I am assuming this is asking based on lenses I currently own as opposed to a "dream list". On a Sony A7iii (Full Frame) camera I would take my Sony/Zeiss 16-35mm f/4 for wide angle, my Tamron 70-180mm f/2.8 for mid range telephoto, and my Sony 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS for when I need to reach out for an image.
My ultimate trio would be Canon 16-35 f/2.8, Canon 70-200 f/2.8, Sigma 150-600 f/5 to f/6.3 with Canon EOS 90d and Canon EOS R6 hopefully if I can buy them in future!
Pretty much the same 3 I take on all my nature shoots. 16-35 f/4, 24-105 f/4, and 200-600 f5.6-6.3 (with 1.4 teleconverter). Usually 2 bodies (A7III and A7RIV) which can lead to some need to switch up.
@@barryscully1820 I have the 24-105mm f/4 & I love it. (In fact, that is what is on my camera the vast majority of the time.) Given the constraints of this allowing only 3, I opted for the wider 16-35 instead of the more flexible 24-105.
Danielle has made a very valid point on, 'with whom are you going to shoot?' Very valid that during safaris all occupants in the same vehicle have more or less similar lenses, leave alone interests! For tiger safaris, me and my friends always carry a prime lens (500mm/600mm) and a 80-400 or 100-400 as we never know our position till we encounter the animal. Of course, both mounted on bodies as a sighting gives very little time to adjust on most of the occasions. Also, being camera ready is something you will not regret as "sudden" sightings happen on 25% of the occasions!
A well balanced talk with lots to think about. Here's another 2 cans to open: cropped sensor or full frame; slr or mirrorless! Something I have thought of is filters, especially if you are going to use the lens for other things. Some of the zoom lenses with a fixed aperture have bulbous fronts so you can't put filters on for effect or protection.
Thanks Ben. There is a crop vs full frame video coming out at some point (I know it has been filmed) so keep an eye out. SLR or mirrorless is a huge can of worms! Generally we don't use filters for wildlife (only landscape) but my 300 for e.g. has a spot for the filter (screw out...will double check the correct term) at the back end of the lens.
Hi Danielle. Nice video. I can't disagree with anything you have said, it summarised most of the differences really well. I would just like to add a couple of extra points. Firstly you have recommended that if you only have one body then perhaps go for a zoom for flexibility, I tend to agree and a further advantage is that, in particular in dusty environments like on safari, changing lenses all the time invites large amounts of dust onto the sensor which can be disastrous so a zoom in those circumstances does help. I am a committed prime user (with a few shorter telephotos and a couple of bodies) and the principal reason I have gone with fast primes is that the faster lenses not only allow better low light performance as you mentioned but for me the main attraction was the shallower depth of field that can create images with wonderful bokeh. Put simply you can create images with a 400 2.8 (I have 300 2.8 but the 400 is better for that) or my 800 5.6 which you simply couldn't make with any zoom lens, even the most expensive. I appreciate they are very pricey and I did go for years without them but now I have taken the plunge I wouldn't sell them for the world! I very soon got used to the lack of flexibility which was my main concern before I mortgaged my house, my car, my wife and my kids to buy them!!!! All the best Pete www.PeteDowning.com
Just setup my gear during the lockdown after having used a D5300 for the last 3 years. My setup now is A) For Birding a D500 with a 1.4 TC on a Nikkor 500mm F/5.6 Prime. B) For Mammals a D850 with a Nikkor 70-200mm ED VR II. C) For Landscapes a Leica Q2. Trying to put together a Tripod with a Gimbal head setup, for wildlife and panos.
Thanks. Great practical video again. I also think that you need to decide your main focus in Wildlife. Some people mainly focus on Birds and obviously reach is the ultimate. If you mostly shoot animals then they come of all shapes sizes and distance and this is where Zoom creativity play a major role. Personally after having shot with a 300 f2.8 and TC's for the past 10-12 yrs believing primes are king, I have changed to zoom lenses. I find a lot more creativity and when spending a lot of time at a sighting allow for a lot more options. For many people ultimate sharpness as pixel level is the ultimate quality factor. Today most pictures live on small electronic media screens where IQ is very difficult to differentiate ito ultimate sharpness. Always interesting and fantastic to see the quality of images created with relative inexpensive equipment.
I also started with the Nikon 200-500 but I mostly end up on the long end. The 5.6 is a bit too slow for the low light conditions. Now I am using the Nikon 180-400 4.0 with tc. Which is brillant but also only 4.0. next in the list is the prime 400 2.8. which I can use with an TC during the day if needed. I use a D850 / Z7 and D7500. These are only the long lenses I use. 70-200 2.8 and 24-70 2.8 is also in my bag.
My experience from many photo safaris in Botswana and its neighbour states (in National Parks as well as in Private Concessions) is to the effect, that my kit normally includes 2 bodies (5D Mark IV and 7D Mark II) and 3 lenses (24-70 mm f2.8 L, 70-200 mm f2.8 L IS, 300 mm F2.8 L IS) and the teleconverter 1.4. I look always for weight reduction, because I dont´t like to carry more than round about 12 kgs. Its always a challenge, to travel with more. This combination of bodies and lenses is very versatile and offers mostly a solution for the different situations. What is important for me, is that the lenses have a max aperture of 2.8, because many often we will find weak or low light conditions in the early morning or during sunset. I know, that my prime lens is on the short side for birds etc. But in combination with the teleconverter and the camera with the cropped sensor it is in the most cases no problem, to shoot good images from birds. Danielle, your contribution is very helpful and confirms my opinion. Thank you! Sure - it might give better possibilities with respect to the selection of cameras and lenses.
One little tip is if your shooting with a high megapixel camera, like a Z7 or a7R IV or Nikon D850, you can use crop mode to get an "equivalent" focal length of the same lens on a crop sensor camera, without having another body. This does give you more zoom "reach" but the downside is that you will actaully end up with a slightly lower resolution than what you would get with the average APS-C crop sensor camera, but it is an option. All of the other properties still apply as if you are putting a full frame lens onto a crop sensor body. I would only do this if you need a little more "reach" and you only have one high megapixel body (say 36MP or more). I would NOT recommend this for lower-resolution full frame cameras (like 24MP cameras) unless you're ONLY planning on displaying your images on a screen and you don't crop very much out. The cropping applies to both, but megapixel count is primarily important for printing, and less important for screen display as even a 2MP camera (assuming no cropping) can still deliver a full 1920x1080 HD image. 4k images require about 8.3MP.
Thank you for the information, I have 24-70mm/f4 kit lens with my Z6II and a 200-500 Nikon lens with FTZ and considering to buy another Z6II body for the safari trip. Do my gear is ok. I am a enthusiastic level in my skills.
Great video and subject matter. I too shoot with a D850 and I also have a D500 APS-C. I typically will use the D500 with my 300mm PF or 500mm PF to take advantage of the 1,5X crop. I will use my 200-500mm on the D850 to insure the best focus and color rendition performance with that lens. Would you do something different?
Thank you Danielle for all the good advice and clear information. I see a lot of amazing collections of cameras/lenses in the comments. Wow. I’m happy with my canon 5D mark II and 7D using both the 18- 135 and 100-400 zoom lenses. I would love to get a prime lens, like the 300 mm 2.8 ! but all prime lenses are so expensive. Which one would you advise ? A 300 or keep saving for a 500 ? I live in SA and travel around by car so fortunately weight is not really an issue. And how about alternative brands, like Tamron ?
Hello. I know, I'm jealous too... Good combo you have. I'd say saving for a 500 is ideal then, if you can. Then you have the option to cover a very wide range. Also depends on your subject - definitely the 500 for birds. I have not shot with either Sigma or Tamron's 500 but I have a friend who shoots professionally and is extremely impressed with the Sigma 500. Rent it for a day and put it to the test :-)
Thank you for a very informative video, I travel a lot with my Canon 7d. Weight is a major consideration. My carry around lenses are Tamron 17-50 f2.8 and a 85mm f1.8. on occasions if I know I will be wanting to shoot at longer distances I have a 135 f 2,8 and a canon times 2.O. Carrying my 70-200 f2.8 and other zooms is too heavy.
