Nikon lens for safari in africa

[rachel_gooley]

<p>I have a nikon D50 and want to know what lens ppl would recommend for travel photography, in particular, for wildlife photography?<br>

I've been recommended the Nikon 70-300 F4.5-5.6G VR IF ED lens.<br>

On the cheaper side, what about the Nikon AF-S DX VR 55-200mm?<br>

I'm not convinced how much money I want to spend yet but up to $1000 is ok.<br>

<br /> Any advice is much appreciated!</p>

[Hector Javkin]

<p>I have a D50 (also a D90) and a Nikon 70-300 f/5.6 VR IF ED. It's an excellent lens, lightweight, but built well enough, and handles very well with a D50. There's a discussion about it <a href="../casual-conversations-forum/00VVrS"><strong>here on photo.net</strong> </a> which contains two of my photos taken with it. The second of those was taken with a D50. For a safari, I would strongly recommend the 70-300 VR over the 55-200 VR. Even if the build of the two lenses were the same, and they're not -- the 70-300mm is better -- the extra 100mm of focal length will be very useful.</p>

<p>In fact, you might want more than 300mm, which isn't available new in Nikon in your price range. One possibility would be the Sigma 120-400mm OS (Sigma's term for VR) which many people seem to like, except for its heavy weight. It's available for about $900 at B&H. I don't have experience with this lens.</p>

<p>The other concern about the 70-300mm VR is its relatively small aperture of f5.6 at the long end. Within your price range, you can't do better at these focal lengths. However, you might want to make sure to have a lens of 50mm or so with at least an f/1.8 aperture for shooting in low light.</p>

<p>Finally, avoid the 70-300 non-VR. You will want VR for your trip, and the non-VR version isn't nearly as good optically. Have a great trip.</p>

[jyoungman]

<p>I found the 120-400 disappointing from a quality point of view. I think my technique probably just wasn't up to dealing with the focal length (despite the fact that I was using a bean-bag with the lens OS turned on).<br>

However, there are lots of kinds of wildlife photography, and many of them require different lenses. For example contrast the requirements of wild bird photography with those of, say giraffes or buffalo.</p>

[Hector Javkin]

<p>James, I wonder if you could post a bit more detail about the Sigma 120-400mm, your shooting conditions, etc. It might be helpful to Rachel (our job in this post) and also to me, since I keep thinking of getting a little more reach. Were you using the bean bag on a vehicle window, or low to the ground, etc. Any details, plus maybe an image, might be helpful.</p>

[julieroggow]

<p>To recommend which lenses would be better, it would be helpful to know what country you are going to visit in Africa and in what month. I've been to South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Tanzania. I'd be happy to provide you with photo and equipment suggestions if you could provide more information.<br>

Julie</p>

[michael_huizenga]

<p> Four years ago, I used a Nikkor 70-300 ED on my F100 film camera on a photo safari in Tanzania. The lens was a bit short occasionally, but otherwise worked very well. This was with Fuji 200 color film. I later bought a D50 as my first digital, and the lens worked quite nicely with that camera too. Since you can shoot pretty safely up to 800 ISO with it, I think that lens would work very well. Of course, it is no longer in production, so you would have to check fleabay or something similar. With your DX format, it would work out to a 105-450mm lens.</p>

[dave_hutchinson1]

<p>I have photographed on safari three times in southern Africa over the last 5 years (South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Swaziland and Kenya. Carrying the right equipment to Africa is always a challenge since you want the longest, fastest lens that you can afford for the animals yet you still need a wide angle for the people shots and photos around the camp. I don't think that the 70-300 is long enough or fast enough. For the animals I have taken my Nikon 80-400mm lens on all trips. Frankly, I don't think that this is the best lens for wildlife. It isn't very fast either, but I still managed to come home with some nice photos. Many of my photos are at my site, www.CrazyAboutTravel.com . For my close and wide angle shots I most recently took my Nikon 17-55mm 2.8 lens. This lens is wonderful for this type of photography. I don't own a Nikon 500mm f/4 which I think would be the ideal wildlife lens, but then again getting that lens on the plane would probably be impossible. More recently I have purchased a Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 and a Nikon 200-400mm f/4. The 70-200mm might be great when used with a 1.4 - 2.0 teleconverter. Of course, the 200-400mm would be ideal, but weight gets in the way again. We are trying to put together a trip to Namibia in the next couple of years so I will be visiting this topic again. </p>

[j_k_ruth]

<p>What lenses do you already have? I would say the 70-300VR is probably the best you are going to do under $1000. It would be nice to have a faster lens, but I have found the VR extremely handy when riding arond in safari vehicles. You can never have a long enough or fast enough lens in Africa, but for your price range I think you should definitely be able to get some excellent shots with the 70-300VR.<br>

