Lenses for Madagascar

[philwalkerphoto]

Hi folks

I'm planning for a trip to Madagascar in April next year. Anybody got any experience of shooting there? I don't usually shoot wildlife but given the destination I want to make the most of all the opportunities that Madagascar will present as its a once in a lifetime trip. 8)

My main camera is a Canon 6D and my plan is to take a 100mm f2.8L Macro, 70-300mm 4.0-5.6 L and my 16-35 f4L for landscapes. I also plan to take a 430ex flash and possibly a ring flash for the macro.

I am wondering whether I should take another tele lens with me? I could hire a 300mm f2.8 L for ultimate IQ or 400mm f5.6 L for more reach but not sure it is worth the extra weight... I don't know how much reach I will need, I've heard that in the rainforests, for example, the lemurs can be high in the trees and also heavily in shade (hence the flashes). I'm not really planning on doing any birding though so maybe more than 300mm would be overkill?

Also, wondering whether I should take as a second body... Should I hire a 7D to give extra reach and potentially better autofocus or would I be better off with just taking another 6D? I'm imagining that changing lenses will be almost impossible in some of the environments (rainforest or dusty) so a second body might be essential. I am thinking the macro always on one body for the small stuff and a tele on the other body for the lemurs and other small mammals.

Any advice from all you wildlife shooters would be much appreciated

 

[Maximilian]

Hi Phil!

I think the right advice and choice depends a lot on how and where in detail you plan to travel.
Do you go backpacking or do you make a well-organized round trip?
Do you focus on wildlife and nature or do you also visit the cities?
Is taking photos most important or also the feeling of being there? (Take your time without a camera)

I think your choice of equipment is already a well-balanced all-round package.
Everything else is depending on how much you want/can afford/can carry around.
A second body might be important if you fear that your 6D breaks down. But I wouldn't want to take too many things with me.
Think about the climate when you travel there. It can differ a lot depending where on Madagascar you are.

If you give us more details, maybe we can be more specific with our recommendations


(Disclaimer: I haven't been to Madagascar. So no personal experiences)

 

[AJTimmerman]

Just this October 2014 we returned from a 5 week Holiday in Madagascar, and in order to travel light I decided to only bring one multi purpose lens. I did go for the Tamron 16-300 mm lens mounted to a Canon 7D body. The 16-300 mm might not be a sharp as your L lenses, but I did not have to change in case we saw Chameleons nearby, and Lemurs up in the trees.
So if you do not mind carrying your lenses (and have good quality glassware with you!), I think that you have a very good combination. You do miss the 35-70 mm range, but that should be no problem. Indeed the lemurs will not come down and pose for you on the photo, and having the 300 mm in that case is a 'must'. Also for birding the 300 mm is a wise decision. For landscapes and taking pictures at Baobab Alley, the 16-35 mm is a killer lens. You will be amazed by the flora and fauna that the country provides you!

Think about changing your lenses in a dusty (desert like environment), hot, and wet (rainforest) environment. Having only a 16-300 mm I did not change any lens. Remember that you also might take pictures at night to go and search for nocturnal lemurs and chameleons.
Wish you a very pleasant trip, and even though we've just returned, I envy you!

 

[tayassu]

Hey Phil! Welcome to CR!
Your kit looks very good for travel photography, but 6D and only 300mm for wildlife... I don't know... That is not something I would trust...
I'd say rent a 7DII or a 300/2.8 with converters. I'd go for the 7DII, because it is lighter to carry and you don't have to change lenses that often.

 

[philwalkerphoto]

Max, its an organised tour around the various national parks (Andasibe, Ramanofara, Isalo, Andringitra) including stops at private reserves and wildlife parks. The focus will be on nature and wildlife. Also, I some relaxation is planned at a lodge (Anjajavy) at the end of the trip which is in a private reserve. The duration of the trip is three weeks. At the national parks I expect we will be walking 3-5 hours a day in hot conditions. At least in the rainforests the ground is undulating and hard work to trek around. So weight would be a consideration. In the smaller parks and private reserves we might not need to do very much walking.

AJ, that's an approach that makes sense and is certainly another way to go about it. Did you feel that you sacrificed much in the way of IQ? Also, did you often find yourself at the end of the zoom range when photographing wildlife? To get the equivalent range of 300mm on a 7D, I would need 480mm on my 6D. How did your set up cope with taking shots in the rainforests? 5 weeks must have been quite the trip, which areas of Madagascar did you visit?