Firstly appologies if the following has aready been mentioned in the comments. I mainly started with zoom lenses as much as anything because they were cheaper than exotic primes. It was actually on our visit to Chobe staying on the Pangolin Voyager that I hired a 500mm F4 Nikon prime(I had also bought along a Nikon 70-200). I was initially a little worried about having a fixed focal length lens because of some of the reasons Danielle mentioned but it took me all of a day to get used to a fixed focal length. First thing I needed to learn was anticipation. Yes your boat driver will move as close to the subject as possible so I knew I needed on some occassions to start shooting when we were a little further away. The other thing is using your imagination. When we got close up to Ele's of coarse the whole animal would not fit in the frame, so use the opportunity do do interesting close ups like eyes/eyelashes, tails, skin textures or fur. All safari's start early in the morning and honestly having a lens that is a stop or two brighter than most zooms is a boon. Also, where the Nikon 200-500 is fixed at f5.6 throughout it's range, other zooms from the likes of Sigma and Tamron 150-600mm when you zoom to say 500mm your F stop will go higher to F6.3. That's a huge difference in available light when you 500mm prime is natively F4 and your zoom at 500mm is F6.3. Things do even up if the light is good but I find the Sigma 150-600mm yields it's best IQ when stopped down to F8 where my 500mm the IQ is equal to the zoom at F4 and better than the zoom stopped down to F5.6. Most primes to my eyes render out of focus areas smoother than most zooms. We also get into what type of wildlife you shoot. Is it mainly large mammals or birds or a bit of both. In Australia mostly we have birds to photograph. Not only do I use my 500mm prime 99% of the time for birds the 1.4tc is attached virtually permantly giving me 700mm starting at F5.6. If you try and add a teleconvertor to your 150-600mm you start at F8, would need to stop down to F11 for decent IQ and the autofocus(assuming you have a camera that will autofocus with this set up) would be frustratingly slow. One exception that I have seen for a zoom that doesn't cost 20 grand and still has very good IQ with the 1.4tc attached is Canons 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM II though you will still 'only' get to around 560mm and natively be stopped down so less available light. Advantage to Canon users there and a very popular safari lens. If you are going to be photographing a mix of larger animals and birds and only want to carry one camera body and not spend a huge sum of money then any of the reasonably priced zooms should suffice. My partner Nicole shoots with the Sigma 150-600mm C on safari and when the light is good can get very satisfying results. For myself, once I used a high end prime I would never go back to just having a zoom lens. Auto focus speed, IQ, available light, out of focus areas are to my eyes as good or better than most zooms under a greater range of conditions. There are zooms that are right up there but I'm talking about the likes of 70-200mm F2.8's which are for the most part too short to be your only lens for safari even with a 1.4tc attached especially as many of us will be shooting birds as well. Best set up for myself is 2 x Nikon D850's, Sigma 1401 tc, Sigma 500mm F4 Sport, every bit as good as the Nikon 500mm F4 but half the price & Sigma 70-200 F2.8 Sport, again, far cheaper and every bit as good as a Nikon version except the Nikon FL easily wins on lower weight which is a big consideration for some. I do have a nifty 50mm but I doubt if I've used it more than a dozen times on safari. Thanks for the video Danielle, excellent job explaining the pro's and cons! Next can of worms........crop body vs full frame : )
Brian you have missed your calling!! I think a photography magazine needs to snap you up asap! Thank you for such succinct and informed comment. Maybe we should be getting you to do some gear reviews for the channel too.....
@@PangolinWildlife Haha Thanks : ). I have had an online blog for 8 years but nothing to do with photography. Very happy watching Pangolin Vids as well as others as I'm a perennial researcher of photography and wildlife. Don't have a memory or a time when I did not have books(yep those things we used along with TV before the internet) about animals and probably watched the equivalent of one wildlife doco a day for 30 years. Again, thanks for the added content during Covid restictions, I've been soaking it all up : )
That was a super presentation, I gained a great deal from this well constructed tutorial. I have two Pentax cameras, one K-3ii and a K-500, I posses a 450mm Pentax Zoom and a 55mm standard. However, in my garden where I have to endure fairly high foliage conditions and low light, I've been trying to decide on a lens giving me wide apertures, for my bird photography, I would nevertheless, like to stay with zoom and now knowing that I have a 1.5 times, focal-length increase for my 35mm format, do you think a 200mm zoom would hit the spot and provide the versatility too? Thanks, Danielle.
Hi Colin, thank you. Have you considered a 70-200 f/2.8? Superb in low light. But it does depend on how far/habituated the birds are. You'll have a 107-306mm lens which would be good together with the longer lens you have, in my opinion.
@@danielle-pangolinphotohost1005 - sounds good as the problem is primarily, lighting and consequent noise with the bigger lenses so if I can achieve more light, the dreaded cropping will be easier as the distance is generally about 20 to 25 meters but with dens Natal-fig foliage. Perhaps I could forward some of the pictures illustrating the problems. My e-mail or facebook messenger or through Toby! - thank you and stay well.
Nice video ! It was just perfect because at the moment getting ready to buy a 300 mm prime due to quality and not wanting to sell my car! That point had me smiling! ))) Thank you !
@@danielle-pangolinphotohost1005 I like the way you present the subject. Calm, quite and cool.! I prefer to carry three bodies for all my tiger safaries. D750 with 300 pf f/4, D500 with 70-200 f2.8 and D850 with 200-500 f5.6. I dont like to use TC any time. I use D750 purely for low light situations. What do you think about this..?
Hi Danielle! I read on one site their shot percentage was approx. 14-200mm. 35% 200-300mm 25% 300-400mm 25% Over 400mm 15% Would you think this is reasonable or way off. I’m curious what you would guess for most larger mammals in National Parks where you can’t off-road. Thanks
Hey Dave. I use my 300 2.8 with a 1.4x teleconverter. It is still pin sharp in my opinion and although I've read reviews about how it slows down the AF speed, I honestly don't notice such a huge difference (I should probably take the tele off for a while and then see if I notice a difference). I know the 2x is not advised due to slow AF and big quality degrade (I personally haven't shot with it) and the 1.7 has always had a very bad rep, but the newer 1.7 does better. Having said all that, the 300 2.8 is one of the best ever lenses to be used with teleconverters. If I can get my hands on all 3 it's a good idea for a video but you should definitely find a good comparison somewhere.
I use the Nikon 300 2.8 VR with both the 1.4x and 2x converters and I'm really happy with the results, especially with the 1.4x. After calibration I get amazing results with the 1.4 and acceptable with the 2x. I think it depends on your camera, the higher pixel density or pixel count you have the more noticeable the loss of quality gets. Jonas
Great video Solid advice and I like the suggestion at the end about learning what your group plans to shoot with 👍 I was a bit surprised to hear to you talk about fast zoom lenses and their cost I am admittedly new to photography, but Canon just released the RF100-300 F2.8 this year While it is very expensive, $10K US, it is cheaper than the RF400 f2.8, 12K US, and the RF600 f4, $13K US. Even with a 2X converter it is still cheaper. I was curious what Zoom lenses you had in mind when speaking on that topic?
one other good tip, if you shoot with a 200, 300 or higher PRIME lenses, at least for Nikons there is an issue as the front element gets larger, there is a point where REAR filter trays are used instead of front screw in filters, and one issue is *the 'clear' filter that comes with the lens, MUST be installed in the tray, if no other filter is used; as these form part of the lens design* and if absent, can cause focusing issues, as there is NOT the correct number of elements installed to hit the sensor/ film plane!!; and for seccond-hand lenses, this is even more important, as this can become lost, or the filter tray, or it's latch, or seal damaged, causing lens focus/ flareing issues.
While I think there are a lot of similarities between the countrysides of Australia and Southern Africa, which makes sense if you subscribe to the theory that we were both part of the same continent prior to continental drift, we might be even closer in our sense of humour - let's heat up that can of worms for a really good feed! Beautiful stuff Danielle! ;-)
Agreed! We definitely share the same sense of humour. But you guys still win at not taking life too seriously and being laid back. Thanks for the comment :-)
excellent videos , Danielle you have nailed it , i always carry three bodies and three lenses for all wildlife shooting, but now i have switched over to mirrorless full frame and the lenses are little lighter to carry, iam neck and back problem so i cannot carry heavy telephoto lenses, can you do a video on canon 800 mm f11 and 600mm f11 lenses for wildlife , iam thinking buying it for is weight ,
Just traded my Nikon 200-500mm for a 300mm f4 mainly because of the weight the f4 is stunning ok I lose a bit of focal length but for the future would I be better with a converter 1.4 or invest in a possibly lighter zoom than the 200-500mm.
