Paris - lens choice, safety issues

I spend 2 or 3 weeks per year in Paris (for work)...20 or so weeks in total. It is the only city i have fallen in love with.

Be open, friendly and polite and you will find the same in return. The sights, people and culture are wonderful. Look for family run restaurants a block or two off the beaten path, always the best places.

I usually carry only a D700 and 24-70, sometimes would like a bit longer....105 maybe.

Enjoy
chris

Been to Paris a few times. I love Paris during the night where all the buildings and architectures (including Eifel Tower) are beautifully lighted up. Tripod is a must for me as I dont have steady hands.

If I am going there on business trip, I will only carry D300 with 18-200mm VR lens.

If I am going there for pleasure, I will bring my D3s with 14-24 and 24-70.

Over the years, I've spend nearly six months in Paris. In crowded places, it seems safe enough, except for pickpockets. In lonely places, especially after the sun goes down, it can be somewhat scary and I once ran from a would be thief while I carried a Leica he got a look at while I changed lenses. I personally would not show an expensive camera in a lonely Metro station nor riding the Metro nor anywhere after dark except where there are lots of people, whether on the right bank or left bank or anywhere.

Much of this is based on feel. I am comfortable photographing in most of London, New York, and Madrid. I hardly photograph at all when I'm in Sao Paulo or Rio. It's time for me to buy a good P&S for some places.

My advice on lenses. I would take my 12-24mm, 35mm VR, and 55-200mm VR. (The 70-300mm VR is too heavy for all the walking you'll do, IMO, and the 35mm fills in enough that the 16-85mm can stay home as the weather should be good, so no problem changing lenses.) I would carry my 4T for occasional flower photos and take my SB-400 with a cable and a small, folding, clear "reflector." Consider circular polarizer and graduated ND filters.

Enjoy!
--
Adrian

I agree with Crabby Guy, just get a decent point and shoot like a Canon S90 (I shoot with Nikon SLRs). Or maybe take a D40, slap on a 35 1.8 and be done with it. Why do you want to walk around with all that crap anyway? Leave the boat anchors at home.

Lance B said:

Do lot's of exercise and eat correctly and you can lose lots of kilo's. ;-)

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I totally agree, in the last 5 months or so I went from 106(!) kilos to 88 kilos only by controlling the quality of the food I eat, I'm getting close to the shape I used to be in the good days (this sounds weird ha, I'm only 24yo)

peterclark55 said:

My city, very much alive, just wear a beret and travel light, Peter

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The only thing that I don't have is a beret! I'll try to buy one in the weekend, although I might look like a total fool with it since I usually don't wear any caps or berets

moriazi said:

Tripod is a must for me as I dont have steady hands.

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That's a great tip, but I don't intend to shoot buildings when the sun is down, I'll concentrate either on street scenes or random details, bits and pieces that catch my eye in one way or another.

Crabby Guy said:

The 70-300mm VR is too heavy for all the walking you'll do

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By my standards (or f/2.8 standards to be more precise) the 70-300VR is light as a feather

I think I may have to take the 70-200mm f/2.8 too after all, in the worst case scenario I will just leave it at the hotel in a safe place.

Thanks again to all the posters.

--
http://haf.cc

Paris is as safe as any major city in the USA. Don't walk around in dark alleys at night alone and you will be fine. Paris is a walking city so lots of people out and about even at night and metro is safe as well.

The 70-200 is a heavy lens and a very conspicuous lens for street photography. I leave mine at home and take a DX camera and the Sigma 50-150mm f2.8 but a Nikon 70-300 would not be a bad choice either.

How much time is needed for Versailles?

I am glad I found this thread. I am going in October for my 40th birthday with my wife. This is going to be my third time in Paris. The first time was long time ago and my friend had a film camera. The second time we only had p&s.

I already made my decision: i am leaving my D700 and all the FX lenses home.

