tinah2210

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tinah2210

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Tina
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Hi
I am new to photography and know absolutely nothing. But i am going on safari later this year i need some advice on lenses. I have a canon 350d so can anyone suggest any lenses to capture wildlife. Thanks
 
Welcome. What lens do you have at the moment? I would have thought a long zoom is the way as your subjects might not be very close too you - something that would go to at least 200mm
 
I have the kit lenses that came with the camera but they are not suitable for my trip. I have read on the safari sites they suggest something from 300mm to 400mm but as i am a complete novice im worried that this might be to much for me. Also i can not afford to spend thousands on a lens so any suggestions will be appreciated.
 
Where are you going? (private game reserve ? or the Massai Mara)
What animals are you looking to shoot?
What is your budget?
Have you considered renting?
 
Hi im going to the Masai Mara, will hopefully be shooting lions,wildebeasts,hippos, cheatahs etc. My budget is approx £500ish. I have thought about renting but not sure where to go for this as i have never rented before.
 
tinah2210 said:
Hi im going to the Masai Mara, will hopefully be shooting lions,wildebeasts,hippos, cheatahs etc. My budget is approx £500ish. I have thought about renting but not sure where to go for this as i have never rented before.
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a 70-200 will be short for what you are looking for.. (and above your budget)

The new tamron 70-300 is supposed to be decent as is the canon Canon 70-300 IS USM (note not the 75-300) both of these would fit in your budget.

The 100-400 is lovely for wildlife but outside your budget

lensesforhire might help you get something decent

Enjoy the trip....
 
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I would have suggested the Canon 100-400 - it's what I'd take to the Mara, any day of the week - but it looks like I've been beaten to it.
 
For your budget you have 3 choices -
1. Buy a sigma lens, either the 150-500mm or 50-150mm
2. Rent a lens, lots of places but the popular one here is lensesforhire.co.uk
3. Buy a used canon 100-400mm and sell it after your trip for very little loss, providing you do not intend to use it in the future.

Eithr way, I'd reccomend a trip to the zoo before you go with your lens to get acclimatised to it. Personally, I'd be tempted to hire one soon as they do take a bit of getting used to, but after a day at the zoo you should know if you're happy to lug one around on holiday
 
Thanks for all your comments i am going to hire a lens and go to the zoo but after reading some of the other threads im also thinking of upgrading my camera now as well. So thanks again everyone.
 
I am going to kenya this friday for honeymoon/safari and had the same dilema. I am only taking a nikon 70-300 as my longest lens and am hoping this will do the job. Ask me again in a couple of weeks! Would have loved a sigma 150-500 but cant stretch to a new one and not a member here long enough to access the classifieds:(
I'm also taking the 18-55 kit and a sigma 10-20.

Phil.
 
Hi Phil

Firstly congratulations on your marriage. What a fantastic place to go for your honeymoon. Hope you and your new wife have a great time. When do you get back as i will send you a message to find out how you got on and see if you have any tips for me. We are not going until October so i have got plenty of time to try things out.

Tina
 
Hi Tina, w are back on Sunday 12th Feb.

Check out the link below to a previous discussion there was on cameras for safari, particularly the comments by Stokes, very useful.

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=378203&highlight=safari

He pointed me towards his flickr stream(link below) where every photo was taken with a 300mm lens.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/stokes_tog/sets/72157626752255762/

I would have loved a longer lens but this has given me hope that i will get some decent photos with what i have. If not i will have to get a longer lens and go back to kenya again;)
 
We've done Governors Camp in Masai Mara and Tsavo East and West and you'll be surprised (really surprised!) at how close you get to the wildlife: less than 5M from a pride of seven lions, 10M from three cheetahs, 10M from a herd of zebra crossing the river and being pulled down by crocodiles. On that basis, don't worry about getting an over-long lens. It's more important that your kit allows you to get the image quickly and I would say that IS is more important than zoom.

Enjoy the experience (you will!) and get plenty of sleep before you go! The first few nights you spend a lot of time listening to the animals and expecting they'll go silent and to sleep any time soon. They don't. It's an all-night-rave.
 
Welcome Tina, for your trip I would recommend either the Sigma 150-500 OS or the Canon 100-400 L. They both give excellent IQ and both have excellent range as well. I have got both and TBH I think the Canon just nicks it is the overall in the best of both lenses. Although it obviously depends on your budget but if you have a good look about you can get a new Sigma delivered for between £600-650 if you're open to grey imports where the Canon usually goes for between £800-900 second hand for a good one.
 
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