Hi Graeme. Yes you'll definitely miss that last bit of zoom of the 200-500, especially for wildlife. It's one of the lighter zoom lenses that produce quality images. You might enjoy the lighter 300 f/4 PF lens or 500 PF that Nikon has brought out, budget dependent?
I was going to Masai Mara this March but got cancelled due to CV-19. So not sure when it will happen now? Anyway, I had planned to take Nikon bodies D5, D4s and D810. Lens: 400 f2.8, 70-200 f2.8 and 16-35f4. A monopod, beanbag, magic arm and some pocket wizards remote triggers. My wife was going to accompany as s non-photog so I was going to use some of her luggage allowance. Not sure what will happen next?
Hi Harish, that's a pity to have to cancel such a big trip. But postpone, don't cancel. Who knows what will happen next... You'll be quite alright with that setup - do you have a teleconverter that you use with our 400mm? You have one of those really nice wives that let you take over their luggage allowance ;-) PS - You're always welcome to join me on our Masai Mara trip next year (2-9 September) if your things don't work out.
@@danielle-pangolinphotohost1005 Yes Danielle I have a x2mk3 TC and recently purchased x1.4mk3. I also have a Nikon 300mm f4 Pf which is super light and compact- lovely lens. There were eight of us going, five from UK & three from Australia. No the trip will definitely go ahead. Which camp do you use? Let me have some details you never know! Cheers.
I shoot with 2 bodies crop n FF and use an assortment of 300 f/2.8, 100-400, 70-200m plus 1.4x, 2x. They all have their place. If I could afford and carry (int flight limits) I would also rock a 600 f/4. I also use a 45 f/1.8 and a 16-35. I see the need for at least one more body to minimise lens changes in the field.
Thanks Danelle for this explanation. I shoot wildlife (Generally tiger national parks in India) as a hobby. I use Nikon D500 and Nikon Zoom 200-500. I find that pictures are not very satisfactory in low light (usually when tiger is spotted). Also I have experienced pictures are not of same good quality with this lens after 4 years. I am now planning to buy Nikon mirrorless Z6 or & with Nikon prime 400. It is very light and with full frame 45 Megapixel and prime lens will probably take care of low light and quality of pictures - what do you think?
Great video but you didn't mention cost. A Nikon 600mm F4 (which is on back order tight now) will set you back US$12,000+ and that doesn't include some of the added accessories (1.4x Teleconverter at around US$500) as opposed to a lens such as the Tamron 150-600mm G2 (which I have and is a great lens for price IMO) at around US$1200. I plan on keeping 150-600 for a walk around lens and the 600 for special locations which given the national parks in the US are quite numerous .
Hi Joseph. Initially, I had cost as one of my points but it's such an "apples vs pears" debate. For eg the 600 f/4 is in a league of it's own and I can't really compare the 150-600mm with the quality of the 600 prime. There are reasons for primes to be more expensive. However, then you get the 180-400mm lens and that's again more expensive than most primes. Apples and pears..so I left cost out :-)
I do get to crop like crazy... because I have a 5DSR ^_^ Not quite as much as many people may think though, I do try to stay over 12 MP post crop at least.
Thanks for the information. I have a 1200d canon body with sigma 150-600mm. Looking to upgrade the body to 90d. will it be a good choice or full frame will give me better result. Only full frame I can afford is 6d mark2.
Another wonderful video. Thank you. For my first safari Sept. 2019 I brought my Nikon D850 and D500 (crop sensor), the 300 PF 4, 70-200 2.8 and the 24-70mm 2.8. I also brought a TC 1.4 (teleconverter) to help with reach. Also, the Nikon D850 has the option to switch to DX or crop mode for that extra effective reach. I found myself shooting with either the 300 PF and 70-200. However if the animals came close to the vehicle sometimes even the 70-200 was too much lens. Before this holiday I thought about renting the 200-500 but was told to be wary of the Nikon 200-500 on safari due to dust and that you have to be careful zooming in/out as it will suck the dust into the internal parts of the lens. I did not bring my Sigma Sport 150-600 due to weight limits on the planes and just too much to lug around for me. It is 2 more pounds than the 200-500. Am hoping to go on another safari so follow Pangolin closely. Keep up the great tutorials.
Hello. Ideal set you have there! The 200-500mm is a great lens, especially to travel with. I haven't experienced the dust sucking too much with it but it might be...Hope to see you in Botswana!
Yeah, 2 camera bodies is pretty much minimum. I usually go with the 5DSR with something long (150-600 Sigma, or 400 Canon, something like that) and then the Samsung NX1 with 50-150 (75-225 ish equivalent FOV). And I will usually bring another Samsung lens or two because they're small and easy to swap for my wide angles (10mm fisheye, and 12-24mm, which are around 15 and 18-36mm FOV respectively).
great video keep up the good work. I am debating in investing in my 1st prime lens (300 f2.8 or a 500 f4) i currently own a nikon D850 and a D500 with a 200-500 lens, what lens would you suggest as an addition for my current setup ( I mainly shoot birds).
For birds, your longer zoom (500) would really come in handy (even though you have an effective 750mm with your D500 setup). Full frame + 500mm will give you magical backgrounds and low light performance.
Good video and worthwhile for any person's to decide which lens suits your own personal need. Myself I use a prime lenses because in low light when I found most action by various species. Zoom Lenses even of f2.8 constant lenses may let in some dust. Prime lenses have better build quality & weather sealed than zoom lenses. Pro spec camera body even 2nd hand pro camera body in decent condition is better to have a lower price new camera as its built for harsh environments whereby the consumer camera build isn't built for harsh use.
I have D50 and D850 which one you think works best for prime and which one best for zoom by your experience? I always use D500 for birds and wildlife whereas D850 for landscapes only.Thanks
Thats the can of worms out of the way how about a bucket list next...lol. In my experience Prime are just so much sharper and as you say you can normally get more light. Canon 400mm f2.8 is the one I am after but as you said may need to sell the car first.
Lol. That can of worms will make another appearance somewhere for sure. Good to hear your opinion on primes...often gets debated. Yep, that's the one I'd have to trade a car or kidney for!
Hi ands thanks for this video. I have a camera nikon d 850 and i would like your opinion/help what best zoom lens Tamron 150-600mm or Sigma 150-600mm? Or you advice another zoom lens? Thanks, regards
Hello, thanks for this video. I travel to masai mara end of december. I have a D 850 and a D500 (and a D7100 but normaly i do not use this anymore) I am not sure on wich body i put my lenses. I have a 70-200, a 80-400mm but for some reason the pictures i take with the 80- 400 are disappointing for me, a lot of pics are not sharp... I also want to take the 24-70mm for wide shots. Wich lens on wich body?? Or do i change the 80-400mm lens for a prime? Or another zoomlens? I hope you have the time to react. I like your videos!!! many greetings
Thanks for your video, you shared lots of useful information which really gonna help me to decide my next wildlife lens. One thing which still confuse me is about which camera type should I pick, DSLR or a Mirrorless. There are lots of hype about Mirrorless system on internet and ppls are saying that DSLR are dead. Please suggest what you think which system is good and robust for the wildlife photography? Thanks!
I know this doesn't really has to do with the video, but I'm saving to buy my first camera (A nikon d3500) and I want to buy a cheap zoom lens. Which one would you recommend?
Hi there. What is your budget? The 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G ED IF AF-S VR is a good all-rounder to start off with, and then you can also have a look at the 24-120mm f/4G ED. Then you can have a look at the Sigma and Tamron zooms also.
never been to a safari so don’t really know how close you get but, would properably go with 24-70 f2.8, 180-400 f4 with build in tc, and a 600 f4 all on a fullframe say D5 or even a d850, it’s always fun to pretend thou 🤣👍
@@danielle-pangolinphotohost1005 Hi Danielle, Pardon the delay in responding to your query. I have the Tokina AT-X 116PRO DX II ( 11-16 F2.8). I have not had much opportunity to use it. I shoot Nikon D750 and Nikon D500 with Nikon 70-200mm F2.8, Nikon 24-120mm F4 and Nikon 500mm F5.6E PF ED VR lenses.
Great video. Thank you. I have opted for zooms. I have a Sony A7iii body and my "normal" lens is a 24-105mm f/4. I wanted a lens with some reach, so for a telephoto lens I got the 200-600mm f5.6-6.3. Both are great lenses (They are both Sony "G Series" lenses.) but it left me with a gap from 105mm to 200mm. I recently filled that gap with the Tamron 70-180mm f/2.8 lens. For wide angle, I have the 16-35mm f/4 Sony/Zeiss and for Astrophotography, I have a 20mm f/2 Tokina FiRIN (Manual Focus) lens. For me, this gives me a LOT of flexibility. The only real issue is that the 200-600mm lens is a beast (2115g) not only to travel with, but also to carry around.
