sidicks Posted April 12, 2009 Report Share Posted April 12, 2009 I currently have a Canon EOS400D DSLR, with the standard 18-55mm lens and an IS 70-300 zoom lens. Clearly the standard lens is fine for general photography and the telephoto has an obvious purpose, but we are off on Safari in June, and I'm wondering whether I need a new lens that 'fills the gap' in the middle (rather than having to continually swap between the two lenses as we see different wildlife etc). Can anyone recommend a decent lens for this purpose, or am i kidding myself, and I don't really need a new toy?! Any advice would be appreciated! Cheers Sidicks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arch Posted April 12, 2009 Report Share Posted April 12, 2009 Do you mean the gap from 55-70? Not sure that's worth filling to be honest! :pI don't know for sure, but I reckon you'd be able to leave the 70-300 on for most of the time. I used my 17-85 for nearly the whole of my Alaska trip until I got to San Fran and bought a 50mm f/1.8 So wished I'd bought that before I went for inside and low light shots, it stays on 90% of the time now, really is a cracking lens for the money. I just want a nice L zoom now but prices are silly at the moment. From my Canon 50mm, deck party late at night with no flash. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarMad Posted April 13, 2009 Report Share Posted April 13, 2009 It depends what you want. I quite like my 17-85 IS, its not expensive, its fairly light and has a great zoom range for a carry lens. However for safari work you want a longer zoom, if you want something that does everything then get this 28-300 IS L - £1900 A lot of the photo journalists use these as its a good quality lens that does just about everything. Or depending on your budget, a 24-105 F4 L and a 100-400 L could be what you need, both together will set you back £2000. To look for the best lenses for canon the L lenses are the professional series, they tend to be better made and have better optics but they come at a price. Give this site a click for the best prices or what you should be paying at least. Camera Price Buster - UKs cheapest camera gear Oh and on your 'do I need a new toy' you always need new lenses Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arch Posted April 13, 2009 Report Share Posted April 13, 2009 That's a good website CM. However the price graphs make me want to looking back 12 months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarMad Posted April 13, 2009 Report Share Posted April 13, 2009 Yeah I could sell all my lenses now on e-bay and then buy them back and more if the pound recovers. Not going to try it though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rugbyfiend Posted April 16, 2009 Report Share Posted April 16, 2009 We got back from Safari around 4 weeks ago and took 2 lenses for our 350D; the bog standard 18-55 and we bought a 75-300 telephoto. The telephoto was on 90% of the time and I only changed over to do some landscape stuff and when we were really close to lions (~3 metres away!). All the rest of the time the zoom on our telephoto was big enough and even let you frame small animals and birds of prey well. The one thing I'd be careful about is making sure that you've got enough memory, I was taking at least 150 pictures a day whilst out and about and that was only within reason as the mrs was saying that I was worse than a japanese tourist with an itchy trigger finger! I had 2 4Gb cards which by the end of the holiday I had about half filled each. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidicks Posted April 16, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2009 We got back from Safari around 4 weeks ago and took 2 lenses for our 350D; the bog standard 18-55 and we bought a 75-300 telephoto. The telephoto was on 90% of the time and I only changed over to do some landscape stuff and when we were really close to lions (~3 metres away!).All the rest of the time the zoom on our telephoto was big enough and even let you frame small animals and birds of prey well. The one thing I'd be careful about is making sure that you've got enough memory, I was taking at least 150 pictures a day whilst out and about and that was only within reason as the mrs was saying that I was worse than a japanese tourist with an itchy trigger finger! I had 2 4Gb cards which by the end of the holiday I had about half filled each. Thanks - that's settled it then, save £100's of pounds by NOT buying any more lenses that aren't needed and instead settle for a new memory card. I think we have 4 * 2gb, but I'll check! Sidicks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsheldon Posted April 18, 2009 Report Share Posted April 18, 2009 I would definitely recommend a fast lens. When I got my D80 this was one of the reasons I got it so you can take pictures in side or in low light with out a flash. I went for the Sigma f1.4 30mm, absolutely brilliant, have had some great pictures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarMad Posted April 18, 2009 Report Share Posted April 18, 2009 Yeah I've got the 30mm f1.4 but I don't quite think that he is going to get much from it on a safari. Now a 200mm F2 now that would be interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsheldon Posted April 18, 2009 Report Share Posted April 18, 2009 Agreed, it was just a general recommendation for a lens, rather than safari specific. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GCab Posted April 21, 2009 Report Share Posted April 21, 2009 Nikon have had a lightweight 18-200mm out for ages that isn't a 'quality' lens (L equivalent) but makes a very good travel lens. It was insanely popular and Canon now have an equivalent. One thing to consider is that changing lenses in a dusty environment is very un-good, and this is a hidden advantage of the 'all-rounder'. I'm like jsheldon and a committed 'fast fiend' now (with a lovely Nikon 17-55 f/2.8 and the legendary 70-200 f/2.8), but we have a trip to China coming up and I'm thinking of the 18-200 or a Sigma/Tamron equivalent. Partly as I don't want to be lugging £££s and Kgs of glass around only to get my sensor dirty halfway through the trip. js - I bought my sister a D80, glad you like it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GCab Posted April 21, 2009 Report Share Posted April 21, 2009 (edited) With regard to memory, the thing the pros seem to use is a Jobo or other memory store thingy (portable hard drive with card slots), so you have a couple of really high-quality memory cards, and a multi-GB gadget to dump the photos into in the evenings. This is better than filling up an endless series of cards and buying more/running out (though not good if you lose it...). Edited April 21, 2009 by GCab Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mac Posted April 21, 2009 Report Share Posted April 21, 2009 Nothing to add to this other than to say that Arch, that is a cracking photo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GCab Posted April 21, 2009 Report Share Posted April 21, 2009 (edited) Nothing to add to this other than to say that Arch, that is a cracking photo Seconded - it didn't show up when I first read this thread for some reason, but I really like it . Cute kid and I love the lighting and background effect. Edited April 21, 2009 by GCab Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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