Make sure to take atleast one other lens (a wide angle). Africa offers so beautiful landscapes to shoot. I fast prime (like the 35mm or50mm 1.8) would come in hand as well. I would also recommend a monopod for keeping the lens as steady as possible. Hope this helps</p>

[richard_crowe4]

<p>I am a Canon shooter so I can really offer you no insight regarding Nikon glass but, I can offer a tip which is cross-brand. I would never spend a lot of money traveling to a photogenic location (especially not a once in a lifetime trip) without a second body as a back-up.<br>

I traveled to Alaska's Kenai Peninsula for ten days in 2008 and fell on a slippery slope during the first day of shooting. I creamed my Canon 40D camera but, since I had a 30D as my second camera, I did not lose the chance to photograph for the rest of my trip.<br>

A secondary but, equally important, aspect of a second camera is that you can have a second focal length lens available without having to take the time to switch lenses in the field. The minimizing of lens switching in the field can also serve to protect your camera's sensor from dust and grit.<br>

Another piece of advice. I always travel with an OPTECH Rain Sleeve for each camera. The sleeves are very inexpensive and weigh next to nothing. Although you will probably not experience rain (I doubt that they schedule safaris during the rainy season) the Rain Sleeve will do a great job protecting your camera from dust and grit blowing in the air. I am in the habit of carrying Rain Sleeves wherever I go to photograph.<br>

<a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=rain+sleeve&tag=googhydr-20&index=aps&hvadid=2827335531&ref=pd_sl_7qyx452wz4_b">http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=rain+sleeve&tag=googhydr-20&index=aps&hvadid=2827335531&ref=pd_sl_7qyx452wz4_b</a></p>

[richard_crowe4]

<p>I am a Canon shooter so I can really offer you no insight regarding Nikon glass but, I can offer a tip which is cross-brand. I would never spend a lot of money traveling to a photogenic location (especially not a once in a lifetime trip) without a second body as a back-up.<br>

I traveled to Alaska's Kenai Peninsula for ten days in 2008 and fell on a slippery slope during the first day of shooting. I creamed my Canon 40D camera but, since I had a 30D as my second camera, I did not lose the chance to photograph for the rest of my trip.<br>

A secondary but, equally important, aspect of a second camera is that you can have a second focal length lens available without having to take the time to switch lenses in the field. The minimizing of lens switching in the field can also serve to protect your camera's sensor from dust and grit.<br>

Another piece of advice. I always travel with an OPTECH Rain Sleeve for each camera. The sleeves are very inexpensive and weigh next to nothing. Although you will probably not experience rain (I doubt that they schedule safaris during the rainy season) the Rain Sleeve will do a great job protecting your camera from dust and grit blowing in the air. I am in the habit of carrying Rain Sleeves wherever I go to photograph.<br>

<a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=rain+sleeve&tag=googhydr-20&index=aps&hvadid=2827335531&ref=pd_sl_7qyx452wz4_b">http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=rain+sleeve&tag=googhydr-20&index=aps&hvadid=2827335531&ref=pd_sl_7qyx452wz4_b</a></p>

[mandy_wong]

<p>I went to South Africa 2 years ago with a D80 and a 70-300mm f4-5.6 lens (an old one, non-VR). I can't comment on the lenses in terms of quality, but I would definitely say that you will appreciate having the extra 100mm. I even found my 300mm inadequate at times. I also agree with the comment that whatever lens you choose, you should get one with VR. I wish I had upgraded to a newer VR lens before the trip. If you're like me and don't have the money to spend on a backup body, I would bring along a point and shoot camera. I used it for video (nothing fancy, just something to show my friends) and found myself pulling it out a couple times when there wasn't enough time to change to my wide angle lens. Although, this entirely depends on the type of safari you're going on. I was the only semi-serious photographer in my group, so I didn't feel justified asking them to wait while I fiddled with gear.</p>

[lintrathen]

<p>Hi Rachel...... there is merit in Julies' reply because I lived in Africa for most of my life and dependent of where you are going and whether you are on a paid safari etc. etc will affect a posters reply.<br>

Safari guides are amazing at locating the game. They can get you so close that you are scrabbling for a 50mm lens.<br>

Give some specific detail.<br>

Regards</p>

[herman_hiel]

<p>Some general adivce: I second the choice for a back-up camera. As for the lenses: it depends what you're interested in and where you're going. It is true that in general you' ll get close to wildlife, however in a lot of National Parks you're not allowed off road; I always (on some 10 trips now) take my 500f4 (and before it died, my 600f4) and sometimes add a 1.4 converter; get the point? The saying is your lens can never be too long. All of this to say that maybe you should use the money to rent some good lenses. I know it's a lot of money, but how likeliy is it you'll ever go to Africa again? Enjoy your trip, you'll love it.</p>