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Lenses for Vietnam trip

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Hi Ozgeoff

I recently have come back from Vietnam, pretty much doing the same trip as you are about to embark on.

I brought a 10D, 17-40mm, 85mm 1.8 (I ended up using this the most), 420 speedlite and a monopod.

I’m about to go back to SE Asia in feb and I’m really thinking of changing my whole equipment setup.
The new setup consists of a 35mm 1.4 and the 70-200mm IS.
No monopod as I never used it and with IS I wont have a need and no flash.

So to your question I think you’d greatly prosper from bringing the extra range with your 70-200mm and I don’t think it’ll attract any more attention than your 17-40mm with a hood on, and I do recommend a hood for those wet days.
Enjoy your tip
James

http://community.webshots.com/user/jamesaxford
 
I have travelled around indo-china and I can tell you now, a white L will draw attention. I am going back to Thailand in January and have bought a used 100-300 f5.6L for the trip. I would also consider a 200/2.8L ?

I am taking 20D, 10-22mm, 17-40L, 28-75/2.8 and 100-300L
Ozgeoff said:
I'm planning to take a 2 week trip to Vietnam in January travelling
from Hanoi to Saigon and visiting all the major sights such as Ha
Long bay, Hoi An, Mekong Delta etc.

I'm planning to take my D60 plus the following lenses:
17-40 f4.0L
50 f1.8
28-105 f3.5-4.5

I'll be photographing architecture, street scenes, people and
landscapes. The question I'm asking myself is whether I should take
my 70-200 f4.0L. I'm inclined to think it might be rather too
conspicuous in that environment. Would appreciate your thoughts.

Ozgeoff
Click to expand...
--
20D, 10-22, 17-40L, 28-75/2.8, 90/2.8 1:1, 100-400L, 35/2, 50/1.4, 420ex, S60
 
Hi Geoff

My wife and I were in Hanoi recently and I have no doubt that you will have a great time. Don't tell anyone in this forum but I didn't take the D30, instead I took my E20 because I didn't intend doing much except snap shots. The E20 lens is 35 - 140 equivalent but I did need the wide and tele supplementary lenses to give 28 - 200. Based on my experience I'd say take the widest lens you can as some of the streets are very narrow and you can't always get back far enough. Also 200 equivalent often wasn't enough for me so I'd definitely take my 70-200 f4 next time. Will people notice the 70 - 200? YES, but then they notice what ever you use. I have a few snaps at http://www.darwinonline.org/thumbnails.php?album=840 if you want to have a laugh. You will see that I was watched often while taking the shots. BTW the people are great, very genuine.

PS some of the shots may be from my Ricoh GRV1.

Regards Howard
Ozgeoff said:
Hi Anh-Tuan

Thanks for the info. We can't wait to visit Vietnam ...... got our
vaccination shots yesterday and booked hotel in Hanoi over the
internet today for our first 3 days. From what we've heard Viet
Nam is a wonderful place to visit and so far unspoilt by tourism.
We've chosen to visit Hanoi first because I've read about the city
and it's lovely French colonial architecture and boulevards. I'm
still undecided about taking the 70-200 f4 lens. I do have a 28-105
and will definitely take that and may think about your suggestion
of taking a 70-300 as I have one that I don't use very often.

Best wishes

Geoff
Click to expand...
 
Hi Ozgeoff (fellow Melbournian)

I'm just back from a brief visit to Hanoi. Had a day to spare and spent 3 hours in the Old Quarter on foot and on the back of a motorbike. Took just one lens - 17-40L. At times it was too short (but not in the the old quarter) and at times too slow (poor light in narrow streets on gloomy day - left the 50F1.8 at home) but I was truly delighted with the results and the slower exposures gave some great motion blur. High proportion of keepers and printed up even better than expected. This lens is a definite for city shots. I missed my 70-20F4 at times but generally not in the narrow, busy confines of Hanoi. Hope you enjoy your trip.

Will try to post some shots if I get a chance.
Ozgeoff said:
Like you I think i'll get the most use out my
17-40 wide-angle zoom in Viet Nam. I wasn't originally planning on
taking the 70-200 f4.0L but figure I might regret leaving it
behind. I was intending to travel light in terms of camera gear but
that idea seems to be disappearing the more I think about what to
take.
Oh and by the way ..... I'm an Aussie ....... I take it you spell
traveling with one L ... I think it's optional down here :)

Regards

Geoff
Click to expand...
--
Brian
 
Ozgeoff said:
I'm planning to take a 2 week trip to Vietnam in January travelling
from Hanoi to Saigon and visiting all the major sights such as Ha
Long bay, Hoi An, Mekong Delta etc.

