During the past few months I've noticed that quite a few fm photographers have been on photo-safaris in Africa and India. I am seeking advice from people who have had to work out of a vehicle while on Safari. I am not comfortable shooting from vehicles... it's always me and my tripod, but I have been told that leaving the vehicle is basically... prohibited.

So here is my issue: What type of bag is suitable for truck based safari photography?
Tamy and I will be in Tanzania for two weeks w/ @ least two game drives per day. We will be in open roof land-Rovers or Cruisers and there will be 4 photographers per vehicle. We plan to bring the following gear:

Bruce: 1DmkII, 5D, 300 f2.8IS, 70-200 f4L, 17-40 f4L, 1.4x, 2x, 430EX, Better Beamer, 3 batteries for the mkII, G9

Tamy: 30D, 20D, 120-300 f2.8HSM, 300 f4 IS, 17-85IS, 420EX, Better Beamer, batteries, G9

I would like us both to keep lenses on our bodies (no changes) during the game drives... currently our bags can support only one mounted camera at a time.

Last Question... to computer or not to computer? I have a MacBook... I really don't want to bring it, but something tells me that I will be mad if I don't. I currently have one ColorSpace Hyperdrive (80 gb) and am willing to by another... for backup.

Thanks for reading this long post.
regards,
bruce

Bruce,

I have been researching these issues extensively, as I am leaving for Tanzania in four days. You are pretty much on the right track, except you may be happier with a longer lens. (who isn't?). You will need at least a beanbag or a ToddPod (http://www.gustafsonphotosafari.net/?page_id=43). I made my own set of vehicle mounts similar to his. I'm also bringing a small Gitzo CF tripod. My MacBook goes along, with two ext 250GB drives. In my checked bag I'm stuffing chargers and cables into a ThinkTank belt bag that fits a camera and lens. That would work for your second setup.. Pics when I return.

Thanks for the reply Jeff.
I would love to have a longer lens that exhibits the same quality as the lenses we already have... sadly, I have spent the better part of my expendable income on the Safari ($12400 for two + airfare from MN) and my recently acquired (January 08) used 300 2.8 IS. I have recently photographed great horned owl chicks w/ the 300 2.8 + 2x converter w/ my mkII and was pleasantly surprised by the output... still printing. A step up lens would be way too costly at this point. My only other option would be to mount a 1.6x crop body on the this rig, but... I lose all of the great AF & motor features associated w/ the 1D series body.

We currently have 2 kinesis safari-sacks... think about buying two more, and I am on the fence about my tripods. We use big Gitzo CF's and I know that size and weight will be an issue on the puddle jumper we will be taking...

However Jeff... you didn't answer my question... what bag will you be using for your gear? Everything I have read thus far suggests that you need to be ready to shoot and stop at moment's notice... this does not allow for time to stow the gear very well.
cheers,
bruce

Bruce, your lens complement is not long enough. You need at least 500mm. That lens is not to bad to rent and transport to Tanzania. It fit in a Pelican 1510 case. On my trip there were three shooters that shared the cost and the lens. I would NEVER do that again as there were many opportunities when the lens was not available to me or the other shooters in my group. (we were not always in the same vehicle). Leave the tripod at home. You will not find very many times that you can use it. We had bean bags for all the shooters. They were VERY easy to move from one side of the truck to the other. My other bag was a backpack that I bought at Ritz. Nothing special at all about it other than it was soft and the camera would rid on top of it. You mentioned that there will be four shooters per vehicle. Are there 4 rows of seats? If there are only three the people sharing the row could be in for a pretty uncomfortable time. We had the convenience of have only three shooters per truck. That way the gear rode on one side and the shooter on the other, plus it was easy to get from one side to the other.

Don't worry about stowing the gear. I had a 1D and a 1DmkII body on the trip. Most of the time they had the longest lens I had available to me at the time. If it was my turn for the 500 I had that and my 400 mounted. If I did not have the 500 I had the 400 and my 24-105. Longer is indeed better for safari. While traveling one camera rode on top of my bag, the other was in my lap. ALWAYS be ready to shoot as you will come upon shooting situations very quickly.

Most of all, I hope you have as good a time as I did. It was a dream trip of a lifetime for me and my fellow travelers. If you get to the Ndutu area I hope you see the Cheetah mom and here cubs. If you get to Ngorongoro Crater I hope you see that family of lions that we saw.

