Just now hearing about these new Carryon rules.
If you are booked straight through but have stops in the EU (i.e Chicago to Nairobi) do they apply at the airport in Frankfort? (4 hr stopover)
I have a TT AP Advantage XT that's about 15kg loaded. Am I going to have a problem? (I am flying Bus Class United/Luthansa)
Alan Kefauver wrote:
Just now hearing about these new Carryon rules.
If you are booked straight through but have stops in the EU (i.e Chicago to Nairobi) do they apply at the airport in Frankfort? (4 hr stopover)
I have a TT AP Advantage XT that's about 15kg loaded. Am I going to have a problem? (I am flying Bus Class United/Luthansa)
In Germany they have multiple check points including sometimes right at the gate itself. With the AP Advantage (which I have and have travel with to Tanzania and South Africa) they might, but highly unlikely, say something about the size but the bigger potential issue is if they want to weigh the bag. To be honest, I found if you're traveling business or first class you're odds of them messing with you are a lot less then if you're flying economy. However I tend to avoid going through the EU all together and just fly directly from the US or via the Middle-East.
robert_in_ca wrote:
In Germany they have multiple check points including sometimes right at the gate itself. With the AP Advantage that I have they might say something about the size but the bigger potential issue is if they want to weigh the bag To be honest, I found if you're traveling business or first class you're odds of them messing with you are a lot less then if you're flying economy. However I tend to avoid going through the EU all together and just fly directly from the US or via the Middle-East.
Yup. Same problem. I just do not like flying through the EU, esp Heathrow. It is so complicated and unforgiving of delays.
The new Kenya Airways direct from JFK to NBO is a wonderful option. Yes, it is not as great in service or ease of travel as the big names, but usually it is cheaper than the other alternatives and best part is it is non-stop. If you have to go on to Jo'Burg or elsewhere, KQ also flies to those destinations so it is one less stop to worry about.
Alan Kefauver wrote:
Just now hearing about these new Carryon rules.
If you are booked straight through but have stops in the EU (i.e Chicago to Nairobi) do they apply at the airport in Frankfort? (4 hr stopover)
I have a TT AP Advantage XT that's about 15kg loaded. Am I going to have a problem? (I am flying Bus Class United/Luthansa)
I've flown Lufthansa business to Africa several times and never been questioned (knock on wood). I take an F-Stop Tilopa that's pushing 20kg and I do my best to make it look light when I board
I'm heading to Nairobi via Frankfurt in January so fingers crossed.
The new rules have to do with liquids. As I mentioned, business class flyers very rarely get messed around with when it comes to carryon baggage.
VKM2F wrote:
I've flown Lufthansa business to Africa several times and never been questioned (knock on wood). I take an F-Stop Tilopa that's pushing 20kg and I do my best to make it look light when I board
I'm heading to Nairobi via Frankfurt in January so finger's crossed.
Which airlines have lie flat seats in Business to Africa either direct from the USA (United flies from Newark NJ) or Europe?
We usually fly Turkish Air because they have a nice lounge for stopover in Istanbul.They have lie flat seats on US to Europe...and Istanbul to Africa (usually but not always - have to check the plane they are using).
We've flown Lufthansa to Namibia (USA to Germany to Windhoek - and the flight to Namibia did not have lie flat seats (+ the flight was via a subsidiary of Lufthansa). It was a great price for business class, but not our favorite experience - and no FF miles Germany to Namibia.
Have not done Emirates or Qatar yet...
If anyone wants a recommendation for discounted business seats, just ask. One just pays less but gets same service and FF miles.
rdcny wrote:
Which airlines have lie flat seats in Business to Africa either direct from the USA (United flies from Newark NJ) or Europe?
We usually fly Turkish Air because they have a nice lounge for stopover in Istanbul.They have lie flat seats on US to Europe...and Istanbul to Africa (usually but not always - have to check the plane they are using).
We've flown Lufthansa to Namibia (USA to Germany to Windhoek - and the flight to Namibia did not have lie flat seats (+ the flight was via a subsidiary of Lufthansa). It was a great price for business class, but not our favorite experience - and no FF miles Germany to Namibia.
Have not done Emirates or Qatar yet...
If anyone wants a recommendation for discounted business seats, just ask. One just pays less but gets same service and FF miles....Show more →
KQ (Kenya Airways) flies a Dreamliner with fully lie-flat seats but they are not as good as some of the others. Purely from a comfort pov, nothing IMHO beats the lie-down seats in Virgin, but they are a bit quirky and the layover in London is just too much.
Emirates rates very high on everyone's list because of all the other perks they provide and an excellent layout of the seat area. Qatar is said to be even better, I've never flown that. Etihad is also good but not quite as top-notch.
One problem with flying through the Middle-East is the very long flight time from the US to their hub and then another long leg to Africa. Which is why, a direct flight makes so much sense. FWIW, United also flies non-stop EWR to JNB, but I've not heard great things about their service. Also, it is a very expensive ticket.
There is no easy answer and no cheap way to travel. For the last few years I've been flying KQ because their fares are the lowest for BZ class and it is non-stop. However, they too jack it up in high season, so caveat emptor.
Primus wrote:
KQ (Kenya Airways) flies a Dreamliner with fully lie-flat seats but they are not as good as some of the others. Purely from a comfort pov, nothing IMHO beats the lie-down seats in Virgin, but they are a bit quirky and the layover in London is just too much.
Emirates rates very high on everyone's list because of all the other perks they provide and an excellent layout of the seat area. Qatar is said to be even better, I've never flown that. Etihad is also good but not quite as top-notch.