I'm planning to take my D60 plus the following lenses:
17-40 f4.0L
50 f1.8
28-105 f3.5-4.5

I'll be photographing architecture, street scenes, people and
landscapes. The question I'm asking myself is whether I should take
my 70-200 f4.0L. I'm inclined to think it might be rather too
conspicuous in that environment. Would appreciate your thoughts.

Ozgeoff
Click to expand...
I'm a Vietnamese and currently reside in US. For the places that you want to visit as you said above, I should say this: Vietnam is alot safer than it was 10 years ago. I don't think you are going to have any problem be cause you're carrying your white lens around the town. 17-40L is a must for Ha Long Bay, Oldtown Hoi An and Mekong Delta River (do not leave w/o this lens, you'll miss it ). I would leave the 50 1.8 home and bring the 28-105 with me, but if there's room in my bag, I'll go for 70-20 just incase I need it. As far as wheather goes in Jan, you'll might see alot of shower in the north, but as long as you start heading south wheather will get alot better, specilally in Saigon. In here, this city will keep you busy with your camera all day long, unless you're tired of shooting. There is always something for you to shoot happen around you that you normally don't see in your homeland. I would bring alot of CF cards for the camera, because sometime it's hard for you to find one even if you're in the major city such as Hue or Da Nang ...ect.

Have a nice trip.

PS: I also recommend that you should have the handstrap on your camera and have you hand on it even when you're not shooting :)) Just to be safe you know.
 
This would be a one time trip for me and I would be devastated if I were not able to bring back wonderful pictures of that most beautiful and photogenic country. It would be awful to take this trip and have something happen to the one camera you are carrying. That would leave you high and dry with no (or very few) photographic memories.

Ideally, a second body would be the way to go! However, DSLR bodies are expensive - even on the used market. I wonder if buying another used D60 (or 10D or 300D for that matter) on Ebay, with the express idea of selling that body back on Ebay after the trip is completed, would not be a good idea. You shouldn't lose very much money in this process. I am not sure about the legal customs requirements in Vietnam, but you might even be able to sell the extra body at a profit in Vietnam as your trip winds down.

As an alternative to the above, perhaps an inexpensive used EOS film body might be in order. You could carry a couple of rolls of film with you. The secondary advantage to this idea would be your ability to shoot even wider angle shots than with your digital - since you would not be working with the 1.6x crop factor.

Finally, if the above options do not ring your chimes, perhaps carrying a small, but good point and shoot might also be an insurance policy. There are a lot of Olympus 2020 and better cameras on Ebay that are very inexpensive used. The advantage to this would be your ability to have a camera with you at all times, since the P&S cameras are usually very small.

--

Retired Navy Master Chief Photographer's Mate - 30 years service. Combat Cameraman, Motion Picture Director and Naval Aircrewman. Equipment: Canon Ten-D DSLR with twenty eight to one-thirty five IS, seventy to two hundred f-four L and twenty mm f/2.8 prime. Also 1 point 4x TC and four-twenty ex flash.
 
Thanks for sharing your thoughts Richard! Sounds like you has a wonderful career in photography!

This will probably be my one and only trip to Vietnam although I know of people who keep on going back there. The airfares from here in Australia are rather expensive at this time of year but that's offset by the low accommodation and living costs. I will take the 70-200 even though it may not get a great deal of use. Your idea of taking a spare film EOS camera is a good one ........ I have one which never gets used so I may take it along as well as my digital P & S which my partner will love snapping away on. I've just acquired a portable hard drive for storing my photos and have enough storage for thousands of photos.

Best wishes from downunder
Geoff
Richard Crowe said:
This would be a one time trip for me and I would be devastated if I
were not able to bring back wonderful pictures of that most
beautiful and photogenic country. It would be awful to take this
trip and have something happen to the one camera you are carrying.
That would leave you high and dry with no (or very few)
photographic memories.

Ideally, a second body would be the way to go! However, DSLR bodies
are expensive - even on the used market. I wonder if buying
another used D60 (or 10D or 300D for that matter) on Ebay, with the
express idea of selling that body back on Ebay after the trip is
completed, would not be a good idea. You shouldn't lose very much
money in this process. I am not sure about the legal customs
requirements in Vietnam, but you might even be able to sell the
extra body at a profit in Vietnam as your trip winds down.

