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Author Topic: South Africa Photo Safari  (Read 2932 times)

olbii

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South Africa Photo Safari
« on: April 04, 2009, 11:42:19 pm »

DW and I are going on a 6 day Photo Safari to South Africa on April 30th.  This is our first.  She won't be photographing much as she prefers to sight see rather than looking through a viewfinder.

My primary camera will be an Olympus E-520 with a ZD 70-300 (140-600 film equiv) zoom.  I have lots of memory cards and spare batts.

Back-up camera will be a Pentax istDS with a Promaster 70-300 (105-450 film equiv) zoom.  Plenty of cards and spare batts for this camera as well.

Plan to pack a tripod as well as a monopod in the checked-in luggage.

Anyone "been there done that?"  

Any tips or clues are welcome!

Olbii
« Last Edit: April 04, 2009, 11:43:14 pm by olbii »
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Clive Carpenter

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South Africa Photo Safari
« Reply #1 on: April 05, 2009, 03:16:51 pm »

Happy to help if you could give us some clues as to where you're visiting during your trip.  Game Lodges?  Cape Town?

Clive
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olbii

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South Africa Photo Safari
« Reply #2 on: April 05, 2009, 09:55:10 pm »

Quote from: Clive Carpenter
Happy to help if you could give us some clues as to where you're visiting during your trip.  Game Lodges?  Cape Town?

Clive

We'll be flying into J'Berg and then the next day into Richard's Bay on the Indian Ocean coast where we'll be picked up by the Zulu Nyala tour.  The photo safari is with them on the Zulu Nyala Private Game Reserve..  This preserve is also close to Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Game Preserve as well as the St. Lucia wetlands Preserve.  After six days there we take the Garden Route Tour on the southeast coast of South Africa, Port Elizabeth, Durban, Knysna, and Oudtshoorn ending in Cape Town.  I believe we have a B&B for 3 days at Cape town b'4 heading home.  This trip is strictly a guided trip, not the kind I prefer but being in a foreign country I felt this type was best.

Sorry for the long winded reply!!

Olbii



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HiltonP

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South Africa Photo Safari
« Reply #3 on: April 06, 2009, 04:06:16 am »

What you're embarking on is not really a safari in the traditional sense, it is more a typical tourist visit to SA. You will not be encountering any of the challenges which face photogs on the Masai Mara such as dust, limited power supply, distant game, etc.

Items which I would consider to be missing from your kit are : a wide-angle lens, and a fast lens for night-time photography. The Garden Route, and Cape Town will yield some good landscape opportunities, so you really need something which will give you 17mm, or wider. Knysna, Durban, CT and the game reserve also offer a number of evening photo or historical building (interior) opportunities, so something with f1.4 or f1.8 might be worthwhile.

I also always believe it's a good idea to take along a good point 'n shoot camera.
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Regards, HILTON

olbii

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South Africa Photo Safari
« Reply #4 on: April 06, 2009, 10:06:29 am »

Quote from: HiltonP
What you're embarking on is not really a safari in the traditional sense, it is more a typical tourist visit to SA. You will not be encountering any of the challenges which face photogs on the Masai Mara such as dust, limited power supply, distant game, etc.

Items which I would consider to be missing from your kit are : a wide-angle lens, and a fast lens for night-time photography. The Garden Route, and Cape Town will yield some good landscape opportunities, so you really need something which will give you 17mm, or wider. Knysna, Durban, CT and the game reserve also offer a number of evening photo or historical building (interior) opportunities, so something with f1.4 or f1.8 might be worthwhile.

I also always believe it's a good idea to take along a good point 'n shoot camera.

Hilton, I realize this is a "tourist" type of trip and not a safari in the truest sense of the word.  That's ok, maybe if I do a second trip in the future I can do a safari.

I forgot to mention in my original post I'll be taking both my "normal" lenses. The lens for the Oly is a 14-42mm (28-84 film equiv) and the one for the Pentax is a 18-55mm (27-82 film equiv).  They aren't as fast as f1.4 but close.  Will also have a tripod for those types of shots.

Thanks for your input!  I appreciate it!

Olbii
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