Going on safari! Micro 4/3 vs. 1"

Jmgs2m1 wrote:

Hi everyone, I will be going on a once-in-a-lifetime trip soon to South Africa, Botswana, Victoria Falls area, and Dubai and I'm trying to sort out the photo equipment I'd like to bring.

I've been shooting primarily with a Sony RX100iii, which I plan to bring as a secondary camera, but I am still trying to decide what to bring as my main camera. I've been eyeing the micro 4/3 system for a while (not just for this trip but for my hobby photography), but the release of the RX-10iii has made me consider it as a do it all travel camera.

The Sony RX-10iii would give a nice 24-600mm equivalent range. I will, however, be only at private game reserves and so perhaps I will not really need such a long telephoto range. This, along with the possible need for better dim light capability at dusk/dawn has instead made me consider an Olympus EM5mkii + Oly 40-150 f2.8 + 1.4x TC.

I think that's about the max size/weight I'd like to go, hence APS-C/FF is not really in the equation for me.

Do any of you have any advice with regards to these systems for a trip like this? Would there be a noticeable difference in low light capability/iso performance? Which would you choose? I'm already planning my next trip, which will be to New Zealand... whichever system I go with will be coming along on that trip too!

I will be posting this in both the micro 4/3 forum and Sony Cybershot forum... thanks for any advice you can offer!

I've done a fair bit of travel in South Africa, Botswana, Victoria Falls, etc, and I'm from New Zealand.

To be honest with you, even though I'm a Micro Four Thirds user, I would go with the Sony RX10 III.

The Olympus setup with the 40-150 would be okay for wildlife, but I found myself needing to get out to 600mm (equivalent) a lot when shooting safari. Private reserves will be no different.

So if you go with the Olympus, you'll also need a short zoom and ideally something longer than the 40-150 as well.

When travelling, it really helps to go simple and light. The Sony is trumps there.

Also, the low light capabilities of the Sony aren't far behind the Olympus despite the smaller sensor size. Don't forget that you'll lose a stop of light with the 1.4x teleconverter, making the Olympus zoom f/4, and the Sony is also f/4 at the long end.

Have fun!

S