On a Kenyan Safari with Sony Photo Gear

I just returned from a month safari in Kenya using Sony photographic equipment.  In December 2018 completed my migration after 23 years with Canon to Sony.  I moved to Sony mostly due mirrorless innovation, light weight and high quality lenses.  I carried a Sony a9 with a power grip, a Sony7RIII, a 100-400, 400 f 2.8 and a 1.4X and an Apple 6 for landscapes. Minimizing weight and size is a must when flying in bush planes.

 Both the a9 and the a7RIII cameras worked flawlessly in a very adverse environment.  No issue with dust in the sensors since I never changed lenses in the field.  Used the a9 with the Sony battery pack but battery length of life use not an issue with either camera; usually a battery lasting ¾ of a day.  Surprisingly battery charging took less time than in the USA probably due to the 240 volts outlets at the various lodges in Kenya. Only negative comment I can make about these cameras is that the ergonomics need improving and particularly the exposure compensation dial that is too small, stiff and the serrated edge hard on the thumb.

  If Sony wants to compete in the wildlife photography realm it has to develop a bigger camera with a built-in grip following the designs of the Canon 1DxII or Nikon D5.  The fit of the a9 and the accessory grip is a compromise, leaving a gap between the camera and the grip (probably affecting water resistance) does not allow reaching all the controls in the camera when used in the portrait orientation. Who knows maybe the next a9 will come that way with a global shutter and a higher resolution EVF/rear LCD.  Replacing the SD cards with a larger card will be another improvement for the action photography realm, not to mention having both card slots with the same speed.

                                   

 Used the 400 mm with the 1.4X extender 100% of the time alternating its use every 2 weeks between the a9 and the 7RIII; it worked fine and amazingly with almost no dust accumulation in the front element.  With the use of the 1.4X resulted this lens became a 560 mm f4, and with crop factor in the cameras it became an 840 mm.  I used the crop factor only with the a7RIII since it is a 42 megapixels camera that gave me approximately 20 megapixels images; more than adequate that I still could crop with great en results.  The a7RIII camera has amazing image quality.  The a9 has a faster frame per second rate and the viewfinder basically covered 100 % with focusing points. Regardless the a7RIII is a grate performed for shooting action scenes.

 As explained above, when using the 400 mm in one in one camera, I used the other  with the 100-400 mm.  The apertures of f5.6-11 of the latter lens were not an issue since sunlight was abundant throughout the safari.  The 100-400mm optical quality is outstanding and quite honestly, cannot differentiate much of images taken with the lens and those taken with the 400mm + the 1.4X.  Zooming of this lens requires effort since it is not a smooth mechanism; Sony needs to come with a lens whose length remains the same when zooming.  Another issue that I found with this lens is that when I assigned the magnification function to the barrel, the 3 activation buttons were accidentally engaged; I ended up disabling this function and using a button in the camera instead.

  I noticed when shooting at higher frames/second speed in RAW an in the inconsistency of color rendering of the images as recorded in the cards.  Those that I considered of fine color alternated occasionally with one or two continuous frames with a greenish color rendition (no problem correcting this in Photoshop).  I used Sony SDXC 128 GB cards R: 300/W: 299 and never suffered buffering problems; in fact as backup used Sony SDXC 128 GB R: 260/W:100 and did not experience buffering issues either.

 When it comes to Autofocus both cameras were about 70% in focus and both struggled with contrasting backgrounds.  I decided not to further elaborate in this topic since the new software update may improve autofocus performance.

I had taken this Sony Photographic gear during the last nine months from the humid hot tropics of Brazil, to below freezing temperature this winter in Yellowstone and now through the dusty and bumpy roads of Kenya and had no failures.

Other African Mammals.

The Vervet monkey is a very common and found widespread in Kenya and Tanzania. These monkeys have developed the habit to flock to tourists asking for or stealing food. In the process they have become at times aggressive and known to entering vehicles in search of food or other items of interest. Despite of their size, they are very powerful and can inflict terrible bites. A human without weapons is really no match for these cute creatures.

The baboons have developed same patterns of behavior as the Vervet monkeys and due to their larger size, more dangerous. They tend to move in troops along the fields looking for seeds and insects. Despite of their size they are very fast and will take on hyenas and leopards as a group. There was a famous leopard named Half-Tail that I met back in the early 1990’s in Leopard Gorge in Kenya who lost her tail to a baboon bite. This one could be a dentist’s dream—so many teeth, so little time to drill!!!

The Rhinoceros along with his other two cousins, the elephants and the hippopotamus, are the largest mammals in Africa. The one above was photographed in the Mara. Back in late 1990’s while I was in the Mara, the last naturally occurring Rhino was poached and the location where it was killed named Rhino Hill. Curiously, about 20 years later none of my guides knew as to where this hill was or knew about that event. Now there are 12 Rhinos brought from South Africa that seem to be thriving and having babies. There are white and black rhinos and their names have nothing to do with their color. The major difference is that the black rhino has a pointed upper lip that allows them to grab and browse on twigs and leaves of trees while the white one has a square mouth and grazes. Can you tell if the one above is a black or white Rhino?

The Dik-Dik is among the smallest of the antelopes at about 14 inches in height and weighting around 10 pounds. Very elusive, fast and difficult to photograph. The have huge eyes and very tiny horns and are usually found in pairs. Although not obvious, they can extend the nose as a small proboscis to assist in grabbing leave or twigs; kind of a mini-elephant trunk.

They stand in their hind legs to reach higher branches. This behavior reminded me of those of goats and gerenuks that exhibit the same behavior.

The gerenuks are my favorite gazelles due to their long necks and limbs and color pattern. The name gerenuk means giraffe-necked; those long necks and legs allow them to browse in tall brushes when standing in their hind legs. They use their front legs to pull branches down for easier grazing. Their horns are ringed and uniquely curved but are lacking in the females.

These giraffe-gazelles as they are also known. live singly or in small families. The male had a harem of two which were very inquisitive and nervous while I was photographing them. It said that like the Dik-Diks, they do not require to drink water.

The Waterbuck is a large antelope with white circular ring round the rump; this marking is unique to this animal. It is among the most common antelope living in herds. As their name implies, like to go in the water and feed in the aquatic vegetation. Above we have a female with a young one that came to the waterhole to wade and drink.