Africa - Closing Thoughts

Harryb · January 11, 2012

Hi Y'all,

I figured that I would complete my threads about my visit to Kenya with some thoughts about equipment. This being my first trip to Africa I took a lot of equipment with me. The cameras I took were a D3s, D3, D300, Fuji-X100 For glass I took the 70-200mm 2.8 VR II, 14-24mm 2.4, 50mm 1.4, 28-70mm 2.8, and the 200-400 f/4 VR I. Additionally i brought my travel tripod and a monopod with RRS heads, two Kenisis Safari Sacks, the SB-900 speed light, my laptop, a 1TB external HD, spare lens and camera caps, filters, 4 32gig, 4 16 gig, 2 8gig, 3 4gig CF cards, 5 SSD cards, 4 TCs (the 2.0, 1.7 and 2 1.4s) 2 flashlights, Linda's digicam, the remote cable release, flash extension cable, battery chargers, cleaning cloths, and the East Africa/UK Todd- plug.

I was able to tote so much equipment because Linda was coming along and we were able to use two camera carry-on bags, the Pelican rolling carry on bag and the Kiboko backpack.

I overdid it. I used all 4 camera bodies but when I return to Africa I will leave the D300 home and go with just two DSLR bodies (the D3s and the D4) and the Fuji X100. Next time the D300 will stay home. The FF bodies' IQ is significantly better and since many of my captures were at ISO 1000 and higher excellent lowlight performance is a necessity. For TC's I will let the 1.7 TC stay home next time. In the lens department the 50mm 1.4 was nice but I could have lived w/o it. I also could have managed with just the 4 32 and 16 gig CF cards.

On the land rovers I took my Kiboko bag with the D3s and the D3 with the Fuji around my neck. I used the 200-400 and a 1.4 TC on the D3s and the 70-200 and a 1.4 TC on the D3 for wildlife captures. When we shot landscapes at sunrise I used the D3s with either the 14-24 or the 28-70. When I shot from the Cessna I used the D3 and D3s with the 28-70 and the 70-200 + a 1.4 TC.

The 200-400 was the perfect lens for the trip. There were a few occasions when I wished I had the extra reach of the 500mm f/4 but there were many more times when the range of the 200-400 obtained captures that I would not have gotten with the 500mm.

The low light performance of the D3s with the 200-400 allowed me to get captures that I would never had gotten with earlier Nikon bodies. This one was at ISO 6400 and was gotten just after the sun had set.

Then one day we were lucky enough to find two rarely sighted caracal cubs right at sunset.ISO 6400 with the D3s and the 200-400 +1.4 TC

Some of my favorite captures were with the D3 and the 70-200. This allowed me to get more of Africa into the capture.

If you ever are lucky enough to go to Africa you must bring landscape glass with you. Africa is much more than wildlife.

D3s and the 28-70

D3s and the 14-24

One set-up that pleasantly surprised me was the new Nikon 2.0 III TC on the 70-200 2.8. I used it on the last day when the Maasai put on the "Maasai Olympics" for us. I wanted some reach and mobility for those captures. This set up pretty much negates the place in my gear that used to be occupied by the 80-400.

D3s with 70-200 and the 2-.0 TC

I took the Fuji X-100 for those moments when I wanted to capture a scene that my DSLRs couldn't get when they were set up for wildlife captures. Its did a fine job.

zoomer · January 11, 2012

Thanks for posting the gear report, very interesting.
Great shots!
LOVE that Maasai Olympics shot and the one at the end of them standing in black and white.

Andy · January 11, 2012

Great post, Harry. I definitely agree, I took way too much stuff, and not just gear! I had too many clothes and other things, too. I could see my June 2012 trip, taking: Canon 1Dx, Canon 7D, Canon 200-400L, Canon 70-200L, Canon 24-105L and my 24 f/1.4L for low light, and just be done. I love all my other primes, but the reality is, zooms rule in Africa. I enjoyed the 500 f/4L and got some great shots with it but the 200-400L will be much more usable if only Canon will ship it!

bfjr · January 11, 2012

Yep good gear report with some more killer images but ........................

