ack from Tanzania. Photos and thoughts to share (back again!)

Back from Tanzania. Photos and thoughts to share (back again!)

Well, this is actually a thread from my *latest* safari, as opposed to a few months ago, as seen in my other thread with a similar name.

I just returned from Tanzania after being away for three weeks out on safari. I ran two back-to-back safaris to Tarangire National Park, Ngorongoro Crater and Serengeti National Park. We stayed in permanent tents at Tarangire, a lodge and a camp at Ngorongoro, and two separate luxury camps in the Serengeti. We saw an absolute *ton* of wildlife, and had more elephant sightings than I could count. September is one of my favorite times of the year in Tanzania, and this time it did not disappoint.

So what did I learn from this trip? If you remember from my previous post from a few months ago I took my 5D and 20D cameras back then. Well, this time I took a 1DMkII and a 1DsMkII. Good education for those who are headed out on safari. Some bullet points:

Autofocus with a 2x teleconverter on my 400mm DO and 500mm f/4 lenses is huge.
I don't like the 1.4x teleconverter on my 400mm DO. The results are not as good as on my 500mm.
I love the long battery life of 1 series batteries
I love having two almost identical cameras
I love full frame
The 1DsMkII needs double the size of the buffer (duh)

What equipment did I take?

Canon 1DsMkII
Canon 1DMkII
24-105mm f/4 L IS
100-400mm f/4 L IS
400mm f/4 DO IS (used when the 500mm was rented)
500mm f/4 L IS (used when the 400mm DO was rented)
50mm f/1.4
1.4x and 2x teleconverters
Sony HC3 HD video

Anyway, here are some images from the trip, as well as some of the settings from each shot.


Canon 1DMkII, 100-400mm, ISO 100, 1/5 sec @ f/18


Canon 1DMkII, 100-400mm, ISO 200, 1/500 sec @ f/10


Canon 1DsMkII, 35mm f/1.4 L, ISO 100, 1/8000 sec @ f/2.0


Canon 1DMkII, 100-400mm, ISO 50, 1/8 sec @ f/22

More images can be found here:

http://www.andybiggs.com/sept2006/

I haven't processed most of my images yet, and I have only processed those images that I had previously tagged while out on safari. The above images have been converted with Adobe Camera Raw, and no Photoshop work has been done at this point with the exception of simple dust removal. I still have a ton more to process!!!!

Always enjoy your post safari posts.

How do you travel with all that equipment, plus (I presume) a laptop? I'd never get all that through carry on....

Thanks, Tim. And good question.

Let's just say that I take advantage of the 'personal item' bag. Since there is no specific size and weight allowance, it is a computer bag with my laptop, 400mm DO, and a few other pieces in there. My main camera bag weighs a little more than 22 pounds (KLM limit to Tanzania), so I offload a few pounds into my photo vest just before checking in. After the weigh the bag, I go on my merry way and put the items back in the bag.

Voila.

Andy,

Welcome back! Always good to have you here. I assume those are stampeding wilderbeast? And the reason, perhaps that lioness?

Asher

Andy Biggs said:

Thanks, Tim. And good question.

Let's just say that I take advantage of the 'personal item' bag. Since there is no specific size and weight allowance, it is a computer bag with my laptop, 400mm DO, and a few other pieces in there. My main camera bag weighs a little more than 22 pounds (KLM limit to Tanzania), so I offload a few pounds into my photo vest just before checking in. After the weigh the bag, I go on my merry way and put the items back in the bag.

Voila.

Click to expand...

ROFLMAO.
My friend does the same thing. He was worried about the carry-on weight limit (plus not trusting 'throwers' with his camera gear in checked luggage), so he put on his heaviest coat and loaded it with every lens he could.
On his flight I think they were limited to 10 LB (not Kg!) (it was ridiculously light). His thought was that if the 300 lb woman was okay, then adding 50 lbs to himself for a grand total of 230 lbs should be fine. For the record, it was a chartered flight.

Great shots by the way. I love the blurred legs look.