Contact Us
We’re a small company that prides itself on personal service.
We don’t have an automated booking engine on our site, we do things the old fashioned way, by talking to you.
That way we can find out exactly what kind of safari you’re looking for and design one just for you.
So go on, send us an email with your ideas or questions and we’ll get right to work.
Why not give us a call to get the ball rolling. +44 (0) 7775565375
Hi,
I found your blog post “Choosing the right lenses for your safari” extremely helpful. It’s so succinct and to the point, and makes so much more sense than scrolling through a multitude of forum discussions where everyone weighs in with their own opinion.
One thing that I wasn’t sure about, however, was whether the focal lengths you refer to relate to a full-frame camera? I use a mirrorless camera with a 1.6x crop factor, so was wondering whether to treat my lenses as 1.6x their stated value when comparing it to the advice on your website?
Many thanks,
Tim
Hi Tim,
Yes & No.
If your selection of lenses covers a focal range from A->B then with a crop frame camera the range you cover will just start and end a little longer.
At the longer end it does not really matter as you have the benefit of greater reach with a 1.6x crop frame camera (or 1.5x crop in the case of Nikon). Your 70-200mm lens on your 1.6x camera will effectively be 112-320mm.
You do need to think about the wider end of your lens selection though. If you wish to shoot landscapes, large mammals or herds of animals then you will benefit from something around 24mm. On a 1.6x crop the 24-120mm zoom becomes 38(ish)-192mm which is probably wide enough for most subjects but if you take a lot of wide shots it may well be worth bringing something even wider.
hope this helps
Martin
I am writing from the Africa Japan Forum (AJF), a Japanese NPO aiming at promoting better understanding on Africa by Japanese people, as well as enlarging the network with the African civil societies in order to tackle the issues which African people are facing. My name is Shigeo Yamagata, executive director of this organization.
We are planning to run a booth at the special exhibition on Africa organized by Tama Zoological Park in the Tokyo Metropolis, one of the famous zoologic parcs in Japan.
https://www.tokyo-zoo.net/english/tama/index.html
The objective of our booth is to let the visitors understand the real situations of the African countries, particularly those in Sahel area which are not well-known by Japanese people, through the ecology and the conservation efforts of wild animals living in Sahara and Sahel.
We chose the desert elephant in the Gourma Region, Mali, the West African giraffe of Kouré, Niger and the West African lion of Zakouma National Park, Chad, as the interesting animals in these regions.
We are now looking for a photo of the elephants of Mali to display. We would be happy if you would kind enough to permit us to use your photo uploaded on your WEB site about the Mali Elephant Project.
We are asking several organizations for the same request; so please forgive us when we select finally a photo of another organization after your permission to our request has arrived to us.
Thank you in advance for your kind cooperation.
Best regards
Shigeo Yamagata
Hello Shigeo,
My apologies for a slow reply, I have been on safari in areas with no internet coverage.
I am happy for you to use my photos if they are useful, however I should mention that none on my elephant photos are taken in the Gourma region of Mali. The article I did used photos from the Mali Elephant Project.
I have been trying for 10 years to visit Mali to witness the elephants there but Islamic terrorist activity has been significant in that region and it has not been safe to travel.
This terrorist activity has undoubtedly had a negative impact on the elephants in Mali.
Martin
Hello
I am looking for a safari for wildlife photography in Africa along with my wife. Our budget is around $4,500 per person and we would like something that covers 3-4 parks over 10-12 days. I live photographing leopards, birds especially rollers/bee eaters, landscapes at sunset/sunrise, lions, zebra and elephants. We have been to Kenya and Tanzania so looking for someplace different. We would love to see Victoria falls ifvthats possible. We are open to a mix of tented camps and lodges. I would like at least 4-6 hours daily on safari taking photographs. We would fly in from the USA (San Francisco). Please let me know what options you have. We are somewhat flexible on timing but looking for the right season to spot the birds and animals without too much rain (so end of rainy season would work). We cannot travel after October 4th. So we havevto return by that date.
Thanks
Laxman Murugesh
Laxman,
apologies for a late reply, I was away from the office on safari.
I should point out that we no longer accept safari bookings, our services are now limited to advice & recommendations.
A safari of 10-12 days in Botswana, Zimbabwe or Zambia is likely to exceed your budget. I recently planned some options for another traveller and the cost came in closer to $8,000.
For a really good value safari I would recommend South Africa. If you are prepared to self-drive then it is even better value.
The private concessions on the western side of Kruger Park can be very good for leopard sightings and the birding in Kruger Park is excellent. Elephants and lions are also plentiful in Kruger.
The one area where Kruger is unlikely to excite you is the sunsets. It just does not have the wide open landscapes that lend themselves to great sunsets.
