Building a safari Kit

[brad_hiebert]

This is a duplicate post from the travel board, but thought I would

here since I using canon......

 

************************

 

Taking our first trip to Kenya this fall and plan on shooting all

digital. I need advice on the best way to deal with some of the

elements of this trip. I am on a budget and need to keep in mind that

these trips are very rare for me (most of my shooting won't be nearly

as extreme or exotic) so I'm trying to purchase with the rest of my

life in mind and not buy to specialized for this one trip

 

My current gear consists of a Canon 350XT and a 17-40L lens w

polarizer. I will be adding a zoom soon (likely a 70-200/f4 L with

either a 1.4 or 2.0 extender). Here are some of the issues I need

advice on

 

Power - with very few chances to recharge (we'll be camping), I hoping

to get away with one or two extra batteries rather than buying the

battery grip (2 x $30 vs $150 at BH). By using manual focus for the

long lens and doing minimal reviews, I hope this will work. Any thoughts?

 

Digital Storage - A friend has used a belkin device (about $70) for

transferring images to his ipod. Assuming I empty my ipod, I would

have 20 gigs of storage, plus my two 1 gig flash cards. Any experience

with this? Pro or con? Field storage is a big issues for me, other

options welcome.

 

Camera Storage - I will need a camera bag, but am waiting to assemble

all of the parts first. I'm open to advice on this area as I will be

starting from the ground up. smaller is better as storage will be

limited on the safari bus

 

Dust, Conditions, etc - any advice from anyone who has taken this trip

is greatly appreciated. I'm sure there will be any number of elements

I'm not prepared for

 

Thanks in advance for sharing your knowledge

[aaron_lam]

Sounds very exciting. Here are some considerations:

 

70-200 f4 plus 2x would make it REALLY slow. Definitely 1.4x if that is the way you are going. I personally would try to find another 1k somewhere for a 300 f4 (IS or non-IS) on eBay or rent. What about a tripod?

 

I think batteries are THE most important thing... without them you are dead in the water. I would get a bunch of 3rd party batteries for ~$10 and another 3rd party charger. If there is any place you want to skimp, it wouldn't be with power.

 

I never used the ipod method but it makes me slightly nervous. I personally would bring my laptop (if you have one). Maybe even try to pick up a cheapo used laptop to bring just for storage. I would get this before the extender.

 

Go to the store with all the gear you have to bring and try out a few bags (Obviously Tamrac, Lowepro, Domke etc). Definitely consider a backpack style bag as you will be able to more securely fit more things, stow away at night and use to carry more than just your carmera gear.

 

This is a lifetime experience... I would definitely not want to skimp on equipment now. Any backup? A film or P&S digital camera?

 

Have a great time!

 

 

aaron

[mark u]

For Kenya (lots of wide open spaces) I doubt that 70-200 is long enough with a 1.4x TC, and you'll lose image quality and AF with 2x, so if you haven't committed to it, consider a longer lens. You should also research the locations you are going to (plenty of info on the internet! - just try google on "safari digital photo tips", the names of the reserves you will visit, etc.).

 

Even if you're not overly trigger happy (avoid continuous shooting, unnecessary bracketing etc.) you'll still be taking 2-500 shots per day, so you should base your power and storage calculations on that. Make sure your batteries are charged just before you start the safari part of your trip, and have a travel adapter that will fit Kenyan sockets. You should try to find out from the safari company whether it would be possible to connect an in car charger for your battery, as you are sure to spend a lot of time in a vehicle - only very experienced trackers wander about on foot when there are animals in the vicinity. Of course, you may be in competition with others sharing the vehicle. The in car charger must be able to handle reverse polarity of the socket. Remember that you will also need to power any storage device as well as the camera. Don't skimp on batteries, and take a film body as ultimate backup (a reasonably recent Rebel off ebay would be a good way to go - light, cheap, similar to your DSLR ergonomically - but make sure the batteries are fresh and have a dozen 36exp rolls with you) and to give immediate access to your wider lens without changing.

 

You'll probably want to shoot RAW to give maximum post processing flexibility so that will also impact your storage requirements vs large fine jpeg. Depending on the length of your trip, 20G may well not be enough. I think I'd consider a portable hard drive solution with 40-60G. You could economise a lot on storage if you spend time and battery power on ruthless editing - you'll take a lot of shots on the basis that you might not get a better one of a particular animal sighting. That's a catch 22, of course. When you get back to your PC at home, you will end up with probably no more than 5% that are really worth putting into some album of the trip. You might even want to have double backup using a portable CD writer.

