Choosing a lens for an African Safari

[mark_wylie1]

<p>My fiance and I both have Canon Powershot's and are looking to upgrade to a dslr for our African Safari honeymoon next year. We mostly photograph wildlife and scenery. We have visited the local camera shops which suggested the EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS. Is this a good choice?<br>

Also advice on a body would be appreciated. Considering we are starting out with dslr should we buy the 1000D because it is the cheapest dslr for us to learn with or should we spend a bit more and buy a 450D or 500D (video would be handy) or do we look to buy a 40D second hand?</p>

[kerry_grim]

<p>What is your budget?</p>

<p>Allen Greenspun has an article within photo.net. Go to the LEARNING tab and select Travel and look for his article on African Photo Safari.</p>

<p>An 18-200 would be convenient and compact but I would think underpowered in a lot of situations.</p>

 

[mike_hitchen]

<p>If you like the idea of video then 500D is the obvious choice.<br>

Otherwise my advice would be to concentrate on getting the best glass you can! Good glass lasts but cameras break and wear out. If you are learning, then even the 1000D will exceed your capabilities for a couple of years at least - with any other camera body you are getting more facilities (frame rates, build quality, high ISO performance) with relatively little improvement in picture quality. But getting better glass is more likely to have an impact on picture quality (colour rendition, sharpness etc).</p>

<p>Supersooms are great for what they are but once the zoom ratio (shortest focal length to longest) exceeds 4 (the 18-200 = 11) manufacturers need to make severe compromises on design such that either the short end, or the long end (or both) will suffer. But bear in mind that even experience photographers occasionally sell on a high quality lens in favour of a lower quality lens if payoffs make it worthwhile - maybe the lesser quality lens has image stabilisation, or is smaller and easier to carry etc. So these are all things you you need to think about - remember the best lens in the world is useless if it stays in the cupboard.</p>

<p>Wildlife and scenery - two extremes in lens performance. What is your budget? I would suggest a starting point of the 18-55 IS, 70-300 f4-5.6 IS and a Tamron 1.4x teleconverter then see how much money you have left over. You could get a new 1000D, or a second hand 40D or even a second hand 30D (if buying secondhand I would buy from a retailer that offers 3- or 6-month warranty) . The convenience of the 18-200 is that you do not need to do any lens-swapping for the same range. For higher spec you could get the 70-200 F4L (no IS).<br>

The 18-55 is not the widest lens but 18mm is equivalent to about 28mm on a 35mm filmn camera and I travelled for 2 years in the Himalayas, New Zealand and Australia and dnever felt a 28mm was not wide enough for film. So only get something like the Sigma 10-22 if you are sure you will want to go ultra-wide.<br>

And do you want to budget for a polarising filter (I love them, others hate them), lens hoods (recommended) and tripod/monopod? Do you want to buy a small hard disc storage as back-up so you can re-use your memory cards?</p>

<p>Above all, be careful how much you spend. Only you know how seriously you will use the camera after the honeymoon and spending excessive amounts on gear could make for an expensive paperwight when you get home!</p>

[markonestudios]

Without knowing your budget we'll be groping in the dark...

[mark_ethridge]

<p>I'll also add that 200mm is going to be on the short end for wildlife photography. There will be many situations where you'll want more (sometimes a lot more) focal length. I would agree with the above post that the 18-55 IS/70-300 IS combo is pretty good for a budget starter set. The image quality on both of those lenses is fairly good and they aren't too expensive. </p>

<p>If your budget allows it, then the 100-400L IS is an excellent safari lens. It'll get you the reach that you need and the image quality is excellent. It is far more expensive than both of the above lenses put together, so if it isn't in your budget you might look into renting one. Since this is an African safari, it's probably fair to say that you won't be taking this trip every year. You'll want the best pictures you can get so I would opt for the best lenses you can find even if it means renting them. </p>

<p>Whatever you do, start getting familiar with a new camera now. You don't want to be trying to figure out why your pictures aren't turning out in the middle of your trip of a lifetime.</p>

[alan_green4]

<p>when i think of african safari i think wildlife (at a range of at least 100 meters). a 200mm lens won't get the job done.<br>

can suggest a crop body (like the 40d) with a 300 and 400 along with a 1.4 x teleconverter<br>

will cost a bit but so will the honeymoon. may be worth the expense.</p>

[anders_carlsson]

<p>The 18-200 will be an <em>extremely</em> convenient lens on safari since you will and will probably not even want to shoot game at long distances only. Furthermore, it would be a lens to keep and use for many years once you're back home. To elaborate, and particularly in response to those who will suggest very expensive long zooms or primes, I'll quote myself from a recent <a href="../canon-eos-digital-camera-forum/00UNKQ">thread</a>:</p>

