what kit to take to Africa?

[ik9000]

Anyone been to Africa? Any ideas what kit to take?

I can either take Canon 60D or EOS-M body

Happy to rent lenses (only a short trip)

[Bobster]

60D - 400mm 5.6 for those wildlife shots - 10-20 for landscapes

[circuitmonkey]

And a cheapish bridge camera that you don't mind getting ruined by sand and dust

[g8ina]

Take my Canon SX60HS

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Depending on where you are going you will need to be weary of humidity,dust and sand.

[TheAnimus]

Africa is a huge continent with many different kinds of hostile elements to Cameras.

Some parts it's simply the change in heat, I had over 45°C and -10°C in the space of 48 hours. Others it's the sand. I swear I was finding the fine Saharan sand in my bags years later. This stuff is murder for a lens that isn't very well weather sealed.

Then sadly there is the poverty side, I know one good friend and too many horror stories online of people being mugged. This is going to again be hugely dependant on where you are. The road to table mountain is sadly infamous.

Also it's going to come down to what you are doing, what you are wanting to see.

[ik9000]

mid Africa. not to sandy. muddy when wet. hilly near equator. more worried about humidity than dust- shouldn't get too dusty until june so I gather anyway.


I have a 10-18 efs lens and 17-55f2.8. my debate is whether to go with my 55-250 efs which is reasonable and light ish or hire a 70-300 f2.8 l series for the faster speed weather sealed and take the hit in weight.

[peterb]

A large wide brimmed hat to protect you from the sun.

[ik9000]

with or without corks?

[Dashers]

Corks are for Australia only.

Camera kit, if you're going to be outside in the dust and dirt for a long time you might want to consider the above about weather-sealed kit. Or just be-careful. Look at lens rentals for long lenses, no point buying something super expensive for a holiday.

If I was going, I'd be tempted with renting a weather sealed Micro-Four-Thirds camera and either the Olympus 100-300mm pro or the Panasonic Leica 100-400mm (remembering the x2 crop factor if you're trying to work out 35mm field of view). Much more compact than a FF or APS-C kit, which if travelling is a big bonus.

[Bagnaj97]

If you're hiring equipment, hire it early and familiarise yourself with it. A decent tripod would also be useful, either for stabilising a long lens or for rock steady landscape shots.

And now for the biased/jealous part - a lot of Africa is truly dark. Get some milky way shots! The rule of thumb to avoid star trails is shutter speed no longer than 500/focal length (focal length at 35mm equivalent, so FL x 1.6 for your 60d). Of course that's just a rule of thumb and dependent on other factors (e.g. pixel size on the sensor), and some people can tolerate more trailing that others!

[peterb]

with or without corks?

Corks are generally de rigour only in Australia!


Removing tongue from cheek, you could do a lot worse than investing (and it is an investment!) in a Tilly hat. http://www.tilley.com/uk_en/

I bought a T4 http://www.tilley.com/uk_en/catalogsearch/result/?q=T4 for a trip to Zimbabwe and Botswana a couple of years ago - absolutely brilliant! The T5 is more generally available but has a smaller brim.

It also enhances any photograph of the subject!

[ik9000]

Corks are generally de rigour only in Australia!


Removing tongue from cheek, you could do a lot worse than investing (and it is an investment!) in a Tilly hat. http://www.tilley.com/uk_en/

I bought a T4 http://www.tilley.com/uk_en/catalogsearch/result/?q=T4 for a trip to Zimbabwe and Botswana a couple of years ago - absolutely brilliant! The T5 is more generally available but has a smaller brim.

It also enhances any photograph of the subject!

They look interesting. How heavy are they? Does the enhanced airflow one have sufficient grill to stop mosi's getting to your head?

[peterb]

They aren't that heavy - I've just weighed my T4 and its 165 grams. the mesh on the enhanced air flow is reasonably fine, but I'd still use mozzi reliant anyway. Apparently Avon's skin-so-soft is very good - yes, honestly - this is not a leg pull although I just used a proprietary repellant. However, depending on where you are going mozzis may not be a problem - although you should still take appropriate anti-malarial prophylaxis appropriate to the regions you will be visiting or passing through and be aware of other mosquito borne diseases.

Cotswold Outdoor and GoOutdoors stock limited ranges of Tilley hats, so if you have one of those nearby, you might want to pop in ad have a look. GoOutdoors do a 10% discount card (I think it costs a fiver) so it may pay you to get one if you are planning on buying some new kit.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I would probably take some Optech rainsleeves with you,just in case.

Also the more lens changes the more likely you will be getting crud on the sensor too - I would be tempted to take the EOS-M with the 11-22MM STM attached,and the EOS60D with the 50-255MM. This way you won't need to change lenses,and it will be less likely to miss shots.

[ik9000]

I get where you're coming from but if I'm hiking 3 days to see gorillas I'm not taking two cameras! I'm looking into whether I can get some ex-army webbing to have the camera kit around my waist and accessible without fouling my day pack. There must be some way of doing this easily.