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Kruger and Sigmonster 300-800

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WarHen

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Just booked tickets for an October trip, 10 days in Kruger. I've been before but have been thinking of trying to pull it off with the Sigmonster. Has anything this insane been tried before? Some sort of funky thing that can support my Wimberly...maybe even from the back seat. Does anyone know of in-car devices that work with a lens this big? I will have my son with me, perhaps as a quasi human tripid we'll be able to move that thing around in the car...

Oh, and we are booked for the Olifants wilderness trek. That will rock :)

--
-Warren
http://www.warrenhenke.com
 
WarHen said:
Just booked tickets for an October trip, 10 days in Kruger. I've been
before but have been thinking of trying to pull it off with the
Sigmonster. Has anything this insane been tried before? Some sort of
funky thing that can support my Wimberly...maybe even from the back
seat. Does anyone know of in-car devices that work with a lens this
big? I will have my son with me, perhaps as a quasi human tripid
we'll be able to move that thing around in the car...

Oh, and we are booked for the Olifants wilderness trek. That will
rock :)
Click to expand...
You should try moving a heavy piece of wood the same length inside a car first and see how that works out. People have complained about using much smaller lenses than that from inside a car.

I went on a wilderness track in the Krüger park in 2004. Just before we arrived at the start of the track, a Leopard sped across the road. When we returned from the two hour walk, we found his paw prints inside our boot prints.
 
WarHen said:
Is wood heavy enough? hehe.

I've got the lens, so I can practice with it now...not easy, but
doable with some yoga skills.
Click to expand...
Don't forget to bring a second camera body with a wider lens. Sometimes you've got a giraffe standing 3 meters from the car, and a 5 mm lens would probably be about right. In the Krüger park, any kind of wildlife may be congregating in the middle of the road. We were on a less travelled road and had a full grown lioness to ourselves for about half an hour, exactly 3 meters from the car and with the window all the way down. The animals normally don't care about cars or whatever is in them, unless you work to get their attention. One exception is the babboon, it might jump into the car if it figures there is something edible or even just funny in there. Take a guess at what this one is trying to accomplish :

 
WarHen said:
Just booked tickets for an October trip, 10 days in Kruger. I've been
before but have been thinking of trying to pull it off with the
Sigmonster. Has anything this insane been tried before?
Click to expand...
Well you said it yourself - its insane.

Have only tried walking safaris down there so I don't qiute remember if they use open jeeps/trucks. However, I think so. In this case the lens can of course be mounted on the car somehow. Just make sure to have your own drive (I always prefer having my own guide - its a small extra expense compared to the hugh added value of being able to do what you want - when you want).

Seriouly, though - have you ever seen anyone using a lens like that for a safari?Would love to go and shot some pictures of you lugging the lens around - you'll be the strangest site around - LOL.

Good luck - and don't break your son's back!
 
maiaibing said:
WarHen said:
Just booked tickets for an October trip, 10 days in Kruger. I've been
before but have been thinking of trying to pull it off with the
Sigmonster. Has anything this insane been tried before?
Click to expand...
Well you said it yourself - its insane.

Have only tried walking safaris down there so I don't qiute remember
if they use open jeeps/trucks. However, I think so. In this case the
lens can of course be mounted on the car somehow. Just make sure to
have your own drive (I always prefer having my own guide - its a
small extra expense compared to the hugh added value of being able to
do what you want - when you want).

Seriouly, though - have you ever seen anyone using a lens like that
for a safari?Would love to go and shot some pictures of you lugging
the lens around - you'll be the strangest site around - LOL.

Good luck - and don't break your son's back!
Click to expand...
The two times I've been to the Krüger Park, we rented our own car and took it from the airport in Johannesburg. It takes about a day each way. A high vehicle is a benefit, you see further. Setting up the 300-800 on a beanbag out a window should be possible. Then they have these trucklike safari vehicles with roofs but with no windows. You could possibly do the same there. In Senegal, the driver let me up on the roof of the truck to take pictures, but I'm not sure if they will allow that in the Krüger park. A problem may be that you could attract the animals' attention if the huge lens protrudes too far from the vehicle.
 
Steingrim said:
The two times I've been to the Krüger Park, we rented our own car and
took it from the airport in Johannesburg. It takes about a day each
way.
Click to expand...
I also do this - however, its probably more dangerous driving that strech than meeting the animals in the park...
 
