Gear change

[Bigvin]

OK guys, here's the start of a load of rambling.

I've just came back from a weeks safari in Kenya and am now thinking about a change of gear.
I currently have a Nikon D800, Sigma 120-300 2.8 OS with 1.4x and 2x teleconverters.
The main issue I had was the weight, the Sigma is a bit of a beast to carry and when you're restricted to 15kgs on your baggage things get a bit tricky.
The 2.8 did come in handy on a number of occasions due to shooting in the early morning and late evening but I was wondering if any of the new bodies had a better ISO performance than the D800 which could compensate.
The idea of me getting the D800 originally was to have the ability to crop massively due to not being able to afford the longer lenses, this worked ok til now, but the file sizes also created an issue with the amount of cards needed to last a week or more.

I was thinking possibly a D500 combined with a Nikon 80-400 or Nikon 200-500. Would this give an improvement to my current setup?

I plan on a few more trips to Africa as well as some other wildlife holidays in Canada and such so was wondering where I go from here?

Cheers for looking in.

 

[Nod]

You could always give the Fuji system a try. The X-T1 and their 100-400 combined with the 1.4x teleconverter gives an effective focal length (35mm) of 840mm and with the 2x, 1,200mm. IQ at full reach with the 1.4x is pretty damn good and I'm hoping that in the real world the 2x performs as well. Of course, the 2x reduces the lens to f/11 at full stretch but the X=T1 still manages to AF it.

 

[Bigvin]

I had a go with one of the X-T1's while on safari.
I wasn't too impressed with the focusing system and the lad who had it has asked for my email so i can send him some of the shots I took.
Overall he wasn't that impressed with his either, although he did admit wildlife wasn't what he'd bought the camera for.

 

[Gremlin]

You might get more help if you posted this in Talk Equipment, or asked a mod to move it

 

[boyfalldown]

I was wondering if any of the new bodies had a better ISO performance than the D800 which could compensate.

A little. Not a big jump though and there isn't really a difference between the d800 and d810

 

[footman]

@Bigvin , you've just described 100% my reason from changing from Canon to Olympus m4/3. It's quite literally been a weight lifted off my shoulders. There are of course some limitations and things that don't quite carry over, BIF being one of them, but this should be rectified in a new Olympus m4/3 body due out shortly.
On balance I'm very pleased I made this particular switch, my back and shoulders are also very pleased!