Game reserve "safari" in South Africa

[jssaraiva]

Hi there,

I few from a game reserve in South Africa, with E-PL1 and E-PL3, 9-18mm and 40-150mm. Hope you like it!

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Game reserve, South Africa by jssaraiva, on Flickr

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Game reserve, South Africa by jssaraiva, on Flickr

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Game reserve, South Africa by jssaraiva, on Flickr

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Game reserve, South Africa by jssaraiva, on Flickr

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Game reserve, South Africa by jssaraiva, on Flickr

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Game reserve, South Africa by jssaraiva, on Flickr

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Game reserve, South Africa by jssaraiva, on Flickr

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Game reserve, South Africa by jssaraiva, on Flickr

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Game reserve, South Africa by jssaraiva, on Flickr

 

[NikkoExiledInSF]

I love the giraffe shot - up close & personal. Nice work overall!

 

[CiaranCReilly]

Lovely shots, thanks very much for sharing! I'm going to SA in October and was thinking long and hard about buying a 100-300, although I don't really want to as I don't often use tele zooms and it weights more than my GX7. Also, while we hope to spend some time on safari, it will be max 3 days of a 3 week holiday. I have shorter primes and the 40-150mm, and I'm very happy to see you've been there and done that with a similar kit! Did you miss a longer focal length that much?

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Mu-43 mobile app

 

[dornblaser]

Nice shots. Which preserve where you at? We stayed at Mala Mala reserve for a few days some time ago. We have been talking about going back.

 

[jssaraiva]

Lovely shots, thanks very much for sharing! I'm going to SA in October and was thinking long and hard about buying a 100-300, although I don't really want to as I don't often use tele zooms and it weights more than my GX7. Also, while we hope to spend some time on safari, it will be max 3 days of a 3 week holiday. I have shorter primes and the 40-150mm, and I'm very happy to see you've been there and done that with a similar kit! Did you miss a longer focal length that much?

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Mu-43 mobile app

Thanks for you comments!

I did in fact had also a zD 70-300 with me, although ended up by almost not using it. However, I did use 300mm on previous game drives. Odd as it main seam, I used it more often on the bigger animals, like elephants and rynos: not only these like to keep their distance, but humans also like to keep a bit far away, since inside a car we wouldn´t be that much protected from these bigger ones.

Another thing a 300mm is hepful is for birds. There are numerous and beautiful species here.

So, I would always take a 300mm, even if only a sigma 28-300mm or something similar.

JS

 

[jssaraiva]

Nice shots. Which preserve where you at? We stayed at Mala Mala reserve for a few days some time ago. We have been talking about going back.

Thanks!

I don't recall the name, I was taken there by some local collegues, so haven't researched at all. It was a quite small reserve. In the past I went to Pilansberg, it's a much bigger one. Kruger is a bit out of reach for a weekend, but I would recommend that.

JS

 

[T N Args]

I'm going to SA in October and was thinking long and hard about buying a 100-300, although I don't really want to as I don't often use tele zooms and it weights more than my GX7.

Definitely get the 100-300, I say. Of course, subject to budget: we all have to be realistic, and someone might tell me to definitely get a Noctricron but I just can't! OTOH maybe rental is an option for you in UK.

The 100-300 will be noticeably sharper (and a touch brighter) at 150mm than your 40-150, it really is excellent at 150mm. I took 20% of my shots in Vietnam-Cambodia this year with it, on my GX7, and didn't think I would. When you are in a boat, or a vehicle, and the subject is somewhat distant, it comes into its own. If you hold one hand under the lens, DSLR-style, it feels well balanced on my GX7.

In the past I went to Pilansberg, it's a much bigger one. Kruger is a bit out of reach for a weekend, but I would recommend that.

P.S. I have been to Pilanesberg and Kruger, definitely recommend both. Those trips were years before I went µ4/3, so my max lens was 300mm (35mm equiv) in Kruger and 400mm (35eq) in Pilanesberg. I got plenty of great shots, so you don't HAVE TO get the 100-300, of course. (Notice the 'have to' in all caps, that was subliminal, and you never noticed, eh? )

 

[penWS]

Thanks for sharing, I love the first cheetah shot! Beautiful capture of one of my favorite animals.

