Going to Tanzania, need a new lens recommendation.

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Featherlake

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I have always been an Olympus fan (sorry C & N users).

I currently have a E-410 with a 17.5-45mm and a 40-150mm lens, because of the 2x focal length these factors are obviously doubled.

I am currently considering purchasing a E-510 body and 2 more lenses to add to my kit.

I am going to Tanzania in June for 3 weeks to hopefully photograph the wildebeest migration amongst other things. Ideally I would like 2 cameras to hand:

I would like to use the E-410 for general landscape type photographs and use the E-510 with it's image stabilisation for the zoom photos.

I need advice on which zoom lens to buy, or should I got for telephoto? I would like a focal of approximately 600mm. I would also like to get myself a decent wide angle lens for the E-410.

Sadly I don't have a limitless budget, I have about £ 1,200 to spend on the 2 lenses I need.

Any suggestions greatly appreciated!
 
600mm is unlikely to be necessary. I went to Tanzania a couple of years ago with a Canon 350D and a 200mm prime (see here). I went to Namibia last year with a 300mm prime. Except occasionally for bird shots, I didn't feel I was under-equipped on either trip. I suspect that, with your budget, getting a 600mm will mean a compromise in quality. I'd spend the money getting a better, shorter lens.

My experience of Tanzania is that the animals don't run away from humans and you can get close enough for a decent shot on most occasions.
 
Thanks for the replies, if I have to spend a bit more I will :).

Anyway in answer to Chewys question; me and a friend are going to fly to Mwanza, then hire a 4x4 and self drive to the Serengeti & Ngorongoro crater looking for the widebeest and other things to photograph :).
 
Featherlake said:
... Serengeti & Ngorongoro ....
Click to expand...

You'll have a blast :clap:

For wildebeest, go north in the Serengeti, up to the Kenya border.

In Ngorongoro, just drive around - you should get lions and cheetahs there (as well as elsewhere).

Be warned, park fees are expensive - US$50 pp per day and US$100 in Ngorongoro.

Feel free to pm me if you want any other info
 
I'll second the poster who says that for the most part the animals stay fairly close in Tanzania. I used a crappy 75-300mm Canon on a film camera and it was long enough for most of my shots. Yeah you'll probably miss a few photos that you could have got with a longer one but you'll have plenty of opportunities for some decent close ups! I still have a couple of hundred really nice printed shots that I look back on very fondly! I would go with quality over length. One thing I found was that alot of shots come out a bit flat and washed out because of the harsh light. I'm pretty clueless, but maybe a better quality lens would reduce this problem.? :shrug:
 
Well I have just returned from my trip which was awesome, I stuck with the 300mm lens which was OK but I could have done with a 600 on a few occasions. There was one particular occasion where there were some lion cubs playing but the 300 wasn't quite up to the job.

Here are a few of my favs:

P6114431.jpg


P6032575.jpg


P6042885.jpg


P6104061.jpg


P6093824.jpg


P6063111.jpg
 
crikey those are good
there are just too many different animals in the last one!!!

favourites - oh that's easy 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & 5 :clap:
 
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