I am taking my D40 with SB400, Sigma 10-20 and Nikkor 18-105VR DX. I think this should do it. I'd leave my 17-50 2.8 and 35mm 1.8 AFS home. I'll take two p&s with me: Panny ZS3 - wife will use it, and Fuji F30, for nights when I don't want to even carry my D40. Carrying D40 will be less stressful, if something happens to it, hell with it. D700 can safely wait at home. What do you guys think about my possible setup? D40+ 10-20 and 18-105. I actually think I'd probably use 10-20 more, since with small streets and such, you gotta be as wide as possible.

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Current gear: Nikon D700, Nikon D40, Panasonic ZS3, Olympus SW1030, Fuji F30

If it's a nice day, Versailles will be a full-day trip. The grounds are huge, offering lots of possibilities for exploring and photos. As I recall, the original size of Versailles was larger than the city of Paris.

The day we were there, we caught a train that put us at Versailles just as the gates opened. Unfortunately, it rained all day, and we weren't really able to enjoy the grounds as much as we would have liked - ended up leaving around 2PM.

Ray

Your gallery is great. I've been to Paris once and it is amazing city. Did you take also a flash? There are some indoors pictures that looks like you used a flash. D700 is a heavy camera for 10 days but since there is lots of indoor pictures, it is a great choice.

Hi, I had the great pleasure of working in Paris for six months in the late 90's and still return six times a year now for business purposes, so I know the City pretty well. It is fantastic, and I've taken some of my best pics there over the years.

BUT...... TRAVEL LIGHT!!

I really cannot stress this enough. Paris in August can be incredibly hot, and lugging backpacks, camera bags, f2.8's etc will kill you.

My last DSLR trip to Paris (last year) saw only the D300 and 24-85 f2.8/4 come with me, and it was more than enough, albeit I might have liked a slightly wider angle at times. Paris is just so big that you can normally take a step or two back and fix that particular issue. I've always found the polariser crucial in hot Cities as well, so that went in my pocket, and the ISO was cranked up for night (or the on-board flash) so don't necessarily bother with a speedlight unless you really think you'll want it for day-time fill.

The best photograph I ever took in Paris was on a long-weekend with my wife in November 2007 (when it was cold, cold, cold!) and was taken in the Opera Garnier. (I'll try and upload it at some point). It was taken with a Canon Powershot G7, which is all I took on that trip, and probably has yielded the best Paris pics I have.

Don't mention Phantom of the Opera in the Opera Garnier (That is where the book/musical is set) they get very snooty!

As for safety, it is generally fine, provided you follow the usual common sense rules. Just be careful around the forecourt area of the Gare du Nord station, as that is the congregating ground for female Romanian beggars, and they are irritating as hell. If they grab you, push them off, and quickly. Also, the fellas giving away strings for your wrist are not just a Paris problem - I got hounded by them in Northern Italy (Milan and Como) just last week. The best response is to ignore them.

Hafcc said:

Lance B said:

Do lot's of exercise and eat correctly and you can lose lots of kilo's. ;-)

Click to expand...

I totally agree, in the last 5 months or so I went from 106(!) kilos to 88 kilos only by controlling the quality of the food I eat, I'm getting close to the shape I used to be in the good days (this sounds weird ha, I'm only 24yo)

Click to expand...

Actually, what I said was only a joke, but I am glad you have lost so much weight. A fantastic achievement! Well done!

Hafcc said:

peterclark55 said:

My city, very much alive, just wear a beret and travel light, Peter

Click to expand...

The only thing that I don't have is a beret! I'll try to buy one in the weekend, although I might look like a total fool with it since I usually don't wear any caps or berets

moriazi said:

Tripod is a must for me as I dont have steady hands.

Click to expand...

That's a great tip, but I don't intend to shoot buildings when the sun is down, I'll concentrate either on street scenes or random details, bits and pieces that catch my eye in one way or another.

Crabby Guy said:

The 70-300mm VR is too heavy for all the walking you'll do

Click to expand...

