Photography on a Safari Vehicle Options

[sniktawk]

I am interested to ascertain what people generally use.

Support
A tripod, monopod, bean bag, other or nothing at all?
Do you use differing systems for open vehicles and pop up tops?

Carrying
Do you carry your cameras in bags and leave them in there whilst the vehicle is moving, or fully mounted (ready to shoot) in a safe place within the vehicle?

Cameras and Lenses
How many bodies do you carry and how often do you change lenses on the vehicle?

Accessories
Apart from the obvious spare film or cards, what else do you take with you?
Spare Batteries
Cleaning Equipment
Other lenses wetc etc

[sniktawk]

I am interested to ascertain what people generally use.

Support
A tripod, monopod, bean bag, other or nothing at all?
Do you use differing systems for open vehicles and pop up tops?

Carrying
Do you carry your cameras in bags and leave them in there whilst the vehicle is moving, or fully mounted (ready to shoot) in a safe place within the vehicle?

Cameras and Lenses
How many bodies do you carry and how often do you change lenses on the vehicle?

Accessories
Apart from the obvious spare film or cards, what else do you take with you?
Spare Batteries
Cleaning Equipment
Other lenses wetc etc

[madaboutcheetah]

Ken -

Carry a Tripod. Also use a bean bag (provided in the URI already). I have not been in a pop top vehicle, so can't comment. I don't like a canopy top. And even if the canopy is removed - I think the poles will be a pain in the butt?

I've done both ways - pre-mounted (if I know I've been tracking or driving to sleeping lions or seen Zebra round the corner of camp and know I'm going to stop there etc etc.,) and not opened the bag until I stop for something. So depends situation to situation or day to day. Nothing really structured........

Atleast Two bodies.

I don't carry a lap top or anything else......... as it is, it's heavy enough and too much to carry around!

[wildpicture]

It will depend very much on whether you are a photographer, seriously interested hobbyist or just somebody who wants some nice snaps as memory. For me it also depends on how much I can bring along on the plane towards the destination. For South Africans driving to a destination themselves, things will be easier.

Support
A tripod, monopod, bean bag, other or nothing at all?
Do you use differing systems for open vehicles and pop up tops?

Depends very much on the vehicle. I always use a window mount with a ballhead because I usually rent a vehicle in South Africa. These have normal doors and windows, so for me a window mount is the best option. In an open Landrover a monopod can be very usefull. Sometimes a beanbag can be used. Depends on the size and location of the rollbars. For "pop tops" a beanbag is the ideal and basically also the only solution. Normally I also bring along a normal tripod, but I only use that in camps or in hides. You can't use it in a vehicle.

Carrying
Do you carry your cameras in bags and leave them in there whilst the vehicle is moving, or fully mounted (ready to shoot) in a safe place within the vehicle?

When I have to drive a certain distance over rough terrain, I put my equipment in a bag. Either Pelican cases or Lowepro backpacks, depending on the situation. While driving short distances close to the game, I keep cameras with lenses mounted ready. Normally I have one camera mounted on the window mount and another one next to me. Either on the seat next to me or inbetween the seats.

Cameras and Lenses
How many bodies do you carry and how often do you change lenses on the vehicle?

Normally I have at least two bodies (EOS-1Ds mkII and EOS-1D mkII) with me. Normally the lenses I use are: 17-40/4L, 70-200/2.8L and 300/2.8L. If I can carry it onboard the plane I also bring a 500/4L lens. Besides that I also have 1.4x and 2x converters with me. When my wife is with me, she has another EOS body with her 100-400 zoom, which could also act as a third backup.

I try to minimize changing lenses while shooting. Normally I have one camera with the 70-200/2.8 and one with the 300/2.8 lenses. The wide angle zoom is used mainly for landscapes when there are no animals around. The converters are used mainly for birds which are either small, far away or both.

Accessories
Apart from the obvious spare film or cards, what else do you take with you?
Spare Batteries
Cleaning Equipment
Other lenses wetc etc

Two batteries for each camera (each battery last about 1000 shots)
Battery charger
Power inverter to turn 12V (car) into 220V
Small laptop
Small external USB hard disk
Cleaning equipment
Flash
Flash extender
Leatherman and/or Swiss Army knife
Waterproof plastic bags, elastic bands
Tape

And a lot of other more general stuff. Pretty much also depends on how much luggage I can take on the plane.

