Alan Kefauver wrote:
Well we were there for 24 hrs. They had a tv screen in the back sleeping area where you could see if there was any action at the waterhole while you napped. And, I would be sleeping and the guide would tap me and say "Lions." Kept camera on a gimbal in the dark area, so all I had to do was go though the curtain and shoot. Very neat. Lots of down time too. A great experience, but don't know if I'd do it again.
Yeah, I think pictures from a hide take on a 'same-same' quality after a while and it may be a novelty in the beginning but can become tedious after some time. However, I know some photo buddies who love repeating it.
Alan Kefauver wrote:
Samburu and Lewa were the highlights for me. Lewa was awesome. I'll post some more stuff later.
My only time in Samburu was way back in 2007 and it was not as productive then as the Mara was, which of course has since then become a feeding frenzy. Things may have changed perhaps.
I would be very interested in your experience of Lewa. I am planning a trip for this coming October to Amboseli and am looking for another place to add on.
this has most likely already been discussed to death, and I feel that I have finished Youtube and reading all articles in the Internet about Nikon Z8 vs. Canon R5II in Wildlife. It is very hard to get really to the bottom of it, and I know it is complex and not easy to give a recommendation. I'll try to make it short.
I went on a safari in Uganda last year and loved Wildlife shooting. I only had the Leica SL2, and the Sigma 100-400 Contemporary. I went on a Rhino walk, Chimpansee trail in the Jungle, and on Game drives. I was not happy with the responsiveness of the AF system and the responsiveness of the camera, the lens was to short on game drives, and in the jungle the setup was borderline bulky.
Now I'm in the market for an upgrade, and I am deciding between a Nikon Z8 with the 180-600 plus TC and a Canon R5II with either the 100-500 plus TC or the 200-800. Both setups seem to be a bit borderline with running around on the jungle. I was for a long time somehow in for a Z8, but just recently I was torn to the R5II and the 100-500 plus TC, because it is the lightest setup, covers up to 700mm and seems to have the best AF system for wildlife (mammals and birds). I went into the shop and bought the Z8, which I am picking up tomorrow. Funny story, right?
As it happens always, in case you are in the forest, you stop seeing the trees. Now I am asking myself, did I do the right thing? Why did I get the Z8, even though I wanted finally the R5II? I think I am most likely overthinking it now, because in my (big) hands the Nikon Z8 feels great, and the 180-600 is an awesome lens, much better ergonomically then the 200-800, and generally the lens ecosystem in the Nikon Z Mount is better then RF Mount. I am not looking into telephoto primes (yet). For other genres I am shooting Leica M anyway, so that is not necessarily the priority (but cannot be excluded).
Help and comments are greatly appreciated, as I love this community and have been reading heaps here in the past year. You guys know the stuff, and most likely have used all of it.
Just finished my safari and am killing time at Kasane airport.
I participated in the 6 day "long stay special" at Pangolin Chobe Hotel in Botswana. This is my subjective opinion and my first Safari, so keep that in mind. I want to thank everyone on this thread for insight about the Safari process that payed off in helping me make reasonable decisions that led to a fantastic experience.
I'll start with sharing about flights. I flew regular economy and can tell you that flying to South Africa is a very long flight and it's best to be prepared for that. I had trouble sleeping and it was a struggle for a little bit, but I was excited and that pushed me through my first couple of days. I'd recommend a comfortable pillow and dressing in comfortable clothes that you feel good sitting in for an extended period of time. I had no issues on any of my flights or delays. They also didn't weigh my bag coming or going. This was fortunate, since I was over weight taking the big lens. I had a backup plan with a photo cube in my check in luggage in case of emergency as well as a jacket to shove lenses into. Luckily I didn't have to use it, but I'd plan for having to stow away extra gear if needed.
