Camera lens recommendation for Great Migration
We're going on the Great Migration tour this October. Is a 400 mm lens long enough for this trip? I also have a 400-800 mm lens but makes my gear heavier than I prefer. This is not a photo safari but I want to shoot as much as I can. Any thoughts? Thanks in advance.
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Are you shooting with a full frame camera or an APS-C camera? I use an APS-C camera and think 400mm is plenty. I used a 100mm-400mm lens. If you're using a full frame camera, you may want a longer lens, at times. You have to weigh that against extra weight and the problems with changing lenses in the field.
Thanks for your comment. I use an om-1 camera body. My lens is 400mm equivalent to full frame. My longer lens is 200-800 equivalent. It longer lens weighs just under 3 lbs. I have 2 bodies and don't plan on changing lens. Do you find changing from one setup to another on a safari vehicle too troublesome?
Woody, you will get a hundred different answers. Some will swear by just an iPhone, others by a superzoom, or others by a long telephoto lens. I typically shoot with Olympus and find my most used set up is a iPhone and an OM1 with a 40 to 150 pro f4 lens which great for most situations. However for birds I find that I need to be at 600 mm FF equivalent or greater but I am less agile with the 100-400 Olympus lens which is great but heavy and at anything greater than 600 mm I have trouble hand holding for a shot.. Plus there are situations where an animal is close and I don't have time or don't want to change a lens in the field that. Use the lens that you are most comfortable using and shooting hand held that has a good telephoto reach of 300 to 500 and still can get shots when the animal is close to the vehicle.
Thanks Ben, I have the 40-150 2.8 and am planning on taking that and my 12-100 f4. The 40-150 is good in low light but I don't think it has the reach I might need. The 100-400 has better reach but not recommended in low light. My thinking is I would use the 40-150 in the early am and evenings and the 100-400 when the light is good. The 12-100 would be used when the animals are close. I would use the 1.4 extender on the 40-150. Is my thinking reasonable or am I kidding myself. I'm concerned about handling the gear while out on a safari drive. I don't want to change lenses but also don't want to be fumbling from one setup to another. What are your thoughts? Thanks so much.
Animals can move fast. My suggestions is to have a big camera when you have time and an iPhone for quick shots. Everyone has their own ideas about what cameras to use on these trips. These days, we only take one big camera with us that has a tamron lens, best used for leopards in trees and maybe birds. Otherwise, animals are so near, our iPhones are sufficient. Here is an example
Just one more opinion. I think 300 mm is about the most that can be easily handled in a safari vehicle. You definitely do not want to be changing lenses in the dusty environment. I would actually recommend that you bring a good pair of binoculars and recored the experience with your brain. You can see the pictures in National Geographic.
@Woody , here are my photo records from the Kenya & Tanzania trip in Sept 2024. I know its not the trip you plan but broadly similar.
Phone # shots Lens #shots iphone 1146 24-70mm 205 Nikon d850 237 70-200mm 103 Nikon Z9 1026 180-600mm 955 ( >75% @ 600MM)) Total 2409 iphone 1146 Total 2409( Sorry the formatting doesn't work too well. File attached if you need it)
My wife used her iphone for all the environmental and "holiday" type images and I caught the wild life. My biggest surprise was the amount of time I was at 600mm and could have used more on some of them. I used two bodies as you can see. The 180-600 was mostly on the Z9 and the 24-70 on the D850. I tried if at all possible to not switch lenses when out on a drive and I got through the trip only one time having to clean a spot off a sensor.
Thank you all for your comments. Based on your responses and what I know of my photography preferences I am probably going to leave my 100-400 at home and take my 40-150 f2.8 (80-300 equivalent) with the 1.4 and 2.0 extenders. I will also take my 12-100 or 12-40. I know I will miss numerous shots requiring a longer lens but believe my experience will be more satisfying with a simpler setup. I will use my very small GR 3x f2.8 around lodges and camp sites. Again, thanks for your inout. Your comments were quite helpful.
Woody, sounds like a great plan. The 40 -150 gives you a great lower light lens with awesome image quality and will let you take wildlife, landscapes and is a great lens for portraits at between 85 and 135 mm FFE at F2.8. I have use the OM 12-45 F4 work travel the last 3 years and love the quality and form factor. Nothing against the 12-100 which I am planning to take to England next year paired with the 20 f1.4. The new OM 50-200 is being announced tomorrow but for me its a too expensive. I have been debating getting the GR 4 but plan to wait for the X version. Have a great trip.
I think you will be wasting your time trying to swap lenses and extenders. Between the danger of getting dust in the camera, tight quarters in safari vehicles, bumpy, rutted, and dusty or muddy, unimproved dirt roads (trails), and the drivers moving, often with little notice, and forever jockeying for the best viewing position, you really don't want to be doing anything other than doing your best to point, frame, and shoot. My suggestion- take your iPhone if you want and one DSLR camera with a wide range lens. I use a Canon with 16-300 mm third party lens for ALL my photos- safari and otherwise.
We did Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda (Walk with gorillas) in July. I used my iPhone 16 pro max and my Canon DSLR with a 70-300 mm lens, and that worked out great. Don't plan on any lens changes. Far too dusty to make it worthwhile.
Woody, I have exact same setup I was planning to take with me. 12-100 f4 and 40-150 2.8. Did you go yet? Would love to hear which lens was used the most. 40-150 is heavier to handle so I am hoping I can get away with only 12-100 on my OM-1
The camera I have will add a 1.5X digital zoom or a 2X digital zoom to the shot. I have an APS-C camera with an 18-300mm zoom. The 1.5 crop factor makes the lens equivalent to a 27-450mm in a full frame camera. Then with the ditgital zoom, I can make it equivalent to a 40-675mm with the 1.5x digital zoom or 54-900mm with the 2X digital zoom. The 1.5x digital zoom looks pretty good, essentially "normal".
But if your camera has a high resolution, you can crop in post to get the equivalent of those camera digital zooms.
Just adding my 2 cents- shot with a z50ii (apsc) + z28-400mm (600mm equivalent) lens- Bought for this trip for versatility, reach and portability. My best shots are at the 400-600mm range. Forget changing lenses midday- I still had "African makeup" in my lens/sensor without making any swaps. Nightly (and often lunchtime) cleaning became a necessity.
Just for comparison, here are some cell phone photos which are good enough for my photo book
Good enough? Those are gorgeous. What is the name of little lion in second photo?
One of the biggest things about cell phone pictures is how they look if the subject is far away and you have to fully zoom. That is when I've found that cell phone photography lacks. For near photos I think they are great.
In British's photos, to me, the first photo looks much less crisp that the others. It could be all pictures weren't taken from the same cell phone and the first picture's cell phone didn't have as much capability or perhaps the cell phone for the first picture was zoomed a lot, causing what I sense to be a lack of clarity - compared to the other photos.
No idea about the toy lion, it was on my photo feed from somewhere.
Sam, I’m an amateur photographer so as I said, my photos are good enough for me.
Agree with Sam. Depends on your use case but iPhone photos lose clarity and depth especially when enlarged for printing. HDR and smart editing helps but these examples are pretty flat or grainy and won’t hold up to comparable DSLR/mirrorless shots especially at distance or bad lighting. Some animals are close to the jeeps but many aren’t so to the original question I think I’d suggest at least 400mm equivalent length reach which can always be cropped in post
I recently traded some seldom used equipment via KEH for a Sony a6700 with the Sony 70 to 350 (105 to 525.) Still primarily shot M43 but wasn't happy with the Olympus 75 to 300 given its narrow FOV at 75 and some focusing issues at the 500 to 600 mm end. The Blue Herron is from across the river at 125 yards, 525 mm, and 100% crop. The Blue Bird is 20 yards, 525mm and 30% crop.
You don’t always need a long lens, and anything beyond 300 mm is difficult to handle in a safari vehicle.
Awesome. Yes, we always seem to get right next to lions too.
I wish I could find the photo of a lion scent marking the vehicle
I think the cell phone pictures have better overall clarity than the camera pictures where the backgrounds are fuzzy. Merely my opinion.
As British said, her photos work fine for her purposes. That is all that matters.
@SSwave - That picture of the two elephants guiding the baby elephant is great. I also liked the young zebra with the crossed legs.
I agree that for any distance shot, an iPhone just doesn't cut it. It can do okay on close shots. British's picture, above, of the lion drinking is a good example. A regular camera with a long lens could have produced a much better photo in that situation.
Yes, fuzzy background with a crisp subject is called “bokeh”- a trait highly sought after by photogs in their lenses. Same concept as ‘portrait mode’ on your iPhone but it’s not digitally/artificially rendered. Whatever works best for you to capture your moments forever is the best strategy. I’m ecstatic with how mine turned out and can’t wait to enlarge and print them- something I can’t say about most of my iPhone photos from the trip.
I was just offering suggestions on the original question which was how much lens reach to bring- not whether to use an iPhone vs a camera 🤷🏼♂️
British, how about right next to rhinos?
Yes Sam, we got right next to Rhinos in SA years ago And were right next to several in Namibia. It’s the luck of the draw and different every time you go which is why I keep returning to Africa. Of course also at the rhino preserve in Kenya. Stood right by one on first trip in 2007 and got my photo taken, but that was before digital cameras.
British - I assume this is what you're referring to about having your picture taken near the rhinos. Where it happened for us it with with the rhino type that is endangered (I forget if it's the white or black rhino) that the rhino wranglers were protecting.