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Luggable a900 travel kit

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Docno

Docno

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Hi all - I like to travel a lot in SE Asia and sometimes you end up spending a full day in the tropical heat, climbing steep temple ruins or trekking down jungle paths. While I love my a900 w CZ24-70mm when I'm in town, I can't imagine lugging this combo in these conditions... it would be back-breaking. So is there a good quality zoom for the a900 that would not give me a hernia? Or which of my lenses (see my sig, below) would you take with you?

I may end up going back to my a700 for my next trip. And today, I was experimenting with DT lenses on my a900... quality is fine, but framing not easy.
Thanks Glenn

--
Galleries: http://picasaweb.google.com.au/glennjude

Sony A900, A700, CZ24-70mm, SAL70-300mm G, 50mm F1.4, 100mm F2.8 macro, KM 11-18mm, CZ16-80mm, SAL18-250mm

 
--

a900 cz2470 and 70300ssm G should work fine. I have used it in Yun Nan's mountains and the a900 was gripped too.
 
gpr2020 said:
a900 cz2470 and 70300ssm G should work fine. I have used it in Yun
Nan's mountains and the a900 was gripped too.
Click to expand...
I've walked about town (Singapore) with that combo, and I really feel it in my back at the end of the day. It's really about the CZ24-70, because I've travelled with my a700, CZ16-80 and 70-300G, and survived to tell the tale. But that ff Zeiss kills...
--
Galleries: http://picasaweb.google.com.au/glennjude
Sony A700, KM 11-18mm, CZ16-80mm, SAL70-300mm G, SAL18-250mm, 50mm F1.4

 
just use your 18-250mm in the APS-C mode - or on your A-700? Very light, compact and pretty nice IQ.
--
AEH
http://aehass.zenfolio.com/
Question: What do you do all week?
Answer: Mon to Fri. Nothing, Sat & Sun I rest!
 
Docno said:
gpr2020 said:
a900 cz2470 and 70300ssm G should work fine. I have used it in Yun
Nan's mountains and the a900 was gripped too.
Click to expand...
I've walked about town (Singapore) with that combo, and I really feel
it in my back at the end of the day. It's really about the CZ24-70,
because I've travelled with my a700, CZ16-80 and 70-300G, and
survived to tell the tale. But that ff Zeiss kills...
--
Click to expand...
If that's the case, then you might want to consider getting a 28-75/2.8 KM/Tamron (new or used), or perhaps a used Minolta 24-85 or 24-105 (depending on your intended use of the photos and whether they would deliver the quality you are looking for from your trips).

Everyone is different in terms of the amount of weight they are wiling to "lug." I recently got the 70-400, and can easily see myself with a two lens travel kit of either my a900, CZ 24-70 and 70-400, or my A700, CZ 16-80 and 70-400 (someone else could substitute the 70-300 to save about 750g). Large focal length range, good image quality, and only two lenses. I usually go with far more than that. There are always tradeoffs that each photographer will have to weigh for him or herself (yes, the pun was intentional). :-)

--
Mark Van Bergh
 
Send me your 24-70 I'll send U my 28-70 AND 17-35 :-P
--
Shawn Hancock
Monster-Style.com
[email protected]
Sony Alpha 700 dSLR + VG
Minolta 70-200mm SSM (G) lens
K-Minolta 28-70mm 2.8 lens
K-Minolta 17-35mm 2.8/4 lens
Minolta 5600HS (D) flash
 
Don't worry.... it stays on my camera here in Singapore. But it's a whole different thing hiking about in Cambodia... :-)
--
Galleries: http://picasaweb.google.com.au/glennjude

Sony a900, a700; CZ24-70mm, SAL70-300mmG, 50mm F1.4, 100mm F2.8 macro, CZ16-80mm, KM11-18mm, SAL18-250mm

 
Don't worry.... it stays on my camera here in Singapore. But it's a whole different thing hiking about in Cambodia... :-)
--
Galleries: http://picasaweb.google.com.au/glennjude

Sony a900, a700; CZ24-70mm, SAL70-300mmG, 50mm F1.4, 100mm F2.8 macro, CZ16-80mm, KM11-18mm, SAL18-250mm

 
Docno said:
Hi all - I like to travel a lot in SE Asia and sometimes you end up
spending a full day in the tropical heat, climbing steep temple ruins
or trekking down jungle paths. While I love my a900 w CZ24-70mm when
I'm in town, I can't imagine lugging this combo in these
conditions... it would be back-breaking. So is there a good quality
zoom for the a900 that would not give me a hernia? Or which of my
lenses (see my sig, below) would you take with you?
I may end up going back to my a700 for my next trip. And today, I was
experimenting with DT lenses on my a900... quality is fine, but
framing not easy.
Thanks Glenn
Click to expand...
I would recommend the Minolta 24-85mm. It is a reasonable size and weight and it is sharper than the 24-105, especially at the edges. There are plenty of the 24-85 lenses around in excellent condition for less than $175 used. One caveat though. After the Kobe Japan earthquake of 1995, which disrupted Minolta lens plant production, this lens was manufactured by someone else for Minolta, (I think Tamron) and the lens was not as good optically, so try to find an earlier good copy.
-Phil
 