I'll start with a review of Pangolin and the Chobe hotel. In short, the service was excellent and exceeded my expectations. The great food and hospitality was a nice bonus during my stay. I was also very impressed with my photo guide Walter and the driver "Dan the man." They were both extremely knowledgeable about local wildlife and helped us to have the best sightings possible. The best example was when we arrived at a pride of lions in the flood plain on a game drive. Walter was able to predict that the lions were about to go on a hunt (which they did) and position us in a great spot where we could witness stalking by two female lions, a chase and a successful kill. After the kill they encouraged us to be patient and wait, since the male lions, who had stolen the food from the rest of the pride to eat for themselves, would likely get up to drag off the carcass to the shade. This ended up being exactly what happened, and I was able to get some post kill shots of the male lion dragging the carcass. I know I was extremely lucky to have witnessed this scene first hand and I give the credit to the Pangolin guiding for successfully predicting the course of events.
The only downside was that the vehicle on the game drives was a little tight. You are in a group of 8 at this safari and having two people in each row makes it challenging to maneuver and catch every shot, especially with a big super-telephoto lens. They had beanbags on each seat that would raise up and down. This was handy for distant shots, or shooting up into the trees. When trying to get low, I hung over the side and it was a little bit awkward, but I was able to do this successfully holding the setup by the tripod foot, even with the 600mm. On the above mentioned kill sighting for example, I missed the actual chase and kill because I had to put down my 70-200, grab the 600 and try to shoot around the other guests in the vehicle. To make matters worse I had "taken one for the team" that day since I had already called the front seat on another game drive and didn't want to be rude. This meant that I was in the back seat, which is the worst (It's higher elevated slightly). This led to me not getting shots of the chase and kill, but I did witness it which was my favorite real world wildlife experience I've had.
The photo boat was fantastic and really well designed. There are 8 of you, but you have your own row with enough space surrounding the seat to put other lenses, bags etc. You can also get low in the boat and there are pads that keep you from scratching your lenses on the side. I ended up shooting low probably 30% of the time. A lot of the birds and mammals are elevated or distant enough that you can get away with using the gimbal. I found the gimbal design to be excellent. It's very maneuverable and made shooting a great experience, especially birds up in trees.
I thought I would share my experience of the green season, to help other people choose if it's for them or not. First of all, it tends to be a lot cheaper, which is a great bonus. Another bonus, is the birding is excellent. There are many species, including migratory special and a lot of chicks in nests this time of year. If you like birding, you'll love the Chobe River during the rainy season. The birding was really the highlight of the trip, so if you're into that you'll love it.
One of the considerations when going with more of a group safari experience, is that the trip is going to cater to the more vocal members of the group on what they are interested in seeing and want to stay for sightings etc. My group had a skilled and dedicated birder in it. This meant that we devoted a lot of time photographing birds throughout my stay. Not just because it was peak season for birding, but because they would have us stop when they sighted something from their extensive library of birds they wanted to see. This didn't bother me, since I love shooting colorful birds, but would have annoyed someone that wasn't really into that. I would say that this time of year in Botswana is best for people who are interested in bird photography with some mammals on the side.
My sighting experience consisted of fantastic bird, hippo and elephant viewing with ample opportunities at each. I was able to capture 5 species of kingfisher and capture high quality images of each, including the famous Malachite. We also had amazing elephant sightings with swimming, playing, dusting etc. Outside of the previously mentioned subjects I had other sightings, but they were less numerous. It still was great and I was able to see Kudu, impala, Cape Buffalo, Zebra (only one brief sighting), lions (2 sightings) and giraffes probably 5 separate times. The green foliage made it challenging to see into the wooded areas, which is probably the reason that we never had a single leopard sighting. We did see a Cheetah, which was totally unexpected and the Cheetah + lion kill made up for the lack of leopard sighting for me. While I'm very pleased to have seen everything I did, I think someone coming to Africa to focus on "big 5" or cats would be better served at a different location, or at least during the dry season where more animals have to travel to the river for water.
Great feedback and I'm glad your first safari was so enjoyable! Botswana really is a wonderful destination and it sounds like it suited you well. Your insights are valuable to others looking into their first trip as well. I agree it really has to start with what your goal is, wildlife/experience wise, and then go from there. There's such a variety of locations in East and Southern Africa it can be difficult to know where to start.
