New to the Sony Alpha forum

[ShilenH]

Greetings from beautiful Perth, Western Australia
This is just by way of introduction.
I stumbled upon the Alpha Shooters site and after reading a few articles, was hooked and had to join this forum.
I shoot with an A7iii and started off with the Tamron 28-75mm f2,8. This combination served me well but after purchasing the 16-35mm f2.8 GM and the 90mm macro, have come to the conclusion that native is best. I managed to sell my Tamron to a newbie photographer and am hoping it will serve him well.
I recently purchased the new 20-70mm f4 and what a versatile and sharp lens!
I am going on safari to Kenya in Dec and need to decide on whether to purchase the 70-200mm ii f2.8 with a 2x Teleconverter or the 200-600mm G. Any thoughts or insights would be welcome.
It’s an expensive hobby!
Cheers!

 

[Unframed Dave]

My own experience of safari, suggests that two bodies work best I'm afraid. One with a 70 - 200 (or similar) and one with a longer lens such as the 200 - 600. The shorter focal length will catch the biggies, but birds, snakes, small mammals etc need the longer length. Then of course, there's the land scape to capture and neither lens is really suitable for that, but you can always have your phone on you.

Ultimately, there are compromises to be made, due to budget, weight etc.

Personally, I wouldn't want to be swapping lenses in the dusty conditions of a safari drive any more than I had to. Plus the more swapping you do, the more chance there is that you will miss the shot of the trip.

That said plenty of folks are quite happy with what their phone provides, so it comes down to you and what you want out of the trip.

Enjoy it.

 

[ShilenH]

My own experience of safari, suggests that two bodies work best I'm afraid. One with a 70 - 200 (or similar) and one with a longer lens such as the 200 - 600. The shorter focal length will catch the biggies, but birds, snakes, small mammals etc need the longer length. Then of course, there's the land scape to capture and neither lens is really suitable for that, but you can always have your phone on you.

Ultimately, there are compromises to be made, due to budget, weight etc.

Personally, I wouldn't want to be swapping lenses in the dusty conditions of a safari drive any more than I had to. Plus the more swapping you do, the more chance there is that you will miss the shot of the trip.

That said plenty of folks are quite happy with what their phone provides, so it comes down to you and what you want out of the trip.

Enjoy it.

Great insight. Thanks.

 

[evacguy]

Greetings from beautiful Perth, Western Australia
This is just by way of introduction.
I stumbled upon the Alpha Shooters site and after reading a few articles, was hooked and had to join this forum.
I shoot with an A7iii and started off with the Tamron 28-75mm f2,8. This combination served me well but after purchasing the 16-35mm f2.8 GM and the 90mm macro, have come to the conclusion that native is best. I managed to sell my Tamron to a newbie photographer and am hoping it will serve him well.
I recently purchased the new 20-70mm f4 and what a versatile and sharp lens!
I am going on safari to Kenya in Dec and need to decide on whether to purchase the 70-200mm ii f2.8 with a 2x Teleconverter or the 200-600mm G. Any thoughts or insights would be welcome.
It’s an expensive hobby!
Cheers!

Hi Shilen and welcome to the forum. I’m also relatively new to photography (about 12 months) so not sure I have any words of wisdom, but this forum is a wealth of great info and advice. I have the A7iv and a couple of Sony lenses. My absolute favourite is the Sony GM 70-200mm f2.8 OSS II. There is nothing this lens can’t do, from macro shots to portraits to landscapes and wildlife. I just love this lens. For your safari I think the 2.0x might be a good idea. I don’t have one, but have been thinking about getting one for months. I think I’m about to bite the bullet and get one. Also, as Dave said, I don’t think I’d want to be changing lenses in safari type conditions. Looking forward to seeing your photographs, and not just your safari photographs.

 

[alexpler]

Welcome to the forum! Looking forward to seeing your shots.

 

[Tim Mayo]

Welcome Shilen and thank you for joining up here. Are you any closer to deciding what to pack for your safari?

 

[ShilenH]

Hey thanks. I decided to purchased the 70-200mm f4 I and already love the lens. I have kept my sigma 100-400mm lens and will take this on safari. So my kit will be the Sony 20-70mm f4 ii, Sony 70-200mm f4 ii, Sony 9mm macro and the Sigma 100-400mm. Let’s hope I do not need a longer zoom.