<p>Tracking isn't really a requirement for most wildlife photo safaris unless you're a birder who loves BIF images. Most subjects you encounter will be static, or if they're moving they won't be moving so fast that tracking becomes an issue. The fastest animals we've encountered on safari since 2009 have been the African Wild Dogs on a hunt and nobody in our group was able to track them, even with top end DSLR's because we were in a vehicle that was battling to keep up off road! In that situation you hold on to everything and simply enjoy the experience.</p>
<p><br /> In Etosha the wildlife photo opportunities mostly happen at the watering holes, so again, static subjects. Personally I have gotten much better results with my Olympus E-M1 and a variety of lenses than I ever got with my Nikons and some top end glass. But that's me. Others will have the opposite experience. The thing is to make sure you know your gear inside out before going on an expensive safari and then discovering that you aren't getting along with it.</p>
<p><br /> The past two years we organised safaris on the Chobe River in Botswana. The first year I took along the older Olympus 50-200/2.8-3.5 and I was really happy with the results. Last year we did the same trip and I had the newer 40-150/2.8 with the 1.4TC and I wasn't that happy with the results. I think the newer lens is designed for near field subjects, not distant ones, so this year I'll be using the 50-200mm again. I will probably also have the new 300/4.0 PRO on evaluation, but where we're going (Sabi Sabi) it will probably be too much lens because we get really close to the animals - another reason why the 50-200 is such a great safari lens.</p>
<p><br /> The best thing about travelling with the m43 gear is obviously the lack of weight. It makes a HUGE difference to the trip when you aren't lugging around enormous bags of glass.</p>