Hopefully you share some of your favourite photos as well, would love to see them.
40Driggs wrote:
Pangolin Chobe report part 2:
This didn't bother me, since I love shooting colorful birds, but would have annoyed someone that wasn't really into that. I would say that this time of year in Botswana is best for people who are interested in bird photography with some mammals on the side.
Nice review. Was there anyone in the group who was annoyed by the birding and wanted to move on?
For the best experience book a jeep for yourself.
No problems with space, you decide what where how long …
I never share jeeps execpt friends or family.
I thought I would share my experience of the green season, to help other people choose if it's for them or not. First of all, it tends to be a lot cheaper, which is a great bonus. Another bonus, is the birding is excellent. There are many species, including migratory special and a lot of chicks in nests this time of year. If you like birding, you'll love the Chobe River during the rainy season. The birding was really the highlight of the trip, so if you're into that you'll love it.
One of the considerations when going with more of a group safari experience, is that the trip is going to cater to the more vocal members of the group on what they are interested in seeing and want to stay for sightings etc. My group had a skilled and dedicated birder in it. This meant that we devoted a lot of time photographing birds throughout my stay. Not just because it was peak season for birding, but because they would have us stop when they sighted something from their extensive library of birds they wanted to see. This didn't bother me, since I love shooting colorful birds, but would have annoyed someone that wasn't really into that. I would say that this time of year in Botswana is best for people who are interested in bird photography with some mammals on the side.
My sighting experience consisted of fantastic bird, hippo and elephant viewing with ample opportunities at each. I was able to capture 5 species of kingfisher and capture high quality images of each, including the famous Malachite. We also had amazing elephant sightings with swimming, playing, dusting etc. Outside of the previously mentioned subjects I had other sightings, but they were less numerous. It still was great and I was able to see Kudu, impala, Cape Buffalo, Zebra (only one brief sighting), lions (2 sightings) and giraffes probably 5 separate times. The green foliage made it challenging to see into the wooded areas, which is probably the reason that we never had a single leopard sighting. We did see a Cheetah, which was totally unexpected and the Cheetah + lion kill made up for the lack of leopard sighting for me. While I'm very pleased to have seen everything I did, I think someone coming to Africa to focus on "big 5" or cats would be better served at a different location, or at least during the dry season where more animals have to travel to the river for water. ...Show more →
Great to hear of your experience. I still remember my first visit to Africa, for wildlife enthusiasts it is an unforgettable event. And indeed Botswana is wonderful for birds.
Your point about people getting upset is a real problem. For many years I went with a professional photographer who led the team. Sadly there always seemed to be an alpha man or woman who would take over the vehicle (sometimes the entire group) and dictate everything. Arguments would lead to so much unpleasantness that everyone just went along. The leader was more intent on their own portfolio so felt is more prudent not to intervene (esp if the alpha was a repeat client).
In the end, though much more expensive (but there are ways around that), I realized the best option for me is to have a private vehicle or go with buddies who are like-minded.
I thought I would share my experience of the green season, to help other people choose if it's for them or not. First of all, it tends to be a lot cheaper, which is a great bonus. Another bonus, is the birding is excellent. There are many species, including migratory special and a lot of chicks in nests this time of year. If you like birding, you'll love the Chobe River during the rainy season. The birding was really the highlight of the trip, so if you're into that you'll love it.
One of the considerations when going with more of a group safari experience, is that the trip is going to cater to the more vocal members of the group on what they are interested in seeing and want to stay for sightings etc. My group had a skilled and dedicated birder in it. This meant that we devoted a lot of time photographing birds throughout my stay. Not just because it was peak season for birding, but because they would have us stop when they sighted something from their extensive library of birds they wanted to see. This didn't bother me, since I love shooting colorful birds, but would have annoyed someone that wasn't really into that. I would say that this time of year in Botswana is best for people who are interested in bird photography with some mammals on the side.