By my standards (or f/2.8 standards to be more precise) the 70-300VR is light as a feather

I think I may have to take the 70-200mm f/2.8 too after all, in the worst case scenario I will just leave it at the hotel in a safe place.

Thanks again to all the posters.

--
http://haf.cc

Click to expand...

--
Lance B
http://www.pbase.com/lance_b

I agree, Paris in August can be very hot. I would travel as light as possible. I was there 2 years ago with my D50. I brought a Sigma 10-20 and my small trusty and highly underrated Nikon 28-200. I think most (80-90%) of my photos were taken in the low end of the mm range (10-35 mm) and very few with full telephoto. Paris is a very densely populated city with narrow streets and small spaces, more suited to wide angle photography than telephoto.

Regarding safety, I've never had problems. Just take a little common sense with you. Try to not look like a tourist, be aware of people around you in crowds, especially on the Metro and at the entrances to tourist sites. The gypsy scam is real, I've experienced it but never been pick pocketed. This is where someone distracts you asking if you can read English, then shoves a hand written card in front you to read. While you are distracted, an accomplice bumps into you and takes your wallet, purse or whatever he can take. Don't let strangers distract you.

Regarding Versailles, it gets very crowded by mid-morning. Try to get there when it opens, tour the many rooms, then explore the grounds outside when the crowds begin to get build.

The sunset and dusk from the Eiffel Tower is a great experience and wonderful photo op if you have good sky conditions. There can be a long wait to take the elevator.

Paris is much more enjoyable if you branch off from the usual haunts frequented by American tourists. Parisians are actually very friendly if you respect their personal space and show them some courtesy. Don't behave like you would in New York City.

I put together some Paris travel & photography notes that you might find helpful:

http://yank.to/Travel%20Notes/Paris/index.html

Enjoy!

Andreas
--
http://yank.to/

There are no streets in NYC that are risky territory, at least in daylight.

Crime in NYC is so low it is not like other big cities.

Marla2008 said:

Paris, like NYC, is tricky in that one street can still be safe, but the next fall into risky territory. Avoid any environment that looks deginitely seedy, and keep your senses keen. No need for paranoia though, globally you should be doing fine.

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--
Frank
http://www.sidewalkshadows.com

ego sum via et veritas et vita

I have been pick-pocketed in Paris by "travelers" (to be politically correct).

Beware of groups of pre-teen, scruffy kids swarming round you in the sightseeing areas and the adults trying to tie string bracelets on your wrists or pin small bunches of flowers on you.

Get a money belt rather than keeping cards and cash in a pocket.

The police told me I should have given them some money to go away - French crime prevention - but there are so many of them I'm not sure that would not simply attract more.

Great city - lots to photo - its just sad the police are too dumb to fight this crime for which the city has always been notorious.

As someone else said - at least you won't get arrested under a terrorism act for taking pictures of buildings which could easily be obtained from Google street view, as happens in the UK.

Crime is considerably worse in Paris than in NYC, according to the numbers
http://www.city-journal.org/html/12_4_the_barbarians.html

To its credit, Paris has tried to implement some of NYC's crime-fighting practices.

As a practical matter, I wouldn't let it affect your vacation.

--
Frank
http://www.sidewalkshadows.com

ego sum via et veritas et vita

Take a whole day.

Just read a few of the other threads and this one:

FELIX1215 said:

Paris is as safe as any major city in the USA

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It just depends on what you mean by safe - You are less likely to be shot in any European city than in the US because of strict gun laws, but in Paris you are very likely to be pick-pocketed if you are a tourist and nothing is going to make you look more like a tourist than a load of camera equipment.

Exactly. I still don't understand why anyone would want to haul around a backpack full of gear (screams tourist, please mug me) on a hot day. If you restrict yourself to a point and shoot it will force you to work on your composition and you will bring back fantastic pictures, as opposed to the usual crap that people who take multiple zooms, primes etc. come back with.