All that means nothing without you operating the controls !!!

Yeah everybody knows that, but I wanted to put it in print.

Thanks for allowing me the pleasure of seeing "Africa" thru your eyes!

[Deleted User] · January 11, 2012

Harry,

Thanks for posting these thoughts on the equipment you took and how it worked. It will be helpful to those that are planning a trip to Africa and were inspired by your work shown here.

So if I ever talk Pauline into a trip like yours I won't need to bring the 500. Good to know.

Jim

scootog · January 11, 2012

Fabulous!

JohnDC · January 11, 2012

Harry,
Thanks very much for sharing your advice. In wondering what I'll need to pack for foreign photo trips, have dreaded taking my big, heavy, 600mm on long airline flights, and have wondered if the 100-400 would do. Thanks for answering that question, which also means I can also leave my big Gitzo GT5541LS tripod at home and just go with the smaller Gitzo. You have made all this kind of trip sound much more feasible.
---John

PGM · January 11, 2012

Gosh, Harry, and here I thought I was a heavy packer! It must have taken you days just to pack. Did you allocate any room at all for Linda for cosmetics? I'm guessing not. Seriously, though, your Africa thread has been the most interesting and beautiful, and and the one I have most looked forward to checking for new posts, of any on this forum. I can't wait for your next trip. And thank you for so generously sharing your time and advice with so many of us. Very best regards, Pam

Harryb · January 12, 2012

zoomer wrote: »

Thanks for posting the gear report, very interesting.
Great shots!
LOVE that Maasai Olympics shot and the one at the end of them standing in black and white.

Thanks Mike those were two of my favorite captures from the trip. I was really impressed with the performance of the 2.0 TC that day.

Harryb · January 12, 2012

Andy wrote: »

Great post, Harry. I definitely agree, I took way too much stuff, and not just gear! I had too many clothes and other things, too. I could see my June 2012 trip, taking: Canon 1Dx, Canon 7D, Canon 200-400L, Canon 70-200L, Canon 24-105L and my 24 f/1.4L for low light, and just be done. I love all my other primes, but the reality is, zooms rule in Africa. I enjoyed the 500 f/4L and got some great shots with it but the 200-400L will be much more usable if only Canon will ship it!

I also love my primes but in Africa where you can't be toting all your glass with one needs the flexibility that zooms provide. Here's hoping that Canon gets that 200-400 out before our next trip. I'm akso hoping we can ggive the D4 and 1DX a workout also and compare how they do.

ashrugged · January 12, 2012

Harrry
A very informative post. i am sure a trip to Africa is on the bucket list on most followers of the forum. You and Andy have done a great job in giving us insight into the possibilities that a trip to Africa could provde, I am sure the Nikon D 8 will be out by the time I will make, but Its nice to see pictures of your adventure.

Harryb · January 12, 2012

bfjr wrote: »

Yep good gear report with some more killer images but ........................

All that means nothing without you operating the controls !!!

Yeah everybody knows that, but I wanted to put it in print.

Thanks for allowing me the pleasure of seeing "Africa" thru your eyes!

Thanks Ben, it was a marvelous trip and I can't wait to get back to Africa in June.

Dennis Kaczor · January 13, 2012

Nice write up about the camera gear Harry and your thoughts on what you would take on the next trip, and I loved the images here as well. Thanks for sharing the information and images.

Harryb · January 13, 2012

MakeMeShutter wrote: »

Beautiful images, it is interesting to read what you would do differently in terms of equipment.
I can't get enough of those trees at sunset or sunrise, but I have to say I really fancy that night sky image as well.

Thanks Shawn, this being my first trip to Africa I erred on the side of being ready for any possibility. I will definitely being traveling a tad lighter when I return in June.

As folks know I love wildlife photography but some of my favorite captures were landscape and the Maasai images. The best part of the trip was the diversity of photo ops. I could trips where I just concentrated on landscapes and people.

grimace · January 14, 2012

Great series and a great write up Harry!! It's really hard to pick a favorite of yours but for some reason I really like the B&W images of the people the best. The Olympics shot really stands out!! Great tones, contrast and sharpness.

