african safari...a fwe questions

[cyruz]

so i finally made the hardest decision, which lens to go with. i was between the sigma 150-500 and the canon 1-4L. i went canon and couldn't be happier. but i still have a few questions.

monpod or bean bag? ill be in the land rovers for the safari. ive heard a lot of people mention the bean bags, but which ones have you guys had sucess with? i was thinking of getting one of the neck rolls u shapped air plane pillows.

how many batteries did you all take? i know the rovers are supposed to have power strips and such, but how reliable were they?

im going to take some bags to change lenses in only when needed, but did you try to clean the sensor and lenses alot at night after the safari?

for any of you guys that went to zanzibar, other than stone town, is there really anything else worth spending time shooting out there?

Im sure as time gets closer, 3 weeks to go, ill have more rambling questions.

thanks.

[hollis_f]

so i finally made the hardest decision, which lens to go with. i was between the sigma 150-500 and the canon 1-4L. i went canon and couldn't be happier.

Good choice. I took my 300 2.8 to Africa last month and it was great. But there were several times I missed the flexibility of the zoom.

monpod or bean bag? ill be in the land rovers for the safari. ive heard a lot of people mention the bean bags, but which ones have you guys had sucess with? i was thinking of getting one of the neck rolls u shapped air plane pillows.

Try and get a bean bag with a string attached. If you drop it over the side you may not be able to retreive it otherwise.

how many batteries did you all take? i know the rovers are supposed to have power strips and such, but how reliable were they?

I took 5. Recharged them in the evenings when I was in places that had electrickery.

im going to take some bags to change lenses in only when needed, but did you try to clean the sensor and lenses alot at night after the safari?

Didn't bother with bags for changing lenses. I just didn't do it if the conditions were obviously wrong. Didn't do any sensor cleaning - the auto clean function of the 50D was good enough. Didn't find any dust spots when I processed images back home.

for any of you guys that went to zanzibar, other than stone town, is there really anything else worth spending time shooting out there?.

Went to Zanzibar 18 months ago. There's a good reserve in the south where you can get real close to red colobus - great photo ops. Google 'red colobus zanzibar' and you'll find all the info you need.

Im sure as time gets closer, 3 weeks to go, ill have more rambling questions.

I'm sure you'll have a great time.

One thing you haven't mentioned is image storage. I ended up with over 2500 images. That's around 60GB. You really don't want to do what one couple did on our trip - run out of memory (luckily for them I had a few spare 16GB SD cards that I was planning on using as tertiary backup). If you've not thought about this then it'd be a good idea to check some of the threads on PotN.

[cyruz]

ive got 22 gb to go with me. im on a 40D which is 9-11mb per raw. so thats gonna be around 1800 images.

[jgrussell]

monpod or bean bag? ill be in the land rovers for the safari.I used both. I preferred the monopod.

how many batteries did you all take? i know the rovers are supposed to have power strips and such, but how reliable were they?I took three batteries but also a power converter to make sure I could charge from the vehicle.

You say you'll have enough storage for 1800 images. That may not be enough for what may well be a once in a lifetime trip. In Africa last year I took 6500 shots and videos. And a 250Gb Hyperspace Color O for storage. If I had it to do again I'd have a second backup.

[cyruz]

i think ill get a few more 4 gig cards then, im not a huge fan of bigger cards, although a back up drive is nice as well.

[bram1234]

I'm going to south-africa the 8th of august. I'm still not sure if I should buy a monopod. I already created a bean bag. Thinking of buying the manfrotto 676B with the 234rc tilt head. Is a monopod useful in the safari cars? If the engine is running then i don't think the monopod helps in such a car because of the virbrations of the car?

[LordBrian]

I used both. I preferred the monopod.

I took three batteries but also a power converter to make sure I could charge from the vehicle.

You say you'll have enough storage for 1800 images. That may not be enough for what may well be a once in a lifetime trip. In Africa last year I took 6500 shots and videos. And a 250Gb Hyperspace Color O for storage. If I had it to do again I'd have a second backup.

I second that, you could easily shoot 1000 a day if you get excited.

JG can you give us more info on the storage you used and a link if you have one.

[hollis_f]

I bought a Colorspace Hyperdrive UDMA bare case and stuck a 320GB drive in. I also took my netbook. At the end of each day I copied the contents of the card to the Hyperdrive and then onto the newtbook. the photos on the Hyperdrive will stay there until it starts looking a bit full - in a couple of years. So that's extra backup at home as well.

[Wildcats]

One thing you haven't mentioned is image storage. I ended up with over 2500 images. That's around 60GB. You really don't want to do what one couple did on our trip - run out of memory (luckily for them I had a few spare 16GB SD cards that I was planning on using as tertiary backup). If you've not thought about this then it'd be a good idea to check some of the threads on PotN.

Hello, Newbie (and beginner) here. You mentioned already having been on a safari, did you use all 16GB cards or did you use multiple smaller cards as well? I've read about the debate of larger cards vs smaller ones. Do you switch out cards after every stop?

[hollis_f]

Hello, Newbie (and beginner) here. What are you referring to when you mention "PotN" above? Because you've already been on a safari did you use all 16GB cards or did you smaller cards as well? I've read about the debate of larger cards vs smaller ones. Do you switch out cards after every stop?

Hi There,

PotN is 'Photography on the Net' where you're reading this.

Every time I've been on safari I've taken the largest three cards I own. Last time it was one each of 16GB, 12GB and 4GB. But I only use the big one during the day, the other cards are there in case I lose the big one. I like to be able to shoot all day with just one card - otherwise I just know that I'll lose them while swapping over in the heat of the moment.

At the end of each day I put the card into the Hyperdrive and downloaded everything. Then the card went into a reader attached to the Netbook and everything got copied onto there. Then the card was put back into the camera and formatted immediately.

[Wildcats]

Hi There,

PotN is 'Photography on the Net' where you're reading this.

Every time I've been on safari I've taken the largest three cards I own. Last time it was one each of 16GB, 12GB and 4GB. But I only use the big one during the day, the other cards are there in case I lose the big one. I like to be able to shoot all day with just one card - otherwise I just know that I'll lose them while swapping over in the heat of the moment.

At the end of each day I put the card into the Hyperdrive and downloaded everything. Then the card went into a reader attached to the Netbook and everything got copied onto there. Then the card was put back into the camera and formatted immediately.

I really should have known what PotN stood for and I appreciate you enlightening me. :) I am tentatively planning a safari early next year but need a lot of training and learning in the meantime!

If you have any other advice/tips I'll gladly listen or if you have other favorite safari threads on the forum I will learning as much as I can.

[hollis_f]

I really should have known what PotN stood for and I appreciate you enlightening me. :) I am tentatively planning a safari early next year but need a lot of training and learning in the meantime!

I found a trip to the local wildlife park was good practice before my first safari. That, and taking loads of pictures in different conditions.

If you have any other advice/tips I'll gladly listen or if you have other favorite safari threads on the forum I will learning as much as I can.

There's loads of good advice in the threads linked in the bottom left corner.

[cohenfive]

we went in feb 2007 to tanzania. i only used beanbags, as we rarely left the truck. we were able to charge in the trucks by plugging the charger into the cigarette lighter, using an inverter which we brought and which i would recommend. we had limited electricity otherwise. i only took 2 batteries and never even needed the second, but that's just the way i shoot. i brought a ton of memory and downloaded to an epson p2000 every day after we got back to camp.

[meanwood_tom]

Personally found stone-town a little uninspiring. The only shot I was happy with was one of a young lad in a doorway. Architecture was mixed old and new, and hard to see - very narrow alleys. Markets are good fun in places. Was using 17-85IS, and still felt a bit conspicuous! Didn't have time to do the red colobus monkeys.

[felt_tip_felon]

I enjoyed Zanzibar a whole lot more than I thought I would, and the Kirks Red Colobus Monkeys were definitely one of the highlights IMO

...and they are so very cute!

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2532/3950926157_c2e68cfd51.jpg

Stone Town was certainly a melting pot of cultures, but the Market was a great place for some photo opportunities!

Lee

[felt_tip_felon]

I found a trip to the local wildlife park was good practice before my first safari. That, and taking loads of pictures in different conditions.

There's loads of good advice in the threads linked in the bottom left corner.

Agreed - a zoo or safari park is an excellent place to practice - and I'd also recommend looking at as many photos of your destination as possible, it's good to get ideas and inspiration before you land! but most of all enjoy and put the camera down every once in a while and soak in the place! :D

[ZeeFlyboy]

Just my 2 cents:

I never felt the need for a tripod or bean bag while out and about in the vehicles... the IS on the 100-400L did a great job of allowing me to take pictures with a slower shutter speed and I can honestly say I don't think I had one where camera shake was an issue. You can quite happily brace your arms against the side of the vehicle if you need too - a tripod would be way too cumbersome in the tight quarters in my opinion... and of course you don't want to miss any movement of the animals with too slow a shutter speed anyway!

More importantly, remember to enjoy yourself!