Planning your African safari is super exciting, but the planning of your camera equipment and getting the best safari camera bag can add a layer of confusion or uncertainty. Here’s my top 5 tips to help you pack for your African adventure…
1). Spend time considering the best safari camera bag for your trip.
Ideally you want it to be light due to weight restrictions on flights.
it needs to be big enough to hold all your camera gear and preferably a water bottle on the outside
Check if the camera bag is weather resistant and most importantly as dust resistant as possible. It can be very dusty on an African Safari and being able to access your camera gear as quickly as possible and minimising dust/debris entering your precious gear in the bag is priceless.
My camera bag holds so much gear but is also super comfortable to wear. This is the bag completely open, but usually you just open one side at a time. The lid stays flat so it helps to reduce dust/sand/debris for getting in your back when you have it unzipped.
My choice of camera bag for African safaris is the Gura Gear Bataflae 32L (all of the Gura Gear bag ranges are excellent so check out their website for latest updates on their backpacks). It is perfect for carry-on dimensions, super comfortable as a backpack and holds so much gear!! The backpack limits the amount of dust that can get in when you open it by its design, so it is absolutely perfect for sitting next to you on your next safari. Although due to this design it can look like the bag is closed when you’ve left the zips open and I have mistakingly thrown it over my shoulder with a lens proceeding to bounce on the floor !! Fortunately Gura Gear have added a feature to the newer version of their backpacks and now it is easy to see if your bag is closed or zips are undone.
My favourite safari camera bag is this Gura Gear backpack. Even this Banded mongoose loved it!
I was featured on the Gura Gear website and you can read my conversation with them on their website CLICK HERE.
They saw how much I loved my camera bag on my instagram page and I was thrilled to have been interviewed by them and to feature on their website.
Screenshot of my interview on the Gura Gear website.
They have the best safari camera bags!
2). Limit the amount of camera gear as much as possible without having regrets
It is definitely easier said than done! Keep your carry-on bag as close to the weight limit as possible. You don’t need any dramas getting on planes. Mine was only a few kilos over and got weighed at Johannesburg on my return to Melbourne. The lady let me through as she understood it was camera gear. However, a fellow photographer that was checking-in on another desk at the same time had to remove some of his gear (he put it in the bin at the airport!) and had to put a large telephoto around his shoulder before the lady would accept the weight of his bag. Crazy enough as soon as we went through security he put the lens back in his camera bag - it’s still the same weight going on the plane whether it is on your body or in your bag!
Here my camera bag is packed to photograph wildlife safari, landscapes, portraits and night photos. I also put any medication in my camera bag so it is not in my checked in luggage (I take quite a few “just incase” medicines whenever I travel overseas).
I also take my sunglasses, head torch and my jacket in my camera bag.
In Kasane airport on my departure the plane got delayed by quite a few hours. The bags had to be passed to the security person to go through the scanning machines. I gave the security person a big smile and said I was really sorry it was heavy as I was passing it to him. He asked if it was camera gear to which I replied yes…and he proceeded to give me a friendly and understanding smile in return. Most times being respectful, friendly and courteous can go along way!! I also make sure it is as close to possible to the allowed limit.
3). For wildlife photography on your africa safari you need a good telephoto lens.
I took two Canon DSLR bodies and mainly used my 70-200 2.8 and my 100-400 markii…I also used my 24-70 2.8. I intended on using my 70-200 2.8 with the 2x teleconverter but the new Canon 100-400 was getting such great reviews I bought it just before my departure. The 100-400 was incredible and I would definitely take that lens on a safari again. I also used the 1.4x teleconverter when I needed more than 400mm. The 70-200 2.8 was mainly used in really low light as I needed the 2.8. Of course the camera gear you take will depend on what gear you have access too and your budget and interest in photography.
Next safari i’d take…
Canon 5D mark iii and 5D mark iv
24-70mm 2.8 L lens
100-400mm L lens
Due to the great low light on the mark iv I’d consider leaving the 70-200 at home unless I was taking photos of people on the same trip (as it is my preferred travel portrait lens).
If weight was still an issue (depending on internal flight restrictions) I’d replace the Mark iii with 24-70 with an Olympus mirrorless with 12-40mm PRO lens.
Check out my next blog post on “What’s in my camera bag for Africa!” to read more about what lenses I used on the trip the most often!
To purchase a Gura Gear camera backpack which is the best safari camera bag and best camera bag for International plane travel CLICK HERE.
You will get very close to wildlife on your African Safari, but having a telephoto lens is still a must.
4). Take a pocket sized camera too when travelling.
The best camera to travel with is the one you have with you! The latest phones take great photos if you don't intend on enlarging them or using them in low-light. I always had the Canon G7X in my pocket and used it a lot. Not when I was in the safari vehicles, but all the other times when you want to capture something without taking your big camera out of your bag! The Canon G7X has a 1 inch sensor and the low-light capabilities are amazing for such a small camera. I did consider the Sony RX100 series, but I liked the way the G7X screen flipped around and it was perfect for what I had in mind for spending time in the tribal villages on my next trip. Since my trip the Canon, Sony and Panasonic pocket sized cameras have all had improvements. Take a look at them all and consider when you will be using it and what you will be doing with the photos.
The Panasonic compact camera DC-TZ220 would be my recommendation if you were only taking a small camera with you on safari. It has an incredible 24mm-360mm zoom and the quality is amazing for such a small camera. It is a great multi-purpose travel camera.
The best camera is the one you have on you!
My choice of pocket sized camera for Botswana and Namibia was the Canon G7X
5). Take camera cleaning supplies with you especially when travelling to remote locations.
Lens cloths, lens cleaner and a dust blower should be easily accessible in your camera bag when on your photo safari. I’d also recommend taking sensor cleaning supplies if you are confident to clean your own sensor and are experienced. If you are swapping lenses it is not uncommon to get dust on your sensor. I wouldn’t recommend cleaning the sensor unless you know what you are doing as you can do more damage than good.
Remember to always keep a snack in your camera bag. Depending on the type of trip and who you are travelling with often in Africa things don’t happen to exact times…often it depends on the sightings on the day. Always be prepared and have a snack on hand in case you need it. I love visiting local shops in different places that I visit so buying a few snacks for your trip is always a great idea.
