On my two recently concluded safari trips to the Maasai Mara I used my Sony a1 and Sony 200-600mm lens for most of my shots. I was very happy with this combo, in-fact I referred to it as my go-to killer combo.
The focal range with internal zoom really helped me in the field. I also have the availability of the in-camera 1.5x crop. When using the internal crop I go down to about 21 megapixels so it’s still ok. I prefer not to use it but if I need the additional focal length I use it instead of a teleconverter in the field so I don’t have to take it on and off.
I also had the Sony 70-200mm lens with me as a secondary lens attached to my a9. Both cameras are set up as closely as possible to each other. The a1 has a few additional features but for the most part switching is seamless. When action happens you need to be ready. Any hesitation in the field can cause you to miss the shot. That’s why I opted to use only my Sony cameras. I would have liked to have brought my Canon R5 but after some thought I decided it was best to have two very similar body set-ups.
Another thing I love about the 200-600mm lens is that I can handhold it all day long. I can also get up and down in the vehicle without any hassle in case I need to shoot out of the roof. Having a lens that you can manage is very important. It makes no sense to lug around gear that you can’t handle easily on a safari.
Pied kingfisher
Sony A1, Sony 200-600mm lens, 1/2000, f/8, ISO 400. I was switching between birds and animals at the time-or I would have just been at f/6.3. AWB, Natural light, manual mode.
Yellow-billed stork
Sony A1, Sony 200-600mm lens, ISO 400, f/8, 1/600, AWB, Natural light, manual mode.
White-browed Coucal
Sony A1, Sony 200-600mm lens, ISO 800, 1/600 sec. @f/ 6.3. focal length 529mm. AWB, Natural light, manual mode. This was a quick grab shot. I liked the way the feathers and the eye looked.