Last week, I shared some of the steps that went into photographing my first safari – where I went, what I brought, and how I backed up my photos. Today, I’ll share the second half of my experience and how everything went in practice. If you missed part one of this two-part series, I recommend reading it here.
Table of Contents
The Experience
Most days in camp followed a similar routine. We would get up well before sunrise, have coffee and a simple breakfast, and go out to search for the animals! After driving/boating around until mid morning, we would stop for a second breakfast and head back to camp around 11am. We typically stayed at camp until around 4pm, getting plenty of rest during the worst light. Around 4pm, it was time to go back out for a second safari. Finally, we would return after dark, eat dinner, go to bed, and repeat the next day.
Besides (of course) the animals, one of the best things about the experience was the people we met. The locals working at the camps and the other travelers were very kind and fun people to be around. We were fortunate to have some really interesting fellow travelers at camp and in our safari vehicles.
Most and Least-Used Lenses
As I said in part one, I brought three main lenses with me on this trip: the Nikon Z 400mm f/2.8 TC VR S, the Tamron 150-500mm f/5-6.7, and the Tamron 35-150mm f/2-2.8. I also brought the Nikon Z 14-30mm f/4 in case I needed an ultra-wide, and the Nikon Z 40mm f/2 for street photography during my stopover in London.
Which of these lenses did I use the most on the safari? Before I answer that question, I should note that the “ideal” focal lengths will vary dramatically based on where in Africa you are and what type of subjects you’re photographing. If you are a birder in one of the national parks, the more reach, the better. If you want to mostly photograph big game on private reserves (where you can go off road), you won’t need nearly as much reach; even a 70-200mm would likely be enough. It also depends, of course, on your photography style – for example, whether you’re looking for more extreme close-up portraits or more environmental shots. This isn’t unique to Africa specifically, but applies to most wildlife photography.
When we were in Chobe National Park, the 400mm was the perfect lens for almost everything I wanted to shoot. I was most interested in photographing distant elephants, lions, and giraffes, and you have to stay on the road in Chobe.
However, when we went to a private concession where you do not have to stay on the road, the 400mm was often times too much reach. A focal range of about 70-200mm was more useful.
My initial thinking was that I would keep the Nikon Z8 mounted with the 35-150mm for wider shots, while the Z9 would alternate between the 150-500mm and the 400mm f/2.8 depending on my desire for a zoom versus a prime. However, after the first drive, I realized that I wanted the 400mm mounted and ready to go at all times! So I kept the 400mm f/2.8 on the Z9 for the entire trip, never disconnecting it except for airplane travel (this was also really helpful to minimize dust). Then, I would use the Z8 with either the 150-500mm or the 35-150mm, depending on what we were doing – or more importantly, what time we were doing it (since the 35-150 is so much brighter).
Speaking of dust, the sensor shield on the Nikon Z8/Z9 is great for dusty environments like Botswana. I wish every camera had this feature.
Finally, I didn’t take a single photo with the 14-30mm. There just weren’t any opportunities for wide-angle landscapes from the safari vehicles, and my idea of using it for astrophotography didn’t pay off due to moon and cloud conditions. I don’t regret bringing it, but I probably would leave it at home next time.
Best Thing I Brought
The Nikon Z 400mm f/2.8 TC. This is a magic-making lens. It is large and heavy (though much lighter than the older versions), but was absolutely my workhorse lens. About 75% of my favorite images on the trip were taken with this lens.
Yes, it is super sharp and has great contrast, but the real reason it was my #1 lens is because of that f/2.8 aperture. It was very hot during the daytime, so animals were most active early in the morning and late in the evening. About two-thirds of all the photos I took on the trip were within an hour of sunrise and sunset! And a sizable portion were taken before sunrise or after sunset, so I needed all the light I could get. There were several shots (like the one below), that I simply could not have gotten with a slower lens.
I was already pushing the gear to the maximum for that photo, capturing a moving lion at 400mm, f/2.8, 1/125 second, and ISO 16,000. A shot like this wouldn’t have been possible with most other supertelephoto lenses, even gems like a 500mm f/4 or a 600mm f/4. (A 300mm f/2.8 probably could have snagged it, but with more need to crop in post). A combination of proper handholding technique, a fast lens, and good old-fashioned luck was enough to capture an image that I’m happy with.