I travel with my D700 and 24-70 2.8 (similar in size/weight) everywhere; after a while, it just seems normal and everything else seems really small, lol.
Docno said:
Hi all - I like to travel a lot in SE Asia and sometimes you end up
spending a full day in the tropical heat, climbing steep temple ruins
or trekking down jungle paths. While I love my a900 w CZ24-70mm when
I'm in town, I can't imagine lugging this combo in these
conditions... it would be back-breaking. So is there a good quality
zoom for the a900 that would not give me a hernia? Or which of my
lenses (see my sig, below) would you take with you?
I may end up going back to my a700 for my next trip. And today, I was
experimenting with DT lenses on my a900... quality is fine, but
framing not easy.
Thanks Glenn

--
Galleries: http://picasaweb.google.com.au/glennjude
Sony A900, A700, CZ24-70mm, SAL70-300mm G, 50mm F1.4, 100mm F2.8
macro, KM 11-18mm, CZ16-80mm, SAL18-250mm

Click to expand...
 
I travel a lot in places like you describe. I use my A700 when I travel. I wrote about what I carry in the January 20, 2009 entry on my blog:

http://bakubo.blogspot.com/

The A900 doesn't have a built-in flash so do you also carry a flash? I almost never use a flash when I travel, but occasionally I want a pop of fill-flash. With your A900 you would need to carry a flash unit also. Tough to leave the A900 and lenses behind, but you might consider that and take the A700 instead.

--
Henry Richardson
http://www.bakubo.com
 
I would rather use a700+CZ 16-80 (if a good copy) in such circumstance if resolution or speed (f2.8) isn't a priority over portability. You will even save a lot of memory storage space:)

While i have a900 and CZ 24-70 myself, i rather bring a900&28-75 or even d700 (i'm one of those that find pop-up flash quite handy at times) with nikkor 28-70/3.5-4.5 when weight and size is an issue.

--
-- http://www.dyxum.com - the world of the Minolta/Alpha mount digital SLR
 
Docno said:
Hi all - I like to travel a lot in SE Asia and sometimes you end up
spending a full day in the tropical heat, climbing steep temple ruins
or trekking down jungle paths. While I love my a900 w CZ24-70mm when
I'm in town, I can't imagine lugging this combo in these
conditions... it would be back-breaking. So is there a good quality
zoom for the a900 that would not give me a hernia?
Click to expand...
I was faced with this same issue, and for outdoor shooting I have fallen in love with the old Minolta 35-70 f/4 full-frame lens, which produces very sharp pictures on my A900 and it's extremely lightweight.

The lens does have its drawbacks -- less of a zoom range, and a minimum focusing distance of 1m (although it does have a macro mode), but since you'll be outdoors (with plenty of light) and you are mobile (step back or forth to frame the shot you want) then this lens might prove to be a good solution to your particular situation. Plus its dirt cheap! You forget just how lightweight the A900 is when it doesn't have the CZ 24-70 attached to it. :-)

I hope this helps!

Sincerely,
Gary Friedman
 
Hi

I also like backpacking in SE Asia (been doing it for many years and lived in Thailand for a while). Way back when I used a Minolta X700 and various combinations of primes... happy days!

My current view on an A900 'traveling kit' is:
  • A900 + 50/1.7 in neoprene wrap around my neck
  • AF28-135/4 + AF17-35/2.8-4D (or AF20/2.8) + 3600 flash in small samsonite camera bag which I fit in my larger shoulder bag together with Lonely Planet, map, Water Bottle, GPS etc
I'm currently trying to convert the following Pentax lenses to Alpha mount, I think full AF and Aperture Linkage (with chipped mounts and a lot of machining) may be possible, and if so then they will hopefully make an excellent travel combo instead of the above (Pentax lenses are generally much more compact than Minolta/Sony and still offer excellent image quality):
  • 20-35/4 zoom
  • 43/1.9 prime
  • 77/1.8 prime
Alternatively, currently when I travel I often use a Pentax *ist DS with the tiny 21/3.2 and 43/1.9 'pancake' prime lenses - both lenses are identical in size (and tiny!) making storage much easier... this makes a very small and very practical travel combo offering excellent IQ as long as you shoot in RAW (JPEG and exposure not very good - Capture One v3.7 seems to work very well as a RAW converter with this camera) and have a manual focus screen fitted (focus slow and inaccurate when used in low-light on *ist DS)

Just my thoughts... Good luck!
 
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