One problem with flying through the Middle-East is the very long flight time from the US to their hub and then another long leg to Africa. Which is why, a direct flight makes so much sense. FWIW, United also flies non-stop EWR to JNB, but I've not heard great things about their service. Also, it is a very expensive ticket.
There is no easy answer and no cheap way to travel. For the last few years I've been flying KQ because their fares are the lowest for BZ class and it is non-stop. However, they too jack it up in high season, so caveat emptor. ...Show more →
I'm going to look into Kenya Airways, sounds like a great path from the West Coast if I can fly into JFK and connect to Nairobi.
As for lay flats, Qatar is amazing. But we all know it will set you back an R5II and some L glass
Has anybody used the R5 II in Africa yet? On the last two trips I used three R5s and in September am planning to use two R5 IIs and an old R5. I'm hoping it is better for Cheetahs and such where the R5 sometimes lost the plot and focused on a spot rather than the eye. I'm also keen to use the 15FPS ES as a good compromise between speed and buffer. 20FPS of the R5 was often excessive. Thanks.
EB-1 wrote:
Has anybody used the R5 II in Africa yet? On the last two trips I used three R5s and in September am planning to use two R5 IIs and an old R5. I'm hoping it is better for Cheetahs and such where the R5 sometimes lost the plot and focused on a spot rather than the eye. I'm also keen to use the 15FPS ES as a good compromise between speed and buffer. 20FPS of the R5 was often excessive. Thanks.
EBH
It's been my experience shooting with Olympus, Canon and Nikon that spotted animals all cause some issues for an AF system. I would venture to guess that will still hold true for the 5Rii. Hope you have fun next month!
EB-1 wrote:
Has anybody used the R5 II in Africa yet? On the last two trips I used three R5s and in September am planning to use two R5 IIs and an old R5. I'm hoping it is better for Cheetahs and such where the R5 sometimes lost the plot and focused on a spot rather than the eye. I'm also keen to use the 15FPS ES as a good compromise between speed and buffer. 20FPS of the R5 was often excessive. Thanks.
EBH
I doubt many people have been there with the R5II yet unless they are there right now. I'm not sure I'll ever trust AI AF on big cats over there, especially cheetah or leopards. It will get it wrong at the worst possible time...
artsupreme wrote:
I doubt many people have been there with the R5II yet unless they are there right now. I'm not sure I'll ever trust AI AF on big cats over there, especially cheetah or leopards. It will get it wrong at the worst possible time...
Agreed. With spotted animals I typically end up turning off animal eye detection.
I usually use the Animal subject tracking and start focus on with the eye or head, expecting it to continue tracking. I realize that Canon concentrates AF development on the most profitable subjects like humans or vehicles. I figured there might be some special recipients that happened to get them prior to the 8/20 consumer launch, although it is probably a long shot. I mostly got the R5 II for landscapes, but hope the AF is better or at least not any worse in Africa than the R5. I will have a total of 7 batteries and still mostly using the 100-500 plus 500/4 with or without the 1.4x III.
EB-1 wrote:
I usually use the Animal subject tracking and start focus on with the eye or head, expecting it to continue tracking. I realize that Canon concentrates AF development on the most profitable subjects like humans or vehicles. I figured there might be some special recipients that happened to get them prior to the 8/20 consumer launch, although it is probably a long shot. I mostly got the R5 II for landscapes, but hope the AF is better or at least not any worse in Africa than the R5. I will have a total of 7 batteries and still mostly using the 100-500 plus 500/4 with or without the 1.4x III.
Are you going to be shooting a lot of video? If not, you are bringing a ton of batteries for stills. For 3 bodies I would think you would need 5 batteries max as it's unlikely you will burn through two batteries in all 3 bodies in one day. Plus, you can charge in the vehicles.
I refuse to do videos. Actually I have an R7 also and will have the four cameras with batteries and three spares.
I was thinking about needing to charge in the field, but I was able to snag four LP-E6 spares early on.
My general charging solution in the field is to use a Nitecore USB charger and a USB power bank, but it's better if not needed. In a long day when we don't go back for lunch I've used parts of 6 batteries, though it's probably less then four if you add all the percentages. I don't have any experience with the new cameras so that's another reason to be cautious on battery life.
EB-1 wrote:
I refuse to do videos. Actually I have an R7 also and will have the four cameras with batteries and three spares.
I was thinking about needing to charge in the field, but I was able to snag four LP-E6 spares early on.
My general charging solution in the field is to use a Nitecore USB charger and a USB power bank, but it's better if not needed. In a long day when we don't go back for lunch I've used parts of 6 batteries, though it's probably less then four if you add all the percentages. I don't have any experience with the new cameras so that's another reason to be cautious on battery life.
Yes, if you are not careful and you chimp a lot you can burn through batteries. I don't chimp at all, but my buddy obsesses with chipping and burns through batteries. He eventually learned his lesson that it's not a good idea to chimp while on Safari as you'll end up missing some magic. If you are going to use precapture and half press on the R5II a lot that will burn them up too. But you'll have your USB bank as a backup but most vehicles have USB for charging.
I had 4 bodies and 6 batteries was plenty.
EB-1 wrote:
I refuse to do videos.
EBH
Man, you should give it a try. Shoot some 4k 120fps with your 500, it looks like Nat Geo content.
robert_in_ca wrote:
Agreed. With spotted animals I typically end up turning off animal eye detection.
I recently returned from a bear photography workshop in Alaska where the photography instructor recommended not using eye detection for bears because it focuses on one end of the bear, making it more difficult to get the entire bear in focus. I didn't do any experiments to confirm that myself, but it seems to make sense. It seems like the same thing might apply to the big cats and other large mammals.
