Africa has some of the greatest photo scenes you can capture during an adventure. To get the best images you will however require a wide range of lenses in various focal lengths to fit diverse photography aspects. Whether you want that sharp headshot of a face of a lion resting on the savannah plains of Ol Pejeta conservancy or you will zoom out to capture a herd of wildebeest grazing inside one of the mara north conservancies; a good camera body and lens matters. The canon brand has been one of the best choices in the market owing to its quality camera body, speed and its wide range of telephoto and zoom lenses.
Some of the features you should consider when choosing a lens includes:
- Weight. Some lenses are quite heavy and tedious to carrying especially during walking safaris.
- Focal length. We recommend lenses with a focal length ranging from 100 mm to 600 mm
- Aperture size. This will affect your focus speed capability and the quality of images you get on low light conditions.
- Image stabilizers. This will save you the need of carrying a monopod around.
In this guide we will cover some of the best canon lenses you can pick for your next Africa photography safaris.
1. Canon EF 400 mm f/2.8 l
This is one of the lightweight canon lenses in the market. With a focal length of 400 mm you can easily shots of animal scenes from roadside without having to go off-roading. You can also increase the focal length using a converter. The lens is a good choice if you will be going for early morning and evening game drives when there are low light conditions. This version of EF mount canon lens has a super excellent image stabilizer which reduce the risk of images turning blurry when you shake.
2. Canon EF 70- 200mm f/2.8 L
This lens will give you the best and fastest closeup while on a walking safari. The wide aperture makes the lens an ideal option for low light conditions. This lens has a good image stabilization feature up to 4 stops corrections through all focal lengths. The canon EF mount also features a superbly dependable autofocus and is easy to use for beginners. The lens is compatible with the X2 EF extender allowing you to increase your focal length to 400 mm.
3. Tamron 70 – 200mm f/2.8 l
This is the best third party canon lens for short range photography. The lens weighing 1500 g is one of the light weight options currently available in the market. Some of the most impressive features is the good auto focus, low light capability and on-lens image stabilization.
4. Sigma 120 mm- 300 mm f/2.8 l
This is the best third-party canon lens for game drives. The lens with aperture size f/2.8 l has superb low light capabilities and produces quality images on high shutter speed. The lens has an impressive autofocus. With a weight of about 3390 g the lens is decently portable.
5. Sigma 150 – 600 mm f/5 l – 6.3 l
This lens allows you to capture images great images between 150 mm and 400 mm focal length. The lens has an average 1900g Weight which makes it one of the lightweight options you will have. Another unique capability with this lens is the excellent stabilization which saves you the necessity for carrying a monopod or tripod in your safari. Some of the disadvantages of this lens is that you are likely not to get quality images for objects beyond a focal length of 400 mm. Sigma 150 – 600 mm also has a fairly good focusing speed but not as impressive as lenses with wider aperture.
6. Canon RF 70 – 200 mm f/ 2.8
This is a great choice for walking safaris where you will have an opportunity to make close up photos for wildlife in their natural state. The lens is also one of the light weight options in the market. The lens has an impressive focus speed which makes it the good for capturing action images. The only shortcoming with this lens is that the backend of this lens doesn’t fit into a canon RF extender. This means you will have to carry along another lens for longer focal lengths.
7. Canon EF 100- 400 mm f/4.5 -5.6
The lens is one of the best EF mount lenses for wildlife photography. With this lenses you can easily zoom out and in to capture multitudes of animals grazing together or get a headshot photo of an animal from a distance. This lens brand gives you quality images when you take photos from the rooftop of 4X4 landcruisers making it an ideal choice for East Africa safari. The aperture size however makes its focusing speed not very reliable for capturing sharp action images.yt
8. Canon EF 200 mm- 400 mm f/4
This is a reliable choice for game drives. With an inbuilt X1.4 extender the lens give a wider scope of photography range. The lens also have a fairly good focus capability. The lens fairly large aperture size keeps your images blur free during evening and morning game drives. The lens has a weather seal that prevents rain drops and dust from entering the lens.
9. Canon EF 400 mm f/ 4 L
The canon EF mount lens gives sharps image for up to 400 mm. With a minimum aperture size of f/ 3.2 the lens is able to produce quality images in all light conditions. The lens also have a super excellent 4 stops stabilizer. This full frame format lens have a power focus that enable you to smoothly adjust your focus position. The lens has weatherproof that protect your lens from Africa’s dust and waterdrops. The lens is compatible with both 1.4X and 2X Canon EF extenders.
It is important to note that canon lenses either use an EF or RF mount. EF lenses are mostly cheaper than equivalent RF lenses. RFs, however tends to produce sharper images than EFs. Africa photography can sometimes be tough when you are looking at the quality of your images especially during low light morning and evening hours and which carries the most valuable moments for a wildlife photographer. We therefore recommend that you put a DSLR camera that is adoptable to an RF mounts together with a wide aperture RF lens at the top of your choice list.