Good luck, have a great time and I can't wait to see your images.

RWW

Bruce, I am using the Think Tank Airport International to hold my 1DsIII, 500mm, and other lenses and flash stuff. My 5D goes goes in the attache type laptop bag.

Thanks Jeff...
Roger...

my prior post to Jeff says it all... no more money to buy longer optics of equal quality. I'll be buying converters for Tamy and we are just going to live w/ our 300's w/ 1.4x or 2x converters... sadly, the bank is not the endless well I wish it was
cheers,

Bruce, I don't want to beat a proverbial dead horse, but please THINK about renting a 500mm. you will not be dissapointed.

RWW

Bruce,
1) I do several safaris each year and for East Africa I would recommend the Think Tank Airport Accelerator. If you will not be going on safari immediately, I would contact Andy Biggs regarding a new bag particularly well designed for your sort of safari and the gear in your kits (andybiiggs.com). 2) 2 safari sacks for each of you and forget about the tripods or monopods, particularly if you will not be taking a 500mm lens. 3) A 1.6 crop body (40D) is a handy way to get a bit more reach out of your 300mm lenses. I would rather that combination with a 1.4X than with a 2X (either on a series 1 body or on a crop body). In other words try and work with the 1.4X, you will really need the speed and you just give up too much with a 2X. Remember, your best light will be early morning and very late afternoon. Once that 2X is on there you will be shooting way to slow. 4) If you shoot raw, you simply don't have enough memory. Get a second PSD with at least 120GB or invest in a bunch of new flash memory. You can now get pretty good Sandisk for between $5-10 per GB. When on safari I shoot about 10GB a day and that's by myself. By the way, don't take filled bean bags, fill them up once you get to Africa and if flying between camps, get beans or rice from each camp and return it when you leave. Roger, for the record, I love the 500mm but it is such a bear to transport around. I own it but somehow I usually try to make do with teh 300mm 2.8 IS and find that even with a 1.4X the quality is more than adequate. Too bad Canon never did any more with the DO concept of Supertele optics. The 400mm DO has a lot going for it, a 500mm DO would be one useful lens. One last tip, while in Tanzania, try and shoot from the windows of your Land Cruiser as often as possible (bean bags are useful here). Then angle of view is much better. Have a great safari (forget the laptop).
Cheers-Red

Roger Whitehead wrote:
Bruce, I don't want to beat a proverbial dead horse, but please THINK about renting a 500mm. you will not be dissapointed.

RWW

Hello Roger,
Based on your advice I looked to see if our local pro shop in Minneapolis had any long lenses that could be rented. Sadly, they do not have a 500 or 600 f4.0. The longest rentable canon lens is a 400f2.8... I definitely do not want to carry that beast. Not only do they not rent a 500mm lens, but they don't have a 100-400IS that I could rent either....

thanks for the advice,... but I'm SOL when it comes to renting a super tele.
cheers,
bruce

Red,
Thanks for the advice!...
We do have quite a bit of memory, but I am sure that I will feel the need to backup my work. Sanho makes a 160gb drive... I would rather buy one of these (to go with the 80gb drive) instead of hauling my computer to Tanzania. As for beanbags, windows, and converter suggestions... thanks for the info.
cheers,
bruce

Bruce, I think your 300 plus extenders will be adequate in many situations. In the plains of Tanzania in particular, the game can be far from the vehicle, and that's where you will need as much reach as you can get. You just won't be able to get intimate close-ups across a good distance. I take two full frame bodies, too. Using a 40d or 'crop body' doesn't really give you a longer view. It's a myth. It just crops the image that would have been wider with a FF. You can do that yourself later.

Jeffrey,
Have a great trip... I look forward to seeing your images upon your return.
We leave on June 9 and will be on photosafari for 13 days... I am going to work with the gear I have... If the money is available, I may acquire a 100-400IS... if it isn't, well I'll just have to be creative!

regards,
bruce

OwlsEyes wrote:
Jeffrey,
Have a great trip... I look forward to seeing your images upon your return.
We leave on June 9 and will be on photosafari for 13 days... I am going to work with the gear I have... If the money is available, I may acquire a 100-400IS... if it isn't, well I'll just have to be creative!

regards,
bruce
Not entirely a myth.........the 21 megapix of the 1Ds Mark 3 crops down to only about 8.5 megapix at 1.6 crop or equivalent to a 20D. It's all about photosite density.
Red