 

Dust can be a major problem in the dry season - you'll want to minimise or even avoid lens changing while out and about, and you will need to try to seal your equipment from it while on the move. Choose your basic camera bag bearing in mind that you will be toting it long distances through airports, but have a ziplock bag (I've even seen a pillowcase suggested) to guard against dust while moving between sightings.

[jake_v]

You'd also need to be concerned w/ storage device batteries. The last I checked (a year or two ago) Ipods didn't use standard batteries, and they weren't cheap to buy/replace. File transfer on any portable device I've used has drained the batteries like crazy.

 

If you're using 2GB of flash cards, I assume that means you will only be shooting jpg, as RAW files would chew up the disk space. That is going by the statement that you are concerned with battery power... I personally (20d and 10d) run thru CF cards in RAW mode MUCH MUCH faster than batteries... even when using the IS function of my 70-200L. I would guestimate that on the 10d with a fresh (old) battery, we would get at least 5GB of cards full before it's time to consider a recharge (once again... in RAW).

 

Having used a 70-200 for quite a while, I wonder if you will be happy with 200 (even on a 1.6x DSLR) as your max reach. Granted, that's a LOT better than 40mm, but I would imagine that not too many critters would be the up close and personal type on this trip of yours (at least I hope not!). I don't know if your budget allows for it, but I would guess that a few primes for longer lengths would serve you better (300, 135, etc) to give you more reach. Or even moving to a 100-400L (or similar) if cost isn't a problem.

 

Drawbacks would obviously be cost, dust to worry about during changes, time it takes to change lenses and carrying space... But if those aren't a big problem, having more than 200mm lens would be a definite benefit IMHO.

 

Just my $.02, YMMV.

 

Have a great trip... sure wish it was ME going on a vacation right now.

[phyrpowr]

Never been on safari, that's on the wish list, but I'll chime in to agree that you need to call the tour company about recharging, converters, and the like. Digital has been around long enough that they ought to be very familiar with your needs

 

I use an Image Tank 1.5 40GB, be damn' sure to test the "rechargeable" battery it comes with first, mine sux, so I use the AAA bracket for it, also has a cig lighter plug, and a doohickey that you can plug into the wall then plug the lighter plug into

 

Got mine from

 

www.mydigitaldiscount.com, good prices, wide selection

 

I prefer backpacks, you won't need a big one with that kit

[df-gallery]

<p>Brad, I think the 100-400L route would be a good alternative to the 70-200/4 with a 1.4. This results in a 100-280/5.6, whereas the 100-400 gives 3.5 at 100 and 5.6 at 400. I have the 70-200/4 and find it an excellent lens, along with the 17-40. I think that a 17-40 with a 100-400 will give you maximum flexibility in your travels. You could always supplement with a cheap 50/1.7, or 85/1.8 if you feel the gap is too big, or better yet, a 50/2.5 macro instead of the extender. Who knows what kinds of exotic flora you'd find as well.</p>

 

<p>In terms of batteries, I found that working with my 300D, and the grip, with 2x BP511A, I can get well over 1000 shots per charge, within a short time. Though the weather may affect (hot days and cold nights). As suggested a car charger would be good idea. Perhaps you can plan for one battery for every 1.5 days out, plus one spare. Make sure you cycle through its full cycle a few times before you go. </p>

 

<p>In terms of storage, you could go the Epson P2000 or equivalent route. But, for the money, how many 2/4Gb cards can you get? One less thing to charge and worry about. On my recent 5 day trip to China, I filled 4.5gb shooting 6MP RAW. At least get yourself an extra 1gb/512mb backup card, in case you run out of storage, and just shoot jpeg on that.</p>

 

<p>With bags, try as many as possible, with all your equipment present, batteries, cards, etc.</p>

 

<p>The main source of dust problem will be with the body, and that of the dials and buttons. You can try to put masking tape or sticky tape over the buttons (make sure it is low tack, so glue doesn't get left behind) to make them kinda sealed. You can replace the tape every evening. With the dials, not but you can do but just clean the darn thing every night. If possible, some have mooted using thick rubber bands to cover up the various little slots under dials. Not changing lenses may help.</p>