Biggest Gear Surprise?
I fully expected the 400mm f/2.8 to be amazing, and it was. What I didn’t expect was how much I would like the Tamron 35-150mm f/2-2.8. That lens is bright, sharp, and handles very well. I honestly thought beforehand that bringing a 24-70mm and 70-200mm f/2.8 would be a better combination, but I’m glad I had this instead. The long range and bright maximum aperture meant I didn’t need to change lenses very often and could carry a lighter bag. I could see this being a workhorse lens in a variety of applications (see my earlier article on a single-lens solution for wedding photography).
Our first night, I woke up around 2 am, and there was a small heard of elephants less than ten feet from our tent! Talk about a surprising way to wake up! Our tent had a large window, and we were able to watch them graze and drink from inside our tent for about 30 minutes before they moved on. I didn’t get any photos (and they would have been too dark anyway), but experiencing that was truly unbelievable. There was even a baby that couldn’t have been more than a few weeks old. Wow!
The Kit I’d Bring Next Time?
If funds were no issue, I would of course bring the 400mm f/2.8 for all the reasons I described earlier, but I thought it would be fun to answer this question from a more budget-friendly perspective (not the cheapest possible, but what I think would be a good value for money). I think a good general kit could be something like:
- Nikon Z8
- Nikon Z6 III
- Nikon 180-600mm f/5.6-6.3
- Tamron 35-150mm f/2-2.8
This kit would give you a (nearly) continuous range from 35-600mm with good image quality. You would definitely be sacrificing some brightness on the long end, but you’d need to switch to a prime lens to fix that. If you wanted to include a prime, I could see removing the 180-600 and add the 400 4.5 instead (this wouldn’t be ideal if you were more into birding, but for larger mammals this would be sufficient in many cases). You could also look at something like the Nikon Z 600mm 6.3, but that isn’t any brighter. It’s smaller and sharper, but you’d still want an additional lens like the 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 to pair with it.
All of that is coming from the Nikon Z perspective. For Sony E, I would go with the same Tamron 35-150mm f/2-2.8 and pair it with the Sony 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3. For Canon RF, the answers are a little less clear (at least if you’re trying to stay on a budget), but probably the RF 24-105mm f/4 with the RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1. Finally, Nikon and Canon DSLR users have almost an endless array of options. It’s beyond the scope of this article to speculate, but I would at least consider the Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 paired with the Nikon 500mm f/5.6 PF.
If money is no issue, you can’t go wrong with the 400mm f/2.8 from whatever camera brand you shoot. A 300mm f/2.8 would be a good substitute to save some money, or a 600mm f/4 if you need more reach (as discussed earlier in this article).
Advice/Final Thoughts
I’ll give a few final pointers in a quick list format:
- If at all possible, go on a tour with six guests or fewer. I know that budgets vary widely, but if you can, I think picking a safari that keeps it to a smaller group is worth it. This is because most vehicles have 3 passenger rows, with three seats each (so up to nine people). Six people is the magic number so everyone gets a “window” seat, and the middle seat next to you is empty for storing your backup camera.
- Listen to your guide. In many cases, they have lived in that area their whole lives. There were multiple times where the guide would say something like “I bet the momma stashed her baby cubs in those bushes up there while she went hunting”, and then sure enough, 5 minutes later, we were watching 3 adorable lion cubs play in the bushes. They really know what they are talking about!
- Listening to your guide also applies to safety. Your guide will give you a briefing about what to do and not do, and you need to follow these under all circumstances. It’s sad that every few months it seems like there’s a news story of someone being killed in Africa on safari. Most of the times, this is because that person did something they shouldn’t do (like get out of the vehicle). No photo is worth that type of risk.
- Don’t be afraid to tell your guide what you’d like to see, but also be open to whatever comes your way. If you go on safari saying “I want to see a leopard,” and you don’t see one, you’ll be disappointed, even if you saw a million other awesome things. Better to pick a place that has a lot of what you want to see, and then try to go with the flow once you’re there.
- If you book through a tour operator, ask questions! They are there to handle the logistics for you and make sure you have a great experience. We asked our operator a ton of questions, and she was extremely knowledgeable and responsive.