MUCH more information on the subject (in detail) can be found in my book on
Safari Photography

[wildpicture]

Here is more info on the book: http://safaritalk.net/index.php?showtopic=3149

[Guest_John Milbank_*]

I've taken a light tripod on a couple of occasions for medium format landscape shots.

Main camera support otherwise is monopod and/or beanbag. I'm at home with a monopod in or out of a vehicle because I've had plenty of practice and rarely go anywhere without one. I take a few hundred shots every week with a monopod.

On safari, I take two SLR camera bodies and keep both ready mounted with wide angle zoom and prime tele lenses. The only frequent lens changes I make are to remove and put on teleconverters. I keep a camera bag on the seat beside me, carrying such equipment as the medium format camera, flash & flash bracket, spare batteries, cleaning equipment, macro lens etc. I hold the tele combination at all times while on the move, and tuck the w/a zoom combo between myself and the camera bag.

I've travelled in a vehicle with a roof hatch only on one safari...used a beanbag on that occasion. Such vehicles are too restricting. Since then, it's always been open vehicles, with or without canopies. Canopies can be a bit of a nuisance sometimes but can also be very useful...one kept us dry during a long rainstorm once, and I've used the frame for camera support on those rare occasions when I needed/wanted to stand in the vehicle. It's given me a camera angle I wouldn't have had otherwise.

I have a couple of car window mounts but they are kept at home because they are too cumbersome to take on safari. It would be nice to be able to use specialised, professional vehicle supports on safari, but such arrangements are too expensive for me.

[Guest_nyama_*]

I've used a monopod once on safari, and never again. It doesn't work with my 500 - one little breeze and the whole system began to swing. Since then I'm quite happy with a Superclamp - works on nearly every open safari vehicle.

The camera bag is always on the floor, just in case the driver doesn't see that nasty aardvark hole... also the 2nd body with the tele lens is always on the seat behind my back, so it can't slip down if you drive in such a hole or make channel crossings with steep edges.

A roll of clear plastic trash bags is quite useful to protect your camera/lens/bino during a short shower.

If it's a dusty area I borrow towels from my bathroom to protect my cameras/lenses. Removing these works much faster than getting the camera out of a bag (which also should be closed in such areas).

[Geoff]

Last year I used;

A beanbag as a support except for flight shots where I find it is easier to hand hold.

Two camera bodies a 40D and an old 10D as a backup.
A 300 mm f/2.8 lens was attached to the 40D sometimes with a 2.0 TC or 1.4 TC.
A 100 - 400 f/4.0 - 5.6 lens was attached to the backup 10D.

I rarely change lens and prefer to ask the guide to move the vehicle. Sometimes further away to get the perspective/composition I'm after. (I prefer not to crop images in post processing).

I rest my main camera across my lap often covered by a blanket or towel. Although it can be a nuisance I keep the camera strap around my neck. I keep a cleaning cloth handy at all times and often wipe the lens. Just a habit I have gotten into.

Mybackpack goes on all game drives and I leave the spare body with lens attached in the backpack on the floor of the vehicle. Usually with the backpack zipped up and covered with a blanket.

I take spare batteries, two chargers and a small cleaning/repair kit.

[madaboutcheetah]

Geoff makes a good point about talking to your guide about changing vehicle position, if you are not happy with where you are ......... makes a whole lot of sense. Also helps, if your guide knows what you are talking about wrt photography.

[Guest_John Milbank_*]

Geoff makes a good point about talking to your guide about changing vehicle position, if you are not happy with where you are ......... makes a whole lot of sense. Also helps, if your guide knows what you are talking about wrt photography.

A guide who is sensitive to such things is invaluable. We were fortunate in such places as Selinda & Kwando to have such guides most of the time and to have vehicles to ourselves or nearly so. There was little or no conflict with other passengers about positioning.

But this was also where I found a monopod to be so valuable. It gives you a 360 degree swivel in quick time, almost as quick as hand-held but with the addition of camera support. I didn't have to rely on vehicle positioning as much. When we were photographing mating lions at Selinda in 2005, Yvonne was often on the 'right' side of the vehicle and I was on the 'wrong' side. But with the monopod braced either on the seat or on the floor, I could aim over her head or in the gap between her and the row of seats in front (I preferred the latter because it gave me a lower angle of view).

Other heads will often get in the way, but that's something you have to take in your stride unless you can afford exclusivity in safari vehicles. I put up with it all the time at basketball and weddings (basketball fans with weak bladders or insatiable appetites, and the bride's relatives with their point-'n'-shoots, are a pain in the arse, to put it ever so politely ).

