Camera gear and backpack

We were on this exact trip this past August. We just used our iPhones and our pictures were beyond fabulous. You will not need a tripod because where will you set it up in order to take a picture of an animal in motion? The land rover vehicles are also constantly on the move and driving very quickly so a tripod can be questionable to take. I would like to hear anyone else’s thoughts. I can’t speak about all of your other camera equipment. It sounds as though you are a great photographer with all you have.

scsmithwy

You can find all sorts of discussions on the forum regarding DSLR vs phone cameras for the safari trips. While I agree you are typically very close to the animals, I don’t think you can compare the photos taken by a phone to photos taken by a DSLR. I haven’t been on the Botswana, South Africa and Zambia trip yet, but I have done the classic Kenya and Tanzania and Elegant Adventure with the Wildlife Odyssey tour scheduled later this year. I imagine the internal flights on your trip are going to be similar to Kenya and Tanzania.

We both know it impossible to keep under a 16lb weight limit with the type of camera equipment you are referencing. That being said, I think there are a couple of things to keep in mind. They certainly could weigh your carry on, but I don’t think they commonly do. No one has ever asked me to weigh mine. That being said, you need to be respectful of everyone else on the trip and there are a couple of things you can do to help your cause. I think it is worth investing in a very good camera backpack. There are lots of options in terms of camera cubes that fit into backpacks vs backpacks with camera compartments. I think it is also very helpful if, from the outside, it doesn’t look like a camera bag and you can comfortably carry it without it being visually apparent how much it actually weighs. I think those two things go a long way in terms of not being asked to weigh your backpack. I first read the advice on a photography blog and it makes sense. I’m sure there are some who will think that borders on dishonest but I’m a small person and my weight plus the weight of my camera backpack is less than the weight of an average human. The small planes in question are the type where you leave your backpack at the back of the cabin so things do need to be well padded.

In terms of equipment, unless you plan on taking sunset/sunrise pictures at your lodges or do astrophotography, there is no reason to bring a tripod. On safari, everything is going to be handholding and bracing. There may even be note in your final documents about tripods not being allowed.

In terms of lenses, keep in mind that changing lenses in the field is not a viable option. It’s too dusty. If you have a lens that covers a significant breadth of focal lengths, you could simply take one body and one lens. If you want the ability to use more than lens during an individual drive, you should consider taking two bodies each with a lens. This doesn’t help with the weight issue, but works well for my husband and I. I have a 100-500 on my main body. He has a 100-400 +/- an extender on his body. We have a third body with a 24-105 that sits between us that either of us can pick and use. I will typically take a wide angle 16-35 with me as well, but I don’t take it out on safari drives and it’s the one I would leave at home if weight really became and issue as I’m basically only giving up the 16-24 lengths.

Take more batteries than you think you need and always have them with you. Depending on the type of camera you have, you may go through several every game drive. Get in the habit of recharging them during your mid day breaks back at the lodge.

Given the conditions, I think a UV filter helps protect your lens. I know this is a hotly debated issue when it comes to the mirrorless cameras these days. While I tend to take a few other filters, I rarely use them. I think you can save weight there too unless you have a very particular shot you are hoping to get that requires one.

I hope that helps.

I think I’ve been on African safaris nine times now. These days, we just take one DSLR camera with a Tamron lens, my husband uses that along with his iPhone. He generally use device the phone more than the camera. I just use my iPhone. I find it so freeing not to have my big camera with me. I have my phone on a lanyard so I can’t drop it on a lion. We can’t tell whether it was a phone or a big camera when we look back at the photos.
We took the Botswana South Africa and Zambia tour a long time ago. We were last in Botswana two years ago. The safari vehicles used in this part of Africa are open sided with seats that are tired upwards and backwards but you are not allowed to stand in the vehicles. Tripods are never used, You don’t get out of the vehicles and most animals don’t wait for you to change a lens or set up a shot. Also, most animals at times are near enough that you could reach out and touch them…elephants, rhinos, lions, hyenas, wild dogs, zebras, wildebeest, giraffes. . The only times a big lens could be useful is for close ups at leopards in a tree, and you might not see any the entire trip, and cheetahs in the distance, but again, you might not see any.
In Chobe, you cannot go off the trail and they are very narrow roads, last trip, a leopard was spotted and a gazillion vehicles headed that way, we could not even get near. I just saw it with my binoculars through all the bushes and trees. You will see hundreds of elephants.
As far as the weight of your bag is concerned, you really must closely adhere to weight restrictions on the small planes. Fuel is estimated from the average weight and bags of a particular number of passengers. I understand that you can only take a Tauck provided duffle these days, so you could be strict with the amount of clothing you take and put less fragile parts of a camera in that. The bags are not thrown around quite so much as you see on large planes.
I have almost the same shot of a lion as scsmithwy from an iPhone.

