Which camera to take on hols?

[jinky]

Right I am off to South Africa on Sunday.
Capetown - cityscapes, street scenes and few people and tourist shots.
Drive along the coast to Hermanus for some whale spotting - people, scenery and hoepfully whales from shore or maybe boat if I book a trip.

Along the garden route past wild flowers - macro shots and landscapes

To Addo Elephant National Park to see big 5 and especially elephants and hopefully walk with a cheetah walk where we get up close and personal

Then back through the wine country seeing ostrich / crocodile farm / vineyards etc.

Should all be wonderful. Cooler just now but best time for animals and spring flowers.

What I can not decide is whether to take full frame D700 or my APSc D7000.
Lenses available are my back up ones to save weight - Tamron 28-75, my Sigma 105 macro, 50 or 85mm 1.8, nikon 70-300 vr and maybe my Nikon16-35vr. I`m not taking my Nikon 24-70 or Sigma 70-200 because of weight.  I`ve not been too happy with noise levels on my D7000 - just nowhere near what I get with my D700 but I know it will notionally  ( I know not really  don`t give me grief) give me extra reach on safaris. The again on safaris not sure if with good guides I will be close enough not to need it. Trouble is I`m not renewing my pro insurance that covers the D700 until I get back and whilst I have household cover for gear away from home that would deffo cover D7000 and maybe D700 if they didn`t press - I don`t know whether to risk it.
Leaving that aside has anybody been on safari and have any recommendations? I feel it woud be useful for me to get to know my D7000 better as it is underused as back up but at the same time it will not be a trip I can afford to repeat and I was hoping to get potential comp entry shots out of this trip if I can. Any views welcomed. I only have 2 batteries for my D7000 but taking charger and plenty of cards. I will be taking a little compact too for my wife to use using same type sd cards.

[Reinardina]

Cannot give any advice on equipment, but I can wish you a great holiday!

Hope you'll have a splendid time and come back with a portfolio to make us jealous.

And be careful!

[Hinfrance]

Take 'em all, you know you'll miss something if you leave it out. But keep it hidden and with watertight insurance.

Hermanus is a nice place; there were lots of Southern Right Whales with young there when we went. Good chips in the restaurant I seem to recall.

Be careful, it's the only country where I've been robbed on the street - Cape Town of all places. You might want a peg for your nose on safari, the only thing worse than the attitude of the wild life is its reek If you are hiring a car don't stop for anyone on the road and make sure you keep the windows closed at traffic lights (not many of those out of the bigger towns).

Safari means early starts and it can be well nippy. Also when we went HUGE spiders all over the place. You can sometimes get reasonably close to the beasties, but you might need fast shutter speeds to get anything decent. I would not recommend getting out of the truck to take pictures.

Have a great time, lots to see and do, fab food.

[hssutton]

On safaris that I've been on in Kenya. I took along both my full frame 5D and APS-C 30D, Lenses as follows. First safari 24-70mm f/2.8, 70-200/2.8, Sigma 50-500mm (Bigma) and the 100mm macro. Most of the time I used the 70-200 on my full frame with the 100-400 on the 30D.

On subsequent visits I used a 100-400L in place of the Bigma. Unfortunately the Bigma did not stand up to the rough terrain and finished up in two parts.

Harry

[jinky]

Cannot take both. I think it will have to be the back up gear to maximise reach and minimise loss. I know I'll regret it 

[Oldboy]

Shouldn't have any problems with the D7000, as the country you are going to is bright and sunny. Reading Ken Rockwell on the D700 and the D7000 he rates them on a par for noise. I would forget your Macro lens and just use your 70-300mm F4-5.6 instead. Use the Nikon 16-35mm VR for landscapes or the 70-300mm VR. Don't think that only a landscape lens can do landscapes as I use my 70-200mm VR or VR II more often than the 14-24mm F2.8. Make sure you are safe, as not all the dangers there come in large forms like Lions, Elephants or Rhinos. Have a great trip and lots of fun. 

[jinky]

Cheers all - Rockwell has it wrong again then! In the real world the D700 is way off D7000 for noise results I have found. I use it less and less at weddings as it just does not hit the mark so consistently. Yes I might leave the macro - wanted it for the flowers but probably going OTT.

You lot are putting fear of god in me now . I guess if I am robbed of the D7000 I can get a better replacement 
Wondering about the 50 vs 85mm now. I had a problem in the Lakes when I took a few landscape shots with the  50m when I went walkabout. A purple circular bloom in the middle of the image in twilight- especially when changing white balance. Tried everything to recreate it then got it again shooting at f22 yesterday prior to sensor clean. Turns out I am not the only one after a google search. Something to do with the "digital sensor reflection effect" in certain conditions with older lenses designed for film rather than digital cameras. In other words no point sending it in for a free repair!http://thesybersite.com/minolta/sensor-reflection/

[Oldboy]

Cheers all - Rockwell has it wrong again then! In the real world the D700 is way off D7000 for noise results I have found. http://thesybersite.com/minolta/sensor-reflection/

I find Ken to be spot on with his reviews of cameras and lenses. 

[oggalily]

Jinks, I recently bought the Sony RX-100 as I was tired of lugging around my DSLR and lenses when out with the family.  It's not perfect - for example the on/off and shutter are too close together, leading to shutting the camera off just as the perfect shot materialises  - but allows a lot of control and decent IQ with the benefit of fitting in my pocket.  It's not got a long zoom (so definitely not for the safari) but is very good for personal family memories rather than award winning shots.  The video is very good too.

[jinky]

Yes I nearly got one of those but ended up getting an Sony HX20V instead. Wished I hadn`t now - OK for snaps when you cannot take anything bigger but quality not there. For this trip I want a DSLR with me though taking compact too.