 

<p>I'd definetly recommend a backup body. I am not sure whether film body is a good choice, considering all the film one needs to carry. I might suggest a used 6MP Canon body, but that is quite expensive. At the end of the day, all these issues are fairly dependant on the length of the safari. But always bring along a small compact camera with good battery life. Have fun.</p>

[max_robinson]

First thing to do is speak to your operator who will have charging info.As far as tanzania(my exp) goes, ngorongoro crater has outlets for power at the camp sites, and none of the camping is remote, the serengeti is as remote as you'll get and if youre there for three days that would probably be as long without charging that you'll have the camping is in camp sites Depending on where you are going distances to animals differ. IE in tanzania you arent allowed to leave the tracks in vehicles, and moreover in the serengeti youre not allowed to leave the vehicle at all. Kenya is more lax with 'offroading' and your guide may well leave the track for your"not necessarily the park's" benefit. 300mm f4 IS is what i wish i had when i safari'd in tanzania, I'd hazard that it would be more useful than anything shorter. Youve got the 17-40 for landscapes.

[JosvanEekelen]

Hi Brad,

 

I'm in the same boat, I shall be in Kenya/Uganda/Tanzania in sept/oct. I was in East Africa in 1999 with film/manual focus bodies. In addition to the above posters: I would not use the vertical grip with 2 batteries because you will end with 2 batteries equally drained. It might be easier to use one battery after the other, in that case you will only have to charge the drained one. It makes no difference in power consumption but IMHO the handling is easier.

 

According to our travel agent the campsites in the National Parks do NOT have power outlets, the other campsites do. All vehicles will have a cigarette lighter plug but I don't count on these, I don't expect these to be a first priority in car maintenance . I'm planning on taking 4 batteries with 2 bodies, I count on being able to recharge the batteries at least once every week.

 

For digital storage I just ordered a Compactdrive with 60 Gb disk. It runs on rechargable AA's and includes a battery charger option. In addition to this I will take my Sitecom storage device with 30 Gig disk, I fear it is too fragile for a safari trip but I already have it, it just feels a bit safer to have an extra backup. Never put all your eggs in one basket. I'll take 6 Gb of CF cards, that ought to keep me running. You will probably do 2 or 3 gamedrives a day, in between there is probably enough time for copying the pictures to a portable storage device.

 

Last time I found 300 mm on a full frame body to be adequate, though a bit more reach might come in handy. If you can afford it a 100-400 IS is a good travel lens. Otherwise I'd compromise on quality and go the 70-300 route. Bob Atkins has shown that with some post processing the results can be very good.

 

Forget the tripod, you won't be able to use it in a vehicle and as far as I know you won't be allowed to leave the car. I will be taking a monopod for the jungle trekking in Uganda. That may be a good alternative for places where you are allowed to walk freely.

 

Just my 2c

[robin_sibson1]

Can't advise specifically about Kenya, but I have made many many visits to southern African game parks, most recently with a 20D. If the Kenyan parks are anything like the parks in SA, then the camps will have mains-voltage (230V AC) electricity, although not necessarily all the time. You should be able to check this in advance.

 

There are a number of storage devices available for downloading images from CF cards. Low-end ones have no viewing capability and can do nothing but connect to a computer later on, like the Vosonic I have. The advantages are (comparative) cheapness and the option to buy the empty device and fit a disk of whatever capacity you choose. The next step up is a device that allows you to check files and do things like renaming them and moving them around, including back to a CF card for viewing. High-end devices like the Epson P-2000 incorporate a viewer. You pays your money and takes your choice. If you follow the good advice to shoot RAW, allow an average of 10MB per image for storage. Only you can judge how many shots you will take, but it could easily exceed a couple of thousand. You may want to shoot RAW+JPEG to give yourself a more easily viewable image in the field, but don't shoot JPEG only. Some Pocket-PC PDAs, possibly with an additional third-party driver, can talk to a USB disk, and this can serve as a verification and viewing facility for a low-end device, if a rather clunky arrangement. Email me if you want more details.

