Lens - Botswana

Hi, I am planning a 2 week trip to Botswana next month. My longest lens is the 70-200 F4 on a 20D body. I can extend it a bit with the 1.4X extender.

Will I be ok with this or should I consider renting / buying a 100-400? Also, has anyone found a lens renting place in Gaborone? Since I will only be connecting via J'burg, cannot rent a lens from there....

Inputs highly appreciated.

Do you plan to be shooting things far away? Or maybe some landscapes. I would just bring general stuff if I'm traveling.. like my 70-200 and 24-70. The weight hits hard when you have to walk around.

When on a safari you never have enough reach. I would buy a 100-400.

On the other hand Botswana also offers chances of getting pretty close to wildlife like during a walking safari in Okavango delta or a river cruise in Chobe.

You could go 100-400 and would be all the lens you need for safari. Personally I prefer the Sigma 150-500 OS as more reach and better IS/OS and also quite a bit cheaper. Personally, I don't think I rent a 100-400 class lens as you can buy new and then sell on your return and lose less cash. If you get a good copy SH then you won't lose anything much if you sell. Check sharpness at 400mm as some are soft, if buying SH. Most of the time you'll be at f8.0 so shots should be crisp. IS/OS makes a worthwhile difference.

I agree with condyk, Sigma 150 - 500, you can never have too much reach.

kram wrote in post #10588963
Will I be ok with this or should I consider renting / buying a 100-400?

Rent the longest lens you can handle and afford. I had the 100-400 in Botswana in 2008 and could easily have used more reach. The 70-200 wouldn't have been near good enough for many shots.

Rent,Rent,Rent, you might not get another chance!!!!

OK, I am going to find options to rent. Would have been ideal to rent in Gaborone as the number of days I will need it will only be around 6......

+1 on the 100-400. I tried a 150-500 when weighing which lens to buy, and ended up with the Canon because it's significantly smaller, lighter, better handling, better F-stop at the long end and, in my albeit limited tests, better IQ.

OK, after some bit of deliberation, its been decided to buy the 100-400

Now, should I take the monopod or tripod for the trip?

Tripod. If there's enough light, handhold. If there isn't, or you want long shutter speeds for different shots, use a tripod. A monopod just helps with stabilising your shots by 1 to 3 stops, depending on how efficient you are on keeping the setup still.

In Bots, you will want a monopod for the safari trucks. The first time I went, I hand held, and even though I had a lightweight set up (EOS 300v and 75-300mm combo), I struggled to keep the shutter speed high enough in the shade at times. The next time I went, I got a monopod which helped massively for keeping it steady.

Just a note about focal lengths, I have always been happy enough with 300mm on film in the past there, so the 100-400 will be great - just take something wider too, as I have found 75mm to be too long at times.

Thanks. I plan to leave the tripod and take the monopod. Been told that the tripod cannot be used in the landcruisers.

Plan to check if the safari company can arrange for anything better - like a bean bag.

On the lenses, I will have all 4, probably end up with the 24-105 as the primary lens, and switch to 100-400 when required.

Just take both if space permits. If you can only take one, it's more dependent on what you're going to do there (safari rides or just exploring). Monopod I would recommend for safaris, but if just roving the terrains id say a tripod.

I niormally take a tripod and a beanbag. The beanbag is used constantly in vehicles, but we self-drive and know exactly what the 'window' set uop will be. If you don't know how your safari vehicle is designed then a monopod may be handy at times. Personally, I'd more rely on getting the right shutter speed via use of higher ISO if needs be ... but the D700 is very forgiving on that. I dunno how high you can go with your 20D. Worth noting that if you're on a commercial veghicle with lots of people the monopod can be a pain. You also need a head that allows some up and down movement. The problem for me is the 100-400 is an old design and the IS is not always as effective as you might like. This is why I personally prefer the 150-500mm OS. Longer and better OS. So, for me, first choice is always a beanbag; a tripod allows easier evening shots around a waterhole, if there is one in your camp, or just shooting birds around camp. But my tripod is very small and light. Monopod is very much a third best and I'd only take it if I was sure I needed it, and it was suitable for, the safari vehicle.