What is in your travel bag?

Hi there,

Just wondering what you guys using as your travel setup? Both bags and equipment...

I just got this very light backpack and looks like it is a travel winner for $39... LOL... Very light and slim and fits everything I need to travel light... Forgot to add 50mm prime...


Kata KT DL-GP-100 GearPack + D800, D600, 24-120VR F4, 16-35VR, 70-200VRII, SB700



BTW: This is what I use for my business and it is not light at all... Good thing that this bag has wheels... ;-)


Kata FlyBy 76

I had many attempts to get use to something like P7700 or small DX body with 18-200VR or even D600 + 28-300VR... But its always something like: "not wide enough", or not enough quality for stock agency", or just a feeling that you have a better equipment sitting at home and you thousands miles away with inferior stuff... I am sure you are familiar with this feeling: "I wish I had this lens with me" or something like this... :-(

Thank you in advance!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!

--
Real photography - it's just the ability to see what was already created by God!
www.grigphoto.com

The quantity of gear I bring depends on the length of the trip. For overnight, weekend travel I bring one DSLR, two lenses, and (often) no flash units. When I am leaving for a few days, then I add more gear, but never to excess. I have hiked mountains with a D3 and lenses, not an experience I care to repeat anymore. On the next such outing I probably will bring a V2 and a few lenses, because the entire setup weighs less than a full size DSLR and one big zoom.

Wow, awesome collection of photo equipment, not for the casual shooter, for sure!

I think in your travel bag you might consider swapping the 70-200 for the 80-400g, which is about the same size and weight (fatter).

My travel kit consists of the largest backpack I can count on putting on an airplane (Thinktank Airport Accelerator) coupled with the largest Thinktank waist bag (Speed Racer). In my DX days, it used to look like this:





With waist bag loaded up (once on-site) like this:




D300 camera normally attached to the lens in the center of the bag. 24-70, 80-400, 12-24 and 10.5 fisheye in there.

Now I use the same bag, loaded in a similar way, but with D800e and D700 instead of D200/D300, and with updated lenses. New 80-400g in place of old. 70-200 F2.8 goes underneath one flash, so I travel with only one - or none. Sigma 35f1.4, Nikon 50F1.4g, 85F1.8g replace the old Nikon AF-D versions. 16-35 replaces both 12-24 and recently the 14-24. (Can't find a way to fit the 14-24 in there.)

Weight is around 35lbs now, and it's a tradeoff on what to bring. I only bring the D700 as an emergency backup. Would rather have another D800e in there. I tend not to use flash when I travel, so only bring one, sometimes none. Can't fit my pocketwizards in there, but don't really need them when not bringing a flash either. If I don't bring a tripod in my suitcase, I remove the collars from the 70-200 and 80-400 and take the L-plates off the camera bodies.

When I'm actually on-site (which is virtually always just vacation, if I'm traveling with camera gear), I pick a subset of gear and carry it in my waist bag if walking. If driving, I just work out of the backpack, which is really nice. I like having my toys to play with on vacation. That's why I bought it.

--
Craig
www.cjcphoto.net

PHXAZCRAIG said:

I think in your travel bag you might consider swapping the 70-200 for the 80-400g, which is about the same size and weight (fatter).

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Well, you are absolutely right... I am thinking about this lens since its release... Never been a big fan of the old one, but this new one looks very tempting...

PHXAZCRAIG said:

My travel kit consists of the largest backpack I can count on putting on an airplane (Thinktank Airport Accelerator) coupled with the largest Thinktank waist bag (Speed Racer).

Click to expand...

For my destination weddings I was traveling with this LowePro Sling 300AW for years:



But this year (2 weddings in NE and one in MN) I was using ThinkTank UD40. I have TT stuff for years like ProBelt with Spiders, Camera Holster bag and other belt bags, etc, but UD40 bag Just amazes me... I am able to fit all this stuff into it and it still look like a small shoulder bag, although TSA guys always having troubles lifting it... LOL... No way I will check my photo gear bags, so I had to think about ability to fit into tiny bins of regional jets (puddle jumpers) and UD40 fits perfect, but for other than wedding travel - I really like my new Kata backpack...


My minimum Wedding Travel set.

PHXAZCRAIG said:

When I'm actually on-site (which is virtually always just vacation, if I'm traveling with camera gear), I pick a subset of gear and carry it in my waist bag if walking. If driving, I just work out of the backpack, which is really nice. I like having my toys to play with on vacation. That's why I bought it.

Click to expand...

Same here...

Thank you for your feedback! ;-)

--
Real photography - it's just the ability to see what was already created by God!
www.grigphoto.com

Super light weight setup:

RX1 for 35mm + EVF + 2 spare batteries

A7R with 55mm 1.8 + 1 spare battery

Everything fits in one small bag now. Will need to expand when 24-70 f/4.0 arrives.