@@danielle-pangolinphotohost1005 that's funny. "A beast" is exactly the term I use to describe the Sony 200-600. I used to have a 70-300mm, but it just wasn't giving me the reach that I wanted and I found I was heavily cropping a lot of my shots (especially aviation and birds in flight). Now, I might still crop, but I do it much less that I did it before.
Thanks Danielle for the relevant info. I am a tiger photographer from India. I have two bodies, one full frame and the other a cropped one. I use Canon 200-400 mm builtin Extender on my full frame and the cropped body with a 100-400 mm lens.I wish to replace 100-400 with a 70-200 mm 2.8 f. I wish for an expert advise from you and our dear followers whether my intention benefits me. If yes why ? If no Why ? Thank you.
Hey Sarma, good question! Personally I would opt for the 70-200 (my opinion) both because of low light capabilities as well as zoom range diversity. Then you don't have too much "zoom overlap" (especially when you use the extender) . You can't go wrong with a 70-200 2.8 in terms of quality. And the 200-400 is superb also. Personally that's the combo that I would have if I shot Canon.
hi Please suggest me How should I match the equipment and take Botswana safari I have got nkion d850 d500 24-70 F2.8 70-200 f2.8 200-500 f5.6 500 f5.6 sigma 14 f1.8 85 f1.8 Maybe there will be z6+24-200 f4-6.3 thanks eric
Thats a lot of gear to carry around. If you like we have a booklet you can download which has lots of info on what to bring on safari. You can find it here: www.pangolinphoto.com/photo-safari-guide
Sorry, but the reason for the quality loss in zooms is not really because more of the parts move. In fact, more moving parts often increases the quality of a zoom. The problem is that it needs to be good at many focal lengths rather than just one, so you can't optimize the optical design to the same degree. The parts moving is actually part of the solution to the optimization problem, not the issue.
@ 9:34, this is ONLY true when adding a Full frame lens onto a DX (cropped) body, or micro 4/3rds body, NOT when you add the CROPPED lens onto a cropped body/ Full frame lens onto a full frame body, in this case "this reads like on the tin", NO crop factor [excluding the adition of a Tele-extender, which HAS a crop, 1.4 ; 1.7 ; 2.0 x ], which does reduce apature by this factor, so necisarily ISO has to go up, for a constant shutter speed {acording to Focal length, so as to reduce camera shake}.
Yes, ahh that's something that I had on my original notes for the video, got lost somewhere along the drafts. Thanks for that, definitely an important point.
You did an amazing job of describing the "pro and cons" of each lens. I'm pleasantly surprised at a sensible, practical u-toob video on anything photographic. You touched on cost, and fixed focal lengths can get VERY expensive rapidly. New 600mm f4= Good used car. How MUCH are you going to use a very long focal length lens? Put it the basis of "cost per image". Rental lenses MAY or may not be an option to you. BTW, one big one, you are using a NYE-CON camera NOT a Nik-On. This affectation of mispronouncing the name is very irritating to me and objectionable to Japanese people. Marty Stouffer and his brother did nature shows on PBS some years back. In the American West, they were trying to photograph (in movies) the very skittish "Pronghorn Antelope". They got their 600mm F4.5 Nikon lens adapted to their movie camera and......got blurred useless footage from a kilometer away. Mirage and air currents ruined the images. Answer: STALKING in a BLIND. It's hard. It's time consuming. But now you're using a 70-210 and using the "shortside" of it most of the time. All the "wonderful" wildlife photos you see are close-ups, taken from no farther than 100 meters, and often FAR less. I spent 4 hours stalking a bison in Yellowstone, and DIDN'T get the photo, and I'm a darn good hunter!
Hi Ricky, thanks. "How MUCH are you going to use a very long focal length lens?" is a question I have asked myself many times. that is, if not birding. As for the pronunciation of Nikon, type it into Google translate (Japanese) an press the audio button. :-) Good points on the distance. Lately there has been quite a "movement" towards more environmental shots showing more of the context that the animal is in so I see togs leaning towards wide-angles a lot more. I would definitely not use a 600 for video. For birds and close-ups of animals it works well, but yes, in a blind if you can definitely.
@@markusstiller9882 I would love one. I have a 300mm f/2.8 VR2 and that was expensive enough used (actually it was a bit of a bargain, but still a lot of money). I was thinking about a used 200-400 VR2 but not heard great things about it
What would be your ultimate 3 lens combination to take on safari? Only 3!
I am assuming this is asking based on lenses I currently own as opposed to a "dream list". On a Sony A7iii (Full Frame) camera I would take my Sony/Zeiss 16-35mm f/4 for wide angle, my Tamron 70-180mm f/2.8 for mid range telephoto, and my Sony 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS for when I need to reach out for an image.
My ultimate trio would be Canon 16-35 f/2.8, Canon 70-200 f/2.8, Sigma 150-600 f/5 to f/6.3 with Canon EOS 90d and Canon EOS R6 hopefully if I can buy them in future!
Nikon of course,500mmf5.6pfed,800mm5.6pf, 70/200 f2.8 on either d500 or d850,
Pretty much the same 3 I take on all my nature shoots. 16-35 f/4, 24-105 f/4, and 200-600 f5.6-6.3 (with 1.4 teleconverter). Usually 2 bodies (A7III and A7RIV) which can lead to some need to switch up.
@@barryscully1820 I have the 24-105mm f/4 & I love it. (In fact, that is what is on my camera the vast majority of the time.) Given the constraints of this allowing only 3, I opted for the wider 16-35 instead of the more flexible 24-105.
Danielle has made a very valid point on, 'with whom are you going to shoot?' Very valid that during safaris all occupants in the same vehicle have more or less similar lenses, leave alone interests! For tiger safaris, me and my friends always carry a prime lens (500mm/600mm) and a 80-400 or 100-400 as we never know our position till we encounter the animal. Of course, both mounted on bodies as a sighting gives very little time to adjust on most of the occasions. Also, being camera ready is something you will not regret as "sudden" sightings happen on 25% of the occasions!
Hey Rajiv. Very true. Good combo's!
I already know all this but still liked to watch this video 😂. Well presented solid info! And Danielle has so calming and pleasant voice 😊.
A well balanced talk with lots to think about. Here's another 2 cans to open: cropped sensor or full frame; slr or mirrorless! Something I have thought of is filters, especially if you are going to use the lens for other things. Some of the zoom lenses with a fixed aperture have bulbous fronts so you can't put filters on for effect or protection.
Thanks Ben. There is a crop vs full frame video coming out at some point (I know it has been filmed) so keep an eye out. SLR or mirrorless is a huge can of worms! Generally we don't use filters for wildlife (only landscape) but my 300 for e.g. has a spot for the filter (screw out...will double check the correct term) at the back end of the lens.
Hi Danielle. Nice video. I can't disagree with anything you have said, it summarised most of the differences really well. I would just like to add a couple of extra points. Firstly you have recommended that if you only have one body then perhaps go for a zoom for flexibility, I tend to agree and a further advantage is that, in particular in dusty environments like on safari, changing lenses all the time invites large amounts of dust onto the sensor which can be disastrous so a zoom in those circumstances does help. I am a committed prime user (with a few shorter telephotos and a couple of bodies) and the principal reason I have gone with fast primes is that the faster lenses not only allow better low light performance as you mentioned but for me the main attraction was the shallower depth of field that can create images with wonderful bokeh. Put simply you can create images with a 400 2.8 (I have 300 2.8 but the 400 is better for that) or my 800 5.6 which you simply couldn't make with any zoom lens, even the most expensive. I appreciate they are very pricey and I did go for years without them but now I have taken the plunge I wouldn't sell them for the world! I very soon got used to the lack of flexibility which was my main concern before I mortgaged my house, my car, my wife and my kids to buy them!!!! All the best Pete www.PeteDowning.com
Hi Pete, thanks for the comments. I agree with your points, definitely! Hahaha - mortgage...lol.
Just setup my gear during the lockdown after having used a D5300 for the last 3 years. My setup now is
A) For Birding a D500 with a 1.4 TC on a Nikkor 500mm F/5.6 Prime.
B) For Mammals a D850 with a Nikkor 70-200mm ED VR II.
C) For Landscapes a Leica Q2.
