer to game but that is not neccessarily the case. Walking will keep the animals quite a bit away, and one needs a really good guide to get up close. A job for the M8 for landscape and the small stuff and the longest set you can carry comfortably just for luck. When in the National Parks in Kenia you must frame as tightly as you can to exclude other vehicles, unfortunately. Another reason for a long zoom lens. A tripod is superfluous. A vehicle is not a stable base and the legs entangle themselves with just about anything. The thing to use is a beanbag, take it empty and fill it on the spot. A Gorillapod or small table tripod may come in handy to photgraph a moonrise. One very important thing - don't forget you are there to enjoy the atmospere, your surroundings and the animals. Do not see your whole holiday exclusively through the viewfinder! People and street. Sub-Saharan Africa in general is a photographers paradise. Most people enjoy being photographed and will react positively to our camera. However, remain courteous and remember you are a guest. Make eye-contact, nod, talk and do not push your shot when faced with opposition. If asked for money, refuse as much as possible. Paying spoils it for the next photographer. It may be unavoidable to drop a dollar, however. In Kenia, as elsewhere, heed security advice by locals. If you promise to send a print- do so! And once again - enjoy! M8- Apo-Summicron asph 90. You'll find some more on my website.: Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/91214-need-advice-on-cameralenses-for-africa-trip/?do=findComment&comment=968970'>More sharing options...
jaapv Posted July 21, 2009 Share #28 Posted July 21, 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 Hmmm- I guess that is why each and every company offering a bush experience calls itself a safari company... Anyway, it is simply a common Swahili word and it means "journey" Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest malland Posted July 21, 2009 Share #29 Posted July 21, 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 Maybe, but in Kiswahili it just means a trip or journey. When I lived in Uganda and was away on business and someone called from abroad the non-English-speaking person who answered the phone always said, "Bwana kwenda safari", which made the callers think I was always in vacation. You may be referring to what local expatriates or English-speaking people say when they're going to the bush, but the snobbishness of not using the word "safari" does not exist when speaking Kiswahili in East Africa. —Mitch/Potomac, MD Wild Beasts of Botswana - a set on Flickr Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
colorflow Posted July 21, 2009 Author Share #30 Posted July 21, 2009 Jaap, this is really, really helpful and the photos on your site are stunning. I just wish I will be able to see a fraction of what you show there. I'm convinced now I will need 400mm at least. What do you think of the R 80-200f4 with 2x APO extender? Would that be too dark? If not, I will take it to a camera store and try focusing on a 5DII. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted July 21, 2009 Share #31 Posted July 21, 2009 If you can focus it it is as good ( I don't know if the 5D gives focus confirmation, I have a feeling it does.) as anything you can get. Of course the 105-280 is an even more capable lens, but that is a heavy beast and not really in the once-used price range. I still urge you to try that 80-200 on an Olympus E3 or E 620. Adapters are readily available. Not only is it not as expensive, but at low ISO those sensors are pretty good, and it turns into the AOV of an 160-400. Thank you for your kind words. In Kenia you need not worry about lack of game. You will see quite a lot . The main problem of going to Africa is the cost -not so much of that first trip - but of all the subsequent ones you will be making Btw, we might even bump into each other. I'll be in Kenia the last two weeks of October. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeicaMSeattle Posted July 23, 2009 Share #32 Posted July 23, 2009 There's nothing more frustrating than not having enough reach (focal length) to accomplish the shot composition you have in mind or worse off, the inability to focus quickly enough to get the shot. The internally focused long telephotos achieve that in either manual or auto-focus modes. As a long time Nikon shooter, I'd take my 200-400mm f4 internal focus zoom with vibration reduction (VR) with the D700 DSLR that I usually shoot football (soccer) with. A tripod is handy to have as well as a monopod for the long glass, preferably in lightweight carbon fiber. My M8 bag would consist of my CV15, 21mm 2.8, 35mm f2, and 90mm f2 for close-in subject matter. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted July 23, 2009 Share #33 Posted July 23, 2009 Tripod and monopod are fine gear, but certainly not in a safari vehicle, it only gets in the way; use a beanbag. And the things may lead to difficulties if carried as hand luggage, even if they are officially allowed. And extra weight. Light aircraft have a maximum of 12 or 15 kg, including handluggage and photogear. The 200-400 VR is a fine lens for the purpose. For bird shots (there are many beautiful raptors to be seen) a 2x extender is advisable. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Per P. Posted July 23, 2009 Share #34 Posted July 23, 2009 Just my 2 cents to remind you that for wildlife the non-full frame SLR's are de facto extending your zoom range. So while the 5D's are undoubtedly wonderful camera's you may be better off with a 20/30/40/50D for your purposes - Per. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted July 23, 2009 Share #35 Posted July 23, 2009 I have some doubts about that argument. They may have smaller sensors, but fewer pixels as well. Cropping down the larger image to the same number of pixels will give the same effect. (Assuming the same pixel pitch. If the pixel pitch is different we run into a host of other arguments, most in favour of the larger pixel size.) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcoombs Posted July 23, 2009 Share #36 Posted July 23, 2009 I would second Jaap's recommendation on using a beanbag. They are very useful in giving you a steady platform on the edge of the vehicle, a rock, or whatever. On the other hand I found a monopod also very useful, particularly if you are using a long lens. It saves your arms getting tired holding up all that weight all day. It didn't get in the way for me; I just leaned the camera against my shoulder when in the vehicle and not shooting. BTW, in those days I was shooting film at about 300 ISO and had to shoot wildlife wide open at f4 (telephotos) all the time. Stopping down anymore meant the shutter speed was too slow for the long lenses. If you have IS you should do better and may be able to use a tele-extender. Enjoy your trip! Doug Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted July 23, 2009 Share #37 Posted July 23, 2009 It depends on the vehicle. In the hatchtop kind of vehicle that is often used in Kenia it is not long enough. That brings me to another subject. Shooting from the top of the vehicle, as one mostly sees, will not render the best images. It will produce a birds' perspective. Staying down and shooting from a window will often yield far better results. One of the advantages of the open Landrover type of safari vehicle used in southern and central Africa, as well in the upmarket camps is that one does not get this so badly. I prefer to sit next to the driver, as that is the lowest spot in the vehicle. Back to monopods, if one gets one that doubles as a walking stick, it can be useful on hiking safaris. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mauribix Posted July 23, 2009 Share #38 Posted July 23, 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 So actually this should be the M8 bush? Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/91214-need-advice-on-cameralenses-for-africa-trip/?do=findComment&comment=970833'>More sharing options...
andrlik_mischa Posted July 23, 2009 Share #39 Posted July 23, 2009 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. Alan, on my first desert trips I took several equipment with me. Now - after more than 15 trips to Sinai, Egypt, Niger, Algeria, but NOT Kenya! - my equiment is: Vario 21-35, Vario 4/35-70, Vario 4/80-200, APO-Konverter 2x, Monopod and 2 Leica-R-Bodies. The changing of lenses ist sometimes complicated or too slow. Greetings - Mischa Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Sprow Posted July 23, 2009 Share #40 Posted July 23, 2009 I spend about a month in East Africa (Zimbabwe, Zambia ....) each year and would recommend leaving the M8 at home (this always pains me since it's my favorite camera) unless you mainly want camp pictures -- and bring an SLR with a couple zoom lenses going up to 400mm full frame equivalent. A cheap camera will do fine (eg Nikon D40) but a fast (f2.8) long lens will be a real help since many photos of animals will be in early morning or at dusk. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.