Going to Africa... AF-100 or HDSLR?

It's been several years since my last shoot in Africa but were I to go again, I would definitely take both the AF100 with a pair of wireless mics for serious interview documentation and my 7D ( or any DSLR one if familiar with ) with a variety of lenses (11-16, 16-50, 70-200) for in the field b-roll.

Rode mic on camera for wild sound directly to the 7D, a good set of sticks and head ( I like Sachtler ) for both the DSLR and '100, plenty of batteries and even a solar charger for those possible days in the bush away from a generator.

I always operated solo but if you have a support person then adjust accordingly ( boom mic, etc ). Don't forget a can of air and lens cleaning materials. For those great African sunsets a grad filter will help and a polarizer for mid-day wide shots of the sweeping plains with endless herds of animals and the billowing clouds of dust behind them.

I could tell you the story about being charged by a 1600 lb. enraged and wounded 'Dugga Boy' outcast Cape Buffalo while filming with a 22 lb. BVW-D600 and no where to run ( they like moving targets )... but that would take too long.

Have fun,
Scott
 
snp said:
It's been several years since my last shoot in Africa but were I to go again, I would definitely take both the AF100 with a pair of wireless mics for serious interview documentation and my 7D ( or any DSLR one if familiar with ) with a variety of lenses (11-16, 16-50, 70-200) for in the field b-roll.

Rode mic on camera for wild sound directly to the 7D, a good set of sticks and head ( I like Sachtler ) for both the DSLR and '100, plenty of batteries and even a solar charger for those possible days in the bush away from a generator.

I always operated solo but if you have a support person then adjust accordingly ( boom mic, etc ). Don't forget a can of air and lens cleaning materials. For those great African sunsets a grad filter will help and a polarizer for mid-day wide shots of the sweeping plains with endless herds of animals and the billowing clouds of dust behind them.

I could tell you the story about being charged by a 1600 lb. enraged and wounded 'Dugga Boy' outcast Cape Buffalo while filming with a 22 lb. BVW-D600 and no where to run ( they like moving targets )... but that would take too long.

Have fun,
Scott
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Haha, sounds like a good story! I hope to not have the same one. I hear that where I'm going there's barely any wildlife at all, sadly. The people there have never seen elephants or giraffes. A team that went last year brought stickers of typical African animals for the children, and they didn't know what the animals were!
 
Bern Caughey said:
Image wise, the GH2 beats the dSLRs for video, but lacks the DR in stills. It also has a smaller buffer that takes longer clear.

Personally I'd choose the AF over the HPX, but then I hate the DOF of 1/3" sensors.

Regards,
Bern
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Thanks Bern! I actually hadn't heard of the GH2 before this week, or hadn't paid attention anyways. It seems like the lenses are all quite slow... around the f3 or 4 range. Can you still get that super shallow DOF that HDSLRs are known for with it? I was looking at a 14-140mm f/4.0-5.8 on B&H. There's also a 20mm f/1.7 that would be shallower. I'm just not familiar with the micro 4/3 sensors. I heard that just the size of the sensor increases the DOF, is that right?

When you say it lacks the DR in stills, what does that mean?
 
The video on this coffee site is great, and a look and style that I'd like to attain on my trip. I really like the CUs of the hands, coffee beans, etc. with the shallow DOF. Would the GH2 work for those shots?
 
stevemebs said:
Thanks for the reply Erik, I really appreciate it. Great ideas.
With the Lumix 20mm and 14mm pancake lenses: are they micro 4/3 lenses, or would they actually end up being 40 and 28mm field of view? I usually find when I'm shooting people that I use my 50mm lots... is there one that you would recommend around that length? I'm also used to the f1.8 or f2 lenses, I'm looking at some lenses on B&H and they are f4.5-5, how would that compare? For example does the aperture get halved or doubled?
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The Lumix 20mm is more like a 40mm and yes it's a M4/3 lens no adapters and iris and auto focus are controllable with the AF-100 and GH2 cameras. All M4/3 lenses work this way. Aperture is 1.7. Aperture doesn't change. GREAT LENS! Basically double the lens to get the 35mm equivalent for all M4/3 lenses. Its confusing for sure but thats the way it is.
I don't like slow lenses and settled for them in the past. I wont anymore. However some specialty lenses like the Lumix 7-14 are so cool I had to get it.
 
What to take depends on your shooting/travel situation. My last trip to sub Saharan west africa, I took one camera and necessary supplies. Taking 2 cameras might complicate matters more than you would like, but I do not know the specifics of your travel arrangements.

I was traveling by hired cars from Ghana to Burkina, Mali and Senegal which made traveling a little sketchy at times, with very limited space for luggage.

If I had to do this again, I would take one camera, the AF, for simplicity's sake because I know I could shoot what ever I needed to shoot with that camera AND have no worries about sound for interview situations. The less you carry, the more flexible you can be in shooting situations, the better coverage you get.

If you have a people with you to help you carry stuff around, maybe then it is a different story, but for the most part simpler equipment package is better in my book.
 
If you 're a one man band and you'll be travelling a lot I'd definitely get 2XGH2 bodies, the 20mm 1.7, the 14-140, your 50mm nikon and a wide of your choice like tokina 11-16, pana 7-14 etc and then you'd need a dr100 or h4n audio recorder + mic of your choice. ofcourse good set of legs, filters, and a shoulder mount . very compact overall . all the cameras+lenses would fit in a medium sized backpack. leave the 14-140 on the one body for all purpose, since it has IS and autofocus, and then use primes on the other body for lowlight/ shallow DOF with the 50mm or ultrawide etc. definitely check this link, it might be very useful for you as this guy filmed in africa only with 2 GH2 and pana lenses
another advantage of the GH2 in this case is the ETC crop mode, which in good light will spare you the trouble of carrying heavy telephoto lenses as it will give you 2.6X any of your focal lengths, the 14-140 would be 36mm-365mm
that's just what I would do, if I were going to Africa and didn't have a crew.
 
Interesting advice, and very cool video link. Thought the ETC mode was worth X2, but it's not, just 1.6...
 
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