fcotterill
Well-known member
I've drawn together the following summary from a most enjoyable 3 weeks recently hiking in the lowveld savanna thickets in Greater Kruger - picked out some images as examples (more on my instagram). This also included 3 days within the KNP self driving in more open habitats, although I tended to search closer to the riparian fringes of the Talamati and Timbavati and neighbouring rivers. My hikes were up to 16 kms in thorny thickets (Acacia nigrescens, Dichrostachyus, Grewia etc); the low bushes in this habitat limit sighting distances but the vegetation can lend itself to attractive backdrops/framings - especially in kind light.
I took 4000+ images, many as sustained bursts to "Grab the Gesture". On several days, the overcast skies were a much appreciated boon by reducing glare and other undesirable harsh lighting - let alone heat haze, which can be an image-killer. Usually the region is baking under a blue sky before the first rains in November transform the savanna. Photographing amenable subjects close to the house and on twice daily walks reinforced some keystone axioms for birds and mammals, which I've been distilling for long time. I share these here for those planning a trip into these landscapes:
1. Too often I need 800 f5.6 and more, where the 400 f2.8E goes to 800 with TC2 III, and the IQ is excellent all considered. When 400 is called for (a mammal usual) it excels - Stunningly; Within sane subject distances, I cannot detect any IQ penalties with TC14 III. The call outs for 800+ are not only because of longer sighting distances when hiking etc, but equally in a vehicle even with habituated subjects, and of course many birds too often demand this reach.
2. The 300 PF and 500 PF are excellent, especially hiking in the heat, and the 500 f5.6 can get to 700 f8, but no further practicably. I often chose to carry the 400 f2.8E with TC14 or TC2 attached, as it's usually quicker to 'change down' than up, and longer reach is often called under acutely short time pressure!
3. All too often, I concluded a 180-400 f4E TC14 will be ideal as a principal telephoto in these habitats: whether in a vehicle or hiking carried on a padded sling, and using with a monopod if needed. This only not only to tighten down the framing / focus into details but equally to zoom out for unexpected events, especially when photographing a subject in its group etc;
4. The Nikon D5 I found Used earlier in the year delivered in spades. It exceled. This is provided one fills the frame and/or frames the subject as closely as possible in camera. 20mp and cropping can = mediocre progeny, and cripple an otherwise nice image. A 45mp FX sensor has its well known penalties in challenging light etc but more flexible in post ie cropping. Like it or not, cropping is too often dictated by the subject's location. My 4+ yr old D850 delivered very well, including on a leopard sighting; although the 700 f8 fell using the 500 PF fell a bit short - 1000 would have ideal in this case;
5. Two cameras are my minimum when feasible to carry: in a vehicle one is on the 70-200 f2.8E +TC14 III, and the other on the 400 f2.8E, usually with TC14 or TC2. Besides it's quicker to change down from the TC, and having f2.8 is very useful for its bokeh and in lowlight. In a vehicle, the ideal is 3 cameras, especially on dirt roads (so less lens changes);
6. Don't be lazy! Always always carry a fairly light UWide zoom (I swear by my 18-35 G Nikkor bought Used), also the 60 f2.8G Micro-Nikkor. One never knows when and where they might be needed miles away from the camera bag....
7. Too often within thickets and along the riparian fringe, twigs and clutter play havoc with a shot; these show up in the shot in front of the subject, especially under pressure when one doesn't have the luxury to reposition etc along a cleaner line of sight. Vigilance pays off, although hard to keep up in the heat of the moment;
8. Where feasible, my longer term plan is ideally 3 rigs: (1) 70-200 or 100-400; (2) 180-400 f4E TC14; and (3) 400 f2.8+TC2, or similar solution. Ideally a 600 f4 +TC14 which will add even more reach to 1200 f8. A decent lottery win would open up the possibility of a 800 f5.6 with its bespoke TC125, but this lens weighs 4.59kg. My back and neck are already protesting handling a 5kg rig with the 400 f2.8 all day in a vehicle, let alone when walking.
Perhaps I seek tighter details in subjects (paws and expressions etc), yet in other scene animalscapes across broader expanses, but I smile at oft advice in the forums to the 'What gear on Safari?" threads. Sure styles differ, but.... EDIT - see more recent thread on Telephoto choices etc
Anyway free advice: ensure you can extend your 400 or 600 out to 800 at least. In the good old film days, I learnt this axiom nearly 4 decades ago: in Zimbabwe and also Kruger (with a Nikkor 400 f5.6AIS on a FM2) but a solution was unaffordable until 2018. This latest trip and others into Zambia etc have underscored this need. Rent a 400 f2.8 or 180-400 f4E TC14 and test and tune your rig properly with both TC14 and TC2. The yawning lion below was taken within a vehicle of these habituated subjects, but lions often choose to lie up at distances well beyond the reach of shorter focal lengths.
