dallas_dahms2

<p>It is posible to sky-check your roller at some airports in Southern Africa if they stop you at the gate. It still means you don't have access to your bag during the flight, but you do bypass the baggage handlers which is where 100% of the problems with man-handling and theft occur. What they do is tag it on the apron when you pass through the gate, load it into the plane's hold from there and then when you land you can get your bag at the bottom of the stairs. I've seen this done at Nelspruit (Kruger National Park Airport) and Kasane. </p>

<p>Also, it's possible to pay extra for heavier luggage. We've just put together a safari for a couple of gentlemen who are flying directly to Sabi Sabi's airstrip from OR Tambo and then also to Madikwe from OR Tambo a week later. Throw enough Dollars at problems and they go away. :) </p>

<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>

<p>Funny, it was my trip to Botswana and Namibia in 2013 that finally convinced me that DSLR's are no longer for me. I went from being a huge Nikon FX exponent to being a micro-four-thirds exponent. More about my conversion story <a href="http://www.photographers.travel/from-nikon-to-olympus/">here</a>. </p>

<p>I have been using exclusively Olympus E-M1 on safaris for the past 2 years. Previously I used to use Nikon D700 with Sigma 120-300/2.8 OS. You can find out more and see my galleries here: <a href="http://www.photographers.travel">www.photographers.travel</a> <br>

If you have any questions about what gear I am using please feel free to pop me a PM or email. Happy to help others discover the virtues of Oly gear for wildlife photography. </p>

<p>Unfortunately websites cost money to run. As the owner of the Nikongear.com site I made a decision last year to go with the subscription based model. It has worked pretty well and as a result we find that content provided by the members is rational, unemotional and generally engaging.<br>

The other option to keep the site going was to bombard members with advertising, usually affilliate based, which unfortunately simply doesn't convert into sustainable revenue for us. There are currently only two ad areas on the entire site and one of them is only visible to non-subscribers. The other is in the site footer, so it's not obtrusive at all. <br>

I'm a firm believer in <em>quid pro quo</em> and as Oivind points out, if you contribute something worthy to the site in one of the many free areas, you will find yourself gaining full access to all site features and content areas. In fact, the only paid areas of the site now are the Technical Zone and the Nikon Zone. These are the areas where historically flare-ups and clashes of egos usually occur. I'm not saying that we don't have any flare ups at all, but on the whole members seldom require moderation. <br>

<br />I'm in the process of expanding the site into a lot more non-Nikon areas. We have a Mirrorless Zone and recently I also added a Travel zone. Both are 100% free and will remain that way. <br>

<br />Siphiwe, thanks for the kind words! How's your 50mm 1.4 treating you? :) </p>

<p>Every person who has come on safari with us, including Bjørn, has recommended the 200-400mm f/4 as being the perfect safari lens. There's a good reason for that. Mobility.<br>

There is no way you want to be lugging around a 600mm or even a 300-800mm lens when you are on a photo safari. The simple reason is because finding adequate support for your big lens on an open 4x4 game vehicle is a tricky business. Do you really want to travel with a Wimberley?<br>

Something else to consider is getting through airports with a lot of carry on luggage, such as cameras and lenses. I can't speak for anywhere else, but in South Africa, if you are flying from JHB to KNP there will be severe limitations on the amount of hand luggage you are allowed to carry onboard. On our last trip my camera bag containing everything swung in at around 15 kilos, which is almost double the allowed amount.<br>

Fortunately they didn't weigh it because I had it all in a 20L backpack which, while it was killing my back and compressing my vertebrae, didn't look all that heavy. Had I tried to get a 300-800mm in there, I would almost certainly have aroused unwanted attention from the check-in clerk and had to pay in extra.<br>

For ultimate quality I would recommend a 300mm 2.8 with a couple of converters (2x and 1.4x), paired with a 70-200mm 2.8 zoom.</p>

<p>Hi Nick,</p>

<p>If you're looking to join up with other photographers and have a really great safari experience you may want to take a look at what we're offering here: http://www.photographers.travel<br /> This is a spin off from Nikongear.com, where we have already had two very successful group safaris. You'll find our prices are a lot less than what other photography related safaris are charging, mainly because we are already based here and have established good relationships with the various lodges.<br /> Make sure you check out our galleries from the 2010 and 2009 trips we did. :-)<br /> Dallas</p>