- Sync your camera’s date/time settings! I made a mistake here on day 1. We moved into a new time zone, and my Z9 auto updated, while my Z8 did not. When looking back after the fact at specific sequences, this is quite annoying. Fortunately, I noticed it that evening and adjusted.
- Don’t forget to put the camera down and enjoy the experience. I think this one is probably the most important advice I could give. Of course, we all want to get every possible great shot, but don’t forget that you are experiencing something that most people never do in their lives, so be sure to also enjoy the moment.
I hope that a look at my first safari has been interesting to you – and if you are looking into doing a safari yourself, I hope it’s been helpful. If you have any questions, or if you are a safari veteran and want to share your thoughts as well, please leave them in the comments below!
Great article and I agree with your advise. I have been to the African bush many times, coincidentally just returned from a very similiar trip to Vic Falls and Chobe in October. I had my Nikon Z8 with the 180-600 (and TC 1,4) and the Zf with the 24-120 lens. I do avoid changing lenses on the game drives because of dust and also it can be shaky on a vehicle. Also, you don’t want to miss a shot because you have the wrong lens on… It is also important to takes some spare batteries with you, I had to change batteries on my Z8 on some of the game drives. Also, the temp warning came on at some time, guess also due to outside temp being 40C+. Being out in the bush it is not only about getting the best shots of wildlife, it is also about enjoying the scenery and experience. It is not a Zoo and you never know what you will see or not see. Animals are certainly out there but you need to be at the right spot at the right time with the right light, which does not always happen. For example on this trip I was on 10 game drives / activities… we encountered Leopards on the last morning…
Game drives last around 3,5 to 4 hours, sometimes there is not much going on for hours and then all of a sudden you run into the big action.
Weight is always a big topic as on domestic flights you generally have 20kg checked and 8kg carry-on. On small planes it is a lot less. I usually put my big lens in the checked bag, the 8 kg carry-on are then quickly reached with camera bodies, spare batteries, Macbook etc.
Regarding lenses I would of course love to get the Z400 f2.8, however, for the price of this lens I can do another trip to Africa.
Putting the gear down for a minute and enjoying the experience can be a tough thing to do, for me anyway. I try to remember to do that when I go somewhere.
Agreed, Jason. It sometimes requires an active thought to put the camera down, but I think the experience is better because I did
But Adam the big question – how was the 40f2 in London or were you stuck on close ups with the 400?
HA!! That would be quite the street photography lens :)
But I do love the 40 f2 for street photography
How did you recharge all the camera batteries ? Any incompatibility problems with voltages or outlets or adapters ?
Thanks !
Good question! Since the Z8 and Z9 use different batteries and chargers, and because I was super limited on space, I decided to charge all the batteries in-camera using the USB-C charging. I brought one charging brick with 2 USB-C connections, so I could charge both cameras at the same time. No issue with voltage, as most modern chargers include the variable voltage. Different countries in Africa use different outlets, so if you are planning to go, make sure you check which one is used in the country you are visiting. I brought a couple adapters since we went to a few different countries, and everything worked great.
You are only on Instagram with no website? I’m not on IG so I guess I can’t see your work.
Thanks for pointing this out – I haven’t looked at that signature in a long time. I’ll add my website as well (though it’s focused on my portrait and event work).
Nice work on your website. Thanks for providing the link.
I love those big cats. Particularly the photo of that majestic Lion taken at ISO 16000. The Color rendition of that photo is great. But what bothers me is that that picture is somewhat grainy due to a high ISO value needed totake the shot. Sorry to be a bit critical also. I was curious if that image could be improved a bit. So I downloaded the JPG file and edited it in Photoshop using Topaz Sharpen Ai. In this case I set the slider for sharpening at zero and the slider for Suppress Noise at 2. The result was amazing almost all the noise is gone and the photo hardly loses visible sharpness. I can send you the result.
Thanks for the comment – and I agree that the photo is very grainy. I purposely did not use any de-noise in posting the photo for this article, but I did use some separately and was pleased with the result! It’s definitely the type of photo that works well for that type of software/algorithm.