 

Your XT and 17~40 will be fine for general views, but you need to think carefully about longer lenses. Generally speaking, shots taken at long range with a long lens in game parks are disappointing. The tropical light is very harsh, there is often dust, and there is almost always heat haze. The value of a long lens is to grab frame-filling shots of small creatures or details of large ones at medium to short distances. Subject always to care for the wildlife and to your own safety, you need to get in reasonably close. You will also find that there are relatively few opportunities to use a tripod, although you might find a monopod valuable. Many of your shots will be taken from game-viewing vehicles, or from your hire-car if you have one, and opportunities will often be fleeting, no more than a few seconds. This adds up to long zoom and IS, and my favourite lens for this work is the 100~400, which is long enough for a lot of bird shots. That would be my recommendation. The 70~200/4L is a great lens - my son has one and I have occasionally used it. It works fine optically on the Extender 1.4x, but I would not expect really good results from the Extender 2x on any zoom lens, and at 400mm with no AF and no IS and a maximum aperture of f/8 you are in trouble. The 70~200 range will get you a lot of group and whole-animal shots, but is too short for selective details and for most birds. The Extender 1.4x will give you a bit more reach, but the lack of IS will really start to be a problem at 280mm. If you don't fancy the idea of the 100~400, then there are several alternatives. One is the 70~200/2.8L IS, which will be first-class on its own and with the Extender 1.4x, and is acceptable but not as good as the 100~400 with the Extender 2x (you would still have AF and IS). Another is the rather over-priced but very carryable 70~300DO lens, which has IS, but you cannot use that on a Canon Extender, and even if you used an off-brand TC1.4x you would lose AF, so in practice 300mm would be your limit. A third is the 70~200/4L plus the 300/4L IS, and the latter can be used on the Extender 1.4x and retain AF and IS. This is a first-class solution optically, but the loss of long-zoom flexibility is quite significant.

 

All this relates to daytime shots. You will also have opportunities on night drives. For this you will need a powerful flash of the 550EX or 580EX variety - the built-in flash is not powerful enough for this, and you want IR not white-light AF light. A proper flash is also very valuable for fill-in in harsh daylight conditions. The high-ISO performance of the latest Canons is good enough to make your daytime lenses suitable for night work with flash.

 

If you go for a 70~XXX lens, then you may find the 40 to 70 gap acceptable, but 40 to 100 might be less so. You could consider the new EF-S 60/2.8 to plug that gap, both for general-putpose use and to handle flower and insect shots.

[max_robinson]

WRT campsites in/outside of National parks, most of the campsites are outside of the parks in order to save on fees thereby decreasing the cost of your trip(but this isnt always the case) i.e. Ngorongoro's campsite(the one on the crater rim, is outside the park, but the Serengeti sites are all inside(too big to travel into day to day). We also ventured into Tarangire and Lake Manyara from outside camps. Be firm with your guide as to stopping and taking your time, they have a habit of pushing you to meet their own schedule, and are often slow to get moving in the morning(the best time of the day). Also we had the problem of our guide fasting all day for Ramadan(?spelling). Needless to say this made him quite listless in the heat, something to ask your operator about perhaps.

Take a bag filled with rice, this will be more effective than a tripod for 95% of your shooting

Also take an audio recorder of some sort and stick it outside your tent at night when(and if) you're in the serengeti, the lions come very close to the camps at night for water, as do hyenas. They sniff around the tents.

[albert_hartmann]

Brad;

 

I just got back from Kenya and Tanzania. You are in for a great trip! I have a 20D, and mainly used a Canon 70-200/f4 L with a 1.4 extender. It was a little short at times (most of this I fixed by cropping after getting home), but it fit perfectly in my camera backpack with my 18-55 kit lens and 50/1.4, and the rest of the gear I carried during the day.

 

I used a Mountain Smith Lumen camera backpack, and it fit everything perfectly and allowed quick access.

 

One key item is a beanbag if you will be doing any shooting from vehicles. I used a Kinesis Safarisack and it worked perfectly. I ordered it at the last minute and I used it constantly.

 

To help with the dust, I kept the camera in a large nylon/silicone bag when not shooting (bag version of a backpack rain cover). This seemed to help quite a bit, and the big bag made access easy.

 

I intended to download photos to my iPod with a Delkin USB Bridge. What I did not know before leaving, however, was that it would not download a full 1GB CF card. It worked fine with half-full cards, but I suggest thorough testing before leaving. As we were in lodges, I had ready access to power for charging.