Ben

Wildlife Photography Africa has a great article and QA on the subject. I haven't been on a safari but dust and changing lenses in the field would be my greatest concern.

AlanS

It is way too dusty, bouncy, and there is little time, so you don't have an opportunity and really don't want to change lenses while on a game drive. Forget about taking a tripod, even a small one- no place to use in in a safari vehicle. You will not be able to leave the vehicle during game drives, except on special occasions. I'm one of the few who still uses a DSLR. I have a small lightweight Canon SL1 and used a Tamron 16-300 mm for all my shots- on game drives and everywhere else. It is the only camera and lens I use on all our trips. At one time I got an extra body, but thankfully I thought better and never took it on our K&T nor Botswana safaris.

Tauck safaris and game drives are not tailored for serious photographers. You can still get great shots, however.

A 4/3rds or APS-C camera will be lighter than a full frame - and the lenses will be lighter, also. Unless you're going for very large prints, the images from those cameras will be very acceptable.

I now use a Fujifilm X-H2 APS-C camera with a Tamron 18-300mm lens, The crop factor is 1.5, so that's equivalent to a 27-450mm lens on a full frame. The camera will do a digital zoom of 1.4x or 2x. The 1.4 is pretty good and that gives you the equivalent of a 38-630mm lens. You can push that with the 2x digital zoom to 54-900mm. The stabilization is good and allows you to hand hold a 900mm equivalent shot.

I agree that changing lenses is difficult in one of those jeeps. If you have to do it remember to keep your camera pointed down while you're changing the lens. It's easier to clean a lens than a sensor.

[Alan's Canon SL1 is an APS-C camera.]

Also, please don’t forget to wear a “buff” around your mouth and your nose to protect yourselves from inhaling dust while the Land Rover is driving full speed ahead. I was quite surprised how often we needed it. You can imagine what dust can do to camera equipment.

rwilso15

Lots of good advice from the preceeding contributors. I have been on the Tauck Botswana, Zambia South Arfica and the Kenya & Tanzania trips. I am "into animal photography" but not a prefessional in any way or form. Here is my experience. I took two full frame Nikon Bodies and 3 lenses, 20-70mm, 70-200mm and 150-600mm. My bag with this equipment, batteries, chargers and Ipad was 25lbs. I was not asked to weigh it for any international or internal flights. My advice to you is to ensure it does not look "heavy" or that you are struggling to manage it. You will be OK. Some will question my ethics but that is what I did and what most serious photograpers do to get the equipment they need on site. In the small bush planes for inter camp flights my bag was stored at the back under the cargo netting, not in the belly with the Tauck duffels. On international flights it was in the overhead compartment. If you do get challenged on weight you can 1. Beg! Advise the agent that you have $20k of equipment in the bag that you want to ensure it arrives with you. If that fails you resort to #2. Say the magic words. "LITHIUM BATTERIES" . Advise that all your equipment contains Lithium Batteries, which by most avaiation laws are illegal to be transported in the hold. Finally I would advise that you see if you can rent or buy something longer than 200mm . If I look at my photos from the above trips 90% were taken at 500mm and above. And if you want birds you will definately need to be 500mm and above. Fast lenses are good to get the early and late day light money shots! Have the longest lens you have on one body and a 20-70mm or similar on the other. That should cover distant and close up / environmental shots. Iphone for what that doesn't get. Don't swap lenses in the trucks. you will get dust on the internals. Have a rocket blower or similar to blow off the dust before you remove a lens. Bring lens wipes and swabs. I still have African dust on the nooks and crannies of my Nikons two years down the road. It brings back so many great memories. Be ready for a life altering experience. PM me if you need more info.

Crikey, I hope I never have to share a safari vehicle with a serious camera person. It sure would be distracting with all the messing around with cameras while I can get shots quickly with my phone before the animal disappears. Remembering how different the vehicles are in Southern Africa and East Africa, I would think it is more tricky to be messing with camera changes in East Africa where you are standing up on seats and trying to brace yourself so you don’t lose balance. You certainly have to be quick if a big cat is spotted and the driver takes off.
We use buffs, They are great for cushioning the phone lanyard/bigger camera and binoculars round our necks.

The above are all with an iPhone, good enough for my photo book

kfnknfzk

Beautiful.

Absolutely majestic and beyond beautiful. British: you make me smile with your comments.

Wan

Interesting discussion, thanks everyone! (including I never knew before what is a "buff", do now). I love photography but for our Africa trip we upgraded our iphones and invested in good binoculars. I want to enjoy the experience.

Wan: “Exactly”. There’s nothing better than experiencing a safari in Africa and capturing an image from your eyes where it will remain indelibly. You’ll see.

