Travel Tripod...Africa Trip

Never was out of the vehicle on a game drive...sunset would likely be at the lodge as the drives are usually back before sunset...vehicles are shaking and quaking from the engine or the dry, uneven ground. Many shots come up in an instant and last for just a second or two...have to be trigger ready, all preset...just look and shoot.

Your equipment can shoot fast and in failing light with the ISO up a bit. Probably the only time a tripod might help is from the porch of the lodge to get a tack sharp shot in weak light. I opted not to take a tripod and did not miss it.

If it's the dry season, be ready for a LOT of dust...keep the lenses and camera covered...be real careful when changing lenses. You might never have to change from the long lens to the wide angle on a drive as the subject is almost always in focus even with the longer zoom and wide angle is not usually needed. I never had to change to a WA lens under pressure.

Richard M

I was in Kenya and Tanzania about 5 weeks ago. I took both a tripod and a monopod. I used the monopod all the time for the game drives. I never used my tripod. When I go back I will not take my tripod.

The monopod for me was absolutely necessary. Most of my game shooting was done with a 1DIV + 100-400 + 1.4TC. The places we went did not allow you to get out of the truck. Our driver always turned the engine off when we stopped. It is much more difficult to get good photos with the engine running.

richardm wrote in post #15349567
Never was out of the vehicle on a game drive...sunset would likely be at the lodge as the drives are usually back before sunset...vehicles are shaking and quaking from the engine or the dry, uneven ground. Many shots come up in an instant and last for just a second or two...have to be trigger ready, all preset...just look and shoot.

Your equipment can shoot fast and in failing light with the ISO up a bit. Probably the only time a tripod might help is from the porch of the lodge to get a tack sharp shot in weak light. I opted not to take a tripod and did not miss it.

If it's the dry season, be ready for a LOT of dust...keep the lenses and camera covered...be real careful when changing lenses. You might never have to change from the long lens to the wide angle on a drive as the subject is almost always in focus even with the longer zoom and wide angle is not usually needed. I never had to change to a WA lens under pressure.

Richard M

+1 Helpful.

bpalermini wrote in post #15349643
I was in Kenya and Tanzania about 5 weeks ago. I took both a tripod and a monopod. I used the monopod all the time for the game drives. I never used my tripod. When I go back I will not take my tripod.

The monopod for me was absolutely necessary. Most of my game shooting was done with a 1DIV + 100-400 + 1.4TC. The places we went did not allow you to get out of the truck. Our driver always turned the engine off when we stopped. It is much more difficult to get good photos with the engine running.

+1 Helpful.

The more responses I get the more it seems clear that taking a tripod might just be a giant PITA and a waste of time.

Gonna consider a bean bag or monopod though.

If I do decide on a monopod is it really necessary to have a ball head on it? Probably?

Where are you going in Botswana? Are you staying at lodges and / or using their vehicles, or are you doing a guided / self drive tour where you have the same vehicle throughout the trip?

I go to Botswana every year and try to get out on safari when there. All the tour / lodge trucks I have seen have been open ones like this: linky, so nowhere really to place a beanbag. I typically have a monopod with me in the truck, whether I use it or not just depends on the day. I don't have a head on mine, but use the tripod foot on my lens to rotate the camera if needed. If you are going on a guided tour and keeping the same vehicle, this may be a more enclosed truck in which case a beanbag may be more appropriate. You can get out of the trucks, but only at dedicated picnic areas, and IME there is nothing worthy of shooting that requires a tripod in these areas. The game reserves in Bots (Chobe, Makgadikgadi, Moremi etc) require you to be back in camp or have left the reserve by sunset / dusk, but private concessions may be different. Similarly, you can't leave camp / enter the reserve until sunrise / dawn. All the drivers I have been with shut the engine off when we stopped without anyone needing to ask them.

In the three reserves I have mentioned above, all the roads are sand / dirt. In the dry season they are dusty, but I have never had a problem with the dust. Be sensible though; don't change lenses until the truck has stopped and dust settled, clean your kit / dust it off when you get back to camp, if you notice lots of dust on your kit whilst out, blow / wipe it off, use lens caps when travelling at speed. Botswana IME is fine with a 70-300 on the whole, 70mm may be too long at times as there is thick bush in places, but on the whole I have found that I haven't needed to change lenses often.

I haven't been on safari in Zim or Zam, so no idea what things are like there.

Hope that helps you a little.

We're going on a trip with OAT...We'll be staying in tented camps almost exclusively except in Victoria Falls and, of course, when we are in Johannesburg. We'll moving around every 3/4 days so will likely have different vehicles as we change camps. I think the open vehicle you linked are the kind we'll have most of the time but am not certain. Kinda of the type of thing you just can't nail down Im afraid. So yes, the bean bag wouldn't be of much use in those situations. The monopod seems appropriate or maybe nothing at all. Gonna have to make that decision.

A lot of folks point out that hand holding the 70-300 L isn't too much of a problem so maybe I'm over reacting for the need of a tripod.

Done numerous safaris in Kenya, always in 4x4 (rather than minibus), mostly driven by my wife, but some "commercial" safari.

#1. Get the driver to turn off the engine, it's a nice tranquil experience, and the commercial drivers I have been with did do this.

#2. Never even wanted a beanbag. The parks in Kenya at least are closed at dusk in any case, and the sun comes up that quickly there low light is rarely an issue (ymmv in SA), never leant on the vehicle frame, easiest just handheld, with 100-400 IS, never found my movement an issue, just that of the subject

#3. Carrying too much really sucks - and would suck even more heavily if you are in a crowded vehicle

HTH,

Tom