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What to take on our trip to China this summer

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No matter what you take along: make sure you'll keep a close eye on it.

A group of youngsters in Shanghai tried to help me get rid of my photogear by walking very closely behind me, unzipping my bag without me noticing and sneaking a hand into it....

Lucky enough I noticed just in time. I now a have a tiny padlock on the zippers of my bag when in crowded streets etc.
 
Thank you for your advice. Your photos are fantastic - I especially liked the ones from Guilan. And yes, we will be going to the caves so I will have to figure out what will be best for a tripod investment.
--
Barbara O.
 
Barbara O said:
I am so excited to be looking forward to my husband and my 35th
wedding anniversary trip to China this summer ! We will be
visiting Shanghai, Beijing, Tibet, Panda Institute in Chendu, and
Guilan. I have a Nikon D-70 with 18-70 kit lens, Nikkor 60mm 2.8
micro and have an 18-200 vr on order. I also have an SB 800 flash.
I will probably leave the kit lens at home (not even sure if I
willl ultimately keep it). My budget for equipment has probably
run out (i.e. my husband's willingness to spend more money in view
of the cost of this trip). Any suggestions on an item that is a
must that I am lacking ?? Is a tripod a must ? Would have to be
lightweight and transportable in my Lowepro backpack bag. Thanks .
--
Barbara O.
Click to expand...
Take a spare flash along on the trip. I learned this the hard away. I accidentally dropped my camera from an open bag once on a trip. The camera landed on carpet, no damage. The flash, however, separated from the camera. The plastic hot shoe mount of the flash broke, and I was stuck with the camera's tiny built-in flash for the rest of the trip until I can find a replacement locally. The replacement was not powerful enough to my dismay.
 
Spent three weeks touring China, Tibet, Yangtze River/Three Gorges, Hong Kong, used D70S, with kit lens, used circular polarizer a lot, brought Epson P2000 instead of laptop- great tool to check pix. Did not bother with tripod, just got creative finding ways to hold camera stable. Wish I had had 20-200 VR! This lens should also be great (as I have read) hand held in low light. Used kit lense, no flash many times at theater and other shows, manipulating ISO. Got some great shots. Used my CP8800 as my "long lens" and macro. FYI, I took over 2000 shots- bring lots of CF cards ( using the P2000 allowed me to have back ups of original CF cards.)

Enjoy!

--
Regards,

Larry Berard
 
Great advice above.

From a different angle, get insurance for your gear, and make a list of the items and their serial numbers.

Also try to use the web to get info on Nikon sale and service sites in Shanghai, Beijing. This is a trip of a life time, and if some key element breaks, you will want to replace it quickly.

haruna
 
I traveled throughout SE Asia for over four years and I rarely carried a tripod anywhere. When I did carry it, quite often it isn't allowed into temples, monasteries and famous sites, such as the Taj Mahal.

On other occassins it can be a total pain-in the-ass to haul around through airports on buses just for the very few times you might REALLY need it.

I can shoot pretty well handheld down to a 1/4 of a second, plus there trees to lean against, walls to set a camera on.
I did carry a monopod far more often and it is so much easier.

So unless you're selling images to magazines, or making giant prints to sell, I say skip the weight and awkwardness of hauling a tripod all over China.

You'll be moving fast, probably in groups and it just makes life that much more of a hassle.

If anything you need a wider lens. Maybe a zoom 17-55 if you can because it's also fast f/2.8. The 18-70 or 18-200 if don't mind the slower speed and slightly lesser optical quality.

I carried the huge Nikkor AFD 80-200 all over India and Bhutan, once with severe tennis elbow. But I'd rather have the better, faster glass along than the tripod.

Hands free and lightweight for me when it comes to travel. It will make your trip far easier and more enjoyable.
 
Thanks, Barbara.
Glad you enjoyed them.
Have a wonderful trip!

bart
 
Hi Barbara,

I've spent 9 weeks in Asia this past year doing photography. Really nothing is different from here. I take 1 camera and a few lenses. The first trip was with a D100 and 18-70 only and this year I took a D2X, Sigma 10-20 and Nikon 24-50 plus a SB800. No tripod. I take advantage of the fact that if I need a higher shutter speed I can up the ISO or in other cases just plant my camera on a rock.

I tend to find too much equipment a real burdon when I'm on the road and; I have to pretend I'm on a holiday as well.

