Once In A Lifetime

L.Culley

L.Culley

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Leon
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Ok, VERY VERY excited as this is going to provide some FANTASTIC photo opportunitys. But does come with a request for guidance from you lovely lot.

OK, So its my mothers 50th this July 30th and ever since she was a child, she has had a life long dream of visiting the silverback gorillas in the wild. There has been several reasons she never has, She had me for a start and I can assure you I wasnt cheap :) She also broke her back when she was 18 and over the years some of her discs have rotted away so as she gets older it gets more and more unlikely she will get to live that dream, not to mention the cost.
Well, as of last weekend I took out a loan from the bank and bought two tickets spanning 9 day in africa covering Rwanda and Uganda, doing two gorilla treks, 3 days big game safari and so on.
It really will be a once in a lifetime thing.......

She doesnt know any of this yet, I am taking her out for a meal tonight and surprising her with her flight ticket before revealing I am going with her.

So back to the photography.


OK, as this is a once in a lifetime thing I am keen to walk away with some epic photos. Ones I can blow up BIG. the problem is my EOS 40D simply isnt going to cut it. espicially in the low light of the jungle where I need to crank up the ISO without losing picture quality.
I dont have much money and after looking into renting I am really unsure I will be able to afford that cost but I am considering borrowing the money off someone else, buying a second hand camera and decent lens, using them for the trip and then sell them when I get back to hopefully get the same money back for them...

So Basically, what I am looking for is:

1. What EOS camera will best suit my needs?
2. What all rounder Lens would best suit me (Ideally f2.4 ish or better
3. do you know anywhere that is reasonably priced to rent them from for 2 weeks and
4. Do you think its wise to buy and then resell???

The problem with 4 is I have no idea right now where I would get the money for the buy lol

Anyway. Feedback would be appreciated.

Thanks guys

Me
 
I can't offer advice on the Canon gear but just stopped by to say what a wonderful thing to do for your mum, I'm sure that she will be really excited ... I hope that she's up to it physically :)
 
gramps said:
I can't offer advice on the Canon gear but just stopped by to say what a wonderful thing to do for your mum, I'm sure that she will be really excited ... I hope that she's up to it physically :)
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+1
 
SThornton said:
+1
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And another. Good for you mate, hope she loves it.

Ill be keeping a close eye on this as im doing the same sort of thing later this year.
Im currently thinking of taking a 17-50mm 2.8 for the gorillas (i believe you get pretty close) and a 300mm for the safari shots.
An all rounder at about f2.4 is gonna cost a fair bit.
 
Secondhand 5DMK2 if you're on a budget, 24-70 F/2.8L and 70-200 f/2.8, also, look at weather covers, the forest is renowned for being humid and could wreck the internals of your gear. Absolutely fab idea as a present :)
 
Just wanted to say well done Leon, I hope it's a trip of a lifetime for her.
 
PS. Low light and higher ISO's plus nice big prints? Full frame? Or one of the very better smaller chip camers?

I used my 5Dc for some night fishing shots in Kazakhstan and I'm very happy with the results shot at ISO 3200 and f1.4.

The only thing with the 5Dc though is that it's a dust magnet and you wouldn't want to be swapping lenses too often unless you can check and clean the sensor.
 
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Sounds like you are going to have a fantastic time with your mum.

My first questions would be what are the rules re photographing the gorillas close up, and how close are you likely to get?? And what do you mean by "blow up BIG".

Are you going to be watching form a discrete distance through the undergrowth or having the full on David Attenborough grooming experience??

My other thought was that it's likely to be very wet, and perhaps a decent sized sensor in something like a Canon G12 in a waterproof housing/bag might be the way to go. This would also do video :D

David
 
I bet mum's well chuffed, most excellent for you both
 
I hope it's a fantastic trip for both of you.I know only 2 people who have seen gorillas at close quarters and it was one of the most moving experience of their lives.All credit to you for planning it and look forward to,seeing your photos and hearing about your trip .
 
What lenses do you have currently? A Canon 100-400 might be an option, and a 7D would give you the extra reach. :)
 
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Thanks for all your comments guys. I told her last night when all the fam were having a meal. She cried :) you know, the good kind of crying!

Willid1 said:
Sounds like you are going to have a fantastic time with your mum.

My first questions would be what are the rules re photographing the gorillas close up, and how close are you likely to get?? And what do you mean by "blow up BIG".

Are you going to be watching form a discrete distance through the undergrowth or having the full on David Attenborough grooming experience??

