Suggestions on Lens Purchase for African Wildlife

[Trvl_Wmn]

Jambo!! My husband and I have lived in Africa for over 10yrs, currently residing in Tanzania. We spend a great deal of time on safari both here and in Kenya. I purchased the Canon 100-400 lens for him 2yrs ago for Xmas, and after all of the fabulous suggestions I received (thanks Tony) I ended up getting him the Canon 16-35mm f/2.8L II Ultra Wide Angle. Now if I could solicit suggestions on filters or polarizers for these lens for safaris, that would be great. Our next trip before our Kenya Migration in 7/2008, is Feb 08 for the Calving Season in the Serengeti. Thanks!!

[Tony-S]

Well, I'd say the Sigma 10-20, Canon EF-S 10-22 or Tokina 10-17 for a crop camera. Seems like Tamron makes one, too. All pretty good, optically, but the Sigma is probably the best built and comes with a lens hood and soft case at no extra cost. Whichever you get, get a decent circular polarizer to go with it.

[Trvl_Wmn]

We are getting ready to go on our Kenya Migration safari next month, and I was thinking of ordering extensions or teleconverters, but need advice!! My husband has the Canon 100-400, Canon 16-35mm f/2.8l II USM Ultra Wide lens and the 15mm F/2.8 fisheye. He also owns an older doubler 2x......I am in the dark in all of this, but thought I would look for something for him to bring things closer.....We live in Tanzania, so nothing goes to waste with his gear. All suggestioins welcome.

[condyk]

I personally think with the 100-400 you have a dead end because IMO it won't support a 1.4x at long distance IQ wise. You may get use from it close up as the quality loss is much less. What body does he have? A 1 series will retain AF but a crop/5D won't andf trying to MF at distance is very, very difficult.

[Trvl_Wmn]

The cameras he would use them on would be a Rebel XT and Rebel XTI. A colleague just purchased a Canon convertor for her Rebel XT with 100-400 and can't get it to work. Also is it true that if it does work it would have to be manual and not automatic? Thanks for everyone's help!!

[Roy P]

It won't autofocus on a Rebel with converter as it would become the equivalent of an f8 lens (with 1.4 converter) and only 1 series would be able to do this. And as condyk says manual focussing at a distance is not a pleasant experience.

The metering would still work as normal though.

[Angry Dad]

Habari za Jioni!
I live in Dar as well and was wondering where you purchase all your equiptment. I buy from the states, and Im heading there in 1 more month. Nice to see another TZ member!

[ed rader]

We are getting ready to go on our Kenya Migration safari next month, and I was thinking of ordering extensions or teleconverters, but need advice!! My husband has the Canon 100-400, Canon 16-35mm f/2.8l II USM Ultra Wide lens and the 15mm F/2.8 fisheye. He also owns an older doubler 2x......I am in the dark in all of this, but thought I would look for something for him to bring things closer.....We live in Tanzania, so nothing goes to waste with his gear. All suggestioins welcome.


we're leaving for africa at the end of the month. i'm taking the 100-400L and 16-35L II and 1d mark III and 30d. i will also take a 1.4 TC but i may not use it much because i'm really not too keen on TCs.

ed rader

[M5Man]

Jambo!! Our next trip before our Kenya Migration in 7/2008, is Feb 08 for the Calving Season in the Serengeti. Thanks!!

Hukuna Matata !! We were there then in the Serengeti - awesome experience would love to go back

we're leaving for africa at the end of the month. i'm taking the 100-400L and 16-35L II and 1d mark III and 30d. i will also take a 1.4 TC but i may not use it much because i'm really not to keen on TCs.

ed rader

Ed - Ive got the 10 -22 for my 40D so really a 16-35 would love to get a 100-400L before I got to Africa next time doing Botswana- Okavanga Delta and Rwanda the Gorrillas next.

As Im still fairly new to this DSLR game not used a TC yet but I believe some like them and some dont... ;)

Safari is the best type of Holiday ;) :D

[ed rader]

Hukuna Matata !! We were there then in the Serengeti - awesome experience would love to go back



Ed - Ive got the 10 -22 for my 40D so really a 16-35 would love to get a 100-400L before I got to Africa next time doing Botswana- Okavanga Delta and Rwanda the Gorrillas next.