 

[CiaranCReilly]

P.S. I have been to Pilanesberg and Kruger, definitely recommend both. Those trips were years before I went µ4/3, so my max lens was 300mm (35mm equiv) in Kruger and 400mm (35eq) in Pilanesberg. I got plenty of great shots, so you don't HAVE TO get the 100-300, of course. (Notice the 'have to' in all caps, that was subliminal, and you never noticed, eh? )

Ha! Nice, thanks! I'll definitely have a think about it...

 

[mcasan]

Vert nice shots!!!!

The wife and I have been to Kruger and nearby private reservers twice. The area is without doubt our favorite international destination. On our previous trips we had lots of heavyf Canon DSLRs and lenses. Most of my shots were with a Canon 100-400. We have since sold it all off and now do Oly E-M1. So far the best native M43 lens I have found for wildlife is the Panny 100-300 f4-5.6. Oly should release the 40-150 f2.8 Pro in September at Photokina. And sometime next year Oly should release the 300 F4 Pro prime. The 4 Pro lens, when they are all available next year, should make a great kit for a safari as they are weather sealed. One thing I learned on our first safari, always have two camera bodies that can use the same lenses.

 

[oldracer]

... was thinking long and hard about buying a 100-300, although I don't really want to as I don't often use tele zooms and it weights more than my GX7 ...

Stop thinking. Buy one. Don't plan on marriage, just a date. Buy a used 100-300 and a body identical to your current body. Sell both when you get home. The date will cost you nothing vs the amount you spend on the trip. That's what I did several years ago, the body being a second G1. I did pretty well on the buy and sell sides, so the total cost of my date was only $30.

You will need the long lens and you will need the shorter zoom, both ready on identical and indentically-set bodies. We watched this lady for about 20 minutes, and she watched us. Shot at 300mm, cropped to square. The width of the image is full frame width.

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Practice manual focus, too. The lady needed manual focus because the AF had a fondness for those twigs in the foreground. It was a b1tc# to focus with the G1. Now with my GX7s it would be a breeze. I also have an almost-good photo of a jackal lying in some brush where the AF grabbed the foreground brush and I didn't realize it. Another place where the GX7 focus peaking would have been wonderful.

 

[oldracer]

... sometime next year Oly should release the 300 F4 Pro prime ...

I bought the 250mm Tokina (on a whim because it was cheap) for a trip to Central America in February. What I found was that the field of view is so narrow that it was difficult to find my subjects, particularly moving birds. For wildlife, the zooms have a significant advantage over a long prime because you can start wide, find your subject easily, and zoom in.

IMO a missed shot that would have been prime-lens sharp is not as good as a shot that I can actually get, albeit with an "inferior" lens that will only support images printed up to maybe 20"/50cm. on a side. YMMV however.

 

[tomO2013]

I'm really hoping that Panasonic take the DFD technology to the next logical step and provide some type of electronic focus limiter.
It would really make life much easier especially with long lenses such as the Pan100-300. I love and hate mine in both equal measure!
Shooting wolves behind branches, it would often lock onto the nearest branch and your DOF is so razor thin at that distance that it would be enough to make the wolf itself completely out of focus. Manual focus was the only solution.
Furthermore, my copy softens up around 240mm and gets very soft at 280mm unless stopped down to 7.1 where it sharpens up a good bit. Still if I was going on safari in the morning it would be the first lens that I would bring. It's just amazing what it can do for the price you pay.
Great shots BTW. I especially love the one of the Giraffe. Really cool

 

[jssaraiva]

Practice manual focus, too. The lady needed manual focus because the AF had a fondness for those twigs in the foreground. It was a b1tc# to focus with the G1. Now with my GX7s it would be a breeze. I also have an almost-good photo of a jackal lying in some brush where the AF grabbed the foreground brush and I didn't realize it. Another place where the GX7 focus peaking would have been wonderful.

Yes, this is very relevant. Found myself several times on the same situation, like on the first cheetah pic I've posted. Had my E-PLs on S-AF + MF and back button focus, to be able to handle this and worked quite well most of the times.

JS