African safari normal choice

[jamaeolus]

Going to africa on safari and have quite a plethora of AF lenses for the a7ii, they include the Tamron 19-35, Zeiss sonnar 24-70 2.8, sony G 70-400 and my latest purchase the minolta AF 500mm reflex. For backup I intend to take the minolta af 35-105 I want to take one manual focus normal with a bit faster speed. I'm torn between Konica 50mm 1.4 or oly 50mm or 1.4, rikenon 55 1.4. The rikenon is the heaviest by quite a margin but not very expensive and IQ (in my opinion) trails the other by a tad. The konica is quite inexpensive and likely the sharpest of the 3. The oly is a bit more expensive, (a factor I have to take into account should my gear get stolen) but very light and compact, great IQ and just a joy to use. I'm leaning toward the konica but have only recently been able to use konica so it is my least familiar lens. Opinions?

[tb_a]

If I would be in a similar situation I would most probably look for either the Minolta AF 50/1.7 or 1.4 version (depending on budget).
These are great quality lenses and offer enough "light power" when needed.
When I am going to shoot with my A850 I don't see any reason to restrict myself to MF lenses and will take the AF 50/1.4 lens for sure.

[newst]

The Konica is an excellent lens. It doesn't have any bad habits that I am aware of so I doubt there is much you need to learn about it before you travel.

You already have three decent normals to choose from. I don't see any need to buy another.

[papasito]

The Zeiss zoom plus the minolta 500 plus a good prime Wide Angle 19 mm.

More?

For what?

If you like to purchase lenses never they will be enough to you.

But to use in the real camp, perhaps two or three are the best option.

[Abbazz]

For an African Safari, you need to get a serious lens. I mean, really serious...

Like the Zeiss Apo-Sonnar 1700mm F/4.0:



Or the Leica 1600mm F/5.6:





Cheers!

Abbazz

[jamaeolus]

Too funny! My wife thinks I am way over covered for camera gear but, hey, I don't think I will ever be able to do this again. Weighed my bag and it is right at 15 lbs including the android tab I will use in evenings to review the days shoots. So I don't think that is too bad. I do have an minolta AF 50mm 1.4 on order but unless it comes in today I will likely take the Konica.

[Tervueren]

You should have decent insurance for a trip like this as I'm sure you probably have so value shouldn't really affect your choice, the Sony 70 to 400 is a great lens, I'd leave the 500 home to save weight but a good idea would be a tc for the Sony G

[Attila]

longest and lightest what you can afford and best TC , I expect plenty of light , (may wrongly ) so speed is not too important.
I was pretty happy with cheap Sigma 400mm f5.6 APO lens (fake apo of course)

[buerokratiehasser]

Considered the 55/1.8 Small Bauble?

Only you won't get it for $5, what with the Tomioka hype and all.

Various brands, mine has Revuflex labeling

[duckrider]

there's only one cam for safari!

[Tervueren]