Moving to Africa....gear questions

Hello,

 

I am moving to tanzania in July. I will be living ind the city of Dar es Salaam but will look forward to going on a few safaris.

 

I am taking my canon 7d; canon 5d mark iv. my lenses are 17- 50 is, the 50 mm 1.8 and my 70-200 II 2.8.

 

I can not afford a lot. I can get a 24-70 II for a decent price. so this is what I was thinking:

 

I was thinking of getting a canon extender to give my 70 200 more range on my 7d while using the 24 - 70 for a walk around and landscapes.

 

I would clearly like to have a 16-35 and 200- 400 but cost is a factor and i think the 24-70 and extender might give me more options.

 

I would appreciate any thoughts .

 

david

For wildlife, longer is better, and extenders rarely give the reach and quality one is looking for. If you truly plan on photo safari, then you need to obtain the longest and highest quality telephoto your budget can manage. Consider 300mm (without TC) an absolute minimum, and 500mm better. I wouldn't spend money on anything else before the long telephoto, given what you already have.

However, a zoom lens of decent quality will be almost a necessity. 'Prime' long lenses are inflexible since you never know how far out or how close the critters will be. They also are often in motion, so switching lenses is difficult.

Edited April 1, 2019 by JDMvW

A few thoughts in no particular order.

 

. I assume the 17 to 50 is Sigma, or similar, i.e. a third party, EF Mount, with APS-C image circle: if yes then be aware that in a pinch you can use that lens on your 5DIV, it will optically vignette, but one can often get usable images.

 

. Not wanting to debate the relative merits of extenders, however the uses of Canon Extenders EF on all of the various EF 70 to 200L Series of Lenses is an area I am quite familiar. The EF 70 to 200 L IS MkII USM is the best of the five 70 to 200 lenses to plonk an Extender EF onto. If you go the Extender route, then you will get the best image quality with an Extender EF MkIII. The x1.4 MkIII will give better IQ results than the x2.0 MkIII. In both cases the lens stopped down 2/3 Stop (i.e. use at native F/3.5) will enhance general IQ. Additionally the majority of the IQ fall-off is at the edges, so, using that combination on the 7D is arguably better, in some ways, than using it on a 5DMkIV. Certainly, there is no argument that the Canon Extenders EF are 'made for' the L Series Prime Lenses, however, there are two oddments within the Canon Zooms which take quite kindly to the Extenders EF and those lenses are the EF 70 to 200 F/2.8 L USM and the EF 70 to 200 F/2.8 L IS MkII USM. I have often used the former mentioned lens (with MkII Extenders) in lieu of a 300 or 400 Prime (mainly for convenience and weight). As I mentioned the 70 to 200 F/2.8L IS MkII shows an increased performance apropos general IQ when it is used with the MkIII Extenders.

 

. As a further note, the EF 300/2.8L IS USM and EF 300/2.8L IS MkII USM both work wonderfully with the Extenders EF, the latter is best suited to the MkIII Extenders.

 

. Zoom lenses have greater flexibility.

 

. Is renting a Telephoto Prime Lens an option?

 

. It appears you intend carrying TWO cameras most of the time: logic dictates that the longer lens (initially) goes on the 7D, to leverage the reach. Therefore you want (primarily) a good wide angle view on the 5DMkIV, and any telephoto gain on that camera will be a bonus. Consider the EF 24 to 105L F/4 IS USM. These often were sold as 'kit lenses', sometimes the bundle is split and items sold separately: I bought a new 24 to 105 for a song and it is really a neat package for traveling, I use the IS capacity quite often. No doubt that the 24 to 70 F/2.8 L MkII USM is a superior optic, yet its worth considering the if IS will be valuable and if the extra 35mm is useful - for me when traveling, both are.

 

. If you're "moving to" Tanzania (i.e. setting up house there) you might want to look at the exercise with more long term uses for building your Camera Kit: - it's unclear to me if this is a visit, for a limited time wherein you'll want to go on few safaris and that's within a short time period, or is it residency?

 

You can have a squiz at how I use my 24 to 105 when I am traveling - [HERE - LINK] - the use of IS should be obvious.

 

Here are two examples of the 70 to 200/2.8 L USM with Extender EFx2.0MkII on a 5D, or 5DMkII, (note as mentioned, the EF 70 to 200/2.8L IS MkII with either MkIII Extender, is better.)

 

 

 

WW

 

 

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