Trying to put together a Tripod with a Gimbal head setup, for wildlife and panos.
Sounds perfect to me!
Thanks. Great practical video again. I also think that you need to decide your main focus in Wildlife. Some people mainly focus on Birds and obviously reach is the ultimate. If you mostly shoot animals then they come of all shapes sizes and distance and this is where Zoom creativity play a major role. Personally after having shot with a 300 f2.8 and TC's for the past 10-12 yrs believing primes are king, I have changed to zoom lenses. I find a lot more creativity and when spending a lot of time at a sighting allow for a lot more options. For many people ultimate sharpness as pixel level is the ultimate quality factor. Today most pictures live on small electronic media screens where IQ is very difficult to differentiate ito ultimate sharpness. Always interesting and fantastic to see the quality of images created with relative inexpensive equipment.
All true! Very dependent on what, where, how you shoot. I would happily trade in a few prime lenses for a 180-400
I also started with the Nikon 200-500 but I mostly end up on the long end. The 5.6 is a bit too slow for the low light conditions. Now I am using the Nikon 180-400 4.0 with tc. Which is brillant but also only 4.0. next in the list is the prime 400 2.8. which I can use with an TC during the day if needed. I use a D850 / Z7 and D7500. These are only the long lenses I use. 70-200 2.8 and 24-70 2.8 is also in my bag.
My dream combo would be a 180-400 on my D850, definitely. You're sorted!
Thanks for the info. I use canon 400 usm iii f 2.8 and also sigma contemporary 150 - 600 mm
My experience from many photo safaris in Botswana and its neighbour states (in National Parks as well as in Private Concessions) is to the effect, that my kit normally includes 2 bodies (5D Mark IV and 7D Mark II) and 3 lenses (24-70 mm f2.8 L, 70-200 mm f2.8 L IS, 300 mm F2.8 L IS) and the teleconverter 1.4. I look always for weight reduction, because I dont´t like to carry more than round about 12 kgs. Its always a challenge, to travel with more. This combination of bodies and lenses is very versatile and offers mostly a solution for the different situations. What is important for me, is that the lenses have a max aperture of 2.8, because many often we will find weak or low light conditions in the early morning or during sunset. I know, that my prime lens is on the short side for birds etc. But in combination with the teleconverter and the camera with the cropped sensor it is in the most cases no problem, to shoot good images from birds. Danielle, your contribution is very helpful and confirms my opinion. Thank you! Sure - it might give better possibilities with respect to the selection of cameras and lenses.
Hello. That's a perfect kit right there. I'm envious :-). Thanks a lot Christoph.
Great over view - thanks. I shoot mostly birds and landscape and use an 18-400mm lens on a crop body....love the versatility it affords me.....
That's a great setup for both!
Thank you for the explanation about the lenses..it really very helpful tips 🙏🙏🙏
One little tip is if your shooting with a high megapixel camera, like a Z7 or a7R IV or Nikon D850, you can use crop mode to get an "equivalent" focal length of the same lens on a crop sensor camera, without having another body. This does give you more zoom "reach" but the downside is that you will actaully end up with a slightly lower resolution than what you would get with the average APS-C crop sensor camera, but it is an option. All of the other properties still apply as if you are putting a full frame lens onto a crop sensor body. I would only do this if you need a little more "reach" and you only have one high megapixel body (say 36MP or more). I would NOT recommend this for lower-resolution full frame cameras (like 24MP cameras) unless you're ONLY planning on displaying your images on a screen and you don't crop very much out. The cropping applies to both, but megapixel count is primarily important for printing, and less important for screen display as even a 2MP camera (assuming no cropping) can still deliver a full 1920x1080 HD image. 4k images require about 8.3MP.
Indeed. A great trick to use in the cameras that do have it as an option. Thank you!
Danielle
You bring up some very good points I wouldn’t have thought of. Thankyou!
Thank you so much for this. As a complete novice, this was amazingly helpful. Very much appreciated. 😊
You're welcome! Thanks for the feedback.
Danielle
Thank you for the information, I have 24-70mm/f4 kit lens with my Z6II and a 200-500 Nikon lens with FTZ and considering to buy another Z6II body for the safari trip. Do my gear is ok. I am a enthusiastic level in my skills.
Hi Gyalbo. Good choice! Love the combo of your gear.
Danielle
Great video guys! Great to see Danelle. Excellent presentation!
Hey M&D! Thanks a lot. Hope you are keeping well over there and at least get to experience summer as best you can :-)
I have to say....never in my wildest dreams did I ever think about spending $10,000 for one stop of light but here we are...! Great video.
Well said!
Great video and subject matter. I too shoot with a D850 and I also have a D500 APS-C. I typically will use the D500 with my 300mm PF or 500mm PF to take advantage of the 1,5X crop. I will use my 200-500mm on the D850 to insure the best focus and color rendition performance with that lens. Would you do something different?
Thank you Danielle for all the good advice and clear information. I see a lot of amazing collections of cameras/lenses in the comments. Wow. I’m happy with my canon 5D mark II and 7D using both the 18- 135 and 100-400 zoom lenses. I would love to get a prime lens, like the 300 mm 2.8 ! but all prime lenses are so expensive. Which one would you advise ? A 300 or keep saving for a 500 ? I live in SA and travel around by car so fortunately weight is not really an issue. And how about alternative brands, like Tamron ?
Hello. I know, I'm jealous too... Good combo you have. I'd say saving for a 500 is ideal then, if you can. Then you have the option to cover a very wide range. Also depends on your subject - definitely the 500 for birds. I have not shot with either Sigma or Tamron's 500 but I have a friend who shoots professionally and is extremely impressed with the Sigma 500. Rent it for a day and put it to the test :-)
Thank you for a very informative video, I travel a lot with my Canon 7d. Weight is a major consideration. My carry around lenses are Tamron 17-50 f2.8 and a 85mm f1.8. on occasions if I know I will be wanting to shoot at longer distances I have a 135 f 2,8 and a canon times 2.O. Carrying my 70-200 f2.8 and other zooms is too heavy.
Firstly appologies if the following has aready been mentioned in the comments. I mainly started with zoom lenses as much as anything because they were cheaper than exotic primes. It was actually on our visit to Chobe staying on the Pangolin Voyager that I hired a 500mm F4 Nikon prime(I had also bought along a Nikon 70-200). I was initially a little worried about having a fixed focal length lens because of some of the reasons Danielle mentioned but it took me all of a day to get used to a fixed focal length. First thing I needed to learn was anticipation. Yes your boat driver will move as close to the subject as possible so I knew I needed on some occassions to start shooting when we were a little further away. The other thing is using your imagination. When we got close up to Ele's of coarse the whole animal would not fit in the frame, so use the opportunity do do interesting close ups like eyes/eyelashes, tails, skin textures or fur. All safari's start early in the morning and honestly having a lens that is a stop or two brighter than most zooms is a boon. Also, where the Nikon 200-500 is fixed at f5.6 throughout it's range, other zooms from the likes of Sigma and Tamron 150-600mm when you zoom to say 500mm your F stop will go higher to F6.3. That's a huge difference in available light when you 500mm prime is natively F4 and your zoom at 500mm is F6.3. Things do even up if the light is good but I find the Sigma 150-600mm yields it's best IQ when stopped down to F8 where my 500mm the IQ is equal to the zoom at F4 and better than the zoom stopped down to F5.6. Most primes to my eyes render out of focus areas smoother than most zooms. We also get into what type of wildlife you shoot. Is it mainly large mammals or birds or a bit of both. In Australia mostly we have birds to photograph. Not only do I use my 500mm prime 99% of the time for birds the 1.4tc is attached virtually permantly giving me 700mm starting at F5.6. If you try and add a teleconvertor to your 150-600mm you start at F8, would need to stop down to F11 for decent IQ and the autofocus(assuming you have a camera that will autofocus with this set up) would be frustratingly slow. One exception that I have seen for a zoom that doesn't cost 20 grand and still has very good IQ with the 1.4tc attached is Canons 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS USM II though you will still 'only' get to around 560mm and natively be stopped down so less available light. Advantage to Canon users there and a very popular safari lens. If you are going to be photographing a mix of larger animals and birds and only want to carry one camera body and not spend a huge sum of money then any of the reasonably priced zooms should suffice. My partner Nicole shoots with the Sigma 150-600mm C on safari and when the light is good can get very satisfying results. For myself, once I used a high end prime I would never go back to just having a zoom lens. Auto focus speed, IQ, available light, out of focus areas are to my eyes as good or better than most zooms under a greater range of conditions. There are zooms that are right up there but I'm talking about the likes of 70-200mm F2.8's which are for the most part too short to be your only lens for safari even with a 1.4tc attached especially as many of us will be shooting birds as well. Best set up for myself is 2 x Nikon D850's, Sigma 1401 tc, Sigma 500mm F4 Sport, every bit as good as the Nikon 500mm F4 but half the price & Sigma 70-200 F2.8 Sport, again, far cheaper and every bit as good as a Nikon version except the Nikon FL easily wins on lower weight which is a big consideration for some. I do have a nifty 50mm but I doubt if I've used it more than a dozen times on safari. Thanks for the video Danielle, excellent job explaining the pro's and cons! Next can of worms........crop body vs full frame : )
Brian you have missed your calling!! I think a photography magazine needs to snap you up asap! Thank you for such succinct and informed comment. Maybe we should be getting you to do some gear reviews for the channel too.....
