Ladies and Gentlemen,

We are off to Tanzania on our annual safari.
We are going to be hunting in the Selous. Our camp is on the bank of a major river, so should afford plenty of photo opportunities.

We have a whole bunch of cameras we can take - some, it seems, we HAVE to take, as they have been generously given to us to try in the real world.

Apparently our 3 weeks trip - not to mention the mistreatment during this trip by users like Walter! - is like doing a field test on the camera for a whole year!

Or at least that is what I was told.

Anyway.

Here is a list fo what we have.

Personally I will be using a Canon 7D. I have a number of lenses I could take, and frankly, I have not made my mind up yet on what to take. These include the following Canon lenses:

28-300 IS USM
70-200 IS II USE 2.8 + 2x converter
18-200 IS

I was hoping that Canon would have come out with their promised 200-400 with the built in 1.4x converter. But, that does not seem to be available yet.

Another favorite camera of mine is the Panasonic FZ100. This I use most of teh time in situation where the big Canon is impractical to carry.

My pocket camera would either be my own Canon HS230SX, which I have been using throught teh summer with great results. Or the one I am asked to take; the Panasonic TZ20.

I have read some reviews about this one, which did not sound very impressive. But, I will certainly give it a try.

We are also taking a number of Canon SX230HS, and Canon SX1000HS pocket cameras for what Walter calls the "point and click crowds"!

A Sony HX100 has also been given to us to try, which we will be happy to do.

Last year we had a total of over 17,000 taken by all the members of the safari.

Two other cameras are in possession of other members of our party who are already there in the camp.

These are a Nikon 300S and a Canon 60D.

Video cameras used are two Canon XF305s. I ahve just managed to get some 128GB SanDisk Extreme Pro CF cards, with a claimed 100MB/s access. These should be perfect for the high bit rate of these cameras.

I have decided against taking the Canon XA10, as I am really not too impressed with it so far. The quality is not much better than the Sony CX700. It also has some pecular meny setting proceedures. One can only access the menu with the provided remote. Something shich seems very silly indeed.

2 Sony CX360 video cameras are going to be used on waterholes. These small cameras have reasonable quality, and use a battery than can record for at least 8 hours.

We tried the same setup last year, and got some very nice footage. Admittedly, one gets a few minutes of useable footage out of several hours taken. But, with file based systems, this is really no hardship at all.

What's the tonnage on all that camera equipment?
As a member of the point and click crowd, I find all of this most impressive.
Don't forget a spare set of spectacles, for studying the daily rushes back in camp at night.

Thanks again, from this practitioner of the American criss-cross fork and knife technique. Had I been a spy in WWII infiltrating a Nazi dinner,
they would have "made" me as soon as I laid down the knife in right hand, and shifted the fork from left to right hand to begin shoveling.
Even if I spoke perfect German.

I still haven't gotten through all 17,000 photos from last year ... but I shall ... the trip of a life time.

Saeed: PH Lance Nesbitt is still using the little Canon that you gave him years back when you hunted with him. He had it again with him this past June when we hunted the Dande South area together in Zimbabwe. He also showed me ALL of the pics from your safari!

Lance must be living in the stone age if he is still using that camera.

But, I suppose one has to make allowance for a PH.

If you talk to him give him my best regards please.

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:
Lance must be living in the stone age if he is still using that camera.

But, I suppose one has to make allowance for a PH.

If you talk to him give him my best regards please.

In a time when matching skinning knives and double rifles are dropped off, is it too much to ask that a poor boy has a more modern camera left behind.

Thanks for the advice from someone who is trying to move beyond the stone age and film cameras. I'd like to be digital by my next trip in March to Masailand. But it's scary stuff -- may have to have at least one film camera to help with withdrawals.

I think you will be pleasantly surprised with the quality of digital.

Have you had a chance to try a Fujifilm X100?
I have had one for 2 weeks and really have enjoyed it.

I have given up on Fuji sharpness compared with cameras, after using them for quite some time.

I have tried a few of their latest ones - not sure about the model # - but found the photos a bit soft.

They seem to lack sharpness compared with similar priced cameras from Panasonic for instance.

Saeed, Look at kenrockwell.com for a report on the X100

got to take KR with a large pinch of salt

But the Fuji X100 is a very nice thing, well worth a look
if a Leica is out of your budget (or your just not willing to blow £8,000 on a pocket camera) then it probably is the next best thing if you want that sort of camera.

Just had a look at a Fuji x10 very nice camera well worth considering one.
http://www.fujifilm.com/produc...eras/x/fujifilm_x10/

Saeed what compact camcorder would you recomend for someone on a budget of $1000.00 max?

Doug,

I am currently using a Sony CX700, and I like it very much.

I think you can get it for less that a grand at Amazon.

It is funny how one comes to discover something.

The new AVCHD Full HD camcorders are streets ahead of the old DV HD tape cameras.

This year we got 3 Canon XF305 semi-pro camcorders. Which I understand are the only ones approved by the BBC so far.

We used them extensively on safari, and the results are absolutely spectacular. They certainly put the footage one gets from the smaller Full HD AVCHD cameras to shame.

But, they cost 10 times more.

I guess it would be a waste of money and a big disappointment to upgrade my Canon Xt body to one of the canon t2i or t3i bodies that take video because the resolution/video quality is just not comparable to the dedicated video camcorders? The reason i was considering that option is because of all the Canon lens that I have.

Doug,

Forget what you are planning to do.

All you will do is get yourself into endless frustrating situations.

I really find it very puzzling how camera compnaies are trying to push something that really does NOT work in real life.

There is NO SLR on the market today that can match the video quality of a point and shoot camera.

Let me explain what I mean.

The SLR's have NO autofocus. And for a moving subject that is precisely what you need.

I have sat down with the Canon 7D, and tried to make a decent video of the kids playing.

It was a total disaster.

I understand Sony is coming out with an SLR that will autofocus while taking a video, but until I see it myself I will not believe it.

SLR cameras are absolutely great for taking stills. keep your camera for that, and get yourself a dedicated video camera.

You will be very pleased with the results.

Thanks for the insight Saeed. I shall be taking your advice. good luck on your trip.

Doug,

We came back from our safari last month.

Photos and videos from our safari

Don'r forget to look at the photo links.

Saeed,
How did the 7D workout for you? Would you rather use it over a 5D mark II?
Thanks

The 7D performed great, I really like it. For safari, I prefer it over the 5D, as it gives me the 1.6 magnification factor. Which comes in handy for wildlife.

Thanks, I was afraid of that! My son has a 7D he uses for his work and thinks its great too. I have a 5D but have been considering looking at a D7
for wildlife shots.

Saeed, a couple of lens questions if you don't mind. I've been using a 7D with 24-105 lens for a year or so. Like it very much, and this after using Nikons for going on 40 years.

What are your thoughts on the 70-200 with 2X teleconverter vs. the 100-400 for wildlife photography? I'm mainly concerned with image sharpness and resolution, also wondering about the weight/size factor.

At the other end of the spectrum, have you used any of the wide zooms? I'm especially interested in the 16-35 EF. I don't want to buy the EF-S lenses as I'll most likely add a full-frame body at some time.

Incidentally for new 7D owners or those considering the camera, I found the Canon tutorial web site very useful.

http://www.learn.usa.canon.com...s_7d_tutorials.shtml