As an alternative to the above, perhaps an inexpensive used EOS
film body might be in order. You could carry a couple of rolls of
film with you. The secondary advantage to this idea would be your
ability to shoot even wider angle shots than with your digital -
since you would not be working with the 1.6x crop factor.

Finally, if the above options do not ring your chimes, perhaps
carrying a small, but good point and shoot might also be an
insurance policy. There are a lot of Olympus 2020 and better
cameras on Ebay that are very inexpensive used. The advantage to
this would be your ability to have a camera with you at all times,
since the P&S cameras are usually very small.

--
Retired Navy Master Chief Photographer's Mate - 30 years service.
Combat Cameraman, Motion Picture Director and Naval Aircrewman.
Equipment: Canon Ten-D DSLR with twenty eight to one-thirty five
IS, seventy to two hundred f-four L and twenty mm f/2.8 prime. Also
1 point 4x TC and four-twenty ex flash.
Click to expand...
--
Ozgeoff
D60, 50E, 28-105, 75-300, 70-200 f4.0L, 50mm f1.8, 380EX
 
I think they'd have a fair idea jDaniel ust by looking at it and the white does tend to make it stand out as does the swagger I seem to develop when I'm using it!!

Cheers
Geoff
Daniel Jackson said:
Ozgeoff said:
By conspicuous I meant by attracting attention to the big
white/beige lens in a place where most people are very poor (in
terms of material posessions).
Click to expand...
Then do you think they will know a big white lens costs more than a
big black one?

--
Scotty, I need more power! I'm givin it all she's got Jim!
http://www.pbase.com/daniel_jackson/root
Pbase supporter
Click to expand...
--
Ozgeoff
D60, 50E, 28-105, 75-300, 70-200 f4.0L, 50mm f1.8, 380EX
 
I'll watch out for someone with a D60 with a Sigma zoom lens!!
Johnny Koh said:
I am also using D60...

I will bring D60 , Sigma 18-125 DC ...

Regards
Ozgeoff said:
I'm planning to take a 2 week trip to Vietnam in January travelling
from Hanoi to Saigon and visiting all the major sights such as Ha
Long bay, Hoi An, Mekong Delta etc.

I'm planning to take my D60 plus the following lenses:
17-40 f4.0L
50 f1.8
28-105 f3.5-4.5

I'll be photographing architecture, street scenes, people and
landscapes. The question I'm asking myself is whether I should take
my 70-200 f4.0L. I'm inclined to think it might be rather too
conspicuous in that environment. Would appreciate your thoughts.

Ozgeoff
Click to expand...
--
feel free to comment my shots at
http://megaweb.clubsnap.org/
and
http://www.pbase.com/megaweb
Click to expand...
--
Ozgeoff
D60, 50E, 28-105, 75-300, 70-200 f4.0L, 50mm f1.8, 380EX
 
Thanks for your comments James. From advice recived in this forum the general concensus seems to be to take the 70-200! From what I've read the 85mm 1.8 sounds like a superb lens and equivalent to my favorite 135mm lens on my Olympus OM.
James Axford said:
Hi Ozgeoff

I recently have come back from Vietnam, pretty much doing the same
trip as you are about to embark on.
I brought a 10D, 17-40mm, 85mm 1.8 (I ended up using this the
most), 420 speedlite and a monopod.
I’m about to go back to SE Asia in feb and I’m really thinking of
changing my whole equipment setup.
The new setup consists of a 35mm 1.4 and the 70-200mm IS.
No monopod as I never used it and with IS I wont have a need and no
flash.
So to your question I think you’d greatly prosper from bringing the
extra range with your 70-200mm and I don’t think it’ll attract any
more attention than your 17-40mm with a hood on, and I do recommend
a hood for those wet days.
Enjoy your tip
James

http://community.webshots.com/user/jamesaxford
Click to expand...
--
Ozgeoff
D60, 50E, 28-105, 75-300, 70-200 f4.0L, 50mm f1.8, 380EX
 
Well Rich I'd love to buy some more glass but my L lenses have really stratched the budget for the time being so I'll have to make do with what I've got ......... for how long I'm not sure. My next purchase will probably be the 100mm macro.

Cheers
Geoff
Richt2000 said:
I am taking 20D, 10-22mm, 17-40L, 28-75/2.8 and 100-300L
Ozgeoff said:
I'm planning to take a 2 week trip to Vietnam in January travelling
from Hanoi to Saigon and visiting all the major sights such as Ha
Long bay, Hoi An, Mekong Delta etc.

