Photography Newb: What am I missing? What don't I need?

Go with what you acturlly use. Sell the stuff that stays home in hope of a use "someday." Only you know what you use. Too much gear and gadgets just get in the way and occupy your time needlessly worrying and freting. Keep what you actually use, not what you might use in specialized situations that may never come up. Standardize and simplify.

Hope1943 said:

kcdogger wrote:

Go with what you acturlly use. Sell the stuff that stays home in hope of a use "someday." Only you know what you use. Too much gear and gadgets just get in the way and occupy your time needlessly worrying and freting. Keep what you actually use, not what you might use in specialized situations that may never come up. Standardize and simplify.

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sounds like a good strategy

Who Is Christopher said:

Who Is Christopher wrote:

Who Is Christopher said:

thebustos wrote:

I carry my stuff around in a lowepro passport sling bag (about the size of a messenger bag) with me everywhere I can so I don't miss opportunities. But that's a quirk I think...

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My best friend (with whom I am traveling to Puerto Rico) has encouraged me not to bring my DSLR with me. She's afraid I'll spend the whole time staring into my camera instead of experiencing the island. She may have a point....

Thoughts?

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Last holiday with a friend I announced I would like to go into photography mode for half an hour. I suggested he'd take a beer and a newspaper on a terrace and relax. This worked out fine, he knew what he was up to and I enjoyed walking around Metropol Parasol in Sevilla and got some nice shots. After having half an hour to myself I found it easy to be a social travel companion again.

And like someone else said: limit yourself, just take one lens with you, keep it light and simple. The 18-135 is a nice travel zoom. If you really want to limit yourself, just take the 50 mm 1.4 . I did this the last couple of weekends. You can't take all the shots you want, it's more difficult to get sharp pictures at apertures between 2.8 and 5.6 but the ones that work out well...wonderful, sharp, sharp, sharp, excellent soft backgrounds.

Karet