What's in my bag .....African Photographic Safari

This is a long video and I don't expect many of you to actually want to watch the whole thing. However...if you are anything like me I can assure you that I would pay money to have had someone show me how to better prepare myself before I set off to Africa.
I am confounded by how simplistic other photographer's camera equipment inventories claim to be. I work on my own so I don't take one ounce of equipment more than I think I need when photographing on an African safari.
Some of you may think I am taking too much but I would like you to remember that it costs a lot to be out in the bush with the animals so a certain amount of redundancy can make the difference between a successful assignment or one where you return empty-handed.
Preparation, spare equipment and a solid knowledge of how your equipment works goes a long way to preventing heart ache.
Yes. I did have to pay extra to check extra bags but I consider it a small price for peace of mind. I return from every trip with broken equipment. I wish I could predict what will break but it is always different.
One last thing. It is better to take a few things that you know well than to take a whole lot of equipment that you have not practiced with in advance.

[@GrahamHobart]

Hi Ultraonix, Yes most of the lenses are old. I prefer not to replace lenses until they wear out and Nikon makes some pretty durable lenses. Of course some of the lenses are quite new like the 600mm f/4 VRII. The 200mm f/4 micro nikkor isn't even an auto focus lens (It is an AIS lens). I want to let the equipment work for me instead of me endlessly working to pay manufacturers for their latest gadget or upgrade. This is where Nikon shines in comparison to Canon. If you use the higher end bodies every lens Nikon has made since the 1970s will still work on higher-end cameras. Even the lenses from 1959 (When the F mount was introduced), with a little modification will work as well.

[@janoskovacs6136]

Watched until the end... thank you for the excellent video and for sharing your gear.

[@darraaz007]

Thank You for taking the time to present your equipment used, WoW!! So many things I did not know even existed and ive been shooting wildlife for sometime!! Amazing!!

[@paulochagas4336]

Very good. I saw equipment that perhaps will never handle. Congratulations! Thank you!

[@planecrazyish]

Excellent video and amazing gear! Many thanks for the great info.

[@Jonhillenbrandphotography]

Very interesting. Thanks for sharing your gear. I like that sensor cleaning loupe. I'll have to look into that.

[@shehanmendis4123]

Amazing info thank you very much

[@Orkrist]

Thanks for sharing your great gears to us!

[@keithkevinken]

Great! Thank you for sharing!

[@NikCan66]

Great video and watched till the end. Thanks for the effort to produce such an informed video.

[@GrahamHobart]

Just in case you don't already know the deadline to choose to come and capture wildlife in Africa with me is fast approaching. If any of you have a dream to go to Africa but thought it was out of reach I have a great plan to keep costs low. The deadline is end of January, 2016. Write to me and I will send you a brochure via email.(I will need your email address)

[@DigitalKitchenTas]

I watched the whole video and found it very interesting. You back must be fitter and stronger than mine..Well done with the video. Robert.

[@GrahamHobart]

Hi Digital Kitchen. This is the kit I carry to Africa. I mainly photograph from a vehicle and mount my cameras to the vehicle itself. When I reach my camp or lodge at the end of the day there are usually 6-8 eager porters offering to carry my bags for me but I instruct my driver to explain to them that I am the only person that handles my bags. This is because my bags are heavy and to save themselves from straining their backs I noticed that the porters drop my bags the last two inches from the ground. This is totally unacceptable. It usually takes three trips from my vehicle to my tent or room.

[@DigitalKitchenTas]

@@GrahamHobart Thank you for taking the time to reply. I hope you are able to keep travelling and photographing in these uncertain and unsettling times.Best regards Robert

Great video man. You are a typical example, that a man need a good equipment. Simply if you need a good picture, you need a good lens and all that "things" thanks for the video. BTW I yesterday bought bag for my two bodies and lot of lenses, you inspired me, big thanks :), and have a good day :).

[@varnib]

excellent walk through of your setup......

