james_glucksman1

<p>Ha, I have this same problem myself, and was planning to post the question. Interestingly, what I found is that, while the video is "skippy" on my computer, when I upload it to YouTube or something it plays just fine. VLC does not seem to make any difference on my system. </p>

<p>Ha, I have this same problem myself, and was planning to post the question. Interestingly, what I found is that, while the video is "skippy" on my computer, when I upload it to YouTube or something it plays just fine. VLC does not seem to make any difference on my system. </p>

<p>I bought that ThinkTank bag a few months ago, prior to a trip to South Africa and have never had a bag that I liked so much! I ended up also buying one of their shoulder bags (the Urban Disguise) which I use for photo expeditions closer to home. Phenomenal gear!</p>

<p>Hi, Scott. I live in China, so the policy I have with them is a personal property policy aimed at expatriates who don't own a house or other real property overseas, but who want to protect their belongings from theft, fire, etc. I discovered them after doing a bit of a search after realizing I had no coverage in my rental accommodation in case my poorly-wired Chinese apartment were to burn down, and Clements came highly recommended. I have been ecstatic with their service, and cannot recommend them highly enough, though I don't know if they are able to cover people who are just traveling overseas. Worth asking, though! They're website is (surprise!) www.clements.com. </p>

<p>This is an interesting post for me. I also never use the "idiot modes" myself, but when giving my camera to someone else to shoot a photo it does come in handy. I have not made much use of the programmable modes ("C-1" etc) but now think that I will give that a go. I just always worry that I'll inadvertently forget to switch out of one of those modes and regret it when it's too late.</p>

<p>FWIW, given all the responses you've already had, I'd also vote for a FF camera (my photography took a noticeable turn for the better when I went to my 5D a few years ago) and a range of lenses that you will not have to change so much. I tend to like wider shots in general, so a 24-70 f/2.8 is my 'walking around' lens, and I also carry a 16-35 f/2.8 sometimes. On occasion I use my 70-200 f/2.8IS, too, but much more rarely, but it would be something you might want on such a long trip in a place like India.<br>

Also, I vote strongly in favor of insurance. India is not that dangerous a place in the great scheme of things, but neither is China (where I currently live) and my 5D and lens were stolen out from under me in a seemingly quiet restaurant, and Clements came through with a full replacement value that paid for my 5DMkII!</p>

<p>I think the answer depends a lot on a few things: how often do you travel, is this the only trip you're likely to take to China, and what sort of photos do you like to take? I live in China and usually shoot landscapes so I'm usually able to make do with my f/2.8 lenses with no problem. If I were you, though, I'd save the money for more travel.</p>

<p>Ah, that makes more sense re the beans on a safari vehicle. Luckily I bought popcorn, which we cannot easily find in Beijing (at least, not fresh) so we packed them in our suitcases and brought them home!</p>

<p>I posted a question some time ago on what gear you all would recommend for a safari to Kruger National Park in South Africa. In the end, what I brought was my trusty Canon 5DMk2, the 100-400 f/4.5-5.6L lens, the 70-200 f/2.8L IS, the 24-70 f/2.8L, a 15mm fisheye, and a 2x extender. I self-drove in Kruger for the most part, though I also did some organized drives (and a walk) through my lodges, and I found that, with very few exceptions, the 100-400 stayed on my camera pretty much full time, with the 2x extender added on only when there was some really unusual sighting too far away to be visible clearly with just the 100-400 by itself. <br>

At the recommendation of some of you, I bought a bag of beans to use as a prop for the camera to prevent camera shake. This was virtually useless for me, perhaps because I did it wrong, and I found that I really wished I had invested in one of the car window support things that I saw numerous other cars sporting (though I did not even know they exist). <br>

The warnings of dusty conditions were well founded but somewhat misleading--the amount of dust in your car can be limited very effectively by driving on the asphalt roads (not as bad for game viewing as I'd have thought) and by closing your windows when driving on the gravel roads. I did not take these precautions, however, and found that dust on my sensor was NOT A PROBLEM even with the famous "dust sucking" reputation of the 100-400 lens. I checked my sensor nightly with a SensorScope (or whatever that thing is called) and only had one errant thread the entire time. <br>

If you go on a safari I would recommend this setup highly.</p>

<p>I have heard from Canon reps in Beijing (where I live) that there are counterfeit cameras lurking around, though I have never seen one. But maybe that explains why EVERYONE in Beijing seems to have a 5DMkII!</p>

<p>Wow, I went to the store today and looked at the 500D and 1000D (the 500D was wrapped up in plastic so I could literally just "see" it, without actually looking through the viewfinder or anything) and boy was I disappointed! After the enormous screen size of the 5DMk2 this was just too difficult to go back to. I will definitely have to rethink this whole approach of mine. Thanks for the tips!</p>