You will have a great time.

Remember that you make the photos, not the equipment (I may hear about this comment).

My Asia photos are at http://www.pbase.com/islaguy/asia
Let us know how your trip goes.
--
Kevin Oke
http://www.kevinokephotography.com
Portfolio - http://www.pbase.com/islaguy
 
Thank you for your comments, Kevin. The tripod will stay at home. Looks like I might want to look into a fast wide angle lens. Will have to be a used one. Your photos and posters are awesome !
--
Barbara O.
 
Thanks Barbara,

Every trip I go on I'm tempted to take a tripod but I also come back with images that would'nt have been possible if I were burdoned with the hassle. For me it really depends on the situation.

I'm off for a serious shoot in familiar territory the next couple days and will have 2 tripods with me but I expect when I return home I will have only used them for 25% of the photos.

Cheers,
--
Kevin Oke
http://www.kevinokephotography.com
Portfolio - http://www.pbase.com/islaguy
 
Barbara:

I don't have experience with most of the places that you will be visiting; but, I did have a brief trip to Beijing, a few months ago. I had a D70 with 18-70 and 70-210 (my only lenses, so not much choice). I almost left the 70-210 at home; but, my wife talked me into taking it along. I rarely used it, and would not have missed it, if I hadn't taken it.

I almost bought a super wide zoom to take. I wish that I had, as there were several situations in which I could have used a wider lens.

I did buy a compact tripod to take with me. I didn't use it, though I did carry it everywhere. I think that was due to the fact that, on most occasions, I was very rushed. Otherwise, it probably would have made sense to employ it for some of the shots that I was taking. However, I think that I carried it more as a security blanket, than for any actual need.

An absolute necessity would be some type of storage device. I carried a 60gig Wolverine unit,; and, it performed quite well.

I on;y ended up with a day and a half to play tourist. Here is a sampling of some of my Beijing shots: http://www.pbase.com/cliffb/beijing_china

--
http://www.pbase.com/cliffb
 
Barbara,

What a great way to celebrate :-)

For your photography dilemma, you must decide if this is
1/ a trip to China during which you will be taking some photos, or
2/ whether it is a photography trip which happens to be to China

I am mostly in favour of tripods but not for travelling in China.
Try a small beanbag for $10. Fits into your backpack, almost no weight
and the camera just sits happily shooting on the timer, if you need that
stability. For most shots though, you can brace the camera against
something.

The 18-200VR is a wonderfully compact zoom but is not a low-light
lens at f/3.5. Realise that cash may be a consideration but you should
really consider a faster low light prime. The 50mm f/1.8 is a real
bargain at $100. Very light and compact and will get you images which
would be impossible with the 18-200VR. In certain circumstances, you
may not be able to use flash and a low-light lens will rescue you for
available light shots.

While it is a great lens, I would leave the 60mm at home, as well as
your kit lens ( already decided ? :-) and just take the 18-200VR, plus
a low light lens, the 50/8 or 35mm f/2 below . . .
More expensive but possibly more useable at about $250.
Very lightweight and compact, with a slightly wider
range than the 50mm, so more useable for general walking about.

Re your storage : on trips like this, the worst thing is to run out of
storage. On shorter trips, I travel with about 6 or 7 Gbs of CF cards,
or a laptop on longer trips. Let's say you shot 100 images every day
on a 2-week trip. That is 1400 images. a 1Gb CF card will hold about
220 D70 jpg images at the best quality. ( 100 daily shots is conservative
on a trip like this, it will lilkely be more :-)

You can reduce the quality setting to increase storage space on your
CFs but most people use the highest quality, in case their shots are
perfect for printing.

Check out the media and storage forum to drive yourself crazy on
storage methods, but you will need something. The least expensive
devices are about $150. Great capacity but subject to occasional failure.
There's no perfect travelling storage solution :-(

Take a supply of zip lock bags, several sizes.
Also, a small folding umbrella so you can still use your camera in the rain.

Sounds like a great trip, prepare well :-)

Keith
 
I spent 10 days in China last summer with two childrens choirs. I used my 24-120VR most of the time (18-200 will be excellent), but my 50mm 1.4 was great at night. I would have missed great shots of performances, both the kids and other performers. A 35/2 would be great, too - maybe better. I also used my 40G coolwalker everyday (used about half the space). Have a terrific time
--
Bob
 
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