I could suggest that you have a look at my gallery, put together
from a trip to Kenya in February.
http://www.pbase.com/mikemccombie/kicheche06
Pbase seems a bit slow here at the moment, but that might be for
some other reason.
On my trip, I took 5000 frames, two thirds on my 1d mk2 with 70-200
2.8L IS, and one third on a 20D with 300f4, much of the time with
the 1.4xII as well. This was about what I had expected and planned
for.
The idea is that you're in Africa, you want to get the being in
Africa as well as the animal, and show the animal in its context.
In a safari park or zoo, you're mostly trying to avoid fencing,
building, masts etc., and will often be fascinated by close ups of
the animals, so longer is better at home. I'd say my best shots
were split along similar proportions, though I've not examined it
in detail.
Much depends on exactly what vehicle type you will be in, and how
good your driver/guide is in placing it. Most vehicles are in far
too much of a hurry, spend far too little time with each subject,
and get far too clsoe far too quickly. Picture of the tops of
animals heads you can get almost anywhere.
All I would change is to take a second 1DmkII instead of the 20D.
If I were dreaming, I'd like a 500f4 for the portait shots, and for
more distant subjects. Again, in dream-land, I'd take a 300f2.8L
IS instead of the f4. The 300f4 is a brilliant package, especially
as it is so light, but the difference that a 2.8 makes was very
noticable in the best shots. For pictures of Lions and Cheetah,
the 70-200 does fine - it is a brilliant lens - and the 300f4 is
good with the longer reach and 20D for shots more like portraits
and closer crops of the subject.
I would say, you still have to be careful about things you don't
want in the background, such as the ubiquitous white vans.
It is crucial, nothing less, to have the right guide. Not only for
knowing where to look, when, and how, but for positioning the
vehicle for good shots. Unusually, you are not really in control
of this, and normally you would be. With the right guide, you will
not find this a problem and will be as busy as you could ever hope
to be. With the wrong guide, your frustration level will be quite
high. You still get frustrated, but until you can hire the entire
vehicle and guide yourself, you have to live with this!
Get out early. Half an hour before dawn. Get back late. Half an
hour after sunset or more, depending upon whether you have good
subjects close by your camp. Cheetah are pretty busy in the middle
of the day, so you have to contend with amazing contrast in your
shots - make sure you can deal with this.
I have a 100-400 as well, but I didn't take it. When it broke last
year I got the 300f4, and can't bring myself to use the 100-400
again as it is just not as sharp. Perhaps with the amazing amount
of light there is in Kenya in mid-day it would be ok, but again, my
best shots are taken around dawn and at the end of the day. The
best of all 1/60, f6.3 on the 300f4 with 1.4x, at ISO200 - you will
not always have a lot of light! Would I have got that shot with
the 100-400? It sounds like I might have been able to from the
numbers, but as it was borderline in the end, I really don't think
so. That's also why I'd have had the second body be a 1D2 before
changing any lens - that would have helped a lot.
If you get to find leopards, they're likely to be in a tree, and in
deep shade. Long fast lenses are best. You could also get lucky,
and find them out in the open, in which case, it all depends, but
you could find the 70-200 would be fine. The nice thing about that
is you can always put the 1.4 on that too, which I did once or
twice. Best not to be changing lenses though.
Whatever you choose to do, be ready, and be lucky!
--
Mike
http://www.pbase.com/mikemccombie/
)
