What to take for trip to Vietnam/Cambodia/Laos?

I will be going to Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos for 5 weeks in February and March and would like to know what equipment I should take. I am currently considering 2 options:
Option 1: Lowe Pro Singshot 200 with:

• Canon 5D
• 24-105 IS f4
• 70-200 IS f4 and a 1.4x Extender
• 50 f1.4
• Gitzo compact graphite monopod
• PowerShot SD870 IS

Option 2: Tamrac Velocity 7 with:

• All the above excluding the 70-200 IS f4 and a 1.4x

I have used Option 2 on many of my trips to Central and South America. Because of the additional weight and size of the 70-200 I have always left at home.
Will there be opportunities where the 70-200 may be useful on this trip?
Should I bring along a small 220Ex flash or just use the PowerShot?
Would a Gorilla Pod for SLR be useful?

Any suggestions on what I should take would be greatly appreciated.

I was in Vietnam and Cambodia for about a month last year. I used 5D bodies, 16-35 L, 50mm f1.4 and 70-200 2.8 IS L zooms. Now I travel with primes (28mm f1.8, 50mm f1.4, 100mm f2 and 200mm f2.8) that kit weighs less and is (arguably) sharper than the zooms, primarily because the 70-200 f2.8 is a beast and weighs a ton. That said, I always travel with a 200. It's handy for portraits, for architectural details and compressing street scenes.

There are some samples of my VN and Cambodia work on my website ( http://web.mac.com/kurtzjack/ ), I think you'll be able to see where the 200 came in handy.

jack
--
A few of my photos:
http://web.mac.com/kurtzjack/ or
http://www.sportsshooter.com/members.html?id=4177

I'm going to Vietnam in February and will be taking the 5D, the 24-105 L and the 70-300 (non-DO). Easy to hang round a shoulder and it does all I need.

You can take John Kerry and Jane Fonda. I was there before they were and used a 4x5 Speed Graphic to record American bodies returning home in boxes. This was before body bags became all the rage.

Near the end of my time there I switched to Nikon F bodies and I had a 105mm f2.5 Nikkor, 200mm f4, a 50mm 1.4 and a .45 ACP grease gun M3-A1 (no crank).

You guys are lucky to be traveling there now. Wish I had the time and money. Have fun with whatever you carry.

Gordon

--
'Who loves yah, Baby?'
... Lt. Theo Kojak, Manhattan South

I was supposed to return after 40 years this February/March but due to financial issues can not go. But I had posted a similar question:

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/readflat.asp?forum=1029&thread=25439019

Hope this also helps.

--
Charles Lipton

'I wish I was half the person my dog thought I was'.

Canon 5D, EOS 3, 24-105mm, 135mm f/2L, 100mm USM Macro, Minolta XD-11 35mm f/2.8MD, 50mm f/1.4MD, 135mm f/2.8MD, Leica MiniLux

I'll be there in a few weeks and am taking my 10D, 30D, 24-70, and 70-200 2.8 IS. This will be my 4th trip there. I expect the 24-70 will be on the camera 90% of the time.

--
Roger
http://www.pbase.com/paragonphoto

Everyone has their own style of traveling. My time spent in S.E. Asia involved alot of backpacking, walking and public transportation so I limited myself to the equipment I brought. My advise is to take the equipment that you are willing to carry with you. Equipment will do you no good if it's sitting in the hotel room because it was too much to carry.

Oh and by the way, I assume in Cambodia you will go to Angkor Wat... at sunset on certain days at Ta Prohm (the 'Jungle temple') there are traditional dancers and musicians performing in the main courtyard, in that setting it is really worth trying to see.

Take the 70-200mm IS f/4 - I predict some of your best photo's will be with this lens if you bring it along.

Drop the mono pod unless you have a well defined need (you know best yourself).

Have fun! The region is made for spectacular photography.

Tetracycline

Personally, I would drop the 70-200. with the 1.4X and the 24-105, your top end of 150mm seems appropriate. I can't speak for the scenes in Vietnam (never been there) or for your interests, but I spent a lot of time shooting wide angles when in Cambodia. I brought along the 17-40, 28-135, 50 1.8 and an old 100-300L lens. I used the 100-300 only once as 135mm was more than adequate for my interests. I believe most of my candid shots were done at a focal length under 100mm

I have a fairly comprehensive series of Cambodia shots (Angkor temples, Lake Tonle Sap and Siem Reap) with Full EXIF info. in my pbase gallery if you're interested in popping by.
--
http://www.pbase.com/joelc

You will want to visit the temples early to avoid the crowds and to get the shots you want. A tripod is hightly recommended as the light is dim. Sure, you can shoot at ISO 800, and probably do so quite successfully with a 5D, but let's just say i'm glad I shot at 100 or 200 despite lugging around the tripod (okay, it's easy for me to say that now sitting in a comfortable chair and not cursing the extra 5 pounds in 40 degree heat

Enjoy your trip. If it's your first time there, I'm sure it will be one you'll never forget.

