Lens Advice & cleaning

Alex90 · #1 (**permalink**) 31-01-2011, 07:26 PM

Hi All,

Right we are off on safari in the masai mara in a few weeks time and im looking at hiring a lens for the week.

I want something easy to use that is going to produce high standard results while we are there. hire budget isnt too much of a problem so any suggestions are welcome.

I used a 500mm F4 for a week down on exmoor and found it brilliant for the deer, you need to be very steady with it though. What other options are there that people can recommend?

i have a 300mm f4 which i will be taking with me, do you think this would be adequate? My thinking is if we are going i may aswell spend that little bit extra and use a top of the range lens and get hopefully some good results.

My other question is regarding cleaning, every now and then i get a bit of dust etc on the sensor in the camera, and its a pain in the backside to sort out.

what are the most effective ways of cleaing lenses/cameras?
is there anywhere you can get it done for you? ideally somewhere that does a very good job.

We are also of to Mull again in may, im wanting to photograph otters again but perhaps achieve betetr results. in october i was using my sigma 150-500mm but found it struggled in low light.

I have 1 or 2 spots where i have consistently managed to wait and get within feet of otters the last 2 times we have been. Twice in october otters almost walked into me in these spots. Given that focal length isnt an issue here what would you recommend for close ups of wildlife such as this? i have read that the canon 70-200mm is very good? but how does it compare to say a 100-400mm.... as much as i love my 300mm i miss the flexibility of a zoom lens.

Sorry for all the questions, i have done research on all of the above but i find the best answers always come from asking.

Regards

Alex

johnf3f · #2 (**permalink**) 31-01-2011, 09:10 PM

To answer your last query first. The Canon 70-200 F4 IS is very highly rated and it's non IS predecessor is nearly as highly rated. The F2.8's are better but bigger, more expensive and heavier! In the real world you will probably see little difference between them, but in more demanding situations the 70-200 F2.8 IS Mk2 will out do all the others. Try before you buy!
As to sensor cleaning I use the Eclipse Fluid and Digipads. I find these very good and they are much cheaper than they used to be. However I rarely use them as a good blower (I use the Giottos rocket shaped ones) does 99% of my cleaning.
For lenses I simply use the blower first then a good quality lens cleaning cloth, with Eclipse fluid for any stubborn/greasy bits.
Hope this helps.

snake · #3 (**permalink**) 31-01-2011, 10:09 PM

Hi Alex,

I was in Kenya last September. Its an amazing place and you will have a fantastic time.
The safaris are brilliant and you will get to see a lot of birds and animals, some of them from very close range.
A fixed 500mm would be great for some shots but totally useless for a lot of others, you will be much too close.
I took my 70 - 400mm zoom and a lot of the time I only needed the 200 - 300mm range.
When on safari the roads can be very dusty and changing the lens while traveling can be problematic, take a pillow case and change the lens in that or take two camera bodies so you don't need to change.
The biggest problem I found was holding the camera steady. I took a bean bag and filled it when I got there but as all photographs are taken from inside the vehicle it was difficult getting a good shot when other people in the truck were moving around so most of the time it needs to be hand held.
Saying that the light can be fantastic so you can use a decent shutter speed.
You will have an wonderful time amongst some very friendly people and I look forward to seeing some of your pics when you return.