My sighting experience consisted of fantastic bird, hippo and elephant viewing with ample opportunities at each. I was able to capture 5 species of kingfisher and capture high quality images of each, including the famous Malachite. We also had amazing elephant sightings with swimming, playing, dusting etc. Outside of the previously mentioned subjects I had other sightings, but they were less numerous. It still was great and I was able to see Kudu, impala, Cape Buffalo, Zebra (only one brief sighting), lions (2 sightings) and giraffes probably 5 separate times. The green foliage made it challenging to see into the wooded areas, which is probably the reason that we never had a single leopard sighting. We did see a Cheetah, which was totally unexpected and the Cheetah + lion kill made up for the lack of leopard sighting for me. While I'm very pleased to have seen everything I did, I think someone coming to Africa to focus on "big 5" or cats would be better served at a different location, or at least during the dry season where more animals have to travel to the river for water. ...Show more →
Great trip report. Thanks for sharing. Your 1st Safari experience does sound wonderful... I cannot wait for our own 1st Safari experience coming up in a few months. We will spend 6 nights in Sabi Sands, so a total of 12 game drives. And based on your experience, I am happy again that I have paid extra for private vehicle for 10 of our 12 game drives. It was not cheap but I feel like it would be worth it having the entire row for myself, and not having to worry about arguing with anyone else on where to spend more or less time (well, besides possibly having to argue with my wife and kids but I cannot avoid that anyway )
artsupreme wrote:
Nice review. Was there anyone in the group who was annoyed by the birding and wanted to move on?
I can only think of one instance. We were looking for leopards/cats one morning and the guide had informed us that we were not going to be stopping for birds to try to get to a specific area quickly. The main birder in the group yelled for us to stop and we did for him, thinking maybe he had spotted a leopard. We actually found a pair of eagle owls on a tree branch. One of the ladies in our group got irritated and said, "We're not stopping for birds today." He responded with, "Those aren't just any birds," in an irritated tone.
The only other conflict we had in our group was during the chase/kill sequence. The same woman who had complained stood up to relocate and ruined both his and my opportunity at getting a clear shot of the sequence. When he expressed being frustrated by this, she tried to blame the issue on having too many people in the vehicle. While this was somewhat valid, he didn't like that she blamed the situation on the vehicle rather than on her being selfish and trying to get a shot at the inconvenience of others.
VKM2F wrote:
Hopefully you share some of your favourite photos as well, would love to see them.
Still mostly culling images, but I'll share a few when I'm further along. I'll try not to clog up the thread with excessive images though and will likely make a post in the nature/wildlife thread and link it here.
Rytchk wrote:
For the best experience book a jeep for yourself.
No problems with space, you decide what where how long …
I never share jeeps execpt friends or family.
My experience reflects this as well. Unfortunately I wouldn't have been able to swing that at preferred the opportunity to go at all to waiting for that to be realistic for me. I'll likely take this approach at some point if it's ever a possibility for me.
Pangolin Chobe report part 3: General thoughts on gear
There has been a lot of talk about gear on the thread and I thought I would share my thoughts on gear usage as part of a group safari in Botswana during the wet season.
I chose to rent the 70-200 f/2.8 and 600 f/4 lens as well as an a1 camera. I was shooting the 70-200 on the a7r V. The a1 II wasn't available for rent, which was actually unfortunate because the other birder in my group was also shooting the same setup as me, but with the a1 II and he captured a lot more in flight images because of the precapture feature. Especially the kingfishers in flight, which are very fast.
This combination worked well for me. I could have gone with the 100-400 to leave less of a gap, but I found that most of the time I either wanted to be at 600 or we were very close and the 70-200 worked well. I also liked the better separation of the 2.8 aperture, and low light abilities for the morning and evening. Most of us were using the long lens (two of us using 600 f/4, one 200-400 w/tc, then 100-500 zooms) for all the birds and then the prime shooter group switched out to a shorter zoom for elephant, hippos and giraffes that were close enough. I didn't miss the gap personally, but there were a few times when I would have been better served by a 100-400 to pair with the prime. I only used my 16-35 like 5 times the whole trip. It was good to have, but I wouldn't have missed it really.
I would suggest keeping the gear minimal if possible. I felt like having two bodies I could easily switch between, with a single lens glued onto it, worked really well with me. I never switched my lenses between bodies because I was trying to stay focused and not mess around with gear much. I loved the Kiboka 30L. It fit all my gear, even the 600 with the hood. If I go again, I'll purchase a soft hood or the Zemlin short hood. The 600 with hood is quite cumbersome inside of a safari vehicle, especially if you don't have your own row. I also brought the 1.4x TC with me. To be honest, on the river they get you very close and you don't need the reach nearly as much as I do when I'm at home trying to shoot birds. It was amazing how close we consistently got to everything in general. I did use the TC when shooting the lion pride in the distance and specifically when shooting the Malachite if I had the time. I think the 600 was the smart choice for this location because of the focus on birding. During our mammal encounters I would have generally been better served by a 400 f/2.8, but I easily adapted to shooting subjects from more of a distance to fit the focal length. I rarely found this an issue and was extremely happy with the performance of the 600mm prime, even with the TC.
I also added a grip to each camera. I'm not much of a grip shooter usually, but I have to say that it worked well for me. It was nice never having to worry about battery life and I didn't have a single change of battery in the field in 6 days. I would just charge them out between drives and usually had a whole battery life spare, or close to it. It also felt good ergonomically, especially with the 600 on the gimbal. It does add weight, but I was able to hand hold for brief periods without issues.
Read through this, and sounds exactly like the high end bird tours. Not for me, but I do think there is a very good case for you to go and pay the fees. It helps the environment and wildlife there from being complete wiped out. A huge part of there GDP I would bet. Hopefully you guys will continue to pump money into the economy.
If anything I would say research and find a locally run company not a huge conglomerate there from other countries or politicians there just to scalp the tourists.
Same thing here in South America and other countries. I personally hate it, but it definitely serves a purpose.
Keep up the good work.
Thank you for the report. Seems you had a great time.
Luckily i am able to go often to Africa and stay in top camps (often completly private camps).
A 100-400 or 100-500 covers almost everything. Except you are after small birds.
I will fly there again next week.
Gear will be
A1 with 400 2.8
A1 with 70-200 2.8 II
7CR with 24-70 2.8 II
Also will take part in wildlife conservation work with lion and Hyaina.
40Driggs wrote:
Pangolin Chobe report part 3: General thoughts on gear
There has been a lot of talk about gear on the thread and I thought I would share my thoughts on gear usage as part of a group safari in Botswana during the wet season.
I chose to rent the 70-200 f/2.8 and 600 f/4 lens as well as an a1 camera. I was shooting the 70-200 on the a7r V. The a1 II wasn't available for rent, which was actually unfortunate because the other birder in my group was also shooting the same setup as me, but with the a1 II and he captured a lot more in flight images because of the precapture feature. Especially the kingfishers in flight, which are very fast.
This combination worked well for me. I could have gone with the 100-400 to leave less of a gap, but I found that most of the time I either wanted to be at 600 or we were very close and the 70-200 worked well. I also liked the better separation of the 2.8 aperture, and low light abilities for the morning and evening. Most of us were using the long lens (two of us using 600 f/4, one 200-400 w/tc, then 100-500 zooms) for all the birds and then the prime shooter group switched out to a shorter zoom for elephant, hippos and giraffes that were close enough. I didn't miss the gap personally, but there were a few times when I would have been better served by a 100-400 to pair with the prime. I only used my 16-35 like 5 times the whole trip. It was good to have, but I wouldn't have missed it really.
