Safari - What gear

Briony

Briony

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I have just booked a 2 weeks safari and beach holiday in Kenya can anyone advise me as to what gear would be the best to take camera wise ( if have a canon 450 d and sigma 129 - 400 lens) and also a brief resume of colthes if possible.

Thanks.
 
definately take the your siggy and an extender if you have one, lots of spare batteries and memory.....As for clothing there are quite a few people over in the birding and wildlife forums that will be able to help you there. just_dave was on safari in Mombassa not long ago.

Andy
 
A hat. I've got a panama but am seriously thinking this is my opportunity to get a tilly.

Check out the outdoor clothing companies who have a decent sale on at the moment of lightweight trousers.

6 weeks until I'm off to Sri Lanka
 
definitely a hat, and bug spray.

Check what inoculations you need too.

I went last night and got two boosters, now I'm trying to find the cheapest supplier of malaria tablets. (check with GP what is needed for your destination)
 
lots of batteries
lots of memory cards
A hard drive viewer
A camera back for each lens (you defo wont want to be changing lenses in the bush)
a sensor cleaning kit
A whole range of lenses (very wide angle - very long tele - the landscapes are as good as the wildlife)
a decent monopod
a hand sized beanbag or two
lockable bag and one of those laptop type cable locks / elastic bungee strap - for attaching your gear it to the landrover / something solid in your room.. serves 2 purposes - 1, prevents gear walking 2. prevents it being bounced over side of your bouncy ride

It is worth taking lots of sealable bags for your gear (1 box of large freezer bags + 1 roll of bin liners). I.e. pop a clean bin-liner in a sealable bag = quick, dust free clean space to work in if needed) Gear can be sealed in the bags (within the camera cases). This serve 2 purposes - beats condensation, the Bxxxx'ds that leave your luggage in the rain at heathrow + stops all dust getting near your stuff
 
have a search on the forums as this has come up a few times before. Safari trips go out early and late in the day so don't expect the best light all the time.
 
I went on safari in Kenya in April, so here's a list of things I'd take.

Long Lens - the 120-400 will do nicely
Ideally a second camera body with a wider lens, something like an 18-70 - you can get really close to the animals! I only had the one body and found myself having to change lens quite a few times in dusty conditions, but I still managed ok.
lens wise, I took with me:
Canon 100-400L
Canon 35-105
Tamron 17-50
Sigma 10-20
and used every lens except the 35-105

Memory - lots of it. I found 28 Gig was enough for a 5 day safari, shooting 8mp raw images
Spare battery + charger
Lens cloth and dust blower - essential, it's a dusty place
A beanbag - essential!

Hat, with a brim
Long sleeve safari shirts - keeps the sun off
Long trousers with zip off bottoms
Buff head tube thing - keeps the dust out
Sunglasses - polarised if possible
Sturdy boots if your doing any walking

If I can think of anything else, I'll add it :)

Here's my safari pics if you'r interested, 90% of which were taken with the 100-400
http://www.flickr.com/photos/weetobix/collections/72157617171245724/
 
Richard King said:
lots of batteries
lots of memory cards
A hard drive viewer
A camera back for each lens (you defo wont want to be changing lenses in the bush)
a sensor cleaning kit
A whole range of lenses (very wide angle - very long tele - the landscapes are as good as the wildlife)
a decent monopod
a hand sized beanbag or two
lockable bag and one of those laptop type cable locks / elastic bungee strap - for attaching your gear it to the landrover / something solid in your room.. serves 2 purposes - 1, prevents gear walking 2. prevents it being bounced over side of your bouncy ride

It is worth taking lots of sealable bags for your gear (1 box of large freezer bags + 1 roll of bin liners). I.e. pop a clean bin-liner in a sealable bag = quick, dust free clean space to work in if needed) Gear can be sealed in the bags (within the camera cases). This serve 2 purposes - beats condensation, the Bxxxx'ds that leave your luggage in the rain at heathrow + stops all dust getting near your stuff
Click to expand...

Bit of a bu**er then when I only have a 450 d 3 lenses and 2 cases I am going on holiday and need to take clothes as well!!! LOL:lol:

Any one got any I can borrow then please!!!!
 
Take binoculars too even if just a pair of compacts. Great for scanning for game, birds etc.

I also took a shemagh and found it had loads of uses. Something like:

http://www.surplusandadventure.com/...-219284.html?gclid=CND5o4qkj5sCFZgU4wodiBgQnQ

If you are based in one place laundry is cheap in E Africa so dont take loads of clothes I managed on two pairs of Cragghoppers, two long sleeved shirts and a few t-shirts. For night safari (if lucky enough) or early mornings a fleece was a must. Decent boots and a hat were invaluable as was insect repellent. Take bug repellent with as high a percentaage of 'DEET' as you can find but be careful with it as it attacks plastic!

Most of all though spend sometime just absorbing the experience. I'd go back tomorrow great trip, great people and amazing wildlife and scenery. I'm only small would I fit in your case :lol:
 
Weetobix said:
Forgot to add earlier in my post - take a bean bag. They're absolutely essential when shooting out of a vehicle!

