Kenya photography kit help

[Bradders]

Im off on a trip to Kenya, later next year and was thinking, will my canon 700D be ok to take? and what would be a good lens to buy and bring for the trip. I have the 18-135 kit lens and a 50m 1.4 lens.

 

all help appreciated

[ALwin]

8 minutes ago, Bradders said:

Im off on a trip to Kenya, later next year and was thinking, will my canon 700D be ok to take? and what would be a good lens to buy and bring for the trip. I have the 18-135 kit lens and a 50m 1.4 lens.

 

all help appreciated

The camera will be fine, however if you are going on a safari and want to take photos of wildlife you may want to consider a lens with a longer reach. Something in the 200mm to 300mm focal length range at least.

[Bradders]

Just now, ALwin said:

The camera will be fine, however if you are going on a safari and want to take photos of wildlife you may want to consider a lens with a longer reach. Something in the 200mm to 300mm focal length range at least.

cheers

[ALwin]

5 minutes ago, Bradders said:

cheers

The current lenses you own will also be fine for general stuff, but a longer lens is more ideal as it's very likely you will not be able to approach the wild animals to get a close enough shot with your other lenses.

[porina]

Not speaking from experience as this is not something I've done, it is something I've looked at in the past on my wish list. Try and look up what sort of shots other people who have done this before have got. While having more reach is something I'd aim to have also (300mm class), they can be closer at times so keeping the wider angle ability is useful also. Are there weight limits on the gear you can take? If you need small internal flights, they can be limited. Especially if this is a "one in a lifetime" type trip, consider redundancy. Spare batteries. More cards. A spare camera. The latter especially could help so you don't have to change lenses in the dusty environment.

[Bradders]

1 minute ago, porina said:

Not speaking from experience as this is not something I've done, it is something I've looked at in the past on my wish list. Try and look up what sort of shots other people who have done this before have got. While having more reach is something I'd aim to have also (300mm class), they can be closer at times so keeping the wider angle ability is useful also. Are there weight limits on the gear you can take? If you need small internal flights, they can be limited. Especially if this is a "one in a lifetime" type trip, consider redundancy. Spare batteries. More cards. A spare camera. The latter especially could help so you don't have to change lenses in the dusty environment.

 

9 minutes ago, ALwin said:

The current lenses you own will also be fine for general stuff, but a longer lens is more ideal as it's very likely you will not be able to approach the wild animals to get a close enough shot with your other lenses.

How are these lenses? 

- Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM

- Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM

 

I know the price differences but this second is the top top of my budget and I dont have the cash to buy a second camera

I also plan to get a tripod

[porina]

I should first go back a step, as I made an assumption that might not be right. Is this a wildlife tour, or a more general one? The comment about the tripod triggered that, since in the safaris you will tend to be in vehicle.

 

Sigma and Tamron do 600mm class lenses for less than the Canon 70-300L, and they generally review good too. Just note that Tamron use a zoom ring direction opposite to Canon, which is something I can't deal with.

[ALwin]

27 minutes ago, Bradders said:

I know the price differences but this second is the top top of my budget and I dont have the cash to buy a second camera

I also plan to get a tripod

If you are not using large heavy lenses, you don't really need a big heavy tripod.  There are nice decent travel tripods made by brands such as Benro, MeFoto, 3 Legged Thing (3LT) that do not cost a lot.

 

Second cameras, I see them as only for pros.  If you are on holiday and you are taking photos for fun, you probably do not need a second body and a second body could mean you are more visible as a target for mugging.

[Bradders]

5 hours ago, ALwin said:

If you are not using large heavy lenses, you don't really need a big heavy tripod.  There are nice decent travel tripods made by brands such as Benro, MeFoto, 3 Legged Thing (3LT) that do not cost a lot.

 

Second cameras, I see them as only for pros.  If you are on holiday and you are taking photos for fun, you probably do not need a second body and a second body could mean you are more visible as a target for mugging.

 

5 hours ago, porina said:

I should first go back a step, as I made an assumption that might not be right. Is this a wildlife tour, or a more general one? The comment about the tripod triggered that, since in the safaris you will tend to be in vehicle.

 

Sigma and Tamron do 600mm class lenses for less than the Canon 70-300L, and they generally review good too. Just note that Tamron use a zoom ring direction opposite to Canon, which is something I can't deal with.

Its a school trip to Kenya, staying on a nature reserve. not sure if its in jeeps or not