I would suggest keeping the gear minimal if possible. I felt like having two bodies I could easily switch between, with a single lens glued onto it, worked really well with me. I never switched my lenses between bodies because I was trying to stay focused and not mess around with gear much. I loved the Kiboka 30L. It fit all my gear, even the 600 with the hood. If I go again, I'll purchase a soft hood or the Zemlin short hood. The 600 with hood is quite cumbersome inside of a safari vehicle, especially if you don't have your own row. I also brought the 1.4x TC with me. To be honest, on the river they get you very close and you don't need the reach nearly as much as I do when I'm at home trying to shoot birds. It was amazing how close we consistently got to everything in general. I did use the TC when shooting the lion pride in the distance and specifically when shooting the Malachite if I had the time. I think the 600 was the smart choice for this location because of the focus on birding. During our mammal encounters I would have generally been better served by a 400 f/2.8, but I easily adapted to shooting subjects from more of a distance to fit the focal length. I rarely found this an issue and was extremely happy with the performance of the 600mm prime, even with the TC.
I also added a grip to each camera. I'm not much of a grip shooter usually, but I have to say that it worked well for me. It was nice never having to worry about battery life and I didn't have a single change of battery in the field in 6 days. I would just charge them out between drives and usually had a whole battery life spare, or close to it. It also felt good ergonomically, especially with the 600 on the gimbal. It does add weight, but I was able to hand hold for brief periods without issues....Show more →
My bag last trip (Feb). On the seat or floor in the Land Cruiser next to. Easy to grab the appropriate one.
40Driggs wrote:
I can only think of one instance. We were looking for leopards/cats one morning and the guide had informed us that we were not going to be stopping for birds to try to get to a specific area quickly. The main birder in the group yelled for us to stop and we did for him, thinking maybe he had spotted a leopard. We actually found a pair of eagle owls on a tree branch. One of the ladies in our group got irritated and said, "We're not stopping for birds today." He responded with, "Those aren't just any birds," in an irritated tone.
The only other conflict we had in our group was during the chase/kill sequence. The same woman who had complained stood up to relocate and ruined both his and my opportunity at getting a clear shot of the sequence. When he expressed being frustrated by this, she tried to blame the issue on having too many people in the vehicle. While this was somewhat valid, he didn't like that she blamed the situation on the vehicle rather than on her being selfish and trying to get a shot at the inconvenience of others....Show more →
On my very first trip in 2007, the rules were very clearly spelt out by the team leader - you cannot move or in any way shake the vehicle when somebody is taking a shot, you actually call out 'moving' whenever you do so at a sighting. When you finish your shot, you say 'I'm done'. This is a common and very vexing issue, we've all lost great photos this way, it is only a split second but that is the difference between a perfect shot and a so-so.
One team leader would utter profanities if you ever moved while he was shooting!
Rytchk wrote:
For the best experience book a jeep for yourself.
No problems with space, you decide what where how long …
I never share jeeps execpt friends or family.
I agree... however most people who do so do not know how to drive a vehicle when around animals--especially large mammals like elephants. I would always recommend people who want to self drive actually hire a guide to go with them--especially if they haven't driven on safari before.
40Driggs wrote:
I can only think of one instance. We were looking for leopards/cats one morning and the guide had informed us that we were not going to be stopping for birds to try to get to a specific area quickly. The main birder in the group yelled for us to stop and we did for him, thinking maybe he had spotted a leopard. We actually found a pair of eagle owls on a tree branch. One of the ladies in our group got irritated and said, "We're not stopping for birds today." He responded with, "Those aren't just any birds," in an irritated tone.
The only other conflict we had in our group was during the chase/kill sequence. The same woman who had complained stood up to relocate and ruined both his and my opportunity at getting a clear shot of the sequence. When he expressed being frustrated by this, she tried to blame the issue on having too many people in the vehicle. While this was somewhat valid, he didn't like that she blamed the situation on the vehicle rather than on her being selfish and trying to get a shot at the inconvenience of others....Show more →
Thanks, it's always fun to hear the stories. It happens often. I've heard people bickering in other vehicles while out in the bush, it's always a good laugh.
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