<blockquote>

<p>It's always nice to have reach on safari. However, do keep in mind that you will occasionally get so close to the game that any telephoto zoom will be <em>too long</em>. Also, chances are that you will get bored by only taking nicely framed zoomed-in photos of all the species. Safari is more than just animal bodies: landscape, modes of transportation, people.</p>

<p>In other words: [...] The 55-250 [or a 18-200] will be long enough -- no less than 400mm [and 320mm] in full-frame translation, more than most of us had access to less than a decade ago [...]. Most importantly, [they have] IS, which is invaluable in low light. I'd say it makes sense to get the hood [...] to minimize flare. The sun will be low at times and shooting angles not always controllable.</p>

<p>Finally: Don't shoot too much! Game is best enjoyed with your own eyes.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>As far as camera body is concerned, if you want video, by all means get one with it. I can imagine that it will be nice to have some HD movies to watch later on. If not, any recent Canon (and other) body will do. Get an extra battery apart from the hood to your lens and consider buying (or making) a bean bag locally. Have fun!</p>

[doug_harhai]

<p>Mark,<br>

Lucky for you I have done the research for you--I am going to Kruger Park in South Africa next month, and I am taking my 5D and my EOS 3 as a second body. Both are full frame, which will be a consideration (depending on which body you have). The 5D will have the 100-400 IS L on it, and the EOS 3 film body will have the 28-300 IS L on it. I came to the decision on the 100-400 IS L after reading umpteen pages of recommendations, and I am picking the 28-300 IS L for its ability to give me decent wide angle as well as telephoto, and it is reportedly pretty sharp.<br>

I am renting from Lensrentals.com-I could never justify buying $4000+ worth of glass for a trip. Also try eyesonafrica.com for a great write up on safari photography.<br>

Good luck,<br>

Doug</p>

[steve santikarn]

<p>take your Powershot for wide angles and get the 70-300 mm IS lens for your telephoto with one of the DSLR that you buy.</p>

[matthijs]

<p>Just a note to irk the purists...</p>

<p>Superzooms are better than they get credit for.</p>

<p>You might want to take a look at the Tamron 18-270/VC which get pretty good reviews.</p>

<p>There are several sites where you can take a peek. Like <a href="http://www.pbase.com/cameras/tamron/af18_270_35_63_di_ii_vc_ld_aspherical_if">here</a> .</p>

<p>Remeber the three main points in this decision are budget, how much gear you want to carry and how a particular camera/lens combo feels in your hands.</p>

<p> </p>

[arie_vandervelden1]

<p>I suggest looking for a 500D plus 18-55 IS plus 55-250 IS combo. This is sometimes sold as a package, saving you a few dollars compared to buying the items individually. I'd get the body with video if you can.</p>

<p>As for superzooms - been there done that, they're okay but not great. I think you'll get much greater value and performance out of the two lens combo compared to the Canon superzoom. I have the 55-250 and it's suprisingly sharp at 250 mm. Review of the superzoom here:<br>

http://www.photozone.de/canon-eos/400-canon_18200_3556is<br>

compare with:<br>

http://www.photozone.de/canon-eos/404-canon_1855_3556is_50d<br>

http://www.photozone.de/canon-eos/411-canon_55250_456is_50d</p>

<p> </p>

[JDMvW]

<p>Another vote- regardless of which APS-C body you get, consider the 18-55mm IS and the 55-250mm IS "kit" lenses. That covers the field reasonably well. The 70-300mm IS is another good choice, but the slightly shorter lens may actually be just about as good. A nice 400 or 500mm lens or two would always be nice, but are really not all that necessary for most safari shooting, and you will see that the cost is <em>substantially</em> more. Get the camera and lenses as far in advance as you can and go to the local zoo or somewhere and shoot a bunch so you know what's what. BE SURE TO TAKE ALONG THE MANUAL. I'd recommend starting shooting on P rather than the picture modes, and watch what the settings are, so you learn from it. Try some Av and Tv pictures before you go to see how you can control blur and depth of field with these tools. Also, for some things (like following a lioness chasing a Tomi) you will want to know about how to change from one-shot to AI servo, and so on.<br>

Take the Powershots for backup. It's unlikely that a new camera will pack up, but it would always happen at the worst moment if it did. With modern electronics, they usually fail right off or are ok--another reason to get some extensive try-out ahead of time.<br>

Consider shooting RAW + Large jpegs, especially if you are taking along a laptop and discs to back up on. You won't need the RAWs now, but in future, they'll sort of be like "negatives" for pulling more out of your pictures than you will get in jpgs alone. Take lots of cards and some way to get them to a harddisk or computer.</p>

[r_smith2]

