Lens Choices for Africa Trip

[zigzag]

Wasn't sure what forums (trips, animals) to post this in, but settled on lenses since my question is mainly lens oriented.

My wife and I are considering a trip to Africa in May. Aside from figuring out what trip to go on and what shots to get, a big concern of mine is what lenses to bring. I have available the following for my D300:

12-24 f/4
(AFS) 30mm f/1.4
AFS 60mm f/2.8 micro
85mm f/1.8
18-135 f/4.5-5.6
80-400 f/4.5-5.6 VR

I could probably borrow a 70-200 VR or a 18-200 VR from a friend, though I am a bit reluctant to go this route.

Without question I think I'm planning to bring the 30mm and the 80-400 VR, as the first is my most used lens and the second is the only thing I have with enough reach for a safari.

Any advice for what else to bring? Is there a lens I need to rent to maximize the experience? I was really wondering whether a prime telephoto would be better than the 80-400 for this.

Thanks for any advice.

 

[Mr. Graceful]

I think if you pack everything you have, you're very well equipped and there is no need to buy new gear. Your most used lenses will be the 12-24 and 80-400, but it will be nice to have the others to supplement.

 

[Average Joe]

I think if you pack everything you have, you're very well equipped and there is no need to buy new gear. Your most used lenses will be the 12-24 and 80-400, but it will be nice to have the others to supplement.

+1

i'll just add 50mm just in case !

 

[MMRadman]

So you are going to Africa, period. Where to would be helpful, is it Egypt to see pyramids or East Africa for animal safari

I assume you are DX shooter (30mm f1.4), i think you already have good set of lenses to choose from i wouldn't bother with 70-200 your 80-400 does that except f2.8.

How light/heavy you wish to travel; if you prefer light grab 80-400 and wide zoom and you are all set.

With far flung places and modern DSLR i would consider backup body - if nothing else stuff gets damaged or sensor gets dirty and such journeys are not every day.

 

[zigzag]

Good point and sorry about the omission - it will likely be to Eastern or Southern africa for a safari-type vacation. I wasn't keen on bringing my whole kit as my camera bag isn't big enough and I'm weight conscious, but I will if I need to. My original plan was probably to leave the 12-24, the 60 and 85 at home.

 

[MMRadman]

Good point and sorry about the omission - it will likely be to Eastern or Southern africa for a safari-type vacation. I wasn't keen on bringing my whole kit as my camera bag isn't big enough and I'm weight conscious, but I will if I need to. My original plan was probably to leave the 12-24, the 60 and 85 at home.

Extra wide is must in Africa, been there and there is more to be photographed with wide than with tele.

If you look for inspiration - combining tele/wide feel free to visit https://www.nikoncafe.com/vforums/showthread.php?t=218130

 

[general]

Disagree

When I went to Kenya a couple of years ago, over 80% of my exposures were with the 300 f/4 and 80-400 plus tele-extenders. The Kenko 300 Pro 1.4 is great on the 80-400 and the Nikon 1.4 is great on the 300 f/4. I took very few photos with a wide angle lens perhaps because my interest were the animals but I don't think the Serengetti is that interesting from a wide angle perspective except for a few "I was there" shots.

 

[Wileec]

Think about the kinds of shots you enjoy taking - then make sure you have the lenses with you to take those kinds of shots. It is your trip to Africa, so take what you need. The only concern I would have would be that your longer lenses are also pretty slow, which means that in the early morning or evening - the best time to capture animals, you may struggle a bit. I'd go to a local park and see how they do as the light is disappearing with dogs, ducks, etc. to get an idea on whether you're going to be running into a problem.

Many recommend the 200-400mm f/4 as the ideal lens for a trip to Africa for capturing animals. Not sure what it might cost to rent one, or if that's even an option you would want to consider, but that's the lens most often recommended in the research I've done.

 

[zigzag]

Many recommend the 200-400mm f/4 as the ideal lens for a trip to Africa for capturing animals. Not sure what it might cost to rent one, or if that's even an option you would want to consider, but that's the lens most often recommended in the research I've done.

Rental for that beast is around $500 for 2 weeks. For that money I was thinking about just buying a 300 f/4, or rental of the 300 is only about $140.

Extra wide is must in Africa, been there and there is more to be photographed with wide than with tele.

My Tokina 12-24 is a tank, in both good and bad ways, the bad being that it's heavy. I think if I bring this I'll ditch the 18-135 as it basically trades versatility and light weight for mediocrity anyhow.

i'll just add 50mm just in case !

My 30 is your 50 :wink:

Thanks all for the advice.

 

[Wileec]

Another option, if you don't want to keep the lens, would be to get a used AF-S 300mm f/4, then sell it after the trip. That would cost you the least, long term, but give you a bit of reach and a bit of speed compared to the 80-400. Once the sun is out, as long as your long lens technique is good, you can get decent shots from the 80-400, as a number of people here have shown.