 

You are in for a great trip. Drop me a line if you have any more specific questions or would like to see some photos.

 

Enjoy.

 

Albert

[yakim_peled1]

If I were to go on a safari I'd surely buy or rent the 100-400 IS.

 

Happy shooting,

Yakim.

[ben_rubinstein___mancheste]

Don't forget a tripod/monopod/bean bag otherwise you might as well leave your expensive telephoto lenses at home.

[jreades]

A few (disorganised) thoughts:

 

1. 70-200 will probably not be enough if you want real detail on a large animal or birds. On your long lens you'll most likely want the long end to be at *least* 500mm.

 

2. All reviews (and my limited experience) point to the 1.4x TC being better value than the 2x TC -- AF performance is good and picture degradation minimal. Believe me, you do *not* want to lose AF on a safari so I'd scratch the 2x TC right now.

 

3. I'd strongly urge you to explore renting the long lens (then you can go with something in the 400+ mm range *and* IS) unless you you plan to do a lot more wildlife photography. However, if you are sure that you want to buy and not rent and you want a versatile 'rest of your life' setup then I'd go with the 70-200/f4 + 1.4x TC since it's still an excellent combination and you'll have decent AF and something that tops out at 448mm after allowing for your cropping factor. You'll miss *some* shots but you'll get *many* of them.

 

4. Bring a film SLR body that is compatible with your lenses. You cannot possibly regret doing this since this weight is minimal and backup value should anything happen to your DSLR is incalculable. As suggested earlier, a used Rebel would be a good choice.

 

5. I'd bring an assortment of 50-100ISO (perhaps Velvia or NPS for some landscapes) and 400-800ISO (perhaps Sensia or NPH for wildlife since both are easily pushed to 800).

 

6. Tripod & beanbag -- ideally I'd bring both. You will have *zero* use for the tripod while in the jeeps, but you may find yourself with the opportunity for some great landscape photography where the tripod will give you the ability to shoot with very small apertures.

 

7. That said, given the limited value of a tripod I'd go with the lightest one possible that will still do the job properly. I like the Bogen DigiPods since the fold up to about 1'2" in the size and are quite light. You wouldn't use one with a really long lens (my 70-200/f4 is about the most it seems able to lock down) but it's fine for landscape work.

 

8. There's no reason to buy some pricey speciality photography beanbag, you just want one with sufficient 'give' that it will mold to the top of the jeep but sufficiently filled to support the lens.

 

9. I've read several reviews of the iPod storage approach and suspect that it's not robust enough for your needs. It's slow and apparently eats through batteries at a rapid clip. I'd probably go with a more specialised tool. There's at least one article on photo.net about going on a digital safari and they have plenty of detail there. A google search of photo.net should also turn up a number of other comprehensive, well travelled responses to this problem.

 

10. You'll want to be careful about what you connect your chargers too since you may have issues with voltage or current surges. It's best to speak with the safari operator and see if they've anyone with relevant experience or can refer you to someone else who has taken your trip who might be able to help.

 

Hope this helps,

 

jon

[mark u]

Two other thoughts: if you plan to use a beanbag, travel with it empty and buy beans or rice from a store in Nairobi after you arrive. You may even be able to give the contents away when you leave your safari. Be sure to check on baggage limitations on any internal flights you might take - they can make a standard airline look positively generous.

[ralph_jensen]

Don't think anyone has mentioned the website of Andy Biggs, a skilled safari photographer

who leads multiple trips in Africa every year. Some of his articles on safari

photography (and the books he recommends) may be useful:

 

http://www.andybiggs.com/articles.html

[brad_hiebert]

Everyone

 

First of all - thank you to everyone who time to give me such detailed responses! Wow! I have alot to think about. I may contact some of you individually for advice, but thanks to everyone who responded

 

Lens - I'll see what I can do, but budget is really tight. I agree that longer is better, but most of the suggestions are not practical for me right not. I wish I could but I can't. We'll see where I end up.

 

Batteries - I like the idea of lots of cheap ones, sounds like a plan

 

Storage - Thanks for all the comments here. It sounds like the ipod idea isn't a good one. I look into something like the tripper

 

Bean Bags and Baggies - all great advice. I will learn form it

 

Thanks again everyone. I'm impressed by the generosity of the photo.net memebers

 

I hope to have some photos to share!