If you don't have one, Dean does some very good ones extremely reasonably
http://www.camerabeanbags.co.uk/

As for tripods and monopods - I didn't take one, nor did I miss having one
Click to expand...


Got one thanks from Dean and was going to use it as a pillow on the plane also. ;)
 
RJL2005 said:
Take binoculars too even if just a pair of compacts. Great for scanning for game, birds etc.

I also took a shemagh and found it had loads of uses. Something like:

http://www.surplusandadventure.com/...-219284.html?gclid=CND5o4qkj5sCFZgU4wodiBgQnQ

If you are based in one place laundry is cheap in E Africa so dont take loads of clothes I managed on two pairs of Cragghoppers, two long sleeved shirts and a few t-shirts. For night safari (if lucky enough) or early mornings a fleece was a must. Decent boots and a hat were invaluable as was insect repellent. Take bug repellent with as high a percentaage of 'DEET' as you can find but be careful with it as it attacks plastic!

Most of all though spend sometime just absorbing the experience. I'd go back tomorrow great trip, great people and amazing wildlife and scenery. I'm only small would I fit in your case :lol:
Click to expand...

I am taking a big case so you are welcome !!!:lol:
 
Briony said:
I am taking a big case so you are welcome !!!:lol:
Click to expand...

Cool....... when do we go:thumbs:

Forgot to add that befriending your driver can get you some awesome experiences and help get you more 'inside' the culture. Our drivers were not supposed to fratanise with the paying punters except while actually out on game drives but the other way 'round was fine. They were great guys who I'll never forget:)
 
RJL2005 said:
Cool....... when do we go:thumbs:

Forgot to add that befriending your driver can get you some awesome experiences and help get you more 'inside' the culture. Our drivers were not supposed to fratanise with the paying punters except while actually out on game drives but the other way 'round was fine. They were great guys who I'll never forget:)
Click to expand...

September o.k.?
 
Definitely get up to speed on your antimalarials and other immunisations. There. My medical work here is done....

Don't ruin your shots with a poor quality teleconverter.
If you have a long prime lens, there'll be a hundred times you wanted a zoom.
If you have a zoom, there'll be a shot you wished you had a long prime for.
The best lens to take is the one you already know well; you don't need to be searching for the zoom ring when the shot presents itself.
Batteries and cards.
More batteries and cards.
 
Byker28i said:
A hat. I've got a panama but am seriously thinking this is my opportunity to get a tilly.

Check out the outdoor clothing companies who have a decent sale on at the moment of lightweight trousers.

6 weeks until I'm off to Sri Lanka
Click to expand...

Off to Sri Lanka on Sunday :) Been hat-shopping already :)
 
Jabs etc are all organised already and Shemagh ordered.!!
Sealable bags and bin liners noted and just need to get more cards and abatteries.

Can someone advise me as to what cards to get and roughly how many snap they all hold as not genned up on that department.?
 
I went on safari in kenya- was amazing.Be sure to take some things like pens,pencils,sweets, to give to the kenyans- they love to barter and were really into english football so any tshirts with logos on etc would be good.
Asda pharmacy was the cheapest for malaria tablets.
 
Byker28i said:
Nice - where abouts, how long for. Looking forward to some hints :D
Click to expand...

Staying in an 'eco-lodge' (think that means trees growing in the shower judging by the pictures), on the beach in Waikkal, just north of Negombo.

I know we're catching the end of the monsoon season, but I have a colleague from Colombo and he insists the monsoon only really means you get some whopping great big thunderstorms come over every afternoon....a chance to get some lightning shots :)
 
Briony said:
Jabs etc are all organised already and Shemagh ordered.!!
Sealable bags and bin liners noted and just need to get more cards and abatteries.

Can someone advise me as to what cards to get and roughly how many snap they all hold as not genned up on that department.?
Click to expand...

I took extreme III 4gb + 2gb cards. Shot about 16gb over the week a mix of RAW and JPEG. 4 gb cards offer plenty of shots while not keeping all of the eggs in one basket and are much cheaper now than when I went.

Spare batteries (I took six) from 7day shop are good value too. Take a charger too, don't know about Kenya but in Tanzania they use UK sockets although the power was a bit unreliable.

Echo the comments re. blowers for the sensor/lenses, but please only attempt to do the sensor in a lodge etc.

I was also advised to do a DIY dust proofing job on the 30D with clingfilm, I didn't get on with it but thought I'd pass it on anyway!

God this thread brings back happy memories I must try to get back there soon.

Have a great time:thumbs:

Rhod
 
springer said:
Asda pharmacy was the cheapest for malaria tablets.
Click to expand...

I just checked online but they don't mention it, perhaps because you need a prescription. Was this recent? Cheapest I can find Malarone is £2.24 per tablet, which is a lot as we need 30 each. That's 25p more than in 2006.
 
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