[@BHANGUVIDEOSUK]

Awesome kit thanks for sharing :)

[@jakesdewet3567]

Wow. I live in Africa and do several trips a year and I travel with my Own Land Cruiser with all the space I need and I do not carry half of this. Over 40 yrs learned that less is more and the more you have the more complicated it becomes. But we are all different. Great to see that you also use "old" Nikon Lenses. As I mostly shoot from the Car or Hide I never carry a Tripod. In SA we have a product GimBall with a fantastic door mount system or I shoot from a beanbag. Equipment 2 camera bodies one with a 400 f2.8 or 300 f2.8 and the second with a 80-400 for flexibility. Never use a flashlight for wildlife especially the big cats as it irritates them and provoke unnatural behaviour. It is a natural environment work with Natural light.

[@GrahamHobart]

Hi Jakes, Thank you for your thoughtful email. I am pleased to hear that you don't carry much equipment. My video is not meant to show off what I carry or tell people that they need to carry as much as I do. It is only my sharing of what I do. Everyone is different and has different priorities. Most of the effort in carrying so much is to help me get just a little more quality out of my captured image. My shutter speeds are typically around 125th/sec (even with the 600mm) in order to lower my ISO so a robust support system (with plenty of redundancy) is essential to sharper images. One benefit from my support system is when I capture horizontal panning shots while animals are running. This means less cropping afterwards to correct for tilting horizons. Another way I maximize detail and avoid cropping is to have the the exact focal length I need in order to fill the frame. 90% of my work is with the 600mm but all the other lenses are used on each trip and when I pull them out I am glad I carried the extra weight. I have video and sound gear mainly because I sometimes use the footage in my lectures to make the lecture more entertaining. All this does add up to a lot of headaches and I often loose shots because I am still setting up when the perfect moment is over. But that is the price I pay for trying to be better than everyone else. When I see one of my images enlarged to 2 meters long and hanging on a museum wall I am relieved to see that the quality holds up under the scrutiny of collectors and critics who are accustomed to exceptional quality. I completely agree with you about using the flash. I rarely use it (usually shooting birds) and sometimes regret the decision. It is always just a tiny bit of fill but it does affect them. I took a look at your work and loved what I saw. Thanks for sharing. Graham

[@GuyParkes]

Thanks Graham I am going to Africa in September and you have given me some great ideas particularly around battery charging and backup systems, I won't have the tremendous range of lenses you have (a little gear jealousy here))

[@villegas24]

Superb video and explanations ,sir.

[@cillyede]

Very interesting. Thanks.

[@glauberphoto]

Wonderfull!!

[@1975nicke]

Very well organised! =)

[@dennisas19]

very nice!

[@alfredtam9438]

My friend took a super zoom 24-600 with him. The images were excellent. He have pro equipment, but he was happy enjoying his trip. 🙂

[@fechetealex7512]

Very nice

[@lolsa123]

after seing this i understand just how little camera gear i actually have, and how little knowledge

[@timothykrainik76]

This is more of an example of what you would bring in order to have everything you need for any possible day of shooting available. He knows what he's shooting each day and can pull out the lenses he'll need and transfer them to a smaller bag. I have shelves of gear and have a shoot tomorrow where I'm only bringing two bodies, two lenses and a few filters, because I'm working out of my house instead of a tent or hotel. If you're learning, it's probably best for you to not have a ton of fancy gear like that. When you have the essentials of some decent zoom lenses, a few SD cards, a circular polarizer, variable ND filter, and a speedlight, you force yourself to make more with less and focus on how to use every available feature of your equipment. Starting small also makes you more selective when buying new gear too. You may find you can make something work just fine with one lens, and save yourself from buying another. You'll also better understand what listed features mean.

