Lenses for Namibia?

Mel_P

Mel_P

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I am planning to take my Canon 7D and a carbon fibre tripod to Namibia and plan to take these 2 lenses:

EF 70-300mm F/4.5–5.6 DO IS USM
EF 24-105mm F/4 IS USM

Not sure about my 100mm F/2.8 IS USM macro - any views. Should I take - should be OK weight wise

Also have

EF-S 17-55 f/2.8 IS USM
EF 17-40 f/4 USM

But don't plan to take these.

Any views please? I don't want to buy or hire a new longer lens!

Thanks, Mel
 
at the 300mm end I reckon that most of the time need 300mm plus for wildlife - if you had a 300mm prime plus a TC that would be good to take - you never have enough reach with Wildlife and Namibia is a chance of a life time.

weight wise a 300mm f4 prime plus TC is generally all I can manage in S Africa ……….. a 300mm prime is also good for larger insect "close ups" especially on a tripod if that interest you

more reach the better but it is carrying it and the aircraft weight limits

This guys takes quite a few of his images in Namibia ……. I met him in S Africa

http://www.woodenframes.co.za/photo-gallery.html

His elephant and nature shots are fantastic - although they do not look that great on his site, but they are worth a look at - scroll down

ONE OF HIS IMAGES - look at P-196 - one of my favourite images …….. very impressive when seen at full size …….. I think that he was quite close with this shot, lying under a 4 x 4 pick up - I think that he said that he used a Nikon wide zoom

P196_.jpg
 
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^^ that's a superb shot, I might have cheated and used ps to make the giraffes 'cleaner' between elephants legs.
 
Brazo said:
^^ that's a superb shot, I might have cheated and used ps to make the giraffes 'cleaner' between elephants legs.
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Thanks Mark

you need to see his shots at full size and printed - they are fantastic

I was very impressed with the guy …… not young at all, but still got out there in "the wilderness" in search of unique shots and experiences
 
BillN_33 said:
at the 300mm end I reckon that most of the time need 300mm plus for wildlife - if you had a 300mm prime plus a TC that would be good to take - you never have enough reach with Wildlife and Namibia is a chance of a life time.
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Can't fit a TC to the DO lens.

I know a longer lens has longer reach - but I don't have one! And don't want to buy / rent one . I also have eyes / memory / binoculars.

Mel
 
There will always be something further away, 300mm will be fine (it was for me in Tanzania, and that was on FF). Take what you have and be happy with it :)

Also, when it gets much further away you have heat haze which ruins any sharpness anyway.
 
Have a look here: https://www.outdoorphoto.co.za/. These South African forums aren't very active compared with TP, but there are a few people who specialise in wildlife on them. The site/shop owner is Hedrus Van Der Merwe, I bought my 30D from him, and he's an experienced pro wildlife photographer. He's a very decent guy, I'd get in touch with him and ask what he thinks?
 
My most used lenses in Namibia were the 100-400 and the 10-22. I'm not sure if the 70-300 will be long enough.

If you're going to Walvis Bay make sure you book yourself on one of the boat trips. Fantastic wildlife, loads of champagne and more oysters than even I could eat!
 
hollis_f said:
My most used lenses in Namibia were the 100-400 and the 10-22. I'm not sure if the 70-300 will be long enough.

If you're going to Walvis Bay make sure you book yourself on one of the boat trips. Fantastic wildlife, loads of champagne and more oysters than even I could eat!
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Booked a kayak trip in Walvis Bay!
 
(Went end Aug - mid Sept) Well - I took the 70-300 DO, 17-55 EF-S and the 24-105 L EF - with my 7D (which needed a good clean out) and I had the sensor cleaned (but did not notice any spots) after lens changes in the desert. Park Cameras - £30 - not too bad. Dropped off and picked up as I was passing 3 days apart.

The 300 on the 7D was long enough the range of wildlife at waterholes and the roadside in Namibia (particularly for giraffes a few metres away!). 17mm on the 7D was wide enough - and took some star trails with this - fantastic clear DARK skies. Could have done with a longer lens for some bird watching walks BUT taking an longer lens wouldn't have been worthwhile as this was only for 2 hours in 20 days.
 
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Buy a SX50 as a spare body and for the extra reach?
 
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