Going to a jungle - what should I take?

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AndyJC

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Hey all,

I'm off for a month to the rainforests and wondering , out of the kit that I have, what I should take.

What I've got at the moment..

Canon 70-200 IS L F2.8
Canon 18-55 Stock (non IS)
Canon 50 MkII F1.8? (not the expensive one)
Tamron 70-300 F/4-5.6 Di LD Macro
Sigma 55-200 F/4-5.6 DC
Sigma 150 F/2.8 APO Macro DG

I'm wondering if I should get a 2x extender to make the 70-200 a bit better for the animals in the trees etc but not sure.

I'd rather not lug it all around so what do people think should be in the bag? (or what should I get before I go)
 
South Malaysia and North Borneo. Yea I'm somewhat worried about the damp
 
My parents have just come back from there. I think their suggestion would be not to take anything electrical into the forest!. Otherwise use dry bags- silica gel. Guess it depends on your body though- as some are weather sealed :)
 
Is it really that bad? *eek* - Body is a 400D so not weather sealed
 
don't forget clean socks & underpants too ;)
 
Marac I *knew* I was forgetting something :p

Will get some silican tab things to put in the bag to help I guess. Just not sure what lenses to take. THinking only the 70-200, macro, stock (and maybe the 50)
 
If it was me ..

Canon 70-200 IS L F2.8 - you wont always have time for a tripod, IS massive bonus

Canon 18-55 Stock (non IS) good all round range, you dont want anything to heavy

Tamron 70-300 F/4-5.6 Di LD Macro for those lone reach shots that the 200 just wont achieve.
 
From my own experience in Brunei and Belize:

Lots of plastic bags - zip-loc ones...keep all the kit in those when not in use...

Forget silica gel - it gets saturated in the first 10 minutes and is then useless for the duration...
Take lots of cloths to clean and dry stuff with. A few rolls of catering-sized paper-wipes in plastic bags are good.

Wet-wipes for you - you may not have access to proper washing facilities and a daily wet-wipe 'bath' will make the nether-regions much nicer to live with...

I would take a tripod: a small lightweight one- mostly because if it's triple-canopy jungle it'll be dark as hell in there - the BBC do it when they film David Attenborough, so it's do-able...

Jungle-Boots - buy them if you haven't already - the US Army Altama ones are the best and will cost you about £70... lots of socks - 5 prs will do - they'll get wet and you dry them next to your body between layers at night...

Other clothing: buy the quasi-military cargo-trousers, but not cammo ones - you'll just look silly. they make them in khaki and green, so buy those.
Cycling-shorts without the cushion inserts are the best underwear - they'll smell, but won't bind-up when soaked with sweat - failing that, go commando - seriously - jungle-rot around the nads can seriously incapacitate you...

Get used to being wet and smelly - it can't be avoided, so don't bother...just embrace the stink...lol
 
Don't forget the leech socks! Light weight merino wool undies are less smelly and dry easily, a dry bag for really precious stuff. It really can get very dark under the canopy, I still regret the lack of a fast lens, when a wild young orangutan past 10 feet over my head! All I got was a reddish orange blur.
You going to Danum Valley?
 
First Post: Hurrah!

Hi

I spent about a month in the jungle Borneo taking pictures with my 400D with no problems what so ever. I used a 60mm Macro, std 17 - 55 and a cheaply 55 - 200 IS.

I recommend if you plan to take any Macro shots get yourself a flash. The forest floor is really dark and it is hard to capture non-stationary insects using natural light.

Cheers
James
 
thanks all - some really good ideas.

As for clothes I've got a load of Rohan stuff that i'll be taking (shirts/trousers) a tilly hat for awesomeness, and decent walking boots. However, I will get me some cycling shorts as that's agreat idea!

Minty -- good feedbak - will see what I can do about a flash.
 
be careful with mossie spray some of it can melt the plastic on you,re lens:eek:
 
dinorock said:
be careful with mossie spray some of it can melt the plastic on you,re lens:eek:
Click to expand...

Forgot that - yes it'll take the chrome off a trailer-hitch...lol

Anything plastic will be melted by 'deet'...

Plastic/polycarbonate watch 'glass' in particular...
 
From your selection I'd probably try to keep the number of lenses down - I'm planning a similar trip next year and am thinking a wide-telephoto (so your 18-55) and a fast zoom (your 70-200).

I'd take a teleconvertor rather than another long zoom to save weight - this honestly isn't an ad but I've actually got an unused Canon 2x convertor that I've been thinking of selling if you want it?

One thing to be careful of is if you're staying in an air-con room/hotel etc then be careful of aclimatising your camera and lenses or you can risk fogging up.
 
incapete been trying to get a 2x for a few weeks now at a decent price :)

I'm thinking the same thing- stock 18-55, and the 70-200 + macro. maybe the nifty fifty as it's tiny and weighs **** all just incase I need something with an f1.8
 
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