It's all About Being a Good Driver... (20 Pics!)

[Gdad]

Found myself on Kilimanjaro Safari with an actual good driver- not the usual lunatic who makes taking a few pictures nearly impossible. Not great but much better luck than I have ever had on that ride. All taken on one rn through with my clunky old non-VR 300mm f4.

 

[oregondaddyof2]

Those are amazing shots GDad... I wish I had a "clunky old non-VR 300mm" that takes that good of a picture...

 

[YesDear]

FYI that is not a consumer grade lens. The 300 f4 was considered one of the better lens in it's day. That is not a 70-300 of today.

Gdad has a wonderful intuitive nature about him and he picks some really goooood glass. Way to go Jeff. I am sure had it been your normal driver, you could have put a big dent in one of your girl's head! That lens is not light! It weighs right at 3 pounds! I bet that was a good workout!

 

[Todd_H]

Well done!

I just picked up the Canon 70-200 f/2.8L IS and can't wait to try it on the Kilamanjaro Safaris when we head down in September. However, I think I will also pick up the 1.4x teleconverter to get some extended reach.

 

[YEKCIM]

Great images, Jeff. Thanks for including that last one, too, so the rest of us lens-jockeys will know exactly which driver to look for!

~Ed

 

[PhotobearSam]

Love the shots and the last shot is awesome...interesting and personal. LOVE IT

 

[Gdad]

FYI that is not a consumer grade lens.

Oh don't get me wrong- I love the lens. It's just with Nikon's obvious disadvantage here (No IS version- No in-body IS- etc- etc-) I was surprised to get a few keepers taken from a moving vehicle- that's all.

Thanks for the kind words all.

 

[kaffinito]

Gorgeous shots!

 

[DisneyFairytale]

Waw those were incredible shots. Would love to have half the skill to take photos like that! Thanks for sharing!

 

[jann1033]

great photos..although i think the is/vr doesn't do any good from the moving vehicle aspect anyway,( canon's at least from what they told me,maybe the new is helps) it's nice to see plain old good shots

 

[jann1033]

Well done!

I just picked up the Canon 70-200 f/2.8L IS and can't wait to try it on the Kilamanjaro Safaris when we head down in September. However, I think I will also pick up the 1.4x teleconverter to get some extended reach.

wondering since the IS is in the lens will it work for the converter?
i know when i use my teleconverter on my non is200 it looks kind of like there is an earthquake unless i use a tripod

 

[Todd_H]

wondering since the IS is in the lens will it work for the converter?
i know when i use my teleconverter on my non is200 it looks kind of like there is an earthquake unless i use a tripod

Ah, good point... hadn't thought of that. Guess I'll have to stick with fast shutter speeds and a high ISO and pray for a good driver.

 

[Code]

A good driver on Kilimanjaro Safari? He'll be out of a job within a week

Nice shots!

 

[handicap18]

Great work once again Jeff. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Groucho]

Oh don't get me wrong- I love the lens. It's just with Nikon's obvious disadvantage here (No IS version- No in-body IS- etc- etc-) I was surprised to get a few keepers taken from a moving vehicle- that's all.

Thanks for the kind words all.

great photos..although i think the is/vr doesn't do any good from the moving vehicle aspect anyway,( canon's at least from what they told me,maybe the new is helps) it's nice to see plain old good shots

Jann beat me to it - I think the IS may actually be a disadvantage, with the kind of bumping and bouncing that you get on that ride. It's all about fast shutter speeds.

I know it's "only a PnS" but I recall that when I took photos with my old Minolta Z5 (12x zoom w/IS), I got better Safaris photos with the IS off. Since then, I've only ridden it with my first DSLR (with no IS) and once with my K20D when I was on the wrong (ie, the right) side of the vehicle so I didn't get any good shots. I didn't get to ride it at all last trip due to my wife being sick. I would think a reasonably fast 300 with autofocus would be an ideal lens. Hopefully I'll have an SMC Takumar 300mm F4 by my next trip but the manual focus will probably make it nearly useless on that ride! Anyway, if I have the chance, I'll do a little experimenting with IS on and off next time.

 

[kimberleeJohnston]

Those shots are amazing. The elephants and the rhinos are spectacular!
Thnak you for sharing these!

 

[JR6ooo4]

Nice! I love the bed-head look on the lion...

thanks for sharing.
Mikeeee