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Africa video now online
To anyone who is interested, the video of our safari is now viewable online. There is a short part about our trip to Holland at the beginning, but the rest is all about the African portion of the trip.
Please let me know what your think.
HandyAndy
Please let me know what your think.
HandyAndy
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One question..............it was mentioned that the crossing into Amboseli was "stressful." WHY WAS THAT?? i'D RATHER BE FOREWARNED.
Terri
I'm sorry if the word "stressful" caused you concern. It really wasn't that bad. We had been under the (mistaken) impression that if we were traveling with kids under 16 they did not need a visa. When the Kenya border agent asked for them, I was a little freaked, but our Tauck guide, Eric, swooped in and handled it like a pro and we were on our way in no time. Also the Masai souvenir sales force outside the gate to the park was a little "persistent" which was a distinct contrast to the more laid back approach they showed on the rest of the trip. But this was not a huge deal and we felt very comfortable for the whole trip. Don't worry, you will be well looked after. I am jealous and wish I could go back again!
I just returned from the same trip on July 26th. Your video is fabulous and I was able to re-live my recent experience. Thanks for posting your beautiful work!
I have a few camera questions, if you don't mind.
First, did you use the video mode of a DSLR camera to shoot the short videos or a separate video camera?
What camera did you use?
You obviously used a telephoto for some of the shots, what power lens did you use?
I have an older entry-level DSLR, a Canon EOS XSi with a nice EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM lens. It works just fine for the photos I typically take, but it doesn't take video's. I'm thinking about getting a new Canon body so I can shoot stills and and an occasional video.
Thanks.
Glad you enjoyed it. It was almost as much fun to make the video as it was to go on the actual trip! You can see what equipment I brought by looking at my other post on the "questions for photo enthusiasts" topic on this bulletin board. My recommendation would be to get a new body and the best tele-zoom lens you can afford, And take both bodies: Keep the smaller lens on the older body for close in type shots, and use your new body with the big lens on game drives for animals and birds that are far away. Some people in our group had rented lenses, I bought mine, but you might look into this if you don't think you would use a big expensive lens after you got home from the trip
Most of the video you saw was shot using a separate Canon Vixia video camera. This was small and could fit in my pocket and also in the pocket on the back of the seats in the Safari vehicles. I shot video with my smaller SLR only when the video camera was not available. I suppose some might find it cumbersome to switch back-and-forth between an SLR and a video camera, but this didn't seem to be too much of an issue for me, and I just think the quality of the video you get is better on a dedicated video camera then you get with even a high-quality SLR although some experts may differ on this point. If you don't plan on shooting much video, then the video function on one of the newer SLR's will probably be perfectly adequate.
I hope this answers your questions,
Happy shooting!
Andy
My wife and I watched your video last night on the big screen TV and it was fabulous. You are a great photographer as well as film editor. Thanks for a wonderful preview. We are going on the Tanzania/Kenya safari on Sept. 7th.
After watching the video and reading your camera post, I have a load of questions. I hope you don't mind my picking your brain. My wife is the fotog in the family. She is not using the professional equipment that you have, but for the past year has been primarily using a Canon T3i with EFS 18-55 and she bought the EFS 55-250 for a trip to Alaska last summer. She got many great shots with this combination but I think there were times that she felt she wanted a still bigger lens for shooting the wildlife in Alaska. So for this trip she is going to rent the 100-400. I was thinking about also renting the 1.4 extender but I read that it reduces the speed of the lens by one f-stop. The Tauck literature says the drives are early morning and late afternoon. I was wondering if you found yourself in low light conditions where this combination hindered the autofocus or made it too dark to get a good shot. I also have a Canon Vixia HF S10 that I bought about 3 yrs. ago when my first grandchild was born. I think it's very similar to yours. Canon makes a 1.5 teleconverter for this camera and I wondered if you thought it would be a good addition.
Finally, I noticed in many of your fotos that everyone in your family was wearing a fleece/parka/sweatshirt. When did you go on your safari and was it really that cool on so many days. I was planning on it being very hot and taking mostly tropical clothing, ie: shorts, short-sleeved light weight shirts, sandals, with maybe a single fleece. Do we need more long-sleeve, heavier clothing? I also was planning on a lot of bug repellent and maybe treating clothing with permethrin. Didn't look like you guys needed anything like that. I know conditions change during different seasons, but I wondered if you had any thoughts.