I'm planning to take my D60 plus the following lenses:
17-40 f4.0L
50 f1.8
28-105 f3.5-4.5

I'll be photographing architecture, street scenes, people and
landscapes. The question I'm asking myself is whether I should take
my 70-200 f4.0L. I'm inclined to think it might be rather too
conspicuous in that environment. Would appreciate your thoughts.

Ozgeoff
Click to expand...
--
20D, 10-22, 17-40L, 28-75/2.8, 90/2.8 1:1, 100-400L, 35/2, 50/1.4,
420ex, S60
Click to expand...
--
Ozgeoff
D60, 50E, 28-105, 75-300, 70-200 f4.0L, 50mm f1.8, 380EX
 
Thanks for the comments Hondo. The only place I've read about where you really have to watch out for your equipment is Saigon where I've read thieves ride past on motor bikes and snatch equipment. Also young kids in organised pickpocket gangs . As far as digital storage goes I've just bought myself a 4gig portable hard drive so I should have heaps of capacity. We have a lot of Vietnamese people here in Melbourne and a nearby suburb is like a miniature Vietnamese town ........ I love shopping there ....... much cheaper than the supermarkets for meat and fresh produce.

Best wishes
Geoff
Hondo said:
Ozgeoff said:
I'm planning to take a 2 week trip to Vietnam in January travelling
from Hanoi to Saigon and visiting all the major sights such as Ha
Long bay, Hoi An, Mekong Delta etc.

I'm planning to take my D60 plus the following lenses:
17-40 f4.0L
50 f1.8
28-105 f3.5-4.5

I'll be photographing architecture, street scenes, people and
landscapes. The question I'm asking myself is whether I should take
my 70-200 f4.0L. I'm inclined to think it might be rather too
conspicuous in that environment. Would appreciate your thoughts.

Ozgeoff
Click to expand...
I'm a Vietnamese and currently reside in US. For the places that
you want to visit as you said above, I should say this: Vietnam is
alot safer than it was 10 years ago. I don't think you are going
to have any problem be cause you're carrying your white lens around
the town. 17-40L is a must for Ha Long Bay, Oldtown Hoi An and
Mekong Delta River (do not leave w/o this lens, you'll miss it ).
I would leave the 50 1.8 home and bring the 28-105 with me, but if
there's room in my bag, I'll go for 70-20 just incase I need it.
As far as wheather goes in Jan, you'll might see alot of shower in
the north, but as long as you start heading south wheather will
get alot better, specilally in Saigon. In here, this city will
keep you busy with your camera all day long, unless you're tired of
shooting. There is always something for you to shoot happen around
you that you normally don't see in your homeland. I would bring
alot of CF cards for the camera, because sometime it's hard for you
to find one even if you're in the major city such as Hue or Da Nang
...ect.

Have a nice trip.

PS: I also recommend that you should have the handstrap on your
camera and have you hand on it even when you're not shooting :))
Just to be safe you know.
Click to expand...
--
Ozgeoff
D60, 50E, 28-105, 75-300, 70-200 f4.0L, 50mm f1.8, 380EX
 
:D

I would like to enjoy my trip with my wife, tt why I dun want to bring my L lens along .. will bring a Slik sprint pro for nite and long exposure shots.

See you there :)
Ozgeoff said:
Johnny Koh said:
I am also using D60...

I will bring D60 , Sigma 18-125 DC ...

Regards
Ozgeoff said:
I'm planning to take a 2 week trip to Vietnam in January travelling
from Hanoi to Saigon and visiting all the major sights such as Ha
Long bay, Hoi An, Mekong Delta etc.

I'm planning to take my D60 plus the following lenses:
17-40 f4.0L
50 f1.8
28-105 f3.5-4.5

I'll be photographing architecture, street scenes, people and
landscapes. The question I'm asking myself is whether I should take
my 70-200 f4.0L. I'm inclined to think it might be rather too
conspicuous in that environment. Would appreciate your thoughts.

Ozgeoff
Click to expand...
--
feel free to comment my shots at
http://megaweb.clubsnap.org/
and
http://www.pbase.com/megaweb
Click to expand...
--
Ozgeoff
D60, 50E, 28-105, 75-300, 70-200 f4.0L, 50mm f1.8, 380EX
Click to expand...
--
feel free to comment my shots at
http://megaweb.clubsnap.org/
and
http://www.pbase.com/megaweb
 
I'll tell you how they pulled me out of Vietnam for a couple of months and sent me to Australia. To shoot the construction and commissioning of the Navy Communications Station on the North West Cape in Western Australia.

I fell in love with Australia and with the Australians! Have a great time on your trip, my friend. Shoot lots of pictures and post them for us!