@@PangolinWildlife Haha Thanks : ). I have had an online blog for 8 years but nothing to do with photography. Very happy watching Pangolin Vids as well as others as I'm a perennial researcher of photography and wildlife. Don't have a memory or a time when I did not have books(yep those things we used along with TV before the internet) about animals and probably watched the equivalent of one wildlife doco a day for 30 years. Again, thanks for the added content during Covid restictions, I've been soaking it all up : )
A can off worms....but some very good and valid info .Thanks for sharing your knowledge Danielle .
Dankie Sarel, waardeer!
That was a super presentation, I gained a great deal from this well constructed tutorial. I have two Pentax cameras, one K-3ii and a K-500, I posses a 450mm Pentax Zoom and a 55mm standard. However, in my garden where I have to endure fairly high foliage conditions and low light, I've been trying to decide on a lens giving me wide apertures, for my bird photography, I would nevertheless, like to stay with zoom and now knowing that I have a 1.5 times, focal-length increase for my 35mm format, do you think a 200mm zoom would hit the spot and provide the versatility too? Thanks, Danielle.
Hi Colin, thank you. Have you considered a 70-200 f/2.8? Superb in low light. But it does depend on how far/habituated the birds are. You'll have a 107-306mm lens which would be good together with the longer lens you have, in my opinion.
@@danielle-pangolinphotohost1005 - sounds good as the problem is primarily, lighting and consequent noise with the bigger lenses so if I can achieve more light, the dreaded cropping will be easier as the distance is generally about 20 to 25 meters but with dens Natal-fig foliage. Perhaps I could forward some of the pictures illustrating the problems. My e-mail or facebook messenger or through Toby! - thank you and stay well.
Nice video ! It was just perfect because at the moment getting ready to buy a 300 mm prime due to quality and not wanting to sell my car! That point had me smiling! ))) Thank you !
I love my 300mm, together with a 1.4x teleconverter it works well on my D850 (sometimes I'm a little bit short on zoom but can crop) Thanks :-)
@@danielle-pangolinphotohost1005 I like the way you present the subject. Calm, quite and cool.! I prefer to carry three bodies for all my tiger safaries. D750 with 300 pf f/4, D500 with 70-200 f2.8 and D850 with 200-500 f5.6. I dont like to use TC any time. I use D750 purely for low light situations. What do you think about this..?
Hi Danielle!
I read on one site their shot percentage was approx.
14-200mm. 35%
200-300mm 25%
300-400mm 25%
Over 400mm 15%
Would you think this is reasonable or way off.
I’m curious what you would guess for most larger mammals in National Parks where you can’t off-road.
Thanks
i really like your suggestions and the other videos you people make
Thanks Snehal, glad you're here!
great info, very helpful to work out myself, what I need to consider . . .
Glad it was helpful!
Hi Danielle, another great video. Question, the Nikon 300 2.8 how does it perform with teleconverters ? Thanks so much , Dave UK
Hey Dave. I use my 300 2.8 with a 1.4x teleconverter. It is still pin sharp in my opinion and although I've read reviews about how it slows down the AF speed, I honestly don't notice such a huge difference (I should probably take the tele off for a while and then see if I notice a difference). I know the 2x is not advised due to slow AF and big quality degrade (I personally haven't shot with it) and the 1.7 has always had a very bad rep, but the newer 1.7 does better. Having said all that, the 300 2.8 is one of the best ever lenses to be used with teleconverters. If I can get my hands on all 3 it's a good idea for a video but you should definitely find a good comparison somewhere.
I use the Nikon 300 2.8 VR with both the 1.4x and 2x converters and I'm really happy with the results, especially with the 1.4x. After calibration I get amazing results with the 1.4 and acceptable with the 2x. I think it depends on your camera, the higher pixel density or pixel count you have the more noticeable the loss of quality gets.
Jonas
@@danielle-pangolinphotohost1005 thanks for the info. I am looking to get a teleconverter.
Great video
Solid advice and I like the suggestion at the end about learning what your group plans to shoot with 👍
I was a bit surprised to hear to you talk about fast zoom lenses and their cost
I am admittedly new to photography, but Canon just released the RF100-300 F2.8 this year
While it is very expensive, $10K US, it is cheaper than the RF400 f2.8, 12K US, and the RF600 f4, $13K US. Even with a 2X converter it is still cheaper.
I was curious what Zoom lenses you had in mind when speaking on that topic?
Very informative!
Thanks for the great content as always.
Thanks Jan!
one other good tip, if you shoot with a 200, 300 or higher PRIME lenses, at least for Nikons there is an issue as the front element gets larger, there is a point where REAR filter trays are used instead of front screw in filters, and one issue is *the 'clear' filter that comes with the lens, MUST be installed in the tray, if no other filter is used; as these form part of the lens design* and if absent, can cause focusing issues, as there is NOT the correct number of elements installed to hit the sensor/ film plane!!; and for seccond-hand lenses, this is even more important, as this can become lost, or the filter tray, or it's latch, or seal damaged, causing lens focus/ flareing issues.
Thanks!
Really enjoyed this "tutorial". Been on photo safari once to Kruger, but look forward going back to Africa at one point.
We look forward to hosting you some day!
Thanks. Africa is waiting :-)
While I think there are a lot of similarities between the countrysides of Australia and Southern Africa, which makes sense if you subscribe to the theory that we were both part of the same continent prior to continental drift, we might be even closer in our sense of humour - let's heat up that can of worms for a really good feed! Beautiful stuff Danielle! ;-)
Agreed! We definitely share the same sense of humour. But you guys still win at not taking life too seriously and being laid back. Thanks for the comment :-)
Thank you for a great videos. Lots of useful information I can use when selecting my next lens.
Great to hear!
Great information as usual, thank you.
You're welcome Russ
-Danielle
excellent videos , Danielle you have nailed it , i always carry three bodies and three lenses for all wildlife shooting, but now i have switched over to mirrorless full frame and the lenses are little lighter to carry, iam neck and back problem so i cannot carry heavy telephoto lenses, can you do a video on canon 800 mm f11 and 600mm f11 lenses for wildlife , iam thinking buying it for is weight ,
Very good presentation!! Thank you!
Glad it was helpful!
Just traded my Nikon 200-500mm for a 300mm f4 mainly because of the weight the f4 is stunning ok I lose a bit of focal length but for the future
would I be better with a converter 1.4 or invest in a possibly lighter zoom than the 200-500mm.
Hi Graeme. Yes you'll definitely miss that last bit of zoom of the 200-500, especially for wildlife. It's one of the lighter zoom lenses that produce quality images. You might enjoy the lighter 300 f/4 PF lens or 500 PF that Nikon has brought out, budget dependent?
Well said Danielle - perfect info!!
Thanks a lot!
I was going to Masai Mara this March but got cancelled due to CV-19. So not sure when it will happen now?
Anyway, I had planned to take Nikon bodies D5, D4s and D810. Lens: 400 f2.8, 70-200 f2.8 and 16-35f4. A monopod, beanbag, magic arm and some pocket wizards remote triggers. My wife was going to accompany as s non-photog so I was going to use some of her luggage allowance.
Not sure what will happen next?
Hi Harish, that's a pity to have to cancel such a big trip. But postpone, don't cancel. Who knows what will happen next...
You'll be quite alright with that setup - do you have a teleconverter that you use with our 400mm?
You have one of those really nice wives that let you take over their luggage allowance ;-)
PS - You're always welcome to join me on our Masai Mara trip next year (2-9 September) if your things don't work out.
