F4, is it enough for a safari in Botswana?

Jerobean wrote in post #16844002
You should bring a 85 1.2 for some nice up close wildlife portraits.

bring a few steaks and tell them kittys to sit.

Would love to but after getting this gear I'll be broke big time for a while

When I was in Botswana, Chobe, Morame and the Okavango Delta etc.. I had the 500mm f/4 glued to one body, and the 100-400mm rarely left my 2nd body.

The 70-200mm f/2.8L IS (I) remained in the bag the hole trip minus a few very brief moments that were not wildlife related.

IE, low light shooting was NOT a big part of my own African Experience. F/6.3 (the 100-400mm stopped down for sharpness) was just fine 90% of the time.

CyberDyneSystems wrote in post #16846231
When I was in Botswana, Chobe, Morame and the Okavango Delta etc.. I had the 500mm f/4 glued to one body, and the 100-400mm rarely left my 2nd body.

The 70-200mm f/2.8L IS (I) remained in the bag the hole trip minus a few very brief moments that were not wildlife related.

IE, low light shooting was NOT a big part of my own African Experience. F/6.3 (the 100-400mm stopped down for sharpness) was just fine 90% of the time.

with today's cameras F4 is like F2 compared to when I was in Africa.

ed rader wrote in post #16846338
with today's cameras F4 is like F2 compared to when I was in Africa.

This is true as well!
My 1D3 was damn near "best in class" for noise handling back when I went, and the 1D2 was perfectly happy as well, but these days you get MUCH better noise handling.

Your 2 bodies and the canon 200-400 + 24-105.

Been to botswanna 3 times and depends where you are going to some extent in botswanna - in chobe NP you will be confined to the tracks although often the wildlife is fairly close so a 100 -400 is usually fine and on the river cruise you do get close again when drifting in the boat - in the okavango the guides can leave the tracks and get you very close so a 70 -200 is all you usually need and even a 24 - 105 is ok in some instances

obviously there is always the situation where something is a fair way away ( happens a lot in Kruger NP in SA or the Kgalagadi Transcontinental park for instance so the ultimate is a 400 or a 500 or the 200-400 there but not really desperately needed in the other places where you can get quite close

have fun cheers rob

Thanks for the replies everyone.

Still looking at different lens and body combos, would anyone consider the following a good combo?

1d IV with 200-400
5d III with Sigma 120-300
Plus 3rd body with 24-105

I figure there is not a great deal of overlap between the 120-300 and 200-400 when the 200-400 is on a APS-H body. I like the idea of the 120-300 for the F2.8 but also the greater zoom range over a 70-200 so I wouldn't be putting it down and picking it up all the time plus it leaves the small overlap instead of a gap.

CyberDyneSystems wrote in post #16846231
When I was in Botswana, Chobe, Morame and the Okavango Delta etc.. I had the 500mm f/4 glued to one body, and the 100-400mm rarely left my 2nd body.

The 70-200mm f/2.8L IS (I) remained in the bag the hole trip minus a few very brief moments that were not wildlife related.

IE, low light shooting was NOT a big part of my own African Experience. F/6.3 (the 100-400mm stopped down for sharpness) was just fine 90% of the time.

Did you use the 500 with an extender much?

Thanks

As someone mentioned you have good bodies for crop capability in a pinch. I have cropped the heck out of my 7D and able to get very good usable images.

Aus.Morgo wrote in post #16859388
Thanks for the replies everyone.

Still looking at different lens and body combos, would anyone consider the following a good combo?

1d IV with 200-400
5d III with Sigma 120-300
Plus 3rd body with 24-105

I figure there is not a great deal of overlap between the 120-300 and 200-400 when the 200-400 is on a APS-H body. I like the idea of the 120-300 for the F2.8 but also the greater zoom range over a 70-200 so I wouldn't be putting it down and picking it up all the time plus it leaves the small overlap instead of a gap.

yep great combos in my view and ill swap you anytime - ( dont know much about the sigma lens though except by reputation and so i would take a 100 - 400 instead) but its a lot of gear to carry on a plane and you dont want to be checking any of that photo gear in baggage - ok if your in biz class or possibly prem econ but will be a potential prob in economy

also for any internal or light aircraft flights you may have to do to get to botswanna the overhead lockers for baggage on the internal flights are smaller than on the international flights and for an example my lowpro pro runner 350 aw only just fitted in the overhead locker after i took a few bulky items out of it and any light plane flights are very tough on weight and size of bags as mentioned earlier

i reckon 2 bodies and 2 maybe 3 lens is more than enough - my dream would be a 200-400 ; 100 - 400 or a 70 - 200 f2.8 (plus a 1.4 ext) and the 24 - 105
cheers rob

ps unless of course you can use a CPS card to advantage on any flights !!!

The carry on is an issue, worst case I'll be wearing some baggy pants with large deep pockets

Not planing on catching any other flights after arriving in country though.

Aus.Morgo wrote in post #16859388
Thanks for the replies everyone.

Still looking at different lens and body combos, would anyone consider the following a good combo?

1d IV with 200-400
5d III with Sigma 120-300
Plus 3rd body with 24-105

I figure there is not a great deal of overlap between the 120-300 and 200-400 when the 200-400 is on a APS-H body. I like the idea of the 120-300 for the F2.8 but also the greater zoom range over a 70-200 so I wouldn't be putting it down and picking it up all the time plus it leaves the small overlap instead of a gap.

Heya,

Looks good to me. I would be wary about having that much gear, but if you're doing a self-drive, then it's not a big deal since you're not dealing with other people, waiting for others, and have a significant weight restriction, etc.

Serious reach with the 200-400.
Overlap for closer encounters with the 120-300 (I don't see a reason to take the 70-200 honestly).
24-105 covers the landscape, and close encounters fine.

The only other thing I'd pack is a better beamer.

Very best,

Aus.Morgo wrote in post #16859877
The carry on is an issue, worst case I'll be wearing some baggy pants with large deep pockets

Not planing on catching any other flights after arriving in country though.

maybe get a big empty duty free bag at the airport and put some gear in that well protected of course as they will never stop you with a duty free bag as they cant send the duty free shops broke !

cheer rob

MalVeauX wrote in post #16859882
Heya,

Looks good to me. I would be wary about having that much gear, but if you're doing a self-drive, then it's not a big deal since you're not dealing with other people, waiting for others, and have a significant weight restriction, etc.

Serious reach with the 200-400.
Overlap for closer encounters with the 120-300 (I don't see a reason to take the 70-200 honestly).
24-105 covers the landscape, and close encounters fine.

The only other thing I'd pack is a better beamer.

Very best,

Cheers

Definitely getting a better beamer. I've never used on before any idea on the effective range of them? I plan on selling my 2 430's to get a 600 before I leave.

The 120-300 would replace the 70-200. Still a toss up seeing as the 120-300 is quite the heavy beast.

patrol50 wrote in post #16859885
maybe get a big empty duty free bag at the airport and put some gear in that well protected of course as they will never stop you with a duty free bag as they cant send the duty free shops broke !

cheer rob

Nice idea