[@lolsa123]

Timothy Krainik right now i am making use of an d800, with an 50mm 1.4 and an 70-200. i am thinking of the tamron 15-30 which haven't released yet, just so i have a quite big variable of shooting. but alas, the animal life around where i live is quite still so i would have to spend a lot to get around, but i am making do with shooting landscapes instead :)

[@timothykrainik76]

A great way to get started in wildlife photography on the cheap is to get a Nikon F3 and find some old AI and AIS lenses. You can still use them in Aperture Priority and Manual on a DX or FX body if you feel inclined, and they're dirt cheap. I think I paid $150 total for a relatively good aftermarket 400mm f/5.6 prime lens and 2x teleconverter after some intense Ebay searches. I got my F3 for about $80 on Adorama. You should get one of the telephoto specific focus screens or a plain matte glass one, as the tele lenses will simply black out a portion of the split prism screens in anything but intense light. I also have a DG-2 viewfinder magnifier to aid in focusing with long focal lengths. Just remember that the DG-2 requires a DK-7 converter to mount to the larger eyepiece of the HP models of F3. As for digital, I just stick with one of the newer entry level bodies. I pack light, and don't like carrying the larger professional bodies treking about in the woods on top of the full metal film equipment. I've printed plenty of photos at 13 x 19 in great quality from a D3200 or my backup D3000 (the 5000 series isn't enough of a step up for the price difference to me). The low price also leaves me more money for glass, and I'm also used to limited features from starting and continuing in film. From a film guy's prospective, I don't need a camera with a flawless 6400 ISO, as the fastest film I use is the occasional 1600.

[@GrahamHobart]

Timothy Krainik Thanks for contributing Timothy. Great advice. And you did it without insinuating that I was showing off. In the past I took a similar journey with my D2x and an old 600 f4 AIS lens. Now that I shoot entirely in the IR spectrum I need a lot more light so the old setup has been replaced with image stabilization capabilities. Mostly because I need to stay at 100 ISO or as close to it as I can. My work is blown up extremely large in my exhibitions. 6 feet tall or 10 feet wide is closer to my preferred scale.

[@timothykrainik76]

Graham Hobart Thanks for joining in and continuing to contribute to the community as well. It's great to have the chance to remind newer generations of photographers that plenty of big prints were made long before entry level cameras had a 24.2 MP count (the D2X was a pro body and had half that). It goes to show that proper metering and composition are what makes the photo, not how much cash you spent on the equipment.

[@mraikiman1]

hi graham I shoot with the d500 and 2 d4s with the 200 to 500 5.6 nikkor is the 200 to 400 f4 that much of a step up from the 200 to 500 considering its nearly 3 times the price cheers

[@GrahamHobart]

Hi Steve, For me the decision is already made based on the fact that I struggle to sufficient image quality even at f/4. In the early minutes of dawn or the last fading moments of dusk f/5.6 just won't give me the shutter speeds at low ISOs that I need to maintain the quality that I am famous for. At this time of day my shutter speed with my 200-400 f/4 (and my 600mm f/4) is already down around 1/100th/sec. At 5.6 I would have to raise my ISO which is unacceptable to me. Another thing to think about is whether the lens is sharp "wide open" at f/5.6. Most cheaper lenses have terrible sharpness at the largest aperture. Since I have a 600mm f/4 the 500mm end of the zoom range is of little use to me. I presume that you don't have a 600mm and probably shoot color so I think that this lens has some potential to take you to the next level in your work. Color cameras are more sensitive than my Infrared bodies and using high ISOs doesn't seem to matter as much for most people. I have handled the 200-500 enough to know that it is light and may work in certain conditions as a hand-held camera. But for me weight savings are irrelevant since I do ALL my work (even my 70-200 f/2.8) with a tripod and gimble. Of course there is always the question of sharpness and I can't comment on this because I have not personally tested the lenses side by side. Another key factor is speed of focus. The 200-400 is very fast in finding focus and this is extremely important to me. If the lens is "hunting" during those critical early moments of a wildlife encounter I will almost certainly lose the shot because animals seem to be fine with your presence in the area until they realize that they are the focus of your attention. Then they bolt! Quick focus is essential. Lastly I want to say that flexibility plays a huge role in making the most of one's photographic experience. I carry a lot of gear and always try to get the exact piece of equipment for the specific task at hand. As a result I miss quite a few shots that an amateur would easily get. There is a lot to be said about one camera, a wide zoom range and a been bag. If your work isn't going to hanging on a museum wall 10 feet wide you may not want to emulate me. Good luck and let me know what you decide.