As Im still fairly new to this DSLR game not used a TC yet but I believe some like them and some dont... ;)

Safari is the best type of Holiday ;) :D

this is a trip of a lifetime for us....i have a book on botswana in my truck and every time i stop to eat lunch i read a little bit. the okavango delta looks like a fascinating place.

but so do all the other places we are going to. kruger, chobe, mashatu, moremi, malamala.....and the last couple of days we'll spend at victoria falls :D.

the 16-35 won't be an UW on the 30d but will be on the 1d mark III. i plan to use the 16-35L on the 30d on game drives and on the 1d mark III when walking around or doing landscapes (e.g., victoria falls).

ed rader

[jaybird]

Jambo rafiki, habari gani

The 100-400 is great for safari. But, you asked about filters. I would go with a high-quality circular polarizer (77mm thread if its for the 100-400). You won't need much more than that. You could get fancy and get some split neutral density filters for the 16-35.

July might be a bit early for the crossing in the Mara. They didn't start crossing last year until the first couple of days in September. There was enough rain to keep the grass green on the Kenyan side for so long that they just didn't cross.

[M5Man]

this is a trip of a lifetime for us....i have a book on botswana in my truck and every time i stop to eat lunch i read a little bit. the okavango delta looks like a fascinating place.

but so do all the other places we are going to. kruger, chobe, mashatu, moremi, malamala.....and the last couple of days we'll spend at victoria falls :D.

the 16-35 won't be an UW on the 30d but will be on the 1d mark III. i plan to use the 16-35L on the 30d on game drives and on the 1d mark III when walking around or doing landscapes (e.g., victoria falls).

ed rader

Ed,

Not started researching that trip yet, but the book I took with me last time was "The Safari Companion Revised Edition by Richard Estes" Excellent....

We stayed at Kruger in 2005 when we mainly did S Africa, Kruger is awseome, we saw all the Big 5 there :) on that trip we also went to the Victoria falls and stayed at the Royal Livingstone it has a bar on some decking get there early (4.15pm ish) and you will get some great shots i beleive even people who arent staying can come in for drinks this was a great place for some evening sunset shots and hipos playing in the river.

I also recomend the helicopter trip over the falls ;)

Unfortuanatly I only had my Fuji S5000 on this holiday :( but still took loads of shots....:)

[ed rader]

Ed,

Not started researching that trip yet, but the book I took with me last time was "The Safari Companion Revised Edition by Richard Estes" Excellent....

We stayed at Kruger in 2005 when we mainly did S Africa, Kruger is awseome, we saw all the Big 5 there :) on that trip we also went to the Victoria falls and stayed at the Royal Livingstone it has a bar on some decking get there early (4.15pm ish) and you will get some great shots i beleive even people who arent staying can come in for drinks this was a great place for some evening sunset shots and hipos playing in the river.

I also recomend the helicopter trip over the falls ;)

Unfortuanatly I only had my Fuji S5000 on this holiday :( but still took loads of shots....:)

we're staying there too. tell me, would i be foolish not to bring a tripod? i'm thinking that for Victoria falls especially i'll want a lightweight tripod for landscapes.

we have some austere weight restrictions and i have to pack wisely.

thanx for the info :D!

ed rader

[M5Man]

Ed,

Like I said I had my SLR then but yes take a lightweight tripod or monopod that decking is awesome spot but they know and the drink prices reflect it ;) but you get what you pay for....

I was lucky we paid for the cheaper\shorter helicoptor trip as my wife wasnt to keen, then they couldnt fill the long trip so they put us in on that one :)

PS watch the monkies on the decking they run off with anything :(

[M5Man]

Well Ed,

I just dug these out.....

Not brilliant :oops: but gives you an idea of the place
1) The sunset natural colour
2) The balcony - bar on the left

[amfoto1]

Some ideas...

A teleconverter is not going to be particularly useful on the 100-400 lens. I'm afraid your next step for more reach is going to be an expensive one... 500/4 IS. That's a fabulous lens, but expensive. (Sigma makes a 500/4.5 which is a little less expensive, but not a lot and it doesn't have IS, which is very useful on any 500mm).

Any teleconverter on the 100-400 with Rebel cameras will make it very difficult or impossible to auto focus (the Canon teleconverters won't even try), especially a 2X. It will almost surely be manual focus only at the long end of the 100-400 (f5.6) which is where you'd be most inclined to a teleconverter. Some of the third party 1.4X teleconverters might still try to auto focus, but the viewfinder is going to be dim, AF might only work in the most ideal conditions, and AF may slow way down or focus inaccurately, if at all.

Now, if using one of the 1D series cameras (or 1V or EOS-3 film cameras), a 1.4X should work on the 100-400, with the center focus point only. But assomeone already mentioned, I'm not sure image quality would be all that great with a zoom. (Canon 2x and 1.4X both work very well with prime lenses they are for - 300mm, 400mm 500mm, 600mm - just not so great with zooms.)