Yes, also exactly, Chill and just watch. I hope I can keep going to different parts of sub Saharan Africa for years to come.

rwilso15

Not taken with a smart phone and why ii is worth it to ME to cart all that gear around. The quality just makes it worth while.

Wan

Those are definitely fantastic photos. Besides equipment, you also have a very good eye. I don't think even the best equipment will help me, but I am very glad people like you exist so that I can enjoy your photos!

There's no doubt that a quality camera will produce better photos than an iPhone. But for many people, the iPhone produces acceptable photos.

[The biggest difference is that the iPhone does not produce good quality telephoto pictures. Those can be miserable. If you're going on an African safari trip and want good, sharp photos of animals at a distance, you need a good quality camera with good lenses.

Additionally, the iPhone digitally "processes" each picture attempting to improve it. The processing can do some amazing things, but the final image is not really what was there - the iPhone will guess what the subject of the photo is and will adjust the image to that guess. It's goal is to produce a good looking image, not absolute fidelity.]

Great pics rWilson. Do you make a photo book or make prints or put them on canvas for hanging?

jonmacks

I went through this whole discussion on an earlier posting, to which British gave some sound advice . I am leaving my DSLR with telephoto at home. I have a new iPhone 16 Pro Max. I took some sample wildlife photos with it recently, and the 25x optical zoom took a surprisingly good photo. I will use the photos and videos to create a movie of our trip. From past experience, the iPhone does a darn good job of giving me photos for my movie and the picture frame display in our great room, where we see most of these photos. I found in the past that if I spend lots of time fiddling with my DSLR camera and lenses, I get great pictures, but seem to miss a lot of what is happening around me in real time. I found that I have come to value the real time experience more than seeing the pictures later. If I were a professional photographer looking for great pictures for an album or to enlarge, then it might make more sense to lug the DSLR. But for just experiencing the journey itself, than my iPhone is more than adequate to capture the shots I need to remember the experience.

Ben

We all travel for different reasons. I love my iPhone. It takes great pictures but I love my OM1 with a 12 45 F4 more.

rwilso15

I usually make digital albums on Lightroom and send to those who have expressed interest. Some pass the "spouse test" and make it onto the walls of our home. Some I have sold.

@jonmacks - the iPhone 16 Pro Max has a 5x optical telephoto zoom. Anything beyond that is digital zoom. We only wish it had a 25x optical zoom. Incidenlty, that's the same as the iPhone 15 Pro Max. Additionally, in telephoto it only has 12Mpixels, while the normal camera has 48Mpixels.

You can check the specifications at the Apple site.

Another comment, I’ve been on safaris where some people don’t take any photos!
I’m clearly no more than a casual photographer. I can’t even recall what brand my DSLR camera is..
Nobody we know has been on safari, they just don’t get it, going mainly to Europe is enough for them. Except last year, we took our entire family on safari and after a couple of days, our daughter said ‘Now I get it Mum, now I know why you are always talking about going to Africa’. I made a photo album for each of them.

I take pictures for two reasons:

I don't remember everything about a trip we took, and sometimes have false memories. My pictures and the text I add to them allows me to go back and re-live the trip.
I share my journey with friends and family through the pictures and text. It may be that not everyone I share with is really interested, but some have thanked me for the story. A number of them have said to me, "You saved me a lot of money - I don't have to take that trip. I lived it through your pictures and story." In reality, there's no substitute for being there, but I suspect some friends or family don't make the trip for their own reasons (health, mobility, financial, etc.).

HooHeel

There is so much good advice here and on other posts, and I'm going to add one more bit... Be sure to bring a large, light weight cloth to easily wrap your camera when relocating during the drives. I used a scarf. My TD said he had seen many cameras succumb to the dust.

I left my DSLR at home this time because my longest lens was the 70-200. Instead I borrowed a highly-regarded bridge camera with a 600mm zoom. I used the far end of that range quite a lot. The iPhone also came in handy.

I will also add my personal experience regarding the process of loading the tiny planes... we walked out to each on the dirt landing strip, were told to place our carry-ons (backpacks) in the rear after we climbed the stairs before crouch-walking to find our own seats. Nothing was weighed--not luggage and not people. We were never rearranged on the plane to even out the load. I'm pretty sure we flew on Cessna Caravans that would hold around 14 people or so.

This trip is absolutely incredible. The animals, the scenery, the people, the activities... Perfection. You will have an amazing time!!

I'm heading to Kenya & Tanzania in June because after B,Z, & SA last September, I couldn't wait to go back!

@rwilso15 --I love your pictures. Thanks for sharing with us again. Here are a few of mine. (The shot of the group of us on the plane was taken with my iPhone, of course.)

@HooHeel - Wow, great, sharp pictures. The depth of field on the elephants is really good.