Birder · January 14, 2012

I like the choice of B&W for the Masai Olympics - quite striking.

Harryb · January 15, 2012

Jim K wrote: »

Harry,

Thanks for posting these thoughts on the equipment you took and how it worked. It will be helpful to those that are planning a trip to Africa and were inspired by your work shown here.

So if I ever talk Pauline into a trip like yours I won't need to bring the 500. Good to know.

Jim

Thanks Jim. I have a photography club from Illinois coming down in April. Drop me a line if you want to join in on the fun.

Harryb · January 15, 2012

scootog wrote: »

Fabulous!

Glad you liked it.

Harryb · January 15, 2012

JohnDC wrote: »

Harry,
Thanks very much for sharing your advice. In wondering what I'll need to pack for foreign photo trips, have dreaded taking my big, heavy, 600mm on long airline flights, and have wondered if the 100-400 would do. Thanks for answering that question, which also means I can also leave my big Gitzo GT5541LS tripod at home and just go with the smaller Gitzo. You have made all this kind of trip sound much more feasible.
---John

I'm glad I was some help. I was worried about leaving the 500 home but the flexibility of the 200-400 and easier portability more than made up for the loss of reach.

Pacificklaus · January 15, 2012

Thanks
Gear management tips are always interesting to read. Imagine taking under water photos, where you also have to bring your camera housing & dive gear - it leaves only space for a tooth brush and 2 t-shirts in your luggage.

The legs of the Masai make me want to work out more than I do right now!

FlyNavy · January 15, 2012

As always, you are an inspiration for us! Well done.

Harryb · January 16, 2012

PGM wrote: »

Gosh, Harry, and here I thought I was a heavy packer! It must have taken you days just to pack. Did you allocate any room at all for Linda for cosmetics? I'm guessing not. Seriously, though, your Africa thread has been the most interesting and beautiful, and and the one I have most looked forward to checking for new posts, of any on this forum. I can't wait for your next trip. And thank you for so generously sharing your time and advice with so many of us. Very best regards, Pam

Thanks Pam, packing for the trip was an adventure by itself. In retrospect the two best buys I made fro the trip were the Kiboko bag which is the best camera bag I have ever used and the East Africa/Todd-Plug. The Todd-Plug was a godsend. It gave me the ability to charge 6 devices at once. Seeing how in this technological age there are so many gadgets to charge it was a blessing. I had 4 different battery chargers (Fuji, Panasonic and 2 nikons) my laptop, Linda's Nook, and my e-cigarettes. :whew

Harryb · January 16, 2012

ashrugged wrote: »

Harrry
A very informative post. i am sure a trip to Africa is on the bucket list on most followers of the forum. You and Andy have done a great job in giving us insight into the possibilities that a trip to Africa could provde, I am sure the Nikon D 8 will be out by the time I will make, but Its nice to see pictures of your adventure.

Thanks Robert and it only took me 64 years and I went through 18 cameras before I got to Africa. :rutt

Harryb · January 17, 2012

Dennis Kaczor wrote: »

Nice write up about the camera gear Harry and your thoughts on what you would take on the next trip, and I loved the images here as well. Thanks for sharing the information and images.

Thaks Dennis.

[Deleted User] · January 18, 2012

Harryb wrote: »

and my e-cigarettes. :whew

Glad to see you are trying to quit. GOOD LUCK

Harryb · January 20, 2012

grimace wrote: »

Great series and a great write up Harry!! It's really hard to pick a favorite of yours but for some reason I really like the B&W images of the people the best. The Olympics shot really stands out!! Great tones, contrast and sharpness.

Birder wrote: »

I like the choice of B&W for the Masai Olympics - quite striking.

Thanks I did a lot more B&W on this trip than I usually do. Some of the scenes just lent themselves to B&W and Nik's Silver Efex is a great plug-in.

NorthernFocus · January 20, 2012

Sounds like a good time. Seems most of us photogs overpack...

Africa - Closing Thoughts

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