How about a macro lens for the little critters? Depends on if your husband likes to shoot small subjects. A 90mm, 100mm or 105mm macro can be a good compromise, also useful for portraits of people. There are Canon, Tokina, Tamron and Sigma macro lenses, all of which are pretty darned good.

The 24-70/2.8L zoom might be useful to him. It's got a macro range that gets in pretty close, too. Excellent image quality. Again, it sort of depends on what he likes to photography.

Does your husband like the wide angle of the 16-35, ever say he wished he had wider for landscapes and that sort of thing? A Tokina 12-24 or Canon 10-22 would give him that option.

I'm afraid that none of the above, short of the 500/4, will help very much with the distant wildlife you asked about. And, with the 500/4 you almost need a pack to carry it in and a special tripod & tripod head to use it with. (Can be handheld a little, and used on a monopod some of the time, or set on a beanbag.... more on these below.)

Tokina, Tamron, Sigma, Vivitar and others used to offer a 500mm f8 mirror lens that could be fitted to EOS cameras. However, as far as I know, no one is making one now and all will be manual focus only on any Rebel camera (might not have even been made in auto focus, I don't know). Now, when I shot with manual focus, film cameras and traveled a lot with them, I used a Tamron SP 500/8 mirror lens quite a bit. It was a good lens that could be adapted to most cameras (interchangeable mount, although the EOS Adaptall-2 mount is quite hard to find). Mainly, it was compact and light weight. But, manual focus is difficult with any modern Rebel and would especially be so with an f8 lens. Still, it's an idea. You'd want to talk it over with your husband though, before going this route.

Top quality polarizing filters for the 16-35 (82mm) and 100-400 (77mm) would be useful, if he doesn't already have them. Look for Hoya Pro MC, Heliopan SH-PMC or B+W MRC or B+W Kaesemann for the best quality. Polarizing is probably more useful on the 100-400, it can overly saturate skies on a wide lens like the 16-35.

The only other filter I'd recommend, in both sizes, would be a UV (B+W calls it a KR 1.5 I think). Look for the MC, SH-PMC and MRC designations in those brands, again, for the best quality.

A lot of people put UV filters on their lenses all the time to "protect" them. I don't and personally think that's rather silly. There are times some protection is useful, but not all the time. However, a UV filter can also help images be more saturated in hazy and dusty situations, which might be the case.

Kenko extension tube set might be handy for use with the 100-400 if shooting small birds relatively close (I don't have that lens, so am not really sure how close it can get on its own, without extension tubes).

Someone mentioned a monopod, useful even with IS lens like the 100-400. A tripod is useful too, but may be a hassle in some situations.

A beanbag is another great support, especially if shooting from vehicles. You can pack and take one empty and just go to a market, but and fill it with red beans (or rice or similar) when you arrive. Put a large plastic bag inside the bean bag, to hold the beans (or whatever). When you are leaving give the beans to someone who can use them and pack away the empty bean bag again. Easy to pack and light weight.

Does he have vertical battery grips on his cameras? These double the battery capacity of the cameras, so he can keep shooting a lot longer. They also help the smaller Rebel cameras feel better balanced with larger lenses like the 16-35 and 100-400. And, vertically oriented shooting is made easier with duplicated controls on the side (shutter button, etc.). I have battery grips on all my user cameras.

Any use for a flash? The Rebel built-in flashes are pretty wimpy. A 580EX II (bigger, but more powerful) or 430EX (smaller, less powerful) might come in handy. Best used on a flash bracket, mounted off to one side, which requires an off-camera show cord (OCSC2 or OCSC3). And, a flash extender can be very helpful with a long lens like the 100-400 and wildlife (Better Beamer is one brand, Flash Xtender is another... You need to buy one to fit a specific flash, though.)

[ed rader]

Well Ed,

I just dug these out.....

Not brilliant :oops: but gives you an idea of the place
1) The sunset natural colour
2) The balcony - bar on the left

oh man....those are great. wait till i show these to the rest of the crew :D.

post some more if you have them :D.

ed rader

[M5Man]

let us know your itinery PM me if you want and I'll email you some pics as have loads ...

[M5Man]

just had a been bag delivered here may be usefull on safari

http://www.wildlifewatchingsupplies.co.uk/

company really helpfull and prompt delivery.....