My other thought was that it's likely to be very wet, and perhaps a decent sized sensor in something like a Canon G12 in a waterproof housing/bag might be the way to go. This would also do video :D

David
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Well The general rule is you stay 7 meters away from them but obviously the gorillas dont know that and apparently they often come to investigate the goings on.
Lighting wise, well the trip in uganda is going to be very low light as it is in the jungle whereas the one in rwanda will be better light as its more open.
I dont want to be in a position where I am having to change lenses for obvious reasons.
As for blowing up BIG, well, realistically it will prob end up as a 20x30 canvas, but i want the picture quality to be sharp at that size.....

John Mc said:
What lenses do you have currently? A Canon 100-400 might be an option, and a 7D would give you the extra reach. :)
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the best lens I currently have is the f4 70-200 L but f4 isnt going to be enough for the low light in uganda and 70mm might not be enough for when they come closer.....
We also cant use any flash photography which buts even more importance on a decent low light lens....
 
I agree f4 wont be enough for low light stuff. The alternative could be hire a lens? Save you alot of money. Other than that, use the forum search tool. I remember seeing some photos from people who had went to Uganda to take photos of the gorillas. You could see what lenses they used.
 
Hope you have a great time, I've always wanted to do this, that and the Panda sanctuary in Chengdu.
 
Fantastic thing you are doing!

Can fully recommend lensesforhire. Great service and very knowlegable staff.


Heather
 
John Mc said:
What lenses do you have currently? A Canon 100-400 might be an option, and a 7D would give you the extra reach. :)
Click to expand...

This is what I was thinking. Using a crop sensor might keep the lens cost down.

Good luck. Awesome thing to do.
 
I was thinking the 100-400 and for the safari that would be FANTASTIC, but I think I will need something more versitile as it wont allow me to get the gorillas if they are close to me... :-/
 
Sigma 50-500? And maybe a 17-50 2.8 (tamron or sigma will help keep cost down)Probably the only lens you'd need.

Oh, budget for a decent monopod too. That's probably going to be the most used accessorie.
 
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Don't obsess to much over the photography focus on enjoying the trip and treat the photography as a bonus. Sod's law says that on a safari the best photo ops will be when you have the wrong lens on or the light is terrible!

It sounds to me like you need a 24-70mm f2.8, a 70-200mm f2.8 and the 100-400mm which is an expensive and heavy bag full! Rental and non-canon lenses will save you lots
 
OK peeps, im thinking:
Body: Canon EOS 5d Mk ii
Lens 1: Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L II USM
Lens 2: Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM

Lens 1 should be good for the low light gorilla trek's and Lens 2 should cover the safari's....

D
 
Dont suppose anyone just wants to give me theirs do they? like you have a second one laying around and dont need it or the money you could sell it for?? lol
 
although if I go for the 5d mk ii I wont be able to use my canon 10-22mm.... agghhh what to do lol
 
Put wanted adds up and sell your gear. Take this time to upgrade and stay upgraded :)
 
Try and upgrade your gear, a 24-70 2.8L is an amazing lens that should never really need to be upgraded, even the Mk1 version. Full Frame will be vital too, for the lower light and for enlarging
 
Buy a 5DMK2, sell the canon 10-20 for around £400 and buy the 17-40 for the same price, they go between £360 and £420 :)
24-70 F/2.8 & 70-200 F/2.8 + Ex extender 1.4.
Plenty of silica gel packets for the bag as you're going to be in a very humid jungle, I would also consider a full camera water proof cover. If you want some training, go to the Eden project for the day with your kit and cry at the water ingress from the humidity :) The safari will luckily be drier but at least with a 1.4 extender and 200 you should be fine, the animals won't run away, they're quite used to seeing the Toyota landcruisers driving about ;)
 
I'm not a Canon expert so not sure how much the Mk 2 offers over the Mk 1 5D but I am of the opinion that FF is probably the way to go! 24-70 f/2.8 would be my fl of choice for the Gorillas and I reckon (from reading loads of safari "what lens" type threads) that a 70-300 should be long enough for the safari shots. Even if you had all the gear, the experts' shots will always leave yours looking slightly sad - they'll be spending days trying to get the killer shot and you've got 3 days...

IMO, canvases are very forgiving as far as resolution goes - you'll probably get away with far fewer pixels on a canvas than you would on a flat paper print. As an experiment, why not get one of your favourite 40D shots at high ISO - could save you loads (although it does sound like a good excuse to upgrade!!!)

Finally, good on you for making your Mum's dream come true for her 50th. Shame my kids won't be doing the same for me. Hang on, I don't have any kids! Tell her that 50's only a number and that she's still "not out".

Hope you have the trip of your lives and that everything comes out to play for you.
 
I'd imagine a 1D MkIII would be better than a 5Dc.

