How to shoot on Safari

Posted: Fri May 11, 2007 2:41 am

Hi guys, luckily for me and my girlfriend we are of to Namibia in August on a 12 day Safari holiday (oh i can't wait) and natrually i am loading my camera and mini dv stuff.
I have a Panasonic Lumix FZ50 and was hoping for some pointers on settings so that i get more good shots than bad. I guess Aperture Priority is going to be my main setting or do i just go manual ? i know things depend on the situation and time of day etc etc so a few general settings tips would be very much appreciated for certain instances found on a safari, so use your imagination and thanks guys.
I understand a tripod is a must at distance even though the Lumix has image stabilization (which i have to say i am less than impressed with)

Thanks guys

Posted: Thu May 24, 2007 4:29 pm

So did i post this in the wrong place or is it just an unworthy question?

Joined: 27 Oct 2004 Posts: 451 Location: Gloucester, UK

A tripod probably isn't going to be a practical proposition if you are shooting from the back of a vehicle. It's not even very practical if shooting from the ground as time is often limited and you have to be able to move quickly should the need arise. You'd be better off using a monopod or a beanbag to support the camera if shooting longish exposures.
It's difficult to give advice on camera settings as so much depends on light conditions, subject matter etc. Clearly for landscapes you generally want the greatest DOF you can manage so aperture priority makes sense. On the other hand, should you be fortunate enough to see a hunt in progress you will need the fastest shutter speed possible.

Posted: Mon May 28, 2007 1:13 pm

I always find a good starting point is to set your camera to spot metering if the functionality is available on your camera and your ISO to 400, also always remember to have your shutter speed equal to or more than your Focal length (zoom) for example if you are zoomed out at 300mm then your shutter speed should be at least 1/300th of a second, from there on in a bit of luck and a good eye will go a long way.

Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2007 2:23 pm

Thanks for the tips guys and sorry for the late reply been really busy lately!! Also managed to get hold of a Nikon D80 with an 18-200vr lense
:)

so any camera specific tips please guys for the safari shoots?

Also do i need a polarizer or not ??

Thanks in advance

Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2007 2:39 pm

Sedsy a circular polariser will definatley help, lots of harsh light in Arfrica, so it might extend your shooting time by an hour or so, help to prevent blown out sky's, but remeber that you will need to consider openning up your aperture a stop or two more to expose correctly.

Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2007 3:04 pm

Thanks once again Lionello :) i have read a user guide for the D80 done by Ken Rockwell!?? He says that he always sets the exposure comp to -0.7 ! is this a valid point and does anyone think his views are valid ? seemed a very well re-written user guide !

Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2007 3:08 pm

Lionello wrote:

I always find a good starting point is to set your camera to spot metering if the functionality is available on your camera and your ISO to 400, also always remember to have your shutter speed equal to or more than your Focal length (zoom) for example if you are zoomed out at 300mm then your shutter speed should be at least 1/300th of a second, from there on in a bit of luck and a good eye will go a long way.

Also meant to ask.. is there a way of reading your focal length in the view finder or lcd display ? so i can set shutter speed accordingly?

Joined: 23 Nov 2005 Posts: 53 Location: Wales

sedsy wrote:

Lionello wrote:

I always find a good starting point is to set your camera to spot metering if the functionality is available on your camera and your ISO to 400, also always remember to have your shutter speed equal to or more than your Focal length (zoom) for example if you are zoomed out at 300mm then your shutter speed should be at least 1/300th of a second, from there on in a bit of luck and a good eye will go a long way.

Also meant to ask.. is there a way of reading your focal length in the view finder or lcd display ? so i can set shutter speed accordingly?

Just look at your lens.

Posted: Fri Jul 27, 2007 1:09 am

I have no experience with Nikon products so I can't vouch for what Ken Rockwell says, but he knows his stuff even if his reviews tend to Pro Nikon, I'm pretty sure he gets paid by them for his reviews :wink: