Zoom lens for African safari

I have a friend going to Africa this spring, he has a Nikon and asking me what zoom lens he should purchase. I have a Canon so I'm not sure what is out there for good Nikon lens. Can anyone suggest a few lenses (cheap and expensive) that would be good. He's just starting to do photography so I don't think he's ready to spend a great deal of money on a lens for now.

For either Canon or Nikon, the lens that offers reach without breaking the bank is either the Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM Contemporary Lens or the Tamron SP 150-600mm f/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2. Start there.

I used a 17-55 and 100-400 (Canon) on a photo trip to Namibia and was happy with the results. I was shooting a crop sensor camera. Only 1 time, with lions, that I wished I had a bit more reach. FWIW

I moved this thread to the talk section. I just went to Africa 4 months ago & used solely my 100-400 mm lens. Most of the time I did not need the reach of 400mm. Personally, I think if you are going to spend $$ on an African trip, you should invest in a good lens. Who wants to come home with sub-par photos?

I went to South Africa in June / July for my first ever safari. I used a Canon 7d2 with Sigma 120-300 f2.8, along with 1.4x and 2x TCs. This was backed up with a 5d3 and 24-105L. There were occasions when I needed a lot of reach, mainly for birds and smaller animals. On other occasions the animals were extremely close and the wider lens was a necessity. A lot of the game drives will be early and later in the day to get the best sightings and best light. This will mean that there is not always a lot of light, so a wide aperture may help. What you might see and how close it gets will probably depend on where you go in Africa. We thoroughly enjoyed our time and both agreed it was our best ever holiday. Sometimes it was good to put down the camera and just enjoy the situation. We were surrounded by a herd of 20-30 elephants of all sizes, with the only light being the full moon on their backs. I didn’t get any shots, but it was an amazing experience. The next night we had a similar experience with a herd of Cape buffalo. Enjoy yourself!

Yes, it is important to put down the camera. When we had 5 cheetahs go after a zebra, it was speed & chaos all around. So much fun to watch instead of limiting yourself to what you see through the lens. Africa is amazing! I went to the Maasai Mara Plains in Kenya.

I have a sort of related question....

How do you bring your gear? Carry on? Check? Fedex?

I'm planning trip to Ireland and have a nice backpack for camera gear but not sure it if will fit in the over head bin. Other posts say yes it will fit, and interestingly some of the posts are about a trip to Africa! It's a Lowepro ProTactic BP 450 AW II Camera and Laptop Backpack.

Mike

Aronis wrote in post #19001494
I have a sort of related question....

How do you bring your gear? Carry on? Check? Fedex?

I'm planning trip to Ireland and have a nice backpack for camera gear but not sure it if will fit in the over head bin. Other posts say yes it will fit, and interestingly some of the posts are about a trip to Africa! It's a Lowepro ProTactic BP 450 AW II Camera and Laptop Backpack.

Mike

You need to go on the airline’s website and check the hand baggage limits. These will be both dimensional and weight based. Travelling internationally you can normally take 2 bags, with different size limits. Some airlines have a weight limit per bag (e.g. BA at 23kg each), while others have a total weight limit (e.g. Emirates 10kg). I definitely take my camera bodies and lenses in hand luggage. Some accessories go in the hold. On hundreds of flights over the years, I have never had my hand baggage checked for weight, but I have had it checked for size at the check in desk and the gate. I take a Peli case which is inside the BA bigger bag limit and a small camera backpack that just meets the smaller bag limit. If you are ravelling with somebody else and they don’t have lots of hand luggage, they could carry some of yours.

I have a rolling backpack that looks like a small carry-on bag. I never check it. I always keep it with me.

Maureen Souza wrote in post #19001491
Yes, it is important to put down the camera. When we had 5 cheetahs go after a zebra, it was speed & chaos all around. So much fun to watch instead of limiting yourself to what you see through the lens. Africa is amazing! I went to the Maasai Mara Plains in Kenya.

We were in smaller and less well known reserves in South Africa. First we were at Marataba Reserve in the Marakele National Park and then in Madikwe National Park on the border with Botswana. Both had the advantage of being certified malaria free. I will eventually get around to posting some pictures from the trip, where we saw all the Big 5 plus plenty of others.

I have posted a handful of mine in both Wildlife and in Birds if you are at all interested. It is hard to hold back when you shoot 4000 photos but I managed some self restraint.

I have been looking at some of your threads in Wildlife. I will also look for them in the Birds forum. I also took about 4,000 pictures. It takes a while to sort through them all.

Well first where you going? I have been to Kenya 3x and going back in July for my 4th trip. The drivers will get you close to the action. A 70-200 lens is good and a 150-600.