Regards,
Richard

--

Retired Navy Master Chief Photographer's Mate - 30 years service. Combat Cameraman, Motion Picture Director and Naval Aircrewman. Equipment: Canon Ten-D DSLR with twenty eight to one-thirty five IS, seventy to two hundred f-four L and twenty mm f/2.8 prime. Also 1 point 4x TC and four-twenty ex flash.
 
I made last summer a tour in Vietnam very similar to yours (I also visited Cambodia). Vietnam is a very safe place with kind persons (in particular outside towns). Most of my shots were taken with Sigma 24-70 2,8, many with a Sigma 15-30 and the best shots with Canon 50mm 1,4. I also had a Sigma 28-300 (poor thing, already sold). In town you won't probably need a tele but if you plan to visit Mekong delta it's a must have because when you move by boat you can see many wonderful things along the river and a 105mm is not enough (even a 200m is a bit short). Moreover Vietnam people don't like so much to be photographed and with a tele you can probably get photos that otherwise you won't. Same thing for HaLong bay - no tele, no photos.

PS : don't be scared that your photo equipment might be stolen. All the time I spent in Vietnam I always felt very safe altough travelling alone. Noone ever made me problems, always gentle persons.
Enjoy your travel.
Nicola
 
Hi,

Went to Vietnam two years ago (only the North, then further to Laos, Cambodia and Thailand). I don't realy get the conspiciousness thing that people write about when taking the 70-200. Yes it is white, yes it draws attention. So does a black lens and other camera equipment. When somebody wants to ripp you off they just look at you seeing somebody with a SLR and and lens.

I never had any troubles in the past years traveling in Nepal, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Singapore, Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Costa Rica. It depends how you act yourself.

Even worse, I think that the chance to be ripped off is bigger here in Holland when I go to Amsterdam than when you go to Vietnam. So take the 70-200, it will bring you very nice pictures overthere.

Enjoy your trip, I am a bit envious (LOL)

-

--
I never say no to a Dom Pérignon
 
Thanks for your useful comments Nicola. From the comments received in this thread I'll definitely take the tele zoom. Most reassuring to hear that you didn't feel threatened when you visited Vietnam ...... I think I read somewhere that there are severe penalties for stealing that act as a strong deterrent for crime.

Best wishes
Geoff
Nicola10 said:
I made last summer a tour in Vietnam very similar to yours (I also
visited Cambodia). Vietnam is a very safe place with kind persons
(in particular outside towns). Most of my shots were taken with
Sigma 24-70 2,8, many with a Sigma 15-30 and the best shots with
Canon 50mm 1,4. I also had a Sigma 28-300 (poor thing, already
sold). In town you won't probably need a tele but if you plan to
visit Mekong delta it's a must have because when you move by boat
you can see many wonderful things along the river and a 105mm is
not enough (even a 200m is a bit short). Moreover Vietnam people
don't like so much to be photographed and with a tele you can
probably get photos that otherwise you won't. Same thing for HaLong
bay - no tele, no photos.
PS : don't be scared that your photo equipment might be stolen. All
the time I spent in Vietnam I always felt very safe altough
travelling alone. Noone ever made me problems, always gentle
persons.
Enjoy your travel.
Nicola
Click to expand...
 
Hi

Thanks for your reassuring comments ........ sounds like you have travelled very extensively and I also envy you!! My only other venture into SE Asia was to Bali a couple of years ago and that was quite an experience also but quite different to what I'm expecting in Vietnam. Haven't tried Dom Pérignon .... must put that on my todo list also :))

Kind regards
Geoff
RL71 said:
Hi,

Went to Vietnam two years ago (only the North, then further to
Laos, Cambodia and Thailand). I don't realy get the conspiciousness
thing that people write about when taking the 70-200. Yes it is
white, yes it draws attention. So does a black lens and other
camera equipment. When somebody wants to ripp you off they just
look at you seeing somebody with a SLR and and lens.

I never had any troubles in the past years traveling in Nepal,
Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Singapore, Brazil, Bolivia,
Peru, Costa Rica. It depends how you act yourself.

Even worse, I think that the chance to be ripped off is bigger here
in Holland when I go to Amsterdam than when you go to Vietnam. So
take the 70-200, it will bring you very nice pictures overthere.

Enjoy your trip, I am a bit envious (LOL)

-

--
I never say no to a Dom Pérignon
Click to expand...
--
Ozgeoff
D60, 50E, 28-105, 75-300, 70-200 f4.0L, 50mm f1.8, 380EX
 
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