@@danielle-pangolinphotohost1005 Yes Danielle I have a x2mk3 TC and recently purchased x1.4mk3. I also have a Nikon 300mm f4 Pf which is super light and compact- lovely lens. There were eight of us going, five from UK & three from Australia. No the trip will definitely go ahead.
Which camp do you use? Let me have some details you never know! Cheers.
Thats awesome ..thank you some good details you covered 😊 👍 💚
I shoot with 2 bodies crop n FF and use an assortment of 300 f/2.8, 100-400, 70-200m plus 1.4x, 2x. They all have their place. If I could afford and carry (int flight limits) I would also rock a 600 f/4. I also use a 45 f/1.8 and a 16-35. I see the need for at least one more body to minimise lens changes in the field.
Sounds perfect. I'd also love a 3rd body for a wide angle lens but loving my 300 2.8 and 70-200 for now!
Danielle is a very nice person. You know theoretical issues well.
Thank you.
:-) Thanks Robert
Enjoyed thoroughly. Excellent tips
beautiful explanation of the pros and cons.
Thank you.
Thanks Danelle for this explanation. I shoot wildlife (Generally tiger national parks in India) as a hobby. I use Nikon D500 and Nikon Zoom 200-500. I find that pictures are not very satisfactory in low light (usually when tiger is spotted). Also I have experienced pictures are not of same good quality with this lens after 4 years. I am now planning to buy Nikon mirrorless Z6 or & with Nikon prime 400. It is very light and with full frame 45 Megapixel and prime lens will probably take care of low light and quality of pictures - what do you think?
Great video but you didn't mention cost. A Nikon 600mm F4 (which is on back order tight now) will set you back US$12,000+ and that doesn't include some of the added accessories (1.4x Teleconverter at around US$500) as opposed to a lens such as the Tamron 150-600mm G2 (which I have and is a great lens for price IMO) at around US$1200. I plan on keeping 150-600 for a walk around lens and the 600 for special locations which given the national parks in the US are quite numerous .
Hi Joseph. Initially, I had cost as one of my points but it's such an "apples vs pears" debate. For eg the 600 f/4 is in a league of it's own and I can't really compare the 150-600mm with the quality of the 600 prime. There are reasons for primes to be more expensive. However, then you get the 180-400mm lens and that's again more expensive than most primes. Apples and pears..so I left cost out :-)
@@danielle-pangolinphotohost1005 Took the plunge and ordered the 180-400mm. Best to leave cost out...LOL
Will you bring a video on 90d vs 80d as same you did for 90d vs 7dmii
Thank you Danielle! You are a inspiration, regards from a guide in Brazil
So glad!
I do get to crop like crazy... because I have a 5DSR ^_^ Not quite as much as many people may think though, I do try to stay over 12 MP post crop at least.
Thanks for the information. I have a 1200d canon body with sigma 150-600mm. Looking to upgrade the body to 90d. will it be a good choice or full frame will give me better result. Only full frame I can afford is 6d mark2.
Another wonderful video. Thank you. For my first safari Sept. 2019 I brought my Nikon D850 and D500 (crop sensor), the 300 PF 4, 70-200 2.8 and the 24-70mm 2.8. I also brought a TC 1.4 (teleconverter) to help with reach. Also, the Nikon D850 has the option to switch to DX or crop mode for that extra effective reach. I found myself shooting with either the 300 PF and 70-200. However if the animals came close to the vehicle sometimes even the 70-200 was too much lens. Before this holiday I thought about renting the 200-500 but was told to be wary of the Nikon 200-500 on safari due to dust and that you have to be careful zooming in/out as it will suck the dust into the internal parts of the lens. I did not bring my Sigma Sport 150-600 due to weight limits on the planes and just too much to lug around for me. It is 2 more pounds than the 200-500. Am hoping to go on another safari so follow Pangolin closely. Keep up the great tutorials.
Thank you. Let us know when you are ready to travel...you know where we are!
Hello. Ideal set you have there! The 200-500mm is a great lens, especially to travel with. I haven't experienced the dust sucking too much with it but it might be...Hope to see you in Botswana!
Yeah, 2 camera bodies is pretty much minimum. I usually go with the 5DSR with something long (150-600 Sigma, or 400 Canon, something like that) and then the Samsung NX1 with 50-150 (75-225 ish equivalent FOV). And I will usually bring another Samsung lens or two because they're small and easy to swap for my wide angles (10mm fisheye, and 12-24mm, which are around 15 and 18-36mm FOV respectively).
great video keep up the good work. I am debating in investing in my 1st prime lens (300 f2.8 or a 500 f4) i currently own a nikon D850 and a D500 with a 200-500 lens, what lens would you suggest as an addition for my current setup ( I mainly shoot birds).
500 f4
For birds, your longer zoom (500) would really come in handy (even though you have an effective 750mm with your D500 setup). Full frame + 500mm will give you magical backgrounds and low light performance.
Good video and worthwhile for any person's to decide which lens suits your own personal need. Myself I use a prime lenses because in low light when I found most action by various species. Zoom Lenses even of f2.8 constant lenses may let in some dust. Prime lenses have better build quality & weather sealed than zoom lenses. Pro spec camera body even 2nd hand pro camera body in decent condition is better to have a lower price new camera as its built for harsh environments whereby the consumer camera build isn't built for harsh use.
I like you and your videos... its very useful
I have D50 and D850 which one you think works best for prime and which one best for zoom by your experience? I always use D500 for birds and wildlife whereas D850 for landscapes only.Thanks
Great Wee Video - Food for Thought!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Danielle
Thats the can of worms out of the way how about a bucket list next...lol. In my experience Prime are just so much sharper and as you say you can normally get more light. Canon 400mm f2.8 is the one I am after but as you said may need to sell the car first.
Lol. That can of worms will make another appearance somewhere for sure. Good to hear your opinion on primes...often gets debated. Yep, that's the one I'd have to trade a car or kidney for!
I have a Nikkor 300mm F4 ED metal and made in Japan, it’s incredible. It’s a heavy beast though.
Hello. Those older 300mm are so heavy! But so sharp...:-)
-Danielle
Hi ands thanks for this video.
I have a camera nikon d 850 and i would like your opinion/help what best zoom lens Tamron 150-600mm or Sigma 150-600mm? Or you advice another zoom lens?
Thanks, regards
We use the Sigma 150-600mm in the Chobe and they are great lenses.
@@PangolinWildlife thanks 👍
@@PangolinWildlife you use Sport? or Contemporary? In your opinion whtas of them are the best for wildlife photography? Tahnks
Nice video - thanks
Thanks Mark, glad to have you here.
Hello, thanks for this video. I travel to masai mara end of december. I have a D 850 and a D500 (and a D7100 but normaly i do not use this anymore) I am not sure on wich body i put my lenses. I have a 70-200, a 80-400mm but for some reason the pictures i take with the 80- 400 are disappointing for me, a lot of pics are not sharp...
I also want to take the 24-70mm for wide shots. Wich lens on wich body?? Or do i change the 80-400mm lens for a prime? Or another zoomlens?
I hope you have the time to react. I like your videos!!!
many greetings
Great tips!
Cheers!
I am considering to buy a 2.0 extender on my 70-200 f 2.8 L Canon, because a 100-400 MK2 is very pricy. Would this be a good choice ??
Thanks for your video, you shared lots of useful information which really gonna help me to decide my next wildlife lens. One thing which still confuse me is about which camera type should I pick, DSLR or a Mirrorless. There are lots of hype about Mirrorless system on internet and ppls are saying that DSLR are dead. Please suggest what you think which system is good and robust for the wildlife photography? Thanks!
Hi Chandan. Check our Danielle's video on this exact subject: ruclips.net/video/6K5O3Rbhwpc/видео.html. Hope you find it useful.
Pangolin Wildlife Photography Thanks a lot!
I know this doesn't really has to do with the video, but I'm saving to buy my first camera (A nikon d3500) and I want to buy a cheap zoom lens. Which one would you recommend?
I would look at either the Sigma or Tamron telephoto lenses or perhaps look for a good second hand Nikkor lens.
Hi there. What is your budget? The 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G ED IF AF-S VR is a good all-rounder to start off with, and then you can also have a look at the 24-120mm f/4G ED. Then you can have a look at the Sigma and Tamron zooms also.
never been to a safari so don’t really know how close you get but, would properably go with 24-70 f2.8, 180-400 f4 with build in tc, and a 600 f4 all on a fullframe say D5 or even a d850, it’s always fun to pretend thou 🤣👍
Very comprehensive lens selection there....maybe you should come on safari and see just how close we can get you sometimes.