[@jamc666]

impressive !!

[@BikeTour07]

Wow! That really cost a fortune :D

[@KBee795]

Certainly to shoot these wild animals in Africa you need long lenses and the right gear to hold them steady. The most I can relate to is using a gimbal head on a heavy tripod to shoot soccer matches. It sure beats having to hand hold that camera and my lens is tiny compared to you equipment! Most of my shots though are of people or landscapes. I've done a fair share of hunting and know how hard it is to see some animals up close. Bow hunters know this but rifle hunters don't have to get within 30 yards to do their work. A gimbal is a blessing to have if you use big lenses or just want that focusing edge to get sharper pictures ... fast. I've traveled to some third world countries where they toss all the bags on the back of a pickup truck, about as high as possible without falling off, and drive that mound over to baggage. The bottom bags are pretty much smashed flat. We carry-on everything that is important and pack the not so lucky stuff in the middle of the bag with clothes all around. Why don't you use hard cases? I'd hate to have a nice camera and large lens return in pieces. Well, it's a live and learn thing going to other countries. Bring your power converters and don't eat street food!

[@GrahamHobart]

Every country is different but the one thing that is consistent is that my cameras and lenses go with me (and sometimes an assistant as well) as carry-on luggage on the plane. Some of the soft bags you see are packed inside larger cases on the flights over to Africa and are only used after landing.

[@KBee795]

You know I was thinking that's what you should do and you're already doing it. Very good man as I feel exactly the same. I have to say though, seeing all the luggage piled as high as could be stacked and then getting into the tiniest taxi I've ever seen totally loaded with people ... I had to physically remember to blink my "wide open eyes" and breathe! LOL That's why they call them adventures, right!

[@reuben404]

Great video. I am a hobbyist and have a D810 along with 70-200 and 200-500. I like to shoot wildlife and wanted to try out for the first time. Can you direct me or tell me some of the optimum settings so that I will have more time capturing images in the field. Not sure whether you have any videos you have done on this. Like metering, focusing points, any other settings that I can do before getting out to the field to capture some sharp images. Also can you recommend a good head for my manfrotto tripod. I like pistol grip. Also any recommended bean bags that i can buy. thanks.

[@GrahamHobart]

+Reuben404 I don't do videos on settings for one main reason. I am one of the few wildlife photographers that photographs in infrared. My settings are very specialized in order to deal with the fact that my camera is less sensitive to light than normal cameras. I don't want to give my secrets away. All of my techniques are designed to maximize the special effects that I employ to achieve the look of an old etching or photograph. You can see my work at hobartfineart.com. You will very quickly discover that there is no one set of settings that covers everything. If an animal is standing still you need one shutter speed but if it swishes its tail you need to shoot at a higher shutter speed. The number of focus points for tracking an antelope walking through tall grass is completely different from that of an eagle flying above your head. The depth of field needed to get the eyes, nose and horns of an impala sharp at 10 meters is completely different from shooting that same shot at 30 meters. The variations are endless and the opportunity to get it right is very short so practicing ahead of your safari is essential. I also take very careful notes of what I want to achieve and examine my level of success after every practice to see if I am improving. Before a safari I practice daily. I only use gimbal heads when shooting wildlife but a very large ball head may also work. Most of the pistol grip heads would collapse under the weight of my cameras. I hope this helps.

[@reuben404]

+Graham Hobart Thanks for the prompt response and I understand.

