Camera Lens

I am going to bring a Canon G7X Mark II camera with a 24-100 zoom lens. It is a terrific camera but is it enough zoom?

Comments

  • Probably not. I'm assuming you're concerned about wildlife shots. It depends on what you plan to do with your photos. If you are just printing 4x6 snapshots or showing them on your TV or computer, you can probably get by with cropping your image to highlight the animal you're interested in. With 20 megapixels, you can crop to a small portion of the original image and still have enough resolution for these purposes.

    However, if you want to do some enlargements, I don't think your camera will suffice. Better to have at least a 200mm or better yet 300mm equivalent lens.

    By the way, just as a technical point, we're talking full frame (35mm) equivalent focal lengths. You're G7X lens actually has a maximum focal length of 36.8mm, but the smaller sensor makes it 100mm equivalent.
  • In the "before you go section", Tauck says...

    "For viewing wildlife, we recommend you bring a good pair of binoculars and your own photography supplies, such as plenty of film, batteries, a 200mm telephoto lens, lens cap, lens papers, UV filter and, for video-recording, an adequate supply of video cassettes."

    I agree with Ken from Vegas, if you are somewhat serious about photography and looking for great prints to frame... use at least 200mm - 300mm +++

    I borrowed a giant Canon lens in 2014 for Tanzania from a friend who is a professional photographer and got some pretty amazing shots (if I do say so myself)!

    I also had a more typical lens on another body.

    Switching lens is a pain in the neck with the dust and bouncing around and such... and, of course, time... as the animals will not wait for us to switch from one lens to another. I barely had time sometimes to grab the other camera!

    Bottom-line: Having a serious lens on one camera body and something else on another body (or a point and shoot) is a good combo for someone who loves that. The place is so beautiful that you will get terrific shots to remember your trip by from any camera!

    Still, there are others who recommend putting all the camera gear away and simply being present. Good advice... but for me personally, I find that I am more engaged and focused (no pun intended) when I am behind the lens.

    Have a great trip!

    BTW - I read in one comment about someone only using one SD card. WHAT??? (((I understand I am unusual, but I used several large cards... as I took over 11,000 photos on the maximum size possible.))) You are going all the way there, spending a small fortune and may never be back - I suggest that you take your images at the largest size/resolution possible (to crop & enlarge at home) and spend a few bucks on additional disks. Backing up some how is excellent advice. But so is using different cards... in case one goes bizerk, you haven't lost everything. That is what professional photographers do.



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