rodmanlab wrote:
I want to take my Tokina 11-16mm, the Nikon 70-300mm and my 18-105mm which I have to say I am very satisfied with.
Apologies for long post:--
The photographers dilemma! You want to take everything but you have to carry it We have all been there. For me it is about trying to balance the inconvenience of carrying all your photo kit along with your work gear, laptop, chargers, phone etc. If you are carrying a laptop then backup to that and leave the external drive at home.
Remember you will now longer be in Texas Toto – China is crowded, and very busy, you need to think about how you will manage in a strange country while carrying a load of photo gear?
A great deal depends on what your photographic style is?
I don’t do flash photography so I won’t be bringing the SB-600.
Personally unless you are into long distant people photos the 70 – 300 will probably not get much use.
Tripod – always won’t to use one but very rarely do. Useful in HK for night shots of the light show on HK Island from Kowloon. Everywhere else is likely to be too crowded to set up.
I suspect that the 18 -105mm will be on your camera 98% of the time and it will cope with most of what you want, lens wise. You could ideally use a wider lens and this is why I went with the 16 – 85mm as it gets you into true wide angle territory (24mm FOV 35mm equiv). You can always shoot a quick “pano” to extend FOV (PTGui does an excellent job of stitching) if needed – subject movement permitting.
The 11-16mm and 50mm are tempting to take. It depends on how much wide angle photography you normally do – getting up close and using that 11mm FOV? The 50mm is great for low light and more importantly reduced DOF. No VR actually reduces the effective difference between the 18 -105mm, – subject movement accepted, and if you are wide open DOF is very shallow (good and bad).
So, I would travel light and enjoy the experience of a different culture. The 18 – 105mm gives you 28mm to 160mm coverage in old money which is great; we are just spoiled in the digital age. If you can’t bear to go with only one lens, and a backup is always comforting then the 11 – 16mm for exaggerated perspective shots and / or the 50mm for limited DOF could come along. DO take a P&S as well so that you can have a camera with you at all times. I use a Canon S95 – excellent and F2 lens makes it far more useable then you might think. High iso performance is also a revelation compared to my previous P&S’s.
As for buying gear in China / HK – Don’t. Look at the saving from buying from internet in USA and ask yourself is it worth the hassle / let down if it goes wrong. They know you are a foreigner and if someone has returned a lens for a non – obvious defect such as a decentred element, you are going to get it!
Buying kit is a gamble – are you feeling lucky today? If you decide to gamble make sure a signed international warranty is in the box you actually carry away.
I have worked in China for several years, as a foreigner you will find it quite different from USA and perhaps not like what you imagine. The last USA guy I spoke to who came to China for the first time said that “it was nothing like the China portrayed on TV and in newspapers”.
China is very safe from a personal safety viewpoint, the people are very friendly and helpful and I hope you have a good time.
Remember HK mainly uses UK 3 pin sockets while China has 2 pin round sockets, so you need an adapter for your chargers etc.
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Ian