Adam, I am sorry to be critical, but this whole article was about nothing but gear. You barely said a word about how you captured your amazing photos. Your first article was about what gear you would bring, and how you packed it. This article is about using that same gear. The caption at the bottom of each photo was more than enough to say what gear you used. What makes a good essay is your experiences as a photographer. Now I know all about your gear on safari, but nothing at all about the safari, your photos, or what experiences you encountered in taking those photos, which would have been of far more interest than just cataloguing your gear…again.
Hi Elaine,
Thanks for the comment and I’m sorry that the article didn’t meet your expectations. Although I did try to include non gear information, such as how we decided what locations we wanted to visit, what a typical day looked like, and suggestions around interacting with your guide and enjoying the experience, I do agree that it is a gear-heavy article. Most of the questions I got from photographers before writing the article was a combination of what places and what gear, so that informed my approach in writing it. I would be happy to write more on the detailed experiences in a future article.
I enjoyed the article and it’s your article…so it’s your right to write whatever you want. I get some people or some photographers are more interested in learning than gear talk. Though a lot of people and the majority of your readers are interested in gear. You can never seem to please everyone on the internet. I’m been a photojournalist for 20 years and a wildlife photographer for 27 years. While I still love learning and reading…I’m not really here to learn. I mostly come here for the gear reviews and news about gear. I’ve been a visitor to the website since 2013.
The decade before that I was mainly on sportsshooter.com as a member since 2003. I also used to visit and contribute to DPreview threads on Nikon gear and other topics. I’ve literally shot everything…from major sporting events to covering national news stories. I’ve tried almost every genre of photography if not all of them, plus some new ones…if you will, lol! From photographing fun events, like concerts where my favorite bands played to covering tough to witness news. Mass shootings, wildfires, sad cases involving children to covering MLB, PGA and even Olympic Dressage Trials, etc., etc. So long story short… I loved the article(s) and you took a few really great shots! However I do understand that the majority of photographers are amateur and still learning. Not just learning photography, but maturing as well. You never said it was, nor should anyone expect this to be a “tell-all” guide to African Photo Safaris.
Thanks Patrick for the comment, and it sounds like you’ve had a ton of different opportunities in your career, which is awesome!
It’s true that different people are looking for different things in articles, which is why we try to write about a variety of different topics and styles. Glad you enjoyed this one! :)
Thank you for this review ! I like the “Most and Least-Used Lenses” part as this confirm what I think/do too : the 400mm (f/4.5) is all the time fixed on my Z8. For the other camera (Z7), I put the Z 70-200 f/2.8 with the Z TC14 (eq. 100-280mm f/4). The main reason is that I can switch of lenses to have a 560mm f/6.3 and a 70-200mm (both sensors are dust protected too ;-). Ps : I have the 24-120 for the general purpose.
Thanks! That’s a great setup you’ve got there – I would be very happy with that kit on a second safari. Also – the dust sensor is SO convenient in a place like Africa!
Nice shots, Adam. It’s tough work to go to another continent and capture great shots like this. Looks like you had a lot of fun and I’m happy to hear that you had some nice experiences without your camera, too! Those are always some of my favourite.
Thanks Jason! It was a great trip, and I totally agree, while I focused mostly on the photography side for this article, it was also just a wonderful experience.
Great photos and tips! My favorite wildlife lens in E-mount is the Sony FE 300mm F2.8 GM, it is impressively lightweight and performs very well with 1.4x and 2.0x TCs.
The main problem with safari photos which I know you can’t do anything about is they are almost always shot from the height of the vehicle that you are in. If one could shoot closer to the ground, at least from the eye level of small and midsized animals, they would probably look much nicer.
Thanks Max!
Your point about the angle is absolutely true – it’s a constant challenge on Safari. What I did to try and mitigate that when possible was have our driver find places/angles where an animal was on a small hill, so we were physically lower. Of course the animals don’t always cooperate, but some of my favorite shots from the trip when we were able to find those situations.
Also, if you are on a 3-row truck where the first row has the side door frame but no door, I highly recommend trying to sit in that seat. In some situations, that allowed me to shoot about a foot and a half lower that I would have otherwise been able to, which made a large difference, especially when the animals were so close!
These are good tips, thank you!