Steve'sDigicams

Treemonkey · Jun 23, 2006, 7:26 PM

I am about to spend 2 months in Southern Africa (1 month Safari, 1 month work) and would like some comments/suggestions for my kit. I will be going to Sth Africa, Botswana, Namibia and Zambia.
I will be taking the Canon 350D with Sigma 17-70mm, canon 50mm 1.8 and Canon 70-300 IS as well as my trusty Panasonic FZ10 for backup. I will also take the Nikon 6T (+3) screw on macro lens which gives me reasonable macro quality for very little weight.
In terms of storage I have a 1GB and 2GB RiData 80x CF as well as a 60GB portable HDD, 1GB worth of SD cards for the FZ10 and a couple of card readers.
I have a monopod/hiking pole and a beanbag (not taking a tripod).
Batteries - 3 for each camera.
Cleaning tools - blower and a couple of sensor brushes & lens pen.
All of this will be carried in a crumpler sinking barge bag, well not the FZ10 as my parnter will be using that.
Am I missing anything? I would really appreciate any suggestions. I really cant wait to test out the 350D against the FZ10 on safari.

Treemonkey

Telecorder · Jun 24, 2006, 12:24 AM

A couple of items jumped out at me...

One is possibly a12VDC charging adapter for the batteries if commercial power is not available... most cars have 12VDC (Not sure - what power structure they use over there... make sure you have the right power adapters...:shock:

The other is that Genece is just back from a 7-week vacation to Alaska -- he & wife had their FZ20/FZ30/Nikon D50 and, apparently, between then generated ~100-GB of images... take a second look at your portable HDD capacity...

Ya had better have fun and give us a great report and plenty of images uon return as compensation for our expertise and advice...:G

Treemonkey · Jun 24, 2006, 6:47 PM

Thanks for that suggestions. The tour company that I am going with has 240/110 V power points on their trucks and I should be able to charge up the batteries at some of the camp sites as well. The 350D should last a couple of days on one charge so i doubt batteries will be an issue for that. I did think long and hard about storage as I will be shooting raw on the 350D but with ~65GB I have space for ~9000 photos or ~300 photos a day and this is with raw! I dont think my partner will be using the FZ10 much so that wont add too much space. I will also be meeting up with some work colleagues after the first month and they will have laptops so I will be able to backup then if I really need to.
Once I have sorted through the thousands of images and processed all the raw images I will share some of them, but that may take a few months after the trip!

Treemonkey

Telecorder · Jun 24, 2006, 9:43 PM

Another thought is to burn some backup CDs/DVDs of the images if you have access to a burner at some time. I just read a post on another forum where someone had been on a 4-month photo assignment and someone lifted his dSLR camera bag with all of the cards/images, gear etc... After burning say a DVD, they could be mailed/posted back home as insurance...

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Jun 23, 2006, 7:26 PM	#1
Treemonkey Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 628	I am about to spend 2 months in Southern Africa (1 month Safari, 1 month work) and would like some comments/suggestions for my kit. I will be going to Sth Africa, Botswana, Namibia and Zambia. I will be taking the Canon 350D with Sigma 17-70mm, canon 50mm 1.8 and Canon 70-300 IS as well as my trusty Panasonic FZ10 for backup. I will also take the Nikon 6T (+3) screw on macro lens which gives me reasonable macro quality for very little weight. In terms of storage I have a 1GB and 2GB RiData 80x CF as well as a 60GB portable HDD, 1GB worth of SD cards for the FZ10 and a couple of card readers. I have a monopod/hiking pole and a beanbag (not taking a tripod). Batteries - 3 for each camera. Cleaning tools - blower and a couple of sensor brushes & lens pen. All of this will be carried in a crumpler sinking barge bag, well not the FZ10 as my parnter will be using that. Am I missing anything? I would really appreciate any suggestions. I really cant wait to test out the 350D against the FZ10 on safari. Treemonkey

Jun 24, 2006, 12:24 AM	#2
Telecorder Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 490	A couple of items jumped out at me... One is possibly a12VDC charging adapter for the batteries if commercial power is not available... most cars have 12VDC (Not sure - what power structure they use over there... make sure you have the right power adapters...:shock: The other is that Genece is just back from a 7-week vacation to Alaska -- he & wife had their FZ20/FZ30/Nikon D50 and, apparently, between then generated ~100-GB of images... take a second look at your portable HDD capacity... Ya had better have fun and give us a great report and plenty of images uon return as compensation for our expertise and advice...:G

Jun 24, 2006, 6:47 PM	#3
Treemonkey Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 628	Thanks for that suggestions. The tour company that I am going with has 240/110 V power points on their trucks and I should be able to charge up the batteries at some of the camp sites as well. The 350D should last a couple of days on one charge so i doubt batteries will be an issue for that. I did think long and hard about storage as I will be shooting raw on the 350D but with ~65GB I have space for ~9000 photos or ~300 photos a day and this is with raw! I dont think my partner will be using the FZ10 much so that wont add too much space. I will also be meeting up with some work colleagues after the first month and they will have laptops so I will be able to backup then if I really need to. Once I have sorted through the thousands of images and processed all the raw images I will share some of them, but that may take a few months after the trip! Treemonkey

Jun 24, 2006, 9:43 PM	#4
Telecorder Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 490	Another thought is to burn some backup CDs/DVDs of the images if you have access to a burner at some time. I just read a post on another forum where someone had been on a 4-month photo assignment and someone lifted his dSLR camera bag with all of the cards/images, gear etc... After burning say a DVD, they could be mailed/posted back home as insurance...