--
http://www.pbase.com/joelc

Been to that part of the world (hope to be back next month)

Here is what I brought:
5D
300D (backup)
24-104
50 CM
17-35 Tamron F2.8
70-200 F4

Wide never got used, except when I didn't want to "risk" the main 5D rig when kayaking
70-200 likewise, never touched it
50 Macro got used 2 times, for temple details at Angkor

Other than that, 5D + 24-105 was all I really used. 98% of the time, it turns out.

I used the 300D only when I went sea-kayaking and didn't want to risk the 5D.

I like to travel light, really light. I went for a month carry-on only. Best way to travel, IMO, but that is me.

--
http://www.pixelmap.com

Thank you everyone for your comments and suggestions. I am reallly looking forward to this trip. I intend to take the following: 5D, 16-35, 24-105, PowerShot 870 and a compact and lightweight tripod. Everything with the exception of the tripod will fit into my Tamrac Velocity 7 sling bag. It would be nice to take the 70-200 to help frame some distant shots but I am not too keen on the idea of more weight and the need to take a bigger and more conspicuous camera bag. Thank you again everyone for all you suggestions and links to your photos of this beautiful part of the world.

--With the 5D, a 24-70 and the 70-200 would be a better choice.

The 70-200 is the lense to use for street shooting people. It be my first selection. 105 mm isn't enough reach on a 5D.

-nothing beats a fast lense, except a fast girl-

I agree. Or the lenses you have plus a 200 f2.8 prime (which is a terrific lens and relatively cheap btw).

jack

--
A few of my photos:
http://web.mac.com/kurtzjack/ or
http://www.sportsshooter.com/members.html?id=4177

I am now half way through my trip and finished visiting Siagon, the temples in Siem Reap, Cambodia and the Mekong Delta and Hoi An. The equipment that I decided to take are: Cannon 5d, 16-35f2.8, 24-105f4,0 and 200f2.8, Tamarac Velocity 7x camera bag, a separate belt pouch for and extra lens that can be strapped to my belt, 40Gig Photobank, a 160 USB compact hard drive to back up the Potobank and a Canon SD870.

For Saigon, Melkong Delta and Hoi An: My percent usage of the lenses was 80% for 24-105 80%, 18% for 200 18% and only 2% 16-35.

For the temples in Angkor Wat in Siem Reap Cambodia my usage of the 24-105 and 16-35 was 60% and 40%

In summary the 16-35 is great for the landscape and when there is less light available, the 24-105 is a good all perpose lens and the 200mm is great lens for capturing people and scenes from a distant. I have a 70-200f4 IS which I decided to leave at home and instead purchased the 200 F2.8 to take on my trip. I have no regrets. It is black, shorter, faster and takes absolutely beautiful pictures. I find the added speed of the 200mm f2.8 to be real asset when taking pictures of people in actiion which i could not accomplish with the 70-200f4 IS. Laoding the images to the Photobank and backing them up on separate USB hard drive has been OK provided that you can find computers in hotels and internet cafe's that have USB connectivity enabled and working. I did think about taking a my laptop but considering the number trips by plane, train and car, I decided to dispense with the added weight and worry of losing it. My thanks to everyone for your advice on what equipment to take for this trip. So far I have no regrets.

I took a M16.
--
VL

Glad everything is working out for you. The 200 f2.8 is an amazing lens. I used mine extensively on a recent trip to the Thai Burma border. Some of the photos are on my web site ( http://web.mac.com/kurtzjack/ ).

Hope the rest of the trip goes as well for you.

jack

--
A few of my photos:
http://web.mac.com/kurtzjack/ or
http://www.sportsshooter.com/members.html?id=4177

After travelling throughout SE Asia and China for the past 15 years, I have come down to limiting my gear to the following:

5D
24-105
16-35 II
70-300 DO

... and they have all served me well. Tripods are generally an encumbrance when you're travelling, I find - hassles to pack, on the plane, etc.

Enjoy your trip...

--
Luis Curran
http://www.pbase.com/lcurran

The virtue of the camera is not the power it has to transform the photographer into an artist, but the impulse in him to keep looking.
Brooks Atkinson, 'Once Around the Sun'

Went to Laos and Cambodia for 2 weeks.

20D
24-70L
135L

Worked for me. More at http://photoroom.nl



--
William