<p>I'm planning on mostly shooting animals, mammals for the most part (I'm not a birder), and also landscapes.</p>

<p>It's interesting, since I had the same impression as you, Mark, about just cropping the image to get the portion I want if the "reach" of the FF sensor was not enough, but I was roundly mocked for thinking this way! I think that is the way to go--rather have my 5DMkII with the 100-400 ready to go for tele shots, and perhaps another FF with my 70-200 or even 24-70 for the wider shots.</p>

<p>I don't want another 5D because I am hoping to extend the range of my long lenses (by using an APS-C sensor camera, if that was not clear). </p>

<p>I shoot with a 5DMkII, and am about to travel to Africa, where I would like to have a second body along so that I can minimize lens changing in a dusty environment and also maximize the reach of my lenses (100-400 and 70-200 f/2.8L). I was debating one of the smaller bodies (that is, not the XXD series) primarily out of concerns about weight and since my partner already has a 50D that he'll be taking along. Any recommendations?</p>

<p>Oh, and I don't leave China for S Africa until May 13, so these responses are not at all too late! And Andre and Anders--since I'll be self-driving, I'm sure I won't be exclusively viewing my surroundings through my viewfinder, but I appreciate the advice very much!</p>

<p>I don't know why I did not get these responses sent to me (I had clicked "Notify me of Responses" so sorry for taking so long to respond! Thanks for all the feedback, here is some of mine:<br>

First, thanks for referring to me as a capable photographer! I still consider myself pretty much to be a plodder, but it's nice to have positive feedback! Second, if I mislabled a hawk a condor, it's probably because I did a bulk keyword add in Lightroom and mistakenly included the wrong photo in there (but I was at a part of Peru where the point of being there was to shoot condors, so at least <em>most</em> of the birds there should have been condors). Third, the lenses I am bringing are pretty much all 2.8L lenses: 24-70, 70-200 IS, and 100-400 IS, along with a 15mm fisheye lens. <br>

The lens thing leads to two further questions: since I shoot with a 5DMkII, I have been debating getting a second camera with an APS sensor to add some reach to my shots, though I cannot decide a) whether to, or b) which to get if I decide to do so. My partner shoots with a 50D and a Tamron 18-270 lens, so he should get some good range, but when I think what my 100-400 could do on an APS camera, I get goosebumps. But then again, putting such a great lens on a Rebel xTi seems a bit silly to me...<br>

The other question is how the hell to schlep all these cameras and lenses with me, particularly on the plane! The 70-200 and 100-400 are not exactly compact, and they don't really fit that well into a camera bag. Ideas?</p>

<p>So I'm about to head to South Africa for a two-week holiday that will include a week in the game parks. Before I head out, I'd like to get some guidance on the settings I am best off using on my gear; which exposure mode, metering mode, etc. do you recommend? I really want to maximize my potential on this trip!</p>

<p>RTM</p>

<p>I feel the same way about my 50D, which I bought having read no reviews but needing a replacement camera ASAP while traveling. It's served me very well.</p>

<p>Wow, I never realized it was the color space. Thanks for illuminating this for me, too!</p>

<p>You went from shooting in JPEG mode to shooting in RAW (you can confirm this by checking the extension on the file names; it should have gone from ".jpg" to ".cr2". </p>

<p>I read that report and it had me a bit concerned at first, too. I have had a 5DMkII since just after they came out, and have so far traveled with it twice, once to Taiwan and once to Spain. I have not had one lick of trouble with it, and have already shot more than 4000 frames on it. I am planning to take it to South Africa with me in May and was concerned that the harsher environment there might trigger the troubles that those units in Antarctica suffered from, though the comment made by another poster about his success with the camera there gives me some comfort. <br>

Incidentally I was very surprised at how many 5DMkIIs I saw in Spain; seems like every other Canon shooter had one. </p>

<p>I had the f/4 IS, the f/2.8 non-IS and now the f/2.8 IS, and I am by far the most happy with the f/2.8 IS. The IQ is excellent and in my experience better than the f/4, and though it is heavy-ish, it is usable handheld. </p>

<p>Pingyao is easily visited as a weekend trip from Beijing; you take the train down on Friday night, arriving early Saturday morning, and then you spend Saturday there and return on the night train from there, arriving Sunday morning. You can also spend a night there, though I did not find it necessary (it's a very small town). For Longji you would fly to Guilin and then get a car to take you to Longji (aka Longsheng). I can put you in touch with a travel agent that I use down there, who can arrange a car and a hotel for you. Note re Longji: cars can only go so far in Longji, so they will drop you off at a parking area and then you have to walk the rest of the way, nearly a kilometer, uphill, so be prepared! <br>

I used to live in Russia, by the way, living in Moscow but working all over the place, from the west all the way to places like Ust-Ilimsk. </p>