@@PangolinWildlife yes it would be something indeed, need to win a lottery first 😂👌
Which wide angle lens zoom would you recommend for wild life photography
Did you watch Charl's review of the Sigma Art Lens? Great all rounder ruclips.net/video/x0tyjSvAZVc/видео.html
Hi Rajender, which brand do you use?
@@danielle-pangolinphotohost1005 Hi Danielle,
Pardon the delay in responding to your query. I have the Tokina AT-X 116PRO DX II ( 11-16 F2.8). I have not had much opportunity to use it. I shoot Nikon D750 and Nikon D500 with Nikon 70-200mm F2.8, Nikon 24-120mm F4 and Nikon 500mm F5.6E PF ED VR lenses.
Great video. Thank you.
I have opted for zooms. I have a Sony A7iii body and my "normal" lens is a 24-105mm f/4. I wanted a lens with some reach, so for a telephoto lens I got the 200-600mm f5.6-6.3. Both are great lenses (They are both Sony "G Series" lenses.) but it left me with a gap from 105mm to 200mm. I recently filled that gap with the Tamron 70-180mm f/2.8 lens. For wide angle, I have the 16-35mm f/4 Sony/Zeiss and for Astrophotography, I have a 20mm f/2 Tokina FiRIN (Manual Focus) lens.
For me, this gives me a LOT of flexibility. The only real issue is that the 200-600mm lens is a beast (2115g) not only to travel with, but also to carry around.
We've had a few guests arrive with the 200-600 but it is indeed a beast. Worth it though! I like that you've covered 16 - 600mm. You're sorted!
@@danielle-pangolinphotohost1005 that's funny. "A beast" is exactly the term I use to describe the Sony 200-600. I used to have a 70-300mm, but it just wasn't giving me the reach that I wanted and I found I was heavily cropping a lot of my shots (especially aviation and birds in flight). Now, I might still crop, but I do it much less that I did it before.
Thanks Danielle for the relevant info. I am a tiger photographer from India. I have two bodies, one full frame and the other a cropped one. I use Canon 200-400 mm builtin Extender on my full frame and the cropped body with a 100-400 mm lens.I wish to replace 100-400 with a 70-200 mm 2.8 f. I wish for an expert advise from you and our dear followers whether my intention benefits me. If yes why ? If no Why ? Thank you.
Hey Sarma, good question! Personally I would opt for the 70-200 (my opinion) both because of low light capabilities as well as zoom range diversity. Then you don't have too much "zoom overlap" (especially when you use the extender) . You can't go wrong with a 70-200 2.8 in terms of quality. And the 200-400 is superb also. Personally that's the combo that I would have if I shot Canon.
hi
Please suggest me
How should I match the equipment and take Botswana safari
I have got
nkion
d850
d500
24-70 F2.8
70-200 f2.8
200-500 f5.6
500 f5.6
sigma 14 f1.8
85 f1.8
Maybe there will be
z6+24-200 f4-6.3
thanks
eric
Thats a lot of gear to carry around. If you like we have a booklet you can download which has lots of info on what to bring on safari. You can find it here: www.pangolinphoto.com/photo-safari-guide
Hi, please have a video on tripods too
Im sure we will
Just bought a Sigma 150-600 sport lens for my Nikon D4s,would that be a good lens for wildlife even though it weighs in at over 2 kilos
Hi Gary. Thats the lens we use in the Chobe for our clients. Vey good choice!
@@PangolinWildlife Thankyou
Hi Gary, we use the Sigma contemporary version in Chobe but the sport version is definitely super for wildlife.
For 90D Canon which lens is good Sigma 60-600 sport DG OS HSM
or
Tamron 150-600 DI VS G2
please guide
Did you see Janine's review of the 60-600 ruclips.net/video/HGvSBau-W9w/видео.html
70-200mm f2.8 / 100mm Makro f2.8 / 16-35mm f2.8 on a good old EOS 5D Mark II
Sorry, but the reason for the quality loss in zooms is not really because more of the parts move. In fact, more moving parts often increases the quality of a zoom. The problem is that it needs to be good at many focal lengths rather than just one, so you can't optimize the optical design to the same degree. The parts moving is actually part of the solution to the optimization problem, not the issue.
@ 9:34, this is ONLY true when adding a Full frame lens onto a DX (cropped) body, or micro 4/3rds body, NOT when you add the CROPPED lens onto a cropped body/ Full frame lens onto a full frame body, in this case "this reads like on the tin", NO crop factor [excluding the adition of a Tele-extender, which HAS a crop, 1.4 ; 1.7 ; 2.0 x ], which does reduce apature by this factor, so necisarily ISO has to go up, for a constant shutter speed {acording to Focal length, so as to reduce camera shake}.
Thanks Andy
Also easier to find you subject with a zoom; esp. for a novice.
Yes, ahh that's something that I had on my original notes for the video, got lost somewhere along the drafts. Thanks for that, definitely an important point.
In simple words , prime to be used for contrast and sharpness , it’s unmatchable ... anything else zoom lense it’s in
Yes indeed!
Danielle
Why haven't you tried Fuji 150 to 600 telephoto you will be amazed at the difference Rob Lowe England
I shoot with Nikkor 200-500mm F5.6 but I use it like a prime always at 500mm because 500mm is never close enough😅
I know the struggle ;-)
Danielle
70-200 f2.8, 500f4, 1.4x tele and 2 bodies and you'll be set
if you have the "can of worms", where is the fishing rod???
:-)
A things is great. You talk about Nikon. You often talk about Canon. Thanks
👍
You did an amazing job of describing the "pro and cons" of each lens. I'm pleasantly surprised at a sensible, practical u-toob video on anything photographic. You touched on cost, and fixed focal lengths can get VERY expensive rapidly. New 600mm f4= Good used car. How MUCH are you going to use a very long focal length lens? Put it the basis of "cost per image". Rental lenses MAY or may not be an option to you. BTW, one big one, you are using a NYE-CON camera NOT a Nik-On. This affectation of mispronouncing the name is very irritating to me and objectionable to Japanese people. Marty Stouffer and his brother did nature shows on PBS some years back. In the American West, they were trying to photograph (in movies) the very skittish "Pronghorn Antelope". They got their 600mm F4.5 Nikon lens adapted to their movie camera and......got blurred useless footage from a kilometer away. Mirage and air currents ruined the images. Answer: STALKING in a BLIND. It's hard. It's time consuming. But now you're using a 70-210 and using the "shortside" of it most of the time. All the "wonderful" wildlife photos you see are close-ups, taken from no farther than 100 meters, and often FAR less. I spent 4 hours stalking a bison in Yellowstone, and DIDN'T get the photo, and I'm a darn good hunter!
Hi Ricky, thanks. "How MUCH are you going to use a very long focal length lens?" is a question I have asked myself many times. that is, if not birding. As for the pronunciation of Nikon, type it into Google translate (Japanese) an press the audio button. :-)
Good points on the distance. Lately there has been quite a "movement" towards more environmental shots showing more of the context that the animal is in so I see togs leaning towards wide-angles a lot more. I would definitely not use a 600 for video. For birds and close-ups of animals it works well, but yes, in a blind if you can definitely.
The pronunciation of Nikon can be either. Both are correct. It's down to regional location just like many words are.
I'd take my 24-70 & 70-200 and buy a180-400 f/4...or a decent used car :)
I can highly recommend the 180-400. it’s a really brilliant lens. Next on the list to buy is 400 2.8.
@@markusstiller9882 I would love one. I have a 300mm f/2.8 VR2 and that was expensive enough used (actually it was a bit of a bargain, but still a lot of money). I was thinking about a used 200-400 VR2 but not heard great things about it
@@SundayRacers We're in the same boat. Would absolutely love a 180-400 but yes, still need my car for now so can't trade it in ;-)
@@danielle-pangolinphotohost1005 I'm thinking...I only need one kidney
@@SundayRacers Aah, welcome to the "do I really need two kidneys?" club :-) :-)
LOL can of worms
Indeed. That can will definitely make an appearance in future videos again I'm sure :-)
Wow Danielle is a babe
Lol
Danielle - Pangolin Photo Host 😉
PRIME's are for serious photographers.. I'll Stick to it !
Hello please know more about lens
We will do more videos.
I want to by lens 1.8 for Nikon d3500 which one is best? Please whatsapp on this no 7020054739