You already have some experience of safari holidays and will be aware that unless you are prepared to pay extra for a private vehicle you will almost certainly be sharing the car game drives with other travellers. Their interests are unlikely to coincide with yours and although they will take photos most people will not want to take as long over subjects as you do. They will want to move on and see iconic species rather than linger over birds.
Hi there! Thanks for an excellent article about which camera lens to choose for a Safari. I am going to Tanzania in July and will be doing a safari in the Serengeti. I recently purchased a OM System OM-1 Mark II micro 4/3 camera. I have no lenses for it yet and really only have it in my budget to buy 1 lens for this trip. Given the location I will be doing the safari at, would you recommend I go for the OM Systems M. Zuiko Digital ED 100-400mm f/5-6.3 IS II or the OM Systems M. Zuiko Digital ED 40-150mm f/2.8 Pro? With the micro 4/3 everything is doubled so it’s really a 200-800mm vs a 80-300mm as my one and only lens unless I can find a cheap second one in the 12-40mm (24-80mm) range. If I can only take one which would you recommend? I like the idea of the extra reach with the 100-400mm to capture animals if they are far away, but I also like the idea of being able to shoot animals that are potentially closer as well as perform better in the low light of dawn and dusk with the 40-150mm f/2.8. I am really struggling to decide so any help would be very appreciated as I don’t know what to expect with the distances/light I will be viewing these animals in! I obviously would like to take photos of the beautiful landscapes as well especially with Kilimanjaro but I may just have to use my phone for those. Thank you!
Hi Steve,
Congratulations on your new camera. I have several friends using this model and they rate it very highly.
Choosing between the 2 lenses you mention is actually not that difficult, it just depends on what you want to shoot. You mentioned animals and landscapes but did not mention birds.
My birding friends really like the 100-400mm because it is great for small and distant birds. With mammals though your requirements are different.
With a good guide you should be able to get pretty close to the animals and 300mm is plenty of reach. With the longer lens, you problem will more likely be that the animals are too close for you and you struggle to fit the whole subject in the frame.
Personally, if you can just pick one lens, then I’d go for the 40-150mm.
Another consideration is what you will be using the camera for when you are not on safari. Unless you plan to photograph distant subjects like kite-surfers or small subjects like birds, I think you’ll find limited use for the 100-400mm lens, whereas the 40-150mm is a great lens for everyday use.
I know your budget is limited, but it could be worth looking at a used/pre-owned 300mm fixed lens. As well as the Olympus lenses Panasonic 4/3 lenses will also fit your camera. You might be able to get a used 300mm for not much money. This would give you effectively a 600mm lens, which you could use if you found yourself in a situation where you need extra reach.
I hope this helps,
cheers
Martin
Thank you for your quick and thoughtful response! I really appreciate the advice. My budget is definitely my limiting factor as well as the fact I have no other lenses for this camera. I am only able to go on this trip because I am guiding a trip through Tanzania with a group of teenage students for 3 weeks, otherwise I would never be able to afford a trip like this, hence my limited budget haha! Otherwise that fixed 300mm would be awesome. I am leaning the 40-150mm as it gives me more versatility as my one and only lens. My question is do you think it is enough reach for a place like Serengeti National Park? Not sure how close the animals generally are there. I don’t need to get photos of everything if they’re too far away but I would like enough reach to get enough shots of some awesome animals to share with my students! Thanks again.
Steve
Steve,
The Olympus OM1 is a terrific camera which has excellent image stabilisation, nevertheless hand holding an 800mm lens in a vehicle where other people are moving around makes keeping it steady is often a challenge.
What I’m saying here is that reach is not everything. Yes, a longer lens will enable you to get a ‘closer’ shot of distant animals but will they be sharp images?
With a shorter lens, keeping it steady is much easier. A shorter lens is also much easier to work with in a confined space. Your subject may not fill as much of the frame with the 40-150mm but you are more likely to get a sharp image and this will allow you to crop your photos as needed.
Another consideration when using a long lens is heat haze. It will almost certainly be hot for your trip, this causes heat haze which can disrupt the focus of longer lenses.
Serengeti is a vast plain and undoubtedly you will see some animals from a distance and wish you could get closer – that will happen no matter how long your lens is. That said, for most of my visits to Serengeti and Masai Mara the longest lens I used was 300mm. I did have a longer lens available but the convenience of the 300mm lens meant it was the one I used most – except for birds. Before that I used a 70-300mm lens.
My ‘go to’ lens for wildlife is now a 100-400mm – but this is on a full frame camera.
As you have said, your budget is limited so it is definitely worth thinking beyond this safari. A 40-150mm lens is one you can use every day pretty much anywhere. A 100-400mm lens is likely to spend a lot of time on the shelf when you get home AND you’ll find yourself needing to use your phone for a lot of shots while you are on safari. Elephants and giraffes ane very large when you get up close.
cheers
Martin