 

[philwalkerphoto]

Hi tayassu. Yeah, that's what I'm worried about. I think normally 300mm wouldn't be enough for wildlife, but I've heard that in Madagascar, at least in some of the reserves and parks, you can get quite close to the lemurs. Out in the rainforests I expect 300mm isn't going to be enough unless they come down from the trees. I'd be interested to hear if anyone has experience of using the 6D for active wildlife and, if so, how its AF coped.

 

[tayassu]

I think Jack Douglas regularly used his 6D with the 300/2.8 and converters... Look over at the Show your Bird portraits thread, you'll find him there

 

[Besisika]

Max, its an organised tour around the various national parks (Andasibe, Ramanofara, Isalo, Andringitra) including stops at private reserves and wildlife parks. The focus will be on nature and wildlife. Also, I some relaxation is planned at a lodge (Anjajavy) at the end of the trip which is in a private reserve. The duration of the trip is three weeks. At the national parks I expect we will be walking 3-5 hours a day in hot conditions. At least in the rainforests the ground is undulating and hard work to trek around. So weight would be a consideration. In the smaller parks and private reserves we might not need to do very much walking.

AJ, that's an approach that makes sense and is certainly another way to go about it. Did you feel that you sacrificed much in the way of IQ? Also, did you often find yourself at the end of the zoom range when photographing wildlife? To get the equivalent range of 300mm on a 7D, I would need 480mm on my 6D. How did your set up cope with taking shots in the rainforests? 5 weeks must have been quite the trip, which areas of Madagascar did you visit?

Do you mind asking how did you get the organized tour?
April in Madagascar is still rainy green period (as opposed to October). I would focus on either macro or wildlife. You could shoot both but with a focus mainly on one - Just a suggestion. The 100mm L will do really well if you are a macro fan. I envy you, shooting macro with a full frame in that country during the rainy period! I am planning, but in two years.
300mm on a full frame could be too short, unless you take an extender. Try not to be too heavy.

 

[philwalkerphoto]

Do you mind asking how did you get the organized tour?
April in Madagascar is still rainy green period (as opposed to October). I would focus on either macro or wildlife. You could shoot both but with a focus mainly on one - Just a suggestion. The 100mm L will do really well if you are a macro fan. I envy you, shooting macro with a full frame in that country during the rainy period! I am planning, but in two years.
300mm on a full frame could be too short, unless you take an extender. Try not to be too heavy.

I am going on a trip I organised from the UK with a tour company called 'Imagine Africa'. Actually, to be more precise, I am arriving there at the end of April and staying until the second week of May. So we will be there at the end of the rainy season and maybe beginning of the dry season as I understand it.

 

[Jane]

As a keen photographer, I would never go on any "once in a lifetime" trip without backup gear - to include a backup camera (even a super zoom or a small camera), cards, batteries, laptop, and backup disks. I take a full frame camera with wider lenses and an APS-C or 2nd full-frame with a longer zoom lens and rarely switch lenses in the field; I don't need to. I am going to Madagascar in 2016 on a photography tour and will likely take 5 DIII, 16-35, 24-70 for scenery and 1DX with 70-300L or new 100-400L mark II (assuming it's out ) for wildlife. Enjoy your trip. Please let us know what you settle on, how it works out and, of course, post some pix!

 

[AJTimmerman]

Hi Phil,
Yes the 300 mm gave me 480 mm, and I know this is not the sharpest/fastest lens around, but traveling light is also a nice advantage. I did bring a backup lens (40 mm pancake), but there was no need to use this one. The equipment did not let me down. Knowing my 7D is already 5 years old, and still going strong.
Regarding the shooting in the rainforest, we were in the dry season, so this was no real problem. We only had one rain shower in Andasibe, but a towel protected the camera and the lens. There is some weather sealing protection from the combination. I do like the idea as posted to hire a 7D mk II, the crop factor (with your lens 70-300 mm) and the speed of the Canon 7D mk II must make sure you never miss the action (especially with the sometime quickly moving lemurs!). But also be sure to bring enough memory cards with you. I came back with over 29 Gb of photos... With the 7D mk II now able to shoot at 10 fps, it will go very fast. Do also remember that in the rainforest the light is not always much, so increasing the ISO is sometimes needed. From my gear you can see I'm not a professional, but the pictures for me turned out as we'd hoped for, a nice addition and memory to a very nice (as you say once in a lifetime) Holiday.

