A Pleasant Surprise in the African Safari!

This past May we visited Africa! It was an amazing, once-in-a-lifetime experience. We saw the lifestyle of the native people, observed animals up close in the wild and visited Victoria Falls, one of the seven natural wonders of the world.

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Being an engineer and an avid photographer, I wanted to employ the latest technology for my photographs on this trip. I decided to replace my old Digital-SLR camera with a mirrorless Nikon Z7II . After reading Mark Comon’s blog and video of his trip to Africa using the Nikon Z 400mm lens, I also added Nikon’s Z 400mm 4.5 S to my photographic kit. It was the best investment I made for this safari. The animal pictures were great. Besides the 400mm lens, I used my Nikon Z 24-200mm f/4-6.3 VR for the scenery and camp photos.

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The Nikon Z7II was a pleasant surprise! The small & light camera was easy to move here and there and was amazingly easy to use! I found Aperture priority mode to be most effective concentrating on the depth of field. Nikon’s Auto ISO and Auto White Balance grabbed the scene with great color and accurate exposure. I used Auto Focus with Animal Priority to capture the moving beasts with perfection. Yes, I even made some fun videos. My favorite was the monkeys crossing a river. The 400mm lens was my go-to for the Safaris. It focused fast and locked on the faces. The 24-200 lens captured African life and was really fun at Victoria Falls, even from the helicopter.

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Throughout our trek, I took over 2000 photos—more than I could imagine! The Nikon captured so many amazing pictures; the difficult part was choosing my favorites! I processed the best-of-the-best in Lightroom to share with friends and family. Everyone I show the pictures to remarks how crisp, clear and lifelike they are! I never would have thought the photos would be so amazing. They clearly captured our unforgettable journey, and will preserve that memory forever.

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