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African Safari advice

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I actually took a second copy of the 100-300 as a backup. It was still brand new and wrapped up. I didn't have a problem, never took it out of the bag, sold it when I got home. The loss between price new and sales price was worth the peace of mind for me.

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terry
http://www.terrybanet.com
 
The superzoom backup was some i hadn't thought of, but is a good idea. This trip is getting expensive!
 
I'll be going in 1-month with a GH1 and the 100-300 (along with the 14-140 and the 20). I'll let you know how often I want something other than the 100-300 on my camera when I'm out.
Hans Gruber said:
I agree with you. I have quite a while to decide, will be interesting to see if anything new comes out between now and then.
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Hans Gruber said:
The superzoom backup was some i hadn't thought of, but is a good idea. This trip is getting expensive!
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I am in Cape Town at the moment with just 2 old Fuji superzooms, one is a bridge and one is a compact and having the 24-360 range on tap all the time is brilliant, a compact superzoom is definitely a viable backup to a system camera, especially at ISO 100 in the strong African light, at night they are very iffy.

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1012&message=41110158

and various other posts in the same thread

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S100, S6500, S5, F300, F200, F70, F11, F31 (deceased), Z5, V10, D40, EX1
 
I recently picked up a Panny FZ150. Really enjoying it and I am very impressed with the output. Dare I use that as the primary camera? Don't think I have the nerve for it...
 
Hans Gruber said:
I recently picked up a Panny FZ150. Really enjoying it and I am very impressed with the output. Dare I use that as the primary camera? Don't think I have the nerve for it...
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The Fuji S100 I brought along is probably the closest Fuji to the Panny in terms of handling as well as IQ. As you can see from this series, only at night does the IQ break down, my second shot is very noisy, though I did overexpose it.

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1012&message=41170886

All I can say is that the bridge is a joy to travel with. My images are not for resale so ultimate IQ is not an issue for me. The S100 like the Panny, will print beyond A4, which is more than I need.

I think when it comes to those once in a lifetime game shots, the extra quality of the M4/3 camera will make a difference because fur, eyes and textures respond so well to larger sensors on cameras but taking the FZ150 as a backup and convenience camera is a great idea.

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S100, S6500, S5, F300, F200, F70, F11, F31 (deceased), Z5, V10, D40, EX1
 
This is something I had wanted to do too. I have heard many times that a superzoom would be very useful, and could be considered a backup camera if not the main one. The Fuji X-S1 is also weather proofed. Will you recommend it.
 
Sergey Borachev said:
This is something I had wanted to do too. I have heard many times that a superzoom would be very useful, and could be considered a backup camera if not the main one. The Fuji X-S1 is also weather proofed. Will you recommend it.
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The X-S1 is a large beast of a camera, it is very well made and is about the size and weight of a consumer Nikon DSLR with a superzoom lens on it. Though it is the best made Fuji bridge camera to date, I am hesitant to recommend it because of its size, price and what appears to be a slight loss of sharpness at the long end, which appears to be linked to a phenomenon that the hyper critical Fuji user base is calling "droop", the lens has a very small amount of play at the long end that may be affecting sharpness.

Also consider the smaller HS30 as an alternative, its much smaller, lighter and cheaper, has a longer zoom range, is a 3rd generation camera using the same body. It also has the Fuji EXR sensor, though a smaller one, so it also benefits from the higher DR that is associated with Fuji cameras. Its not weather proofed though.

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S100, S6500, S5, F300, F200, F70, F11, F31 (deceased), Z5, V10, D40, EX1
 
Thanks, Wellington for your comments on the X-S1. I am not so concerned with the cost or the size/weight, since they are to be expected for a well made weather proof metal superzoom camera with a large than normal sensor and a 26X zoom lens. This lens droop problem is however a worry and it should not happen. That defeats a lot of the purpose of a very long zoom range.

It would be nice is there is a very long weatherproof zoom lens from Olympus.
 
Of course, the 50-200 is fairly long is at 200mm, is F/3.5. Then either a 1.4x or 2.0x teleconverters. The 1.4 is said to work very well providing a 280mm length at F/5.0 I think ... the 2.0x teleconverter would make the 200mm a 400mm, at F/7.1. Most reports say F/7.1 is a bit marginal, but in bright light, perhaps not. Of course, 800mm FF is very good reach indeed. I have a 50-200mm, and would love to try it ... but such a 2.0 converter is not so cheap! The 280mm at F/5.0 is said to be terrific. I guess too, it shows what a good job the Panasonic has achieved, with a much lighter lens, at F/5.6 while at 300mm, yet its half the weight of the 50-200mm, and it has OIS. However the 50-200mm is telecentric, and a very fine lens indeed.
 
buy the 100-300 or the 75-300 for the E-M5, you'll need a proper tele zoom, because animals are moving and your car may not be able to follow or move to the perfect spot for taking a picture. Leave the tele zoom lens mounted on the E-M5 (avoid changing lenses in dusty area and avoid missing shots due to lens change).

Bring the E-PL1 too and use it for wa pictures and when animals are too close for the tele zoom.

Bring enough batteries and chargers and a multi plug (ask safari company or google camps/lodges for battery loading options). Bring enough cards, i easily shoot 1000 pics on a good day. Additionally bring notebook or image tank or tablet to store/save images.

Have fun!
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http://www.acahaya.com
 
The 50-200 is a great safari lens, even when used with the EC-14 and EC-20

BUT

only when used on a E-3 or E-5 or E-30.

It does NOT support C-AF or tracking when mounted on a mFT camera, this is also true for the E-M5 and even when used with S-AF the AF is slow, i.e. the lens is only usable for static motivs. Unfortunately animals tend to move, sometimes rather fast...
Forget about the 50-200 as a safari lens for the E-M5.

Both, the 75-100 and the 100-300 have a better tele photo range and can be used with S-AF and C-AF on the E-M5.
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http://www.acahaya.com
 
Seems to be little mention of the 75-300 Olympus zoom lens in this thread. I did a search and it is apparently a little sharper than the Panasonic 100-300. Anyone had experience using both? With the IBIS of the E-M5, I would imagine critical sharpness is more important than the OIS of the Panasonic lens, although the aperture is not as bright on the Olympus. Just curious if anyone has experience!
Kevdog said:
Oly 75-300 or Pany 100-300. With the new IBIS of the E-M5 you probably don't need the OIS of the Pany, but the price is still a lot cheaper for the Pany. You may want the weight savings of the Oly though.

One thing, you may want to get an E-PL1/E-PM1 or something similar to have one of the shorter lenses on so you don't have to keep swapping lenses out in the dusty conditions and missing shots.
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Website: http://gakuranman.com
Haikyo / Urbex: http://gakuranman.com/category/haikyo-ruins/
 
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