[@alexandercalderon7612]

Hi graham. Interesting gear, hope one day.i could.have a 600mm. It seems you have alot of experience with telephotolenses. I bought a secondhand sigma 60-600mm. Eversince i bought that lens it came with a UV filter Hd, and the problem is that it got stocked on the lens and cant get it off... will send it to shop for some.help. Does that filter afects the IQ getting of that lens?? Does it affect Af pperformance? Thanks in advance

[@GrahamHobart]

I know that on the 600mm f/4 lens that Nikon makes they say that you must always have a nikon filter in the lens because the glass in the filter is part of the optical formula. I also have the rotating circular polarizing filter for that lens and it too is matched to the optical formula. My short answer is: If the lens came with a built-in UV filter I would expect that your images will be sharper with the filter than without. This may not be true for the brand that you have but if it is a Nikkor (Nikon) lens leave it in.

[@alexandercalderon7612]

Thanks.

[@kalelissuperman]

a question. I have the 70-200 f/2.8 and i'd like doing some bird photography adding tele-converter 2x. so you dont think it will be fast enough to capture them on the air sharp? At the moment I cant afford any other lenses and i see not point buying the new 200-500mm f /4.5-5..6 when i already getting up to 400mm f 5.6 with my teleconveter. what do you think?thanks

[@GrahamHobart]

+Marcos Enrique II Ruiz Rivero (Aviel is Superguide) To be quite honest I don't like using any teleconverter on any lens for any reason other than video. This is because now that the sensors are above 24 megapixels the sensor is seeing the limits of the lens' sharpness. If you add a teleconverter you magnify the problem and loose a lot of light in the process. In my opinion it is better to take the image at 200mm and crop later. Here is a link to my comments on the teleconverter for my 600mm lens: kzbin.info/www/bejne/ep7Ngmdrd7Vkn80 You'll notice that I say that because the resolution of video is so low it is quite safe to crank up the ISO and shutter speed and safely use the teleconverter. Cropping in video is nearly impossible without disastrous results so I definitely recommend the teleconverter for capturing video of birds but remember that unless your camera is secured by a great tripod you need to take the shutter speed up to compensate for the extra camera shake from having a longer lens as well as cranking up the ISO to compensate for the loss of light reaching the sensor.

[@jonathanwilliams8396]

Thank you Graham for this excellent advice and insight. I have one question though, how do you comply with the carry on luggage limits? I am heading to South Africa in October 2014 and looking at SA Express internal flights from Jo"berg to Hoedspruit my limit will be 8Kg for carry on - my 300mm lens inside the Nikon bag weighs nearly 5kg on its own......would welcome your tips on getting around this problem. Thank you

[@GrahamHobart]

Hi Jonathan, I don't take the small planes anywhere for this very reason. My equipment weighs over 80Kg and that is a video program all on its own. Since I go for many weeks I always rent large 4X4 vehicles. If you really want to take a lot of equipment just skip the short flight and drive to Hoedspruit in a rental car that you can rent from the Johannesburg airport. It will only take a few hours longer than the short flight. This is especially good if you are planning on visiting the Kruger National Park on your own. The private game reserves are great for an all inclusive vacation but you may want to consider staying another week and doing Kruger from your rental vehicle all by yourself and on your own terms. By then you will probably be alright on your own as long as you are ready to drive on the left (British) side of the road.

[@jonathanwilliams8396]

thanks for the tip

[@GrahamHobart]

Jonathan Williams I forgot to mention that most of Kruger National Park's main roads are well paved and even the smaller roads are smooth enough that you could rent a cheap, two wheel drive car at the airport. I am just saying that a 4X4 is not necessary within the National Park.

[@jonathanwilliams8396]

Thank's again Graham for the advice....too late for this year as i have the family with me but will bear this in mind for my next trip...

[@GrahamHobart]

Jonathan Williams Write to me when you get back and tell me how it went. I will taking a small group of amateur photographers to Tanzania next July. Perhaps you will consider joining us.

[@niherranjandas2752]

sir which camera model you have used ? I think these are Nikon D4 ! am I right sir ? your maximum lenses are Nikkor !