These lion portraits all with Nikon D850, 400 f2.8+TC2 III, f5.6, ISO2000
Nyala Bull in the thorns, demonstrating the habitat in which this browsing tragelaphid thrives. Nikon D5, 400 f2.8+TC2 III, f8, ISO2000
I took 4000+ images, many as sustained bursts to "Grab the Gesture". On several days, the overcast skies were a much appreciated boon by reducing glare and other undesirable harsh lighting - let alone heat haze, which can be an image-killer. Usually the region is baking under a blue sky before the first rains in November transform the savanna. Photographing amenable subjects close to the house and on twice daily walks reinforced some keystone axioms for birds and mammals, which I've been distilling for long time. I share these here for those planning a trip into these landscapes:
1. Too often I need 800 f5.6 and more, where the 400 f2.8E goes to 800 with TC2 III, and the IQ is excellent all considered. When 400 is called for (a mammal usual) it excels - Stunningly; Within sane subject distances, I cannot detect any IQ penalties with TC14 III. The call outs for 800+ are not only because of longer sighting distances when hiking etc, but equally in a vehicle even with habituated subjects, and of course many birds too often demand this reach.
2. The 300 PF and 500 PF are excellent, especially hiking in the heat, and the 500 f5.6 can get to 700 f8, but no further practicably. I often chose to carry the 400 f2.8E with TC14 or TC2 attached, as it's usually quicker to 'change down' than up, and longer reach is often called under acutely short time pressure!
3. All too often, I concluded a 180-400 f4E TC14 will be ideal as a principal telephoto in these habitats: whether in a vehicle or hiking carried on a padded sling, and using with a monopod if needed. This only not only to tighten down the framing / focus into details but equally to zoom out for unexpected events, especially when photographing a subject in its group etc;
4. The Nikon D5 I found Used earlier in the year delivered in spades. It exceled. This is provided one fills the frame and/or frames the subject as closely as possible in camera. 20mp and cropping can = mediocre progeny, and cripple an otherwise nice image. A 45mp FX sensor has its well known penalties in challenging light etc but more flexible in post ie cropping. Like it or not, cropping is too often dictated by the subject's location. My 4+ yr old D850 delivered very well, including on a leopard sighting; although the 700 f8 fell using the 500 PF fell a bit short - 1000 would have ideal in this case;
5. Two cameras are my minimum when feasible to carry: in a vehicle one is on the 70-200 f2.8E +TC14 III, and the other on the 400 f2.8E, usually with TC14 or TC2. Besides it's quicker to change down from the TC, and having f2.8 is very useful for its bokeh and in lowlight. In a vehicle, the ideal is 3 cameras, especially on dirt roads (so less lens changes);
6. Don't be lazy! Always always carry a fairly light UWide zoom (I swear by my 18-35 G Nikkor bought Used), also the 60 f2.8G Micro-Nikkor. One never knows when and where they might be needed miles away from the camera bag....
7. Too often within thickets and along the riparian fringe, twigs and clutter play havoc with a shot; these show up in the shot in front of the subject, especially under pressure when one doesn't have the luxury to reposition etc along a cleaner line of sight. Vigilance pays off, although hard to keep up in the heat of the moment;
8. Where feasible, my longer term plan is ideally 3 rigs: (1) 70-200 or 100-400; (2) 180-400 f4E TC14; and (3) 400 f2.8+TC2, or similar solution. Ideally a 600 f4 +TC14 which will add even more reach to 1200 f8. A decent lottery win would open up the possibility of a 800 f5.6 with its bespoke TC125, but this lens weighs 4.59kg. My back and neck are already protesting handling a 5kg rig with the 400 f2.8 all day in a vehicle, let alone when walking.
Perhaps I seek tighter details in subjects (paws and expressions etc), yet in other scene animalscapes across broader expanses, but I smile at oft advice in the forums to the 'What gear on Safari?" threads. Sure styles differ, but.... EDIT - see more recent thread on Telephoto choices etc
Anyway free advice: ensure you can extend your 400 or 600 out to 800 at least. In the good old film days, I learnt this axiom nearly 4 decades ago: in Zimbabwe and also Kruger (with a Nikkor 400 f5.6AIS on a FM2) but a solution was unaffordable until 2018. This latest trip and others into Zambia etc have underscored this need. Rent a 400 f2.8 or 180-400 f4E TC14 and test and tune your rig properly with both TC14 and TC2. The yawning lion below was taken within a vehicle of these habituated subjects, but lions often choose to lie up at distances well beyond the reach of shorter focal lengths.
These lion portraits all with Nikon D850, 400 f2.8+TC2 III, f5.6, ISO2000
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Nyala Bull in the thorns, demonstrating the habitat in which this browsing tragelaphid thrives. Nikon D5, 400 f2.8+TC2 III, f8, ISO2000
You can only see EXIF info for this image if you are logged in.
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