I'd concentrate on the Gorilla part, as you'll want to capture your Mum with them etc, if you can do the safari bit then that's great too. A 70-300 on your 40D might work well, as it will be effectively a ~110-460
 
try and find copy of Gorillas: Living on the edge by Andy Rouse. Not only will it give you a good idea of what to expect in Rwanda, he also goes into a lot of detail about the pictures in the book and the cameras and lenses he's using.

And i have to say it sounds like an amazing experience :thumbs:.
 
Spudgun said:
try and find copy of Gorillas: Living on the edge by Andy Rouse. Not only will it give you a good idea of what to expect in Rwanda, he also goes into a lot of detail about the pictures in the book and the cameras and lenses he's using.

And i have to say it sounds like an amazing experience :thumbs:.
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I will definitely look into this.
Thanks for all your comments guys, I am really looking forward to this. Mum cried her eyes out when I told her :)
 
lmgculley said:
OK peeps, im thinking:
Body: Canon EOS 5d Mk ii
Lens 1: Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L II USM
Lens 2: Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM

Lens 1 should be good for the low light gorilla trek's and Lens 2 should cover the safari's....

D
Click to expand...

I had a look through my local library's copy of Andy Rouse's book and he was taking the photos in the book with a Nikon D3, D3x or D3s and a 24-70mm f/2.8 or a 70-200mm f/2.8 (sometimes with a 1.4x TC). I don't think you need any more range as the heavy cover in the forest means if you're not close to the gorillas you won't see them at all. You might struggle with the light levels though with the 100-400mm.
 
I took a trip to the Gorillas in Rwanda in 2011, coupled with Safari in the Masai Mara and Nakuru and some adventure stuff in Uganda.

I took the following:

50D - Mostly wearing a 100-400L
5D - Mostly wearing a 24-104 F4L

In addition I had a nifty 50 and aside from dull things like filters and hard drive that was about it.

100-400 supplies ample reach for safari and is suitable for when animals come in close

As for Max Aperture - both lenses were fine - probably had the most trouble around dawn in the Mara, when we came across some lions enjoying a bit of zebra. However the sun comes up quickly and it's possible to shoot quite comfortably in less time that you would expect.

On to Gorillas. Firstly it's quite possible to meet gorillas in an open clearing - due to the terrain the forest is a lot more "open" than you would think. Secondly it is not that dark under the canopy - I was using ISO ranges from 200-1000 while under cover (with the odd visit higher) - results were fine - obviously I would have preferred to be f/2.8, but both lenses worked fine.

Light in the forest is certainly more challenging than lacking - you will often have pools of bright sunlight - which can throw exposure a fair bit, so you will need to pay attention to metering and compensation. Watch the white balance too as AWB gets confused by the folliage!

On Gorilla meetings you are supposed to keep a 7-10 metre distance between yourself and the Gorillas - however no one has told the Gorrilas this and you will find yourself very close at times. This meant both lenses were in play and I did question whether something in the 70-200 range would have provided an interesting choice (a 2.8 with a TC would also make are reasonable safari tool).

The biggest limiting factor for gear is the terrain. Gorilla treks can be anything from 1/2 hour to 3 hours to get to the gorillas -over what can be described as moderate to extremely challenging terrain. If you are taking a camera bag it is well worth hiring a porter (cost about 10USD + discretionary tip) - it saves your back and helps the local economy. Even then you will have to leave your bag around 100 metres away from your initial meeting point, meaning you will have to carry you gear "exposed" for the last bit - often this the toughest element of the whole trek. Don't stress this too much though the rangers have many paths on the mountain - so it's extremely unlikely you'll find yourself hacking through virgin jungle!

Other than photographic gear consider a long sleeved shirt and sturdy boots. Not only are there stinging plants some of the insects pack a nasty bite. Sealing the bottom of your trousers is also a good idea as it is possible ants to crawl up and cause all manner of problems in the "gentleman's saloon"

Hope this helps - bit of random brain dump at work, if I think of anything else I'll add it with an edit.

Oh and well done! I'll be showing this thread to my kids later......

Edit: Gardening Gloves! These are great protection for the hands as often you will need to grab onto something that will be covered in spikes, biting insects or both.

Edit Again:
I forgot to add a gear summary point - I think the rule is to take the best equipment your budget will allow, but not to stress over perceived shortcomings. Keep your eyes open and your gear ready and you will be rewarded - funnily enough you may find that your favourite shots from the trip are widely different from what you expected.
 
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What a fantastic thing you are doing for your mom. However the second half of the post turned bad. Although this is a once in a life time opportunity for both of you, you seems to be placing photography on top of helping your mom to realise her dream.

Have you considered a mirrorless setup or a bridge camera? there will be a lot more stuff to carry than your camera gear. Keep the weight down and enjoy your time with your mom. :)
 
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