Trip to Hong Kong and Taiwan,wedding and sightseeing

Going to a wedding in Taipei ( late September) and than sightseeing.

Any advice please on lenses to take for my 30D. Thinking primarily of either a longer zoom or possible a couple of primes and whether to buy in Uk or buy on the trip
Currently have:
Sigma 10-20
Sigma 30 f1.4
Canon 24-105 L

Many thanks

Taiwan is a friendly fun Asian city. Your Ultra wide will get the most used. I suspect the UWA and 30mm f/1.4 will be suffice for 90% of the shot there.
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FANBOY(i)sm is a NEUROSIS, Get Help!

Hardly ever used longer lenses in Hong Kong or Taiwan. Your lens set is perfect in my opinion, since I have about the same (substitute the Canon 10-22MM and the 35MM F2.0).

If you really want a longer lens consider a Panasonic ultra zoom. 420 MM, IS, pretty fast start up and focus. Now you have a second body, and a 12:1 zoom so you can shoot wide and tele . . at the same time. For under $600 it's a lot less than a long zoom, which you won't want to carry around much. Perfect for across the street candids. No, the prosumer isn't very good for low light action shots, but that's not the type of shot I take on vacation anyway.

mind you that Taiwan is a country. I think you were referring to Taipei?

Many thanks

Hi
Many thanks I also have A G7 to take

For typical tourist shots your gear will be fine. Lenses are cheaper in HK than UK needless to say. You may want to consider a tripod for night shots of the harbour in HK this is at 10mm

Many thanks and a nice photo from the peak

jackc00 said:

mind you that Taiwan is a country. I think you were referring to Taipei?

Click to expand...

Well, actually Taiwan is a province of China, as officially stated by both the local RoC (Democractic) government and the PRC mainland communists . They just quibble still over who is considered the true government of all of China. Since possession is 9.9/10 of the law in this case, the RoC government effectively rules one province out of, who knows how many, of the whole of China. But you will never ever hear either side saying Taiwan is a country as that is grounds for renewing war. You will hear people in Taiwan who politically want to declare independance and be a simple state separate from China, but thats another matter entirely...

Thats what you get for correcting on such a not terribly relevant point

Gorim said:

jackc00 said:

mind you that Taiwan is a country. I think you were referring to Taipei?

Click to expand...

Well, actually Taiwan is a province of China, as officially stated by
both the local RoC (Democractic) government and the PRC mainland
communists . They just quibble still over who is considered the true
government of all of China. Since possession is 9.9/10 of the law in
this case, the RoC government effectively rules one province out of,
who knows how many, of the whole of China. But you will never
ever hear either side saying Taiwan is a country as that is grounds
for renewing war. You will hear people in Taiwan who politically want
to declare independance and be a simple state separate from China,
but thats another matter entirely...

Thats what you get for correcting on such a not terribly relevant
point

Click to expand...

Where is this "official" statement coming from? Source?

jackc00 said:

Where is this "official" statement coming from? Source?

Click to expand...

Any official statement by the leaders of both governments (RoC and PRC).

It has been a matter of uncontested record since hostilities ceased between the two parties.

Any source of historical record regarding the two "states" will confirm it. You won't find any source that claims to the contrary. You might find sources that have wishful thinking to the contrary, but its always in the context of wishful thinking.

This might be one thing that both governments totally agree on as a matter of official record and have always agreed upon. Now what specific leaders (especially members of parliament) think personally could be another story...

Aside from historical record there is also practical record: any country that hosts an embassy for ROC (Taiwan) cannot host an embassy for PRC (Mainland China), or vice versa. A country may recognize one or the other, but never both. Recognizing one causes the other to split town in a diplomatic fit. There is also no US embassy to Taiwan or vice versa- the US officially recognizes PRC as the legitimate "China" while simultaneously protecting Taiwan under defense treaty, gosh that always makes China diplomacy fun especially when Taiwanese leaders get vocal about "independance" from China. Instead of an embassy, there are "economic" and "military" contacts or some such.

Which goes to China always promising to invade Taiwan if they ever officially declare "independance" from China. Now, if they were a separate country they wouldn't need to declare independance right? Oh and since this topic comes up quite a bit in Chinese politics, you will find ample sources for and none that refute what I said.

Gorim said:

jackc00 said:

mind you that Taiwan is a country. I think you were referring to Taipei?

Click to expand...

Well, actually Taiwan is a province of China, as officially stated by
both the local RoC (Democractic) government and the PRC mainland
communists .

Click to expand...

This is a soliloquized statement by PRC government. Here is the statement of Taiwan government:

http://www.president.gov.tw/en/prog/news_release/document_content.php?id=1105496078&pre_id=1105498701&g_category_number=408&category_number_2=373&layer=&sub_category=

Back to the topic, a tele-zoom lens is versatile in your trip to Taiwan. (EXIF embedded)











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Just got back to the UK having lived most of the last 3 years in Taiwan. I'm a novice, and haven't got much to add to what has been said so far. Except:

1) Taiwan is pretty safe. No need to worry about getting stuff snatched in the street. I suppose pickpockets in touristy night markets are a possible exception.

2) Taiwanese weddings tend to be pretty laid back affairs by UK standards - the serious photography is done in studios in advance. Unless you're involved in this, I'd forget any ideas of classic portrait shots. A telephoto to pick out faces over a table would be more useful.

3) Taiwan will be beginning to cool by the end of September, but will still be warm and humid by UK standards. You might want to consider how much stuff to lug around if going hiking.

4) I don't find Taiwanese cities particularly picturesque. If you want to catch some asian fashions then you can hang around the Ximen pedestrianised area in Taipei. (The MRT stops there.) Some great people on display against a backdrop of neon. Taiwan is relatively isolated (you won't see so many foreigners there) and some of the fashions go off at a tangent. Combat trousers seem to be everywhere, as are girls in terribly short shorts. If you're brave, you'll venture into the suburbs and grab some shots of scantily clad betel nut girls.... but most won't agree, and you'll be in trouble if they catch you! Then there's all the weird food for sale (frankly I don't get on well with TW food) - if you're into food photography you'll be fine. Some restaurants do not permit photography - look for the sign on the door. I assumed this was because flashes might disturb other customers - but was recently told that this is because they don't want competitors copying what they do! Hmm

5) I don't think Taiwan is a great place to buy lenses etc. Prices not so different from the UK. Also English is not so widely spoken - you will need a Chinese speaker with you. Generally places won't rip you off, but bear in mind consumer rights aren't as strong as they are in the UK. If something is wrong, demanding a refund might not be so easy. However accessories (bags etc), compact flash etc are all relatively cheap there and a pretty safe bet. A friend of mine supplies card readers and digital frames etc to Jessops, Maplin and similar chains throughout the world. This stuff is cheaper when bought in Taiwan. Branded stuff - well that's a different story. You're almost certainly better off in Hong Kong for that.

6) http://www.forumosa.com is an expat website where you can find out more about Taiwan from a foreigner's point of view. For those that were discussing the political situation there, there's also a section on that.

Have a great trip!

Many thanks for the fantastic detail and info.