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-   -   A Southern African Adventure (https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-reports/1551791-southern-african-adventure.html)

DanielW Feb 15, 2014 1:35 am


Originally Posted by hauteboy (Post 22350718)
that's quite some gear setup you have.. that explains the gorgeous photos! Half of my P&S POS camera photos come out blurry :( Even Jason's iphone outperformed my camera this past trip, heh.

It was a hassle to lug all the camera stuff around, but glad I did.

Yes, the good old iPhone camera's are getting better and better:). One of the girls actually dropped her iPhone in the water while we were in the makoro's:(. After a nervous few days while waiting for it to dry out, she was able to get it going again, as well as all her travel pics:).


Originally Posted by Loose Cannon (Post 22352286)
Fascinating Trip Report and pictures. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks Loose Cannon, my pleasure:).

rts123 Feb 15, 2014 4:20 pm


Originally Posted by agp423 (Post 22348298)
It's very refreshing to see a trip report that is not entirely focused on airline products or hotel rooms. Thank you very much for sharing this!

My sentiments exactly. Outstanding photos and a great report overall. Thanks for lugging that camera gear around so we can get a feel for what you saw!

LongingForORD Feb 15, 2014 6:14 pm

Thanks for the nice TR and Pixs.

I have also had many African adventures, and never get tired of looking at the animals, thanks for sharing your great photos. I think Botswana is one of the most beautiful places on earth.

aaron1262 Feb 15, 2014 7:51 pm

Amazing photos. I'm headed that direction in a few weeks for Kruger and Victoria falls. Your report got me super stoked about the trip.

DanielW Feb 16, 2014 7:30 am


Originally Posted by LongingForORD (Post 22355942)
Thanks for the nice TR and Pixs.

I have also had many African adventures, and never get tired of looking at the animals, thanks for sharing your great photos. I think Botswana is one of the most beautiful places on earth.

Thank you, LongingForORD:). People often ask where has been my favourite place to travel, and Africa is always at the top of the list.


Originally Posted by aaron1262 (Post 22356283)
Amazing photos. I'm headed that direction in a few weeks for Kruger and Victoria falls. Your report got me super stoked about the trip.

Cheers, aaron1262:). You'll have a great time, with happy memories that will last well after the trip is over. Kruger is an amazing place, quite big, about the same size as Israel. Well setup for everything too.

Plenty to do at Vic falls too, bungy jumping, helicopter rides above the falls, I think you can even do a micro-light flight on the Zambian side too:).

DanielW Feb 16, 2014 7:33 am


Originally Posted by rts123 (Post 22355378)
My sentiments exactly. Outstanding photos and a great report overall. Thanks for lugging that camera gear around so we can get a feel for what you saw!

Thanks, rts123:). I managed to squeeze it all into my carry-on backpack, weighed more than my check-in bag too:).

DanielW Feb 17, 2014 9:04 am

Just a Zebra crossing in Kruger:D.

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3710/1...02de5da4_o.jpg

shogunate03 Feb 17, 2014 10:36 pm


Originally Posted by DanielW (Post 22347402)

Amazing TR DanielW and absolutely stunning photos! It seemed like quite the adventure and lots of fantastic wildlife to see.

I have lugged around a Canon 6D with 70-200mm, 16-35mm, and 24-105mm in a backpack and it is quite a pain to carry, but the pictures do end up being worth it.

I saw that you used both a 1.4x and 2x teleconverter - how did you like those? I have heard some good things about them but that you also do sacrifice focus speed and image quality for the extra range. At some point I would like to go on a safari and am concerned that my 70-200 is too short and that I would need a TC.

Did you end up using the TCs a lot - for example when you were shooting from the helicopter? I see that you also had a 300mm so you already had some extra range.

DanielW Feb 18, 2014 2:12 am

Thanks, shogunate03:).

Yes, I used the TC's quite abit. The 2x TC on the 300mm makes it 600mm, and is good when the animals are far away (handy for public parks like Kruger where you can't drive offroad). This shot is taken with the 300L + 2x TC:

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3781/1...afe2591b_o.jpg

The quality is pretty good, obviously not as good as an actual 600L, but the expense and hassle of travelling with such a big lens (no way it would fit in the carry-on luggage:)) means the 300mm + 2x TC is a pretty good alternative.

I used the 1.4x quite a bit too, and used it with the 300mm on the helicopter trip.

A 1.4x TC with the 70-200 would go well for going on safari, with the IQ & AF still being pretty good. The quality with the 2x TC and the 70-200 is not so great, but still quite acceptable.

FAllWay Feb 18, 2014 3:00 am

Great trip report. This is how trip reports should be, about things you do at destinations. Not only about the plane ride and hotels.

ironmanjt Feb 18, 2014 12:03 pm


Originally Posted by hauteboy (Post 22350718)
Even Jason's iphone outperformed my camera this past trip, heh.

I find the iPhone takes some pretty darn good pictures, but nothing that can compete with these. Daniel, thanks for sharing - some of the best pics I've ever seen on FT!

JDiver Feb 18, 2014 1:27 pm

FanTAStic!

BTW, those antelope wading in the water taken from the helo are actually Southern Lechwe, Kobus leche, which always are found near or in the water.

Great photos, including my favourites - elephant, of course! and my favourite antelope, the noble Sable. Thanks so much for sharing!

Alba Feb 18, 2014 8:38 pm

Hello DanielW.

I have not had the opportunity to read your story, which I will and look forward to. I wanted to say to you that your pictures are some of the best photographs that I have ever seen and to be perfectly honest some are worthy of National Geographic. Thank you so much for taking the time to share your journey and photograph what you saw on your amazing adventure.

^^:-::)

Alba Feb 18, 2014 8:41 pm


Originally Posted by rts123 (Post 22355378)
My sentiments exactly. Outstanding photos and a great report overall. Thanks for lugging that camera gear around so we can get a feel for what you saw!

Absolutely agree - outstanding photographs.

sailrob81 Feb 18, 2014 8:43 pm

@DanielW Thanks for posting and really enjoyed the TR. The night stop with dinner and elephants is pretty awesome.

Just a quick question. How did you find getting from the Gautrain to your hotel? Given the horror stories about Jo-Burg did you feel walking in that area (Sandton) was safe?


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