[@GrahamHobart]

Dear +niher das, My cameras change often and my lenses change less often so I did not mention my camera bodies. Another reason not to mention my camera bodies is because they have all been converted to see only infrared and I didn't want to turn the conversation into telling people how I had them converted. It is a different topic that I may address one day. For now I will just say that I do many kinds of photography and I use different bodies to achieve different looks and meet different technical and handling criteria. I am sorry to be so vague but "camera bodies" is a big subject and I will eventually get to doing a video one day.

[@quintriggins6557]

How did you get that all that equipment to your photo destination? Shipped separately?

[@GrahamHobart]

+Quinton RIggins Perhaps one of these days I will teach a class on how I get all my equipment to Africa but it is really complicated.

[@quintriggins6557]

Thanks, that would be great. I haven't flown with much equipment, but the horror of it getting tossed about, stolen, etc. makes me quite uncomfortable, especially when traveling abroad. Graham Hobart

[@pdp11]

@@GrahamHobart Hi Graham. I second the request on advice about how to carry heavy equipment to Africa. Thanks!

[@jamesjefferson8916]

Do u use UV filters to protect ur high-quality lens?

[@GrahamHobart]

On really large lenses I protect the image from UV with a 52mm "drop-in" filter near the camera end of the lens. Because any kind of glass in front of the lens would dramatically reduce the optical sharpness of the image. This is because the refractive index of the filter would cause the various wavelengths (red light has longer wavelength than blue) to separate upon entering the filter's glass and then again on the way out before it goes on to the lens' front element. For such precisely designed optics this is unacceptable. Even if there was a filter made that was large enough it would cost a small fortune. Back when I was a young photographer in the mid 1980s I saw a filter for the old 300mm f/2.8 AIS that was meant to be screwed on the front of the lens. It sold for hundreds of dollars. This is back when a 52mm filter could be purchased for 15 dollars. The good news is that my large lenses already come with a clear concave glass front element that protects the massively delicate and expensive front element. It is curved to reduce unwanted reflections from stray light and the refractive index has been adjusted for in the over all optics of the lens. In addition to that Nikon even went as far as to take into account the little drop-in filter's refractive index at the back of the lens as well. To remove it or to use a third party filter would degrade the sharpness of the image reaching the sensor. The reason I give so much detail is because these things really matter if you want to capture sharper images that the majority of photographers out there. My images hang in Museums and are sometime 8-10 feet across. Sharpness matters! And long focal lens are extremely vulnerable to optical deviations. When you add all this to the fact that I am only operating within the Infrared spectrum (which is invisible to our eyes) my job of getting the image sharp by carefully calibrating everything (including filters) is very important. I hope that this helps.

[@jamesjefferson8916]

thks so much. I just bought a Nikon 70-200 f2.8, im just wondering if i could scratch the front element (with the nano crystal coating on it) without the UV filter.

[@GrahamHobart]

I would highly recommend putting a high quality UV filter on your 70-200 f/2.8 lens. The filter I placed on my 70-200 to protect the front element is coated on both sides of the filter to protect against ghost reflections. It is needed most when aiming toward into the sun (backlighting) when the lens is most susceptible to unwanted flare and reflections. Remember to take as much care cleaning you coated UV filters as much as you would for the front element of your lens.

[@jamesjefferson8916]

thks for ur advice

[@michaelsulka7156]

ahoj, chcel by som sa opytat ci by ste mi mohli napisat názvy produktov ktore pouzivate na fotenie prirody a aka je ich približná cena. dakujem velmi pekne

[@GrahamHobart]

+Michael Sulka I have already named all the products during the video and the prices can easily be searched online. Thank you for your interest.

[@michaelsulka7156]

Thank for answer :) you're the best photographer

[@NaneuBagsCases]

Well done review Graham. For those who wonder what is the roller bag in the middle, it is Naneu U220n roller / backpack naneubags.com/product/urban-gear-u220n-rolling-dslr-camera-bag/

[@prasannaambi]

to be frank to take a good wildlife photo you doesn't need these all kits, be happy with your own camera and lens and improve your creativity; surely you can make wonderful photos. I doesn't mean you don't need all these kits to take a perfect photo, i am sorry Graham Hobart, i am not trying to hurt you by saying this.

