7D or 5D Mark 11 - Canon 300mm f/2.8L IS Lens for Safari + ?

Hello Friends,
I am a amateur photographer blessed to going on my first Safari (Tanzania) in the beginning of 2014. I am traveling in a 4x4 jeep with a pop top and will be using bean bags on the top/windows. I have rented a 300mm f/2.8L Is lens for the month but have a few additional questions. Which body do you recommend I put the 300mm on? I also am happy to rent the Canon 1.4x Extender if you think it would be best. I would like to have two bodies one with the telephoto and one with the 50mm or 85mm for when the animals get close. My follow up question is if I can get away with my 50mm/85mm for animals that get closer to the jeep. I realize that without the ability to zoom this may be a challenge I do not want to have. I am a portrait/marketing photographer so wildlife is not my area of expertise at all. I would be willing to rent a Canon 70-200mm 2.8 IS11 or 24-70mm f/2.8 11 the second body for closer to the jeep.
Concerns:
The auto focus (al-servo) is so much better on the 7D for movement and tracking the animals but the downside is the crop (lack of full sensor). I will not be using a tripod so an nervous of the 5D Mark 11 being able to focus quickly. For low light the 5D Mark11 is much better and will produce less noise.
Any advice would be welcome. Thank you so much!
Equipment I have:
Bodies:
7D
5D Mark 11
Lens:
300mm f/2.8L IS (renting for the month)
Canon 50mm - 1.4
Canon 85mm - 1.8
Sigma 10-20mm 1.4-5.6 DC HSM
Canon "crappy - my opinion" 28-80mm f/3.5-5.6 IV USM
Thank you again for you help,
Daniel

Maybe an extender?

If you have not done so already, research the group you are going with. If you are likely to get fairly close to your subjects, then i'd go with the 5d2 and just use the centre point for focusing. If its likely that the animals will be in the distance then the 7d will be the way to go.

Yes, an extender would be a good shout. On safari you don't need to worry about loss of light by dropping the one or two stops that would occur with an extender, as its so very bright and sunny on safari!

Thank you for the quick feedback. I have a private jeep with my mother, just the two of us. We are traveling in areas where the animals will be both "fairly close" as well in the distance. This along with wanting to have a backup is the reason for having two setups.
Assuming I get the Extender which body do you think I should use for which lenses?
Thank you again,
Daniel

If you're going to have 2 bodies and 2 lenses, you can probably figure it out while you're out there. I would personally put the 300 on the 7d, and a 70-200 on the 5d2. While the 5d's center point is fine for focusing, I would prefer the higher pixel density of the 7d along with the better AF. That's based on experience shooting soccer with a 70-200 with both a 7d and 5d2.

When I was shooting in Tanzania last year I brought my 7D and 5DIII (and 5D classic). I had my 300 f/2.8 and 70-200 f/2.8 as main lenses and a couple wider ones as well. The 300 on 5DIII turned out to get most of my shots (until I dropped the 300 in a jeep and broke it but that is another story!). Definitely bring a 1.4x extender. There are shots where you need the reach and I would go 7D/300/extender. When I got back and looked at images closely, I have to say the 5DIII was getting better shots for reach than the 7D since they were much sharper and printed better. There are definitely those moments when an elephant (or 10) walk right past your jeep and you need something wide- but I found the 70-200 a pretty good match for those on full frame. In the end I didn't end up shooting much less than 70mm, but I would still have something wide for trying to capture the "wider than life" migration if you can, but even with 14mm I still couldn't capture it the way I saw it. After a few days I found myself with the 300 on the 5DIII with and without extender, and 70-200 on 5D classic. My 7D didn't get as much use as I thought it would have- only the occasional "super reach" shots. 5DIII and 5D classic shot at 2.8 turned out capturing most of the shots that ended up hanging on my walls!

Stuart,
Thank you for the great feedback. I will for sure get the extender however I am still not 100% on which body I should put the 300mm on. I have the 5Dmark11 (classic) and sadly do not have access to the 5D111. Given that I do not have this updated full frame sensor (with much better Auto Focus) my guess is that the 300mm should go on the 7D and the 70-200 should be for the "elephant (or 10) walk right past your jeep". Thoughts? With the 7D not being full frame do I really need 1.4 on top?
Also given I have no clue how much "damage" is done with the 1.4 extender?
Any other camera advice you may have for me given I am headed back to Tanzania?
Thank you so much for your help.

I remember reading a 35mm photography book years ago that suggested that a 200mm lens is like a standard lens when on safari. So that implies the 70-200 on your 5DII would effectively be a walkabout set up.

On my 50D, the 1.4x TC has little impact on image quality or focusing when used with my 70-200mm and 300mm Sigma lenses.. From shooting birds and wildlife in Scotland, I would defintately take my TCs with me on a trip to Africa, Even if it turned out I didn't need them. I'd be very annoyed with myself if I'd left them at home and did need them.

Take a look at the digital picture; he has 100% crops of the 300 with and without the TC's on both crop and fullframe (select different focal lengths to compare with and without tc):
http://www.the-digital-picture.com …omp=0&FLIComp=0​&APIComp=0

Lens charts are wonderful things, but when you're out in the field having a TC in your pocket or not can make the difference between getting a shot you can work with later or not. In practice a 1.4x is nearly invisible and the extra reach comes in handy.

Everyone who has responded:
Thank you for your feedback. What I have learned:
I will be bringing a 1.4x TC.
I still am unsure if I should be throwing my 300mm onto my 7D or the 5DII but am really leaning towards the 7D.
Thank you all and if you have any more thoughts please feel free! I can use all the advice I can get.

Take the 7D

7D + Canon 300mm f/2.8 + Canon 1.4x II converter is a very good combination. I have this combination and use it frequently for birding, including bird-in-flight. If you don't print large, I doubt it if you can see any negative effect that might have been introduced by the converter.

Just a quick note on light - many of the animals like lions don't tend to wake up until early evening so be prepared for rapidly fading light (and it does fade very fast!).