Got it ready for my Aus trip :)

[Neilyb]

If you are on a budget the new Sigma 150-500 OS has so far impressed me. The OS works rather well, have 500mm shots at 1/100 sec and AF seems accurate. Not tried it in the field yet but this could save you 500% of the price of the 500mm f4... :)

[M5Man]

Or this Tamron I have heard is good

Tamron SP AF 200-500mm F/5-6.3 Di LD IF

[jaybird]

How about a macro lens for the little critters? Depends on if your husband likes to shoot small subjects. A 90mm, 100mm or 105mm macro can be a good compromise, also useful for portraits of people. There are Canon, Tokina, Tamron and Sigma macro lenses, all of which are pretty darned good.

I've been on a number of safaris here in Kenya since I arrived (some professionally driven and some self-driven) and I have never had the bother to use a macro lens. There are too many other shots to take and some parks/guides will not let you out of the vehicle to use a macro lens. It's not worth the weight.

I'm afraid that none of the above, short of the 500/4, will help very much with the distant wildlife you asked about. And, with the 500/4 you almost need a pack to carry it in and a special tripod & tripod head to use it with. (Can be handheld a little, and used on a monopod some of the time, or set on a beanbag.... more on these below.)

There is no doubt that the 500 is an awesome lens, it isn't all it's cracked up to be. We were just in Samburu at a new place that just opened (not even finished construction), called Saruni. There was a friend of the owner who had a 500 F4 IS and it weighed a ton! I'm 6'1" and not a small guy and would not want to shoot it hand-held. A beanbag of an appropriate size for that lens wouldn't be great if you are sharing a vehicle with others. The 100-400 is a great compromise. I've shot right to the eyes of elephants with that lens.

Any use for a flash? The Rebel built-in flashes are pretty wimpy. A 580EX II (bigger, but more powerful) or 430EX (smaller, less powerful) might come in handy. Best used on a flash bracket, mounted off to one side, which requires an off-camera show cord (OCSC2 or OCSC3). And, a flash extender can be very helpful with a long lens like the 100-400 and wildlife (Better Beamer is one brand, Flash Xtender is another... You need to buy one to fit a specific flash, though.)

Fill flash could be useful to help with harsh mid-day light or early in the morning and late in the evening. Something other than the pop-up flash could be useful.

[Trvl_Wmn]

I shop the net as well, and have purchase a number of items from Adorama. We have places like Ritz Camera at home, but costs are much higher. Enjoy and have a safe trip home!
Asante sana

[Trvl_Wmn]

Thanks for the info. I live in Tanzania, but my Kenya friend that owns the company emailed me last Thursday that the Migration is starting. We are leaving Nairobi for Mara on July 12 and will spend a week on both sides of the Mara River. We caught the Migration the same timeframe in 2006. We arrange this same trip every year with friends, family, and colleagues. In February here in Tanzania we do a trip to the Serengeti and Crater for the calving which is also great. Spent this last weekend in our nearby Park, Mikumi, but nothing is like the Mara during Migration!! We've had so many National Geographic moments. Asante sana...........

[jaybird]

Thanks for the info. I live in Tanzania, but my Kenya friend that owns the company emailed me last Thursday that the Migration is starting. We are leaving Nairobi for Mara on July 12 and will spend a week on both sides of the Mara River. We caught the Migration the same timeframe in 2006. We arrange this same trip every year with friends, family, and colleagues. In February here in Tanzania we do a trip to the Serengeti and Crater for the calving which is also great. Spent this last weekend in our nearby Park, Mikumi, but nothing is like the Mara during Migration!! We've had so many National Geographic moments. Asante sana...........

They're migrating already?! Last year they didn't start to cross until the beginning of September. A friend I work with was in the Mara (at Mara Siria) last weekend and didn't mention anything about the wildebeasts migrating.

[Trvl_Wmn]

We have now been living in Africa almost 12yrs, the last 5yrs in Tanzania. We have one last big safari in Feb for the Berthing Season in the Serengeti, and we move to Kenya next summer. I have purchased my husband just about everything folks have suggested, to include the 100-400, fish eye, ultra wide angle, etc. I understand the new thing now is the GPS. Does anyone have any knowledge on one that would work with his Canon XT or Canon XTI? Thanks as always.

[hollis_f]

I understand the new thing now is the GPS. Does anyone have any knowledge on one that would work with his Canon XT or Canon XTI? Thanks as always.

Still the best solution is to use a handheld gps that can record a track and write it out to a PC. Then there's various bits of software that will take the gps track info and match the gps coordinates to photos taken at the same time. The position data is written to the photo's exif data.

Try a search on geotagging for more detailed info.