Thank you for the kind words. I am very excited (and a little jealous) that you get to go on this trip. You are in for a great, life-changing adventure!
I think the 100-400 lens is a great choice, and you will definitely have use for the increased reach. But photography is all about trade offs. You can't control the light, but if the vehicle is still and you have beanbag and can rest the camera on a stable surface, you can get great shots with the big lens even in low light!
The 1.4 extender, however, is a mixed blessing. There are a few situations where it might come in handy, but it can be challenging to use effectively and I only got a few usable shots with it. There are several disadvantages:
a) cost, although this would be mitigated if you got a good rental deal.
b) autofocus is not compatible when used with the 100-400 lens which is especially challenging when shooting wildlife from a distance
c) changing lenses in the game-drive situation is both time-consuming (i.e. you miss the shot when the animal moves while you were changing lenses) and exposes the innards of the camera to potentially damaging dust which ever-present and insidious! That being said, there were a few still shots used in the video that would not have been possible without the extender (the black rhinos and the Bataleur) and I'm glad I brought it.
I would bring the video camera as there a moments when people or animals do something interesting that a still camera just doesn't capture. The built in zoom on my camera (Vixia G-20) has a really good 10x zoom (which I think is the same as the HFS 10) and I did not feel that additional reach was necessary.
As far as the weather goes, it was definitely cooler and more overcast than we expected. This will probably be different in September when you go. There was one afternoon of a brief rain shower in the Mara, otherwise dry. A fleece and a water repellent shell met all our needs. The bugs were essentially a non-issue, but again, this might be different for your time of year. We brought DEET and it was provided at some of the Hotels (Serengeti Four Seasons) and we used it and still got a few bites, but nothing like Florida or the Sierras in the summer.
Hope this answers your questions,
Have a great trip!
Andy
GREAT VIDEO
Please advise when you went on your trip
Looking forward to your next video
BOB WOLF
My feeling was it was better to have too much than not enough. I ended up panicking in the days before we left and ended up putting a 32 GB card in each camera and took 5 32GB backups. I took 4600 photos on 3 cameras and 90 min of HD video and never needed to use the backups. But it was nice to know it was there if I needed it and the cards as Nick said, are fairly cheap compared to the cost of the trip.
I did not take backup drive and I suppose it was a risk, but all the cards worked, and nothing got lost. If you bring a laptop it would be a good idea to backup your daily take to the hard drive.
Have a great trip,
Happy shooting,
Andy
Sorry, about the beanbag: I brought my own. They are not provided. I used the "Pod" which is available at B&H photo.
We went on the 6/15 trip.
Andy,
Thanks for the answers and for continuing to stay with this thread! You have definitely given me some things to think about. I can see where two cameras would be best in that dusty environment. I would love to be able to create something even half as good as you have!
On the other hand . . . . I keep coming back to an issue that has bothered me for years when scuba diving, on trips, at my kids activities and sporting events, etc. - am I denying myself the full, real time enjoyment of the event in favor of having a photographic record of what I saw, by focusing more on using the camera to take my own photos and videos than just observing things with my eyes. I will always know I took the trip, but will I enjoy the memories any less if I rely on professional pictures in a book instead of my own photos of the incredible animals and sights. I guess there is no definite answer, there are degrees, and it is something everyone must decide for themselves. Sorry to be so philosophical. Again, great job and thanks for the help!
Now if someone would invent a small, lightweight, stabilized, vibration-immune, head-mounted, ultra-low-noise digital camera with eye tracking, object recognition, f1.2, 12-800 mm, f1.2, zoom lens, and enough memory to shoot hi-res for an entire day, I wouldn't think twice
I agree, you need to put down the camera and not experience the whole trip through a viewfinder. You will have plenty of time on this trip to so just that.
As for your second point, I think they already have something close...its called Google glass!
Google Glass or a GoPro Hero camera would not do that for me. There is no right answer common to all of us, which makes each trip so much more interesting.
Nick