Cheweyhead

Which camera would you take on the hikes in Rwanda? 5D or 20D?

For Masai Mara and Serengeti I'll bring both in the vehicle.

Thanks for you advice.

Chris_GA_Atl

I would think the 5D would be the better choice because of the following:

(1) Spot metering -- very important because gorillas are much darker than surrounding vegetation.
(2) Full frame, higher-resolution sensor.
(3) Much larger continuous shooting buffer.

To me the only advantage the 20D would have is the 5fps burst mode, but I think the other factors for the 5D outweigh it. The "advantage" of the 1.6x crop sensor is not truly an "advantage," I don't think, and in any event is offset by the 5D's higher resolution, so you can just digitally crop the images later in post-processing anyway.

I do not own either camera, just looking at the features, it seems the 5D would be the better choice for this application.

Chris
www.pbase.com/cwillis

afrigalah

Agree with Chris 100%. The 5D is the better camera. If going to the gorillas, Yvonne would use the 5D even in preference to the 1D Mark 2, largely for reason 2).

John

tuckeg

I agree the 5D is a better choice but would add that one other slight advantage for the 20D would be weight while hiking.

Cheweyhead

When you get to the point where you have to leave your gear with the porters, do you use anysort of strap or harness to hold your camera, and at this point your lens of choice,and maybe a videocam (case could go on a belt i guess) close to your body as you climb?

Mohammed

Hi

I beg to differ, personaly feel the 20D will be a much better camera for you Gorilla hike for 2 major reasons.

1. 20D is a 1.6 crop sensor so you will effectively have a 1.6x zoom advantage. So if you use a 400mm lens then this is equal to a 640mm on the 20D. When ou want to take those nice facial close ups etc you will love this advantage.

If you take a 5D you will need to carry a humungous 500mm or 600mm lens to match this zoom power! Ouch - my back is already cramping up at the thought!

2. The shooting speed - 20D gives a high speed of 5fps as opposed to the 5D's 3fps - a whole world apart. This is very important for all wildlife. In fact so important that Canon have now developed the 1D MkIII with a staggering 10fps! When shooting wildlife, getting the right shot, with the exact moment when the subjects eye contact is just right often boils down to shooting off several frames and picking the best one. Many shots you will find and eyelid half closed, etc.

On the subject of spot metering - I do agree this is also useful, and infact the 20D's successor the 30D has spot metering. However you should do fine with the 20D's Evaluative and center weighted modes. Try to shoot RAW - then you will have lots of leverage when post processing, especially getting that black fur detail to show up clearly.

One more word of advice - do take a good flash like a 580EX - it will work magic to give fill light and catchlight in the eyes of your subjects. Brings the subject alive!

Do take a look at my Africa pics of Samburu, Mara, Nakuru at http://www.abidally.com/mp/AfricaGallery

Regards
Mohammed
(Sri Lanka)

pixelpower

This is an easy one: I'd go with the 5D. 100%.

Very simple reasons;

1) Higher dynamic range. I just did a wedding with my 20D and my buddy had a 5D. I had a hard time exposing correctly (read; not get anything blown out or underexposed). He did not.

2) Better light metering.

TIP: Spot-metering or not; that's not really important. IMHO you may want to try center weighed average or evaluative too. I guess the latter should come out best. Spot metering will result in underexposure in this case, I think.

3) Much more silent shutter!!!

4) True wide angle. Expect to get close to the animals! A wide abgle zoom will probably be enough. If not, you'll need 200mm maximum. You will NOT need real tele-lenses, nor the cropfactor of a 20D to get a pic!

(besides, if the animal would be that far away, you can forget about a pic as there will nough be enough light to get a sharp pic at that distance. Even if you crank it to ISO 1600.

fbirder

Another vote for the 5D - because it has less noise at high ISO. When on Safari the 20D/5D combination looks great - with a tele on the 20D and WA on the 5D.

Re. the suggestion of a flash - surely they're not allowed when filming the gorillas?

Chris_GA_Atl

Flash is most certainly NOT allowed when viewing mountain gorillas.

Chris

pixelpower

It's a big NONO for any kind of wildlife. You will scare it away. That's not good for the animal, nor for the other people who are still watching/photographing the animal.

Use flash only on people.

And if you do, bounce off the ceiling (aim up) if possible, but extend the white reflection screen behind the flash (the 580EX has that, dunno 'bout others). This will bounce a bit of light straight at your subjects, causing their eyes to twinkle.

steeliejim

Agree on the 5d, but a couple of quibbles. Yes, spot metering is invaluable, and that is my default, but in-camera metering systems are calibrated for 18% gray card, and so when shooting subjects darker than that, camera tries to lighten them up. When subjects are white, camera will darken a bit. That's why shooting in snow often produces muddy, rather than white pix, and blacks sometimes look washed out.

5d will average several spot readings like my EOS 3's and T-90, so I often take multiple readings, emphasizing subject, but adjusting a bit for surroundings. My way of doing exposure compensation. Also, with higher res of 5d, you can get good quality crops for pix not quite close enough for tele you are using.

As for flash, NO, flash not allowed on gorillas, but I asked my guides when on night drives and was told no problem for predators. Not a good idea for prey though. And, I can assure you that the leopards, lions, and servals never flinched or changed behavior whatsoever. All the difference in the world. Here's one of a serval.

http://picasaweb.google.com/steeliej...73630450712594.

It was quite a ways away when we first saw it. I asked, and was granted permission to shoot with flash (580ex), and started shooting. He/she casually sauntered right up to the LC and sat down.

http://picasaweb.google.com/steeliej...82620071542802.

This pride of lions cared not one bit about my picture-taking, and this is WYSIWYG (no crop).

BTW, I am still shooting with film (soon to change with Canon's latest offering the MkIII), so I'm still "full frame" and quite happy with my 300 mm f/4.0L IS with the 1.4 telex (420mm equiv). I should think your 5d with a 70-200mm would be great, but I would also carry a short zoom like the 24-105mm, and get real proficient at changing lenses on the fly, cuz I've read so many accounts of VERY close encounters w/gorillas where a 70-200 mm might be too much lens. The beauty of a very short focal length lens under the right circumstances is that it's so forgiving on focus.

Last point. On frames/sec. Perhaps birds in flight are a good place to have very fast rates, but I have found over the years that I prefer single shot rather than full auto for most situations. Maybe just me, but I like to have the control over when the pic is taken, and strive for waiting for the right moment rather than just pushing the button and hoping. Of course, part of my motivation is that I've been limited to 36 shots.

Jim

Jim

afrigalah

You make very good points, Jim...

Flash is OK with much wildlife. I agree with the prohibition for gorillas and judicious use on other animals, but I use daytime fill on wildlife a lot...and predators are never bothered by full flash at night if they're not blasted incessantly with it.

I discovered this one among my old slides the other day...not one of my best, but taken on my first night drive:
http://www.afrigalah.com/selimg/Lionbynight.jpg

John

pixelpower

It's not just you Jim. I shoot single shot too. That large buffer + continuous shooting comes in handy too, but only if there's action (ic the charge of a leopard, or an eagle soaring overhead.

When shooting gorillas, I'd much rqather make sure about my framing, metering, exposure, and compo. And try different things.

One last tip for everyone here; use RAW!!!