[madaboutcheetah]

John,

At times, I've been lucky to have a spare wheel on the floor that allows you to sit on it (quite comfortably in comparison to the floor) and get a low angle..........

[dikdik]

The last trip we went on we took a long piece of sponge, and cut out shapes for the cameras, so that the camera could lie there with the lens and hood on while we drove (on the back seat). We just covered that with a towel to avoid dust. Extra batteries and flash cards in the ashtray. Often we ended up driving with a camera on your lap. NB I drive, so I end up presenting most of the photo opportunities for my wife.

We tried to open the top of the jeep as we thought it would be pretty cool to take photos from over the roof, but the dust was too much of a problem. On the farm we use open vehicles, and because we are on and off so often, we will wrap a camera in a towel or take a bag with cameras with.

We use a beanbag. No tripod. Most photos are taken from a vehicle, and a tripod is too cumbersome.

Laptop stays at the camp. As my wife and I share equipment, we can have some extra cameras. (4) And yes, we still end up changing lenses a lot, but its a team thing.

[ZaminOz]

In a vehicle (only been in open vehicles and rarely in ones with canopies):

I only carry one camera with longish (ie up to 300mm) Zoom attached. Mrs Zaminoz has her own camera with a wide angle fov as well.
I carry my camera on my lap in a dust bag until needed.
I have never taken a monopod, tripod, clamp of any sort, or bean bag on safari with me; so I shoot everything hand held.
Additional lenses are in a bag on the floor with misc 'stuff', though I avoid changing lenses on a vehicle if at all possible.

On foot:

Again I carry one camera with longish (ie up to 300mm) Zoom attached. I find for wildlife on foot there is rarely any need for wide angle.
I do carry a wide angle lens in a Tamrac Adventure something backpack (the small one) which I change onto the camera for occasional landscape shots, or if I want a shot of my fellow walkers walking.
Again I don't carry any supports and just shoot hand held.

Equipment generally:

Sufficent battery power to last
Sufficent film/memory
Cleaning odds & ends
camera & lenses

... I travel fairly light as far as photo equipment goes. Probably sounds very amaturish (which obviously I am), but then I am not there primarily for the photos, but to soak in the experience, the wildlife viewing and the joy of being 'home'.

[DuQues]

What do you call a safari vehicle? One of those open landrover types or 10 or 20-seaters?
In that case your best equipment will be a beanbag, and maybe a clamp as nyama mentions. The clamp is less useful though, as it transfers all vibration (fellow passengers, fans) to your camera. A beanbag will do that less.
Taking a tripod with you is useless, there is no space to set it up.

If it's a normal car, or even a 4x4 your first grab will always be for the beanbag. It's the fastest to set up, and the animals are always on the wrong side of the car anyway.
A windowmount is very good, as long as you are at a sighting that lasts longer. When using it in a sedan you may want to wear a lightweight helmet though! I have found that my head met the handle above the window frequently.

As anti-dust I use extremely expensive things: bathcaps!
Very easy to slip around the camera, and the elastic more or less goes around the lensbase. When walking around the pink frills may get some attention, however I prefer to have a working camera.

[wildpicture]

As anti-dust I use extremely expensive things: bathcaps! Very easy to slip around the camera, and the elastic more or less goes around the lensbase. When walking around the pink frills may get some attention, however I prefer to have a working camera.

You do travel in style.

Welcome here.

[Guest_nyama_*]

What do you call a safari vehicle? One of those open landrover types or 10 or 20-seaters?

I would call 10 or 20-seaters trucks.

[wildpicture]

Here is a picture of how I use a window mount (very simple and light but extremely strong) on what I would call a safari vehicle. I prefer independent travel and self driving with such a vehicle. As you can see in the image, the cameras viewfinder is at my eye level. If I had used a beanbag the viewfinder would be much lower and as a result, I would have to "lower" myself. Doing that for several hours can give you a stiff and painfull neck and shoulders.

[Guest_John Milbank_*]

Hans,

That looks like the Finnish made Ergorest. I have one. Can be used also as a tabletop tripod or a low-level macro support on the ground.

Have you tried the very inexpensive South African-made CamStedi car window mount?

[Guest_nyama_*]

Hans, what are your experiences with that camo shirt on your 500?

[rickmck]

I like the periscope attachment on the lens. Useful for sighting around corners, I suppose?

[Guest_nyama_*]

I like the periscope attachment on the lens. Useful for sighting around corners, I suppose?