Camera Labs

Over this summer (around July) I will be going to kenya because I was hired to be a photographer for a humanitarian society that helps the people there. They hired me to shoot pictures and document what they are doing there to get the word out.

For this trip I was wondering what lenses would be a good addition for my 40D to take pictures of people, as well as the wildlife at the reserves there, which are for my own interests

Among the choices I was thinking of a Canon EF 24-70 F2.8, EF 100-400 F4.5-5.6 IS as well as the 70-200 F2.8 IS.

An option instead of the 100-400 is the 70-200 with a 2x converter. Would that be worth it instead?

As for other things I will be needing is a camera bag/pack that I will be able to take everywhere with me (preferably a backpack) to avoid theft and to fit all of those lenses into it. I will also be buying more CF cards and Batteries and possibly a grip for my 40D.

Are there any other suggestions of what to buy for the trip? What I will be paid will cover the above and then some, because if I am being paid to take pictures then why not invest further into it?

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1D Mark III | 5D Mark II | G9

Canon EF 24-70mm F2.8 L | 70-200 f4 L IS | 50 f1.8 II | 85 f1.2 Mark II L

580EX | 580 EX II

iMac, i7 MacBook Pro + Aperture & CS5 Master collection
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Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 AT-X
Canon 24-70mm f/2.8 L USM
Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM
Canon 1.4x OR 2x Extender

I'd sugest the 1.4x Extender, keeps a f/4 aperture while still getting you get in to 280mm. 2.0x Extender would darken things a little, f/5.6 so your only loosing out on a stop at the 140mm range [70mm with 2x extender]

I'll come up with more suggestions tomorrow, bed time now =D

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Canon EOS 5DmkII + BG-E6 + Canon EOS 40D + BG-E2N + Canon EOS 33
Canon 17-40 F/4L USM + Canon 24-70 F/2.8L USM + Canon 28mm F/1.8 USM + Canon 70-200 F/2.8L USM IS + Canon 85mm F/1.8 USM
Canon Speedlite 580EX II + Canon Speedlite 540EZ + 2 x Nikon SB-80DX
Cactus V2s Wireless Trigger - 5 x Cactus V2s Wireless Reciever

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Camera Bodies

Canon EOS 40D
Canon EOS 40D

Zoom Lenses

Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 AT-X
Canon 24-70mm f/2.8 L USM
Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM

Prime Lenses

Sigma 30mm f/1.4 EX DC HSM
Canon 50mm f/1.4 USM
Canon 85mm f/1.8 USM

Flashguns

Canon Speedlite 580EXII
Canon Speedlite 430EX

Backpack

Lowepro Dryzone 200

Other Useful Things

Canon 2x Extender
Quantum Battery 2

2 UV Filters PER LENS
Polorising Filters
ND Filters
ND Grad Filters
Filter Thread Step Up Rings
Lens & Sensor Cleaning Kits
Tripod & Monopod



Now, Thats a lot of kit.

2 Bodies, 6 Lenses, 2 Flahes, 1 Bag, 1 Extender, Filters, Tripods,

Right now the explanation of why I think each of the things should be bought.


1) A Second body is pratically a must when your on location shooting an important event, because if your only body breaks, or something stops working on it, then thats it, your done for. The second body doesnt "have" to be a Canon 40D, A 20D or 30D would do just fine as a backup body. The other advantage of a second body is that you can attach the 70-200 to one and the 24-70 to the other, which saves you from changing lenses in evniroments where you'd rather not risk getting any dirt or dust into the camera or lens.

2) Zoom Lens choice. the lenses i've picked cover everything from extremely wide angle to pretty good telephoto range, 11mm to 400mm. The 11-16mm f/2.8 wide angle will be good for capturing those vast landscape shops, and also some interesting close up portraits and massive group shots. The 24-70 f/2.8 is just a superb lens, really sharp lens which has decent performance in relatively low light. It makes a great short range portrait lens, and is a great walk about lens, well, apart from its weight lol! 70-200 f/2.8 IS is an amazing lens, really sharp. The F/2.8 means photographing moving objects in low light shouldn't be to much of a problem, plus with the IS portraits should be easy!

3) Prime Lens choice. Well, I don't think you'll need to buy all 3, but I'd buy at least one of them. I dont think I could pass up the chance to get some night sky photos, since I'm assuming there will be hardly any interfering light, so I'd take the Sigma 30mm f/1.4. All depends what you need to take, if any really, but the 50mm is inbetween and will give you a happy medium between the 30mm and 80mm focal lengths.

4) Flashguns. These will be important in balancing light. I'm not trying to be racisit, but exposing for a person with darker skin with a really light background will be hard to do without a fill in flash. Using the 580 as a master and the 430 as a slave will ensure balanced lighting. If you can only take one, take the 580EX II

5) Backpack. This is a pretty generiously sized waterproof backpack that can even take being full submerged in water. Plenty space for water, camera, lenses, flash guns and accessories. There might be other choices, but I'm a fan of Lowepro.

6) Accessories. Extender - obvious. Quantum Battery 2 pack will let you go out and power your flash for 250 full power shots, or around 800 normal flashes. It can also power 2 flashguns at once, so if you do get 2 flashguns it can power both at the same time. UV filters to stop lenses getting strached etc, the rest are explanitary, ND's will be especially helpful at getting slower exposures out in the mid-day sun etc. Using the step-up rings will let to use the same ND filters [and other filters, e.g. a 82mm on a 62mm thread?] on all your lenses.

Tripods, monopods, cleaning kits are also self explanitory.



Anyway, hope this has helped =D

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Canon EOS 5DmkII + BG-E6 + Canon EOS 40D + BG-E2N + Canon EOS 33
Canon 17-40 F/4L USM + Canon 24-70 F/2.8L USM + Canon 28mm F/1.8 USM + Canon 70-200 F/2.8L USM IS + Canon 85mm F/1.8 USM
Canon Speedlite 580EX II + Canon Speedlite 540EZ + 2 x Nikon SB-80DX
Cactus V2s Wireless Trigger - 5 x Cactus V2s Wireless Reciever

MY FLICKR!