For the trip itself, the beginning part we did almost the same as you will do, from Tana all the way to Tulear (so Ranomafana, Isalo, Camp Catta - Pic Boby, Anja reserve, Andrigitra, Isalo) and then to Anakao. We then headed south (Fort Dauphin and Berenty), back to Tana (for Andasibe NP), then went to Morondave (Baobab Alley, here your 16-35 mm will do the job!), and finished in the north for relaxing (Diego Duarez and Nosy Be). Must say that most pictures were taken in the National Parks to shoot all the exiting animals!

 

[Maximilian]

Max, its an organised tour around the various national parks ... I expect we will be walking 3-5 hours a day in hot conditions.

As I already stated I have never been to Madagascar. So I cannot say if 300 mm on FF is enough.
But I think you mustn't compare Madagascar to Serengeti or else in Africa. It's not that wide and the animals are not so far away, but they are smaller than elephants
The 6D will serve you well in the twilight hours (center AF and sensor noise). So I can't say if it's really necessary to get more reach or an 7D2.
And as you say you'll do some hiking and want to travel light more mm reach would mean more weight.
If you rent or buy another body it'be extra money and you'll need to get used to it.
So if I were you I'd stick to what you have and hope that it'll work.
Consider if the missing focal length (35 - 70) is necessary to you or not.

 

[Nethawk]

I'd add the venerable 24-105mm lens to your kit and call it a day.

While you'll probably have fun on the long end, I'm guessing the most bang for the buck, and your best images, will come from the 16-35mm. It sounds like a wonderful trip, congrats and have fun!

 

[mrzero]

I did 2 weeks in Madagascar with a t1i, 20mm/2.8, and 100mm/2.8 macro. The 100mm L did not exist yet and I was too broke and hell-bent on moving to full-frame, or I would have gone for the 17-55 instead of the 20mm prime. I also threw the 18-55mm in my bag as a last-minute back-up, but almost never used it. With that in mind, here are my thoughts:

You should bring a standard zoom. You will want to take pics of everything you see, at least at first, because the cities, countryside, and people are all very striking, dramatic, and photogenic. For me, I made do with the 20mm (32mm equivalent), but the zoom would have been better.

You should bring a second body. The lens changes did make me nervous, and we traveled during the dry season. It is quite dusty, everything came back with dust on it. I felt like Pigpen on the flight home. If you travel during the rainy season, I think you'll face moisture and dust.

I wouldn't worry tremendously about the zoom length. If you put the 70-300 on a crop body, I think you'd be thrilled. You could swap out for the 100mm if it is truly dark and get 160mm 2.8 with IS, and that would probably do quite well. We did not do jungle- or wildlife-type excursions, we mostly went to little zoos or parks where the animals were mostly tame. The 100mm served well for that, although the flexibility of a zoom would have been better. I did not really need the close focusing of a macro, I was not a big flower guy, and I had no intentions of hunting for bugs. I chose it for the quality and the 2.8.

If I were to go back today, I would have my 24-70 on the 6D almost full-time, swapped out only for the ultrawide, and then have the 70-300 or the 100mm on my cropped backup. I would not worry about low-light much, unless you have some night excursions already planned. When we went, dinners were long (to allow the kitchen time to procure the food you had ordered), and then straight back to the room for showers and bed. Because you will be TIRED. This country is extremely tiring, everything is hard work, even a car ride. Also, the mosquitoes (malaria) and just overall safety/security are concerns at night, so you probably won't be doing a lot of nighttime shooting.

Overall, though, pack as light as possible. I carried all my gear with me in a very nondescript black belt bag (not a photo bag) so as to avoid attention. When I wasn't wearing it, my gear bag was locked in a suitcase. If you wear a backpack, it will end up in the back of your van and frequently getting carried by "helpful" folks looking for a tip. I'd go for a shoulder or waist pack that you can keep with you in a cramped moving vehicle.

Note -- we were never in any real danger, but we traveled half our time with two missionaries who had lived in the country for years and spoke the language. We stuck out like sore thumbs (four tall white people), and a tour group probably sticks out even worse.