My Safari Begins in Tanzania
Monday, January 12, 2009 at 05:53AM Greetings from Arusha, Tanzania! I arrived in Tanzania a few evenings ago, and will begin my first of two safaris in the morning. I am running a few errands today, getting ready for what will certainly be a great time out in the bush.
I am shooting with 100% Nikon equipment on this trip, and here is what I have packed into my Gura Gear Kiboko camera bag:
Nikon D3x
Nikon D3
Nikon D300
Nikon D700
200-400mm f/4 VR
70-200mm f/2.8 VR
24-70mm f/2.8
17-35mm f/2.8
1.4x and 1.7x teleconverters
SB800 x 2
Yes, all of this fits into the camera bag, and when I am on my first game drive a camera + 200-400mm will go into a Kinesis L521 long lens bag, and the other 3 lenses and cameras will all be in a ready-to-shoot configuration. I will remove many of the dividers in the Kiboko bag, and each camera will have a lens attached. So 4 cameras and 4 lenses will be at the ready.
I also brought a pair of SB800 flash units, 2 Manfrotto 001B light stands, a Wescott umbrella and some swivel mounts. I will be shooting some portraits on the trip, and this is a nice and light setup.I have the 1.4x and 1.7x teleconverters, and this is more of a test than anything else. I own the 1.7x, and borrowed the 1.4x. I am interested in finding out if there is a loss in optical quality and a loss in focusing speed between the two teleconverters. There is only one way of finding out, so I have brought both of them with me.I have four cameras for a reason, as well. I am interested in learning the ins and outs of these Nikon cameras, and how they fit the line of work that I am in. I don't plan on keeping all of these cameras after the safari, and I will be writing about my experiences with all 4 of these great cameras, both the positives and negatives. There is much to like about all four of them, for sure, and it will be interesting to see which ones stay and which ones go. All but the D3x were purchased used from friends of mine, and I doubt I will lose much in a sale.
Reader Comments (3)
Glad to hear you arrived safely, Andy. I am amazed all that equipment fits into the Kiboko!
We hope you will have a chance to post a few "photos of the day" while you are there.
Your insights about how your Nikon equipment worked will be extremely valuable in planning for the Botswana safari in July, since I am in the process of switching from Canon to Nikon.
I just returned from a month long trip to Alabama and Texas, flying and driving. I am very happy with my Kiboko bag. However, I really maxed it out with the folllowing:
D300 with vertical grip
F6 Body
200-400 mm f4 VR
70-200mm f2.8 VR
14-24mm f2.8
24-70mm f2.8
1.4 and 2.0 teleconverters
SB80 flash unit
Nikon batteries and charger
Colorspace portable hard drive
Would love to see a photo of your bag and how you packed it.