I had the rangers tell us we couldn't even stand up through the sunroof to view game, so I doubt much is possible in the park. I'd imagine most of my shots will be with a 400, but if I needed to, my son and I can point the 800 out the window. We've been experimenting a bit with some tactics that could work in a pinch. And you can bet I wont' be hiking with this lens on the trek....not at all. The lions would be like...oh look at that idiot...who wants an easy meal? Although I could probably defend myself with it for a good 30 seconds...it's heavy enough to take out a buffalo.

It seems to work if whoever is taking the pictures is sitting in the far seat away from the window, then the other uses a monpod and a bean bag on the window to help position it. Crazy, yes...but in Kruger where you can't drive right up to the game so sometimes for a better picture, it's worth it sometimes. I couldn'd do it without his help though.

--
-Warren
http://warren.ehenke.com
 
Hi,

I live in South Africa and have just come back from Kruger. I use a 600F4 lens on a Wimberley. There is a shop in Pretoria (on the way to Kruger) which stocks a couple of options that you could consider.

Check this link (US$= R8 at present):

http://www.outdoorphotoshop.co.za/category.aspx?categoryID=324

He also stocks a door mount (locally made) which works brilliantly with the Wimberley and the 600F4.

Maybe you should contact the shop and speak to Hedrus (the owner) - you could possibly rent the door mount from him.

Have a great trip!
 
WarHen said:
And you can bet I
wont' be hiking with this lens on the trek....not at all. The lions
would be like...oh look at that idiot...who wants an easy meal?
Click to expand...
When I was asked if I wanted to take a walking safari I asked about the lions - especially since the ranger did not even bring a gun with him. I was told that the lions were "at the other end of the park" that day - so it was OK.

Have to say it was the best safari trip I ever took. We came really, really close to the animals. The elephants were scary however. Even the ranger was very tense when they were anywhere near us.

Good luck!
 
Make sure you can get sharp images as the Sigmonster has no IS. I find it a challenge even on a solid carbon fibre tripod and Wimberley. Check it out at shutter speeds you will be using and make sure that mirror lock-up isn't required with your camera body to get sharp results.

As for walking, I just spent the last couple of weeks lugging the Sigmonster, tripod and Wimberley around in tropical conditions and its not that much fun after a while !

I have certainly seen results from long lenses on safari so others do it and very well too. If I had the choice though, I would opt for something with IS

--
Dave Peters
 
Dave Peters said:
I have certainly seen results from long lenses on safari so others do
it and very well too. If I had the choice though, I would opt for
something with IS
Click to expand...
Big, long lens yes - but did you see a Sigmonster out there? (Impressed)

 
maiaibing said:
Big, long lens yes - but did you see a Sigmonster out there? (Impressed)
Click to expand...
I have seen the 800mm Sigma used from a car in the Kgalagadi. The guy used a Wimberley on a homemade window mount.

I use the same setup as Mybs does, also sourced from Hedrus. It works very well with my Nikkor 200-400 plus TC. Unlike other mounts that use the glass of the window, it rests on the door sill,so it can take a lot of weight. It also has a large base plate, which means that you can drill a second hole further away from the door so that the 300-800 will intrude less into the car. I would ask Hedrus to have it drilled for you if you are getting one.

I agree with the sugestion to have a second body and lens with you. A 70-200 with a 1.4 TC seems ideal. Also take a shorter zoom.

have you considered renting a 500/600IS instead of srtuggling with the SigMonster in a car?
 
That doesn't look too extreme, maybe I could pull it off with a Sigmonster. Ideally I like the idea of the car mount that has been discussed, that sounds great. I'd like to see a picture of what that looks like if anyone has one...although I don't think Hertz would approve of me drilling their car to mount it (which sounds like what must be done). That would sure be the way to go though...

--
-Warren
http://warren.ehenke.com
 
WarHen said:
That doesn't look too extreme, maybe I could pull it off with a
Sigmonster. Ideally I like the idea of the car mount that has been
discussed, that sounds great. I'd like to see a picture of what that
looks like if anyone has one...although I don't think Hertz would
approve of me drilling their car to mount it (which sounds like what
must be done). That would sure be the way to go though...

--
-Warren
http://warren.ehenke.com
Click to expand...
You drill the plate, not the car.
 
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