Madagascar 2012

Hi
I am back from a marvelous three weeks trip to Madagascar.

Equipment taken on the trip:

• Pentax K-5, for macro and tele
• Pentax 645D, for landscapes
• Pentax WG2, for moments I did not want to show up with a large camera
• Pentax DFA100/2.8 WR
• Pentax DA*60-250/4
• Pentax DFA645 25/4
• Pentax DFA645 55/2.8

Initially, I wanted to take two K-5 but at the last moment, I opted for the 645D for the landscape work and a K-5 for the remaining. While it was certainly a good decision for landscapes, it was not the right decision for the walks in the forests. When in the forest, I constantly had to swap lens between the macro and the tele, using two K-5 instead would have been much better. I would only have had to change lens for the few landscapes, but landscapes have the advantage of not flying away...

Another thing is that I was a bit short on the tele, as well for the lemurs as also for the birds. 250mm is too short for general wildlife photography. It is a pity that the maximal focal range available within the actual lens range is the DA*300. The announced DA560 is tempting but is most likely not what I want to lug around 6 or 8 hours a day around a tropical rain forest. The Bigma 50-500 might be worth considering...

A last grief is the AF of the K-5. In the dim tropical forest, the AF of the K-5 really shows its limitations. I hope the new K-5 II will address this.

But then, the weather sealing proved again to be a great feature, as well in the dusty environment of the dry forests of the West, as the Masoala rain forest in the East.

Ready for a long series of photos from Madagascar?

--
Dominique
International Press Association
http://ipaimpress.com/author/dominique/
http://www.pbase.com/tcom
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dschreckling/