<p>I would take two Rebel T1i's. One with a Tamron 18-270mm VC and one with a Tamron 200-500mm. I would take Tamron 1.4x and 2X teleconverters as well as polarizing and protective filters for both lenses. Make sure you have plenty of cards and spare batteries (keeping your camera bodies the same makes this easier and less costly). Make sure to take your battery chargers, camera user manual, lens cleaning cloths and a good giottos rocket air blower. Take a tripod and a shutter release. Using the tripod pan your wide shots with multiple images to stitch together later and bracket exposures on 3-5 images on those landscape scenes early or late in the day so that you can combine them into HDR images later as well. Pack all of this inito a Moose Petersen MP-7 Photo Pack. With the above mentioned equipment and procedures you should be ready for any wildlife safari both domestic or foreign. Have fun!</p>

[richard_scopp]

<p>I took a somewhat different approach on a safari a few years back. Since I wasn't looking for anything better than snapshot quality pictures (I wasn't planning on publishing or displaying any of the photos), convenience and flexibility were more important to me than absolute image quality.<br>

I ending up taking only my S3 IS compact. The 12x zoom lens is the equivalent 36-432mm f/2.7-3.5 and the whole thing weighed just 18 oz.</p>

<p>Of course, there are some trade-offs. The low light performance is miserable and as mentioned, the overall IQ isn't close to what you'd get with a D-SLR and a good lens. But, especially if you don't plan on printing the photos, the image quality may be good enough for you. Take a look at <a href="http://scopp.ca/africa">http://scopp.ca/africa</a> for some examples. As an added bonus, the S3 IS also shoots decent quality video (at least decent for its day).</p>

<p>The S3 IS has been supplanted by the SX1 IS with a 20x zoom lens (28-560mm equivalent). Even with a crop sensor SLR, a lens with that kind of reach is going to be quite a handful compared to this little thing.</p>

<p>FWIW</p>

[landscape_shooter]

<p>I think the 40D is a great camera. I would definitly rent some great lenses if going on a trip like this. 17-55 and 100-400. The 17-55 you will be able to take some nice portraits of yourselves also. Definitely something longer than 200mm. Lots of memory cards and shoot some in raw if you are just getting started you can fix more errors later when you are home.</p>

[chuck nelson]

<p>I agree with Randall, especially about taking a tripod. Even if you shoot "L" series glass you won't get good results if you have camera shake. At long distances I'd use one even with an "IS" lens.</p>

[tapani]

<p>A tripod is not essential on a safari - you'll be shooting from a car most of the time. A bean bag or something you can attach to car window is more useful.<br>

As for lenses, if you're into birds you'll want the longest lens you can carry, preferably 400mm or more, but otherwise 300mm or even 250mm should be fine. I agree that 18-55IS + 55-250IS is better than the 18-200mm, but if at all possible take two bodies - changing lenses leads to missed opportunities and dust in the camera, and you'll really hate it if your only camera breaks. You might also take one wide-aperture lens like a 50/1.8 or a 85/1.8 and maybe a big flash for early morning and night drives. (Last time I did safari in Africa I had 30D+100-400L and 10D+17-40L and all I missed was a low-light lens.)<br>

The body choice is not really critical - I'd rather take two 1000D's than one 500D. If you want video, consider a separate video camera or a compact with video features (some superzoom like Canon SX120 should be fine).<br>

But no matter what you do, get it well before leaving and practice as much as you can.</p>

 

[mark_wylie1]

<p>First of all thanks everyone for your advice. From what I have learnt from your comments and reading the African Safari Photo Guide and choosing a dslr articles the body is far less important than the glass and their isn't one "right" lens option, it comes down to personal preference (which is hard for a first timer). Our budget would allow us to buy a 500D with the 18-200 for New Zealand $2200. The salesman preferred this to the NZD $1900 500D twin lens kit (18-55 and 55-250) because it would save carrying a second lens and changing lenses in such a dusty environment. The 500D with either the 18-200 or twin lens kit is around NZD $300 more than the 1000D. I guess we have to decide if HD video and the improvements in the camera justify the extra money for us.</p>

[anders_carlsson]

<p>I'm not surprised that a salesman suggests a more expensive solution. Yes, the dust issue is real but not <em>that</em> serious. Also, <em>you don't have to capture every single animal and situation on your trip</em>, meaning that you should switch lenses as you want to change your shooting style, not according to every new sighting. Finally, don't forget that there's a photographic life after your trip too. The two kit lenses are really good and they might very well serve you better in the future, not the least since the 18-55 is <em>much</em> smaller and lighter than the 18-200, so much so that it will probably effect how often you bring your camera out. The 18-200 is convenient, yes, but that's not all there is to it.</p>

[mark_wylie1]

<p>Thanks again everyone for your advice and suggestions. Just letting you know we have purchased a 500D with the 18-55 IS and 55-250 IS twin lens kit. We are still only starting to figure out how to use it but are having a lot of fun doing so and are really looking forward to using it on our safari in May.</p>