Johan:

Having read your trip reports and looked at you pictures I would like to request your advice. I am buying the Canon EOS 1Ds Mark II camera and wanted to know your recommendations for lens. The intention is for wildlife photography primarily in East Afica - Kenya (Mara, etc.) Uganda (Bwindi - Gorillas).

Thank you for taking the time to help me out. I like the 100 - 400 EF zoom and (except for the price) the 600mm. What do you think would provide me the greatest flexibility if I can get three different lens.

Charles,

I don't know how serious you are in your photography but if you are not going on a regular basis I wouldn't consider the Canon EF 600mm F/4.0 L USM IS lens. On safaris I would primarily use such a lens for photographing tiny birds and for capturing natural behaviour of other animals (if you come to close they don't act like they normally do and are just looking at you - f.e. zebra stallions which are fighting).

In Kenya, you can get very close to the mammals so the lens you suggested should be fine in most of the cases. The only thing is when it comes to action, this lens may be a bit slow. But I wouldn't consider to buy an expensive lens (f.e. 400mm F2,8) if I am not going extensively on safari. I like my new 200mm-400mm F4 lens but according to what I know Canon doesn't have such a lens in their portfolio.

I haven't been to Uganda so I don't know how close you can get to the Gorillas but from what I heard it can be very close. Light conditions are mostly difficult there I would presume but it's better to ask someone who has been there or have a look at pictures (and see on which settings they made them).

Also buy a wide-angle lens like the Canon EF 16-35mm F/2.8 L USM to capture the landscapes.

And if you can afford take always two cameras with you (you don't want to change lenses all the time and it's better safe than sorry in case something happens with your camera).

And one last advice, practice a lot before going on safari and read your manual extensively. You don't want to find out how the camera works when the action presents itself.

Greetings,

Johan

Johan:

Thank you for your quick and informative response. You mentioned a concern for the speed of the 100 - 400 lens. I am talking about the Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L EF IS just to be sure we are talking about the same lens. Missing shots because of focus time would not be good yet consumer comments I have read about this lens did not mention slow as a concern. A little soft at 5.6 fully extended but not slow.

Thank you for the suggestion of the 16 - 35. The Canon 16-35mm f2.8L EF is what I am thinking about in that type of lens.

I have been to East Africa four times and each time with a new and better camera. There is so much diversity between Uganda and Kenya so I am trying to get lens which cover both.

If you have any comments or thoughts about changing cameras it would also be appreciated. The 1Ds Mark II is my choice based upon what I have read. In your experience is there something you feel would be better?

Thank you for always posting your trip information and pictures. I am sure I speak for everyone including those of us who don't comment a lot - they are great.

Charles

Hello,

Since you're going Canon (and Johan shoots Nikon) I thought I'd put in my 0.02 pence...

You may want to take a look at this thread, which has a lot of Canon-orientated postings including some posts about lenses for gorilla trekking:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34807800

A lens with a low f-number (e.g. f/2.8) is 'faster' because it captures light better and thus the shutter doesn't need to stay open as long (the longer the shutter is open, the harder it is to prevent camera shake or subject movement and photos are subsequently more likely to end up blurred).

This is the sort of lens you will want for gorilla trekking as it's quite dark in the forest. I haven't done gorilla trekking specifically, but I have done wildlife photography in dark forested areas in the UK and a fast lens (ideally with IS) is essential. Of the Canon lenses, the one which jumps out is the 17-55 f/2.8 IS. I havne't used this lens myself but it has gotten pretty good reviews thus far.

I detailed my Canon kit on the other thread, but I'll do a quick summary here:

For a general WA safari (and other travel) zoom, I use the 24-105 f/4 IS. Nice range, and extremely sharp.

I use the 70-200mm f/2.8 (with 1.4x TC during the day and alone in the evening) as my main safari zoom. I do a lot of low-light shooting when I'm on safari, and with a crop camera (20D) I still have plenty of reach even without the TC and I'm willing to sacrifice some reach for a faster lens.

The 1Ds is another story, as it's full-frame and thus you will probably want a longer lens -- a lot of people like the 100-400 IS you were talking about, also known as the Safari Lens.

If you plan on focusing on wildlife photography, I'd actually recommend that you go with the 20D or 30D rather than the 1Ds II -- the crop factor will gain you quite a bit of reach which is very useful for
wildlife photography.

Cheers,
Julian

Charles,

Thanks for the appreciation of my work.

I was talking about the same lens but Julian explained what I meant by "slow".

To my opinion Julian gave you also some very interesting thoughts.

I also use extensively the 70mm-200mm F2,8 but when it comes to taking pictures of birds I need far more reach (even a TC 1,4 doesn't satisfy my needs most of the times).

Greetings,

Johan

Thanks to both Johan_Belgium and Julian for your help.

Unless someone can tell me why not to I am going to purchase the Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM and the Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM now and depending upon how they work out get the Canon EF 500mm f/4.0L IS USM. Only thing I need now is to win a lottery ticket.

Having reviewed the Nikon D2Xs I am sticking with the Canon EOS 1Ds Mark II which is why the lottery ticket would be great.

I think these two (or three) lens should leave me in a good situation for either Kenya (Mara, etc) and Uganda (Bwindi - gorilla/chimp) photography.

Now talk me out of it with a replacement option please.

Charles

Charles, I think you've made some wise camera and lens choices. I have the 20D, the 10D as backup, the 70-200 f/2.8L IS, the 300 f/2.8L IS and I just bought the 500 f/4.0L IS. I was going to upgrade the 20D and ran across a used 500 from a reliable source so I bought it instead. I haven't had time to practice much (just got it Thursday) and I leave for MalaMala in a couple of days. So I say, just go for it and get what you want now. There is a big market for used Canon cameras and lenses and you can get your money back easily if you decide on something else.

Sundowner, we've talked "kit" before and boy the latest upgrade is a beauty, with that 1.6 crop factor you'll be able to zoom in on a dust spec on a mosquitos eyelash!

Have another smashing trip - really looking forward to your next foto journal: the last was great!

Matt

Sundowner, you must be quite a strong specimen. Those L lenses are great but they are each very heavy (not to mention expensive) to the point of dissuading me from buying even one because I think I might be lazy about carrying all that weight. On the other hand, do you think the IS on non-L lenses will be sufficient for wildlife, especially if you can crop and enlarge afterwards?