[@GrahamHobart]

+Prasanna ambi I agree with you. I teach wildlife photography in Africa every year and when I help students buy there equipment I show them how they can achieve a lot of good quality with a lot less equipment. This video is only meant to answer the question of what I take with me to achieve the incredibly high quality images that I have become well known for.

[@prasannaambi]

Thanks I am one of your biggest fan and always checking your photographs

[@patrickvanbaarle3483]

+Graham Hobart My mother is not a photographer but she and my father are going on a last trip to Kenia (he is very sick). I just want my mother to have some good pictures for the memories. I own a D750 and prime lenses, 35, 50, 85, 105 macro ect but dont own tele zooms want to ideally invest in 1 lens and borrow my Camera to my mother for the trip would a 70-200 suffice for most of the work (and crop in later or add a converter) or is a heavy prime or longer tele a "must". Money is not really an object but what combo of lenses would you recommend having as a minimum for big wildlife (they are not into birds). The 70-200 would be useful for me as well (portraits) but since it is literally a once in a lifetime opportunity I don't mind renting "the" lens for a week or buying one for under $2500. Thanks for your time, perhaps a video on "how they can achieve a lot of good quality with a lot less equipment" would be a great help to us all. yours Patrick

[@GrahamHobart]

Hi Patrick. I teach classes on how to take good wildlife images on a low budget but the problem with long lenses is that they are heavy, expensive and are more susceptible to motion blur from not holding the camera correctly. I think if your mother doesn't have the strength in her arms and doesn't want to carry heavy cameras an amateur pocket camera with a good zoom range might please her more than a heavy camera. If you buy the 70-200 lens I recommend that you get a cheap high megapixel body like a D7100 and crop the photos later rather than using a teleconverter. Without good practice the converter will probably ruin your shots because they loose so much light and they take away sharpness. Tell her to take and empty small cushion or bean bag. Then fill it with beans or rice when you get there. By resting the camera on a bean bag when shooting will help enormously.

[@patrickvanbaarle3483]

Thank you for your quick reply, I like the Idea of the D7100 an excellent camera at 750,- euro that I can have a use for as a second body and use the lens 1000,- euro as portrait lens, never the less the weight and ease of use might push me into a bridge camera that does it all like the Coolpix P900 16MP sensor and a F2.8-6.5 24-2000mm range at only 550,-. It seems like the more affordable and reasonable gifts ;0. Thanks a lot I will go to the store and see what she thinks is easier to use and handle because there is no use giving her "the best" DSLR and Lens if she cant handle it.

[@niherranjandas2752]

hello sir thank you for replay me ! I have studies wildlife filmmaking during 7 years ! but it is rich hobby ! I am from Bangladesh ! I will buy wildlife filmmaking equipment very soon ! but I am earning money ! however sir , I am Bangladesh civil service officer 29 batch ! but is is high price of equipment of wildlife equipment of filming ! so what sir I have a dream I will do ! but sir I decide that i will buy canon EOS 5 DSR body ( upgraded of mark iii ) ! it would be better for filming ? and canon 100-400 mm USM lens f 4.5 , canon ultra wide angle 16-24 mm USM lens , macro canon 100 USM lens f 2.8 and 85 mm prime are would be better for me ? my budget are around 15000 USD ! with different type of tripod ! please replay me sir !

[@traxxasdude99]

Graham Hobart They look like old lenses, Are they ?

[@GrahamHobart]

+ULTRAS0NIX some are as old as 25 years and some were only a few months old when I did the video. I tend to wait till my lenses wear out before I replace them.

[@antonc108]

This old man sure can carry a lot of stuff!

[@Dizzyish]

.....🤔...🤐

[@niherranjandas2752]

sir ! I want to connect with your Facebook page of you ! please can I sent you request ?