Off for Tanzania

Well, I am off to Tanzania for another 2 back-to-back safaris. These should be amazing safaris, as we are headed to three amazing wildlife destinations in northern Tanzani: Tarangire National Park, Ngorongoro Crater and Serengeti National Park. This is the peak of the dry season, and many elephants migrate over to Tarangire for more permanent water. For you elephant lovers out there, this is the time to view elephants. Then we are off to Ngorongoro for an all-around excellent experience in the crater. Virtually all wildlife can be found in the crater, with the exception of impala and giraffe. Then we travel to the extreme northern Serengeti to a location we call Kogatende, where we will have a private camp setup for us in a remote part of the park. I expect excellent wildlife and photography.

I have been trying to figure out a way for my blog to have automatic postings that originate from SMS messages from my Iridium satellite phone. I ran out of time, but I hope to be able to post daily safari reports from the bush on my next round of safaris in January of next year.

So what equipment am I taking this time? Keep in mind that I am always switching my equipment around, and every safari has a new equipment configuration. So here goes:

• Canon 1DsMkII


• Canon 1DMkII


• 500mm f/4 L IS (rented to travelers on both safaris, so I won't use it at all)


• 400mm f/4 DO IS


• 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS


• 24-105mm f/4 L IS


• 1.4x and 2x teleconverters


• Apple MacBook with 120GB hard drive and 2GB RAM


• Epson P2000 (2x, 100GB and 80GB upgrades)


• Sony HC3 HD video camera

So that's it for this trip. I have a ton of gear to carry, and it will be split between my MP-1 camera bag and a daypack. On my next safari in January, I hope to have my own camera bag out in the marketplace to replace my MP-1. The MP-1 has been an interesting bag for me, as I appreciate the low weight of the bag, but I cannot help feeling ripped off from the poor quality and lack of attention to detail. Oh, and the atrocious high price. I don't want to say much about my bag, but I am working hard to make it extremely lightweight. It will be made of very expensive materials, it will made extremely well, and it will be durable. And it will be comfortable to wear on your back.

Comments

[joshli]

IP: 24.120.148.2EMAIL: joshliphoto@gmail.comURL: http://www.joshli.comI'm so jealous. Good luck on location, and I look forward to the photos from your trip.

Interesting that you are now shooting with only pro bodies...

Can't wait to see the new bag...!!

[Svein-Frode]

IP: 193.212.51.164EMAIL: svein-frode@svein-frode.comURL: http://www.svein-frode.comGood luck to ya m8t!

[escog]

IP: 69.32.163.3EMAIL: escog@hotmail.comURL:Andy,

Why both the 400 f/4.0 DO and the 100-400? Is the quality and extra stop of the DO lens that worthwhile?

[Andy]

IP: 193.220.91.5EMAIL: andybiggs@gmail.comURL: http://www.andybiggs.comThe 400mm DO is optically superior, and it also works quite well with the 1.4x and 2x teleconverters. Also keep in mind that I typically use a non full frame camera on my 100-400mm, and my full frame camera on my long prime lens, so there is some overlap there.