I've had several travel opportunities this year, where I could take my brand new 70-200vr II or my brand new 80-400g (both purchased in the spring). I took the 70-200 to Cancun, and wished for the range of the 80-400. I took the 80-400 to Europe, and didn't miss the 70-200. Given both lenses, I find the 70-200 to be much more of a specialty lens than the 80-400g.

When I used DX, I had 12-24DX, 24-70F2.8, 80-400 AF-D and 10.5 fisheye, all stuffed into that waist bag. Going to FX changed things. The 14-24 either didn't fit, or caused me to shove another lens out of the bag. The 10.5 fisheye could still be used, but wasn't quite the same on a D700, even though it didn't usually need more than the 5mp DX crop resolution. I take it along still, mostly because it's just so small that you can stick it in no matter how tight the space is. And it's still fun on my D800e.

Anyway, with a D700, my waist bag kit went to just two lenses (24-70 and 80-200), plus the 10.5 for occasional use. I gave up both focal ends for the nice quality in the middle. 24mm is generally wide enough.

For my most recent trip to Europe, I finally got the 16-35, since it would still fit in the waist bag. And though it's bigger than the old 80-400, I took the new 80-400. (It's essentially the same length as the 70-200). Given DX crop cropability of the D800e, I'm better off now than I was with the old kit.

I've thought long and hard about the 24-120 in place of the 24-70. Actually in place of the 16-35, 24-70 and the 80-400g! How do you like it?

PHXAZCRAIG said:

I've thought long and hard about the 24-120 in place of the 24-70. Actually in place of the 16-35, 24-70 and the 80-400g! How do you like it?

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Well, I initially got this lens as a replacement of 28-300VR since the IQ of the 24-120 is noticeable better than 28-300vr


24-120 on the left and 28-300 on the right

Then I liked it a lot as one lens walk about solution for D600... Then, just for fun, I've shot the entire wedding (under contract with another company) with only this lens on D3s body. It worked great, I just needed a double amount of batteries for my flashes... (F2.8 vs F4)...

Nice sharp lens. I use it a lot in the studio. Can't beat VR for travel (no tripod) but sometimes I need 16-35VR for wider shots.

It is great at 24mm but it is not bad at all at 120mm wide open...




24-120VR at 120mm F4



--
Real photography - it's just the ability to see what was already created by God!
www.grigphoto.com

Here I am in Nevada for Christmas having flown 2000 miles:

Thinktank Airport Acceleration II

Nikon D800E

24-70 f2.8

70-200 f2.8 VR II

85 mm f1.4

105 macro

500 mm f4 VR

SB-900 flash

Gitzo tripod

maljo

National Geo Earth Explorer 2344.

This amazing little thing holds my Df, 50mm 1.4G, 24mm 2.8D, 105mm 2.8 VR, SB-400, and a charger.

I really hate the thought of one set of zooms for travel (the F4's) and another for home (the F2.8s), but the realities of weight limits on travel are slowly pushing me there.

I really enjoyed my 18-200vr and D200 combo for about a year. Until I tried making a large landscape print one day and couldn't figure out why my sharpening was never right. And I realized that I had hit the limits of what the 18-200 was capable of. So I ended up getting the 24-70, and suddenly it became a lot more obvious what I was missing. (Especially comparing my D300/24-70 shots side-by-side with my wife's D80/18-200 shots of the same thing). I'm hesitant to take any backward steps in IQ. I'm willing to trade F2.8 for F4, as long as image quality is as good.

I use a slightly different philosophy... I go for a camera bag designed for carrying and not just totting on and off planes. I use Lowepro Stealth Reporters of which I own three different sizes the biggest of which I use when I want to bring along my 150-500 instead of my 70-200.

That looks nice but how well does it handle rain?

I use the domke f2 shoulder bag which holds 5 lenses and a dslr ff camera body, plus charger, cord, and small accessories. It can fit under a planes seat and is easy to carry, somewhat water proof with the canvas.

Larry

ps : usually a d4, 20mm, 25mm, 35mm, 50mm and 70-200mm f4.0. I like single focus lenses for travel because they are a little lighter, still too darn heavy.

Larry

hewhosculpts said:

That looks nice but how well does it handle rain?

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Light rain is no problem. For heavy rain, this add-on will do.

I keep my D4 with my 70-200 in my back pants pocket, and my Hasselblad 440D in my shirt pocket.

(picture to come)

Bruce Granofsky said:

I keep my D4 with my 70-200 in my back pants pocket, and my Hasselblad 440D in my shirt pocket.

(picture to come)

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LOL... You made my day!...

Bruce

--

Keep the fun real.

I carry differently with each trip. Sometimes I will actually pack my ThinkTank Airport and use my 8 million Dollar Home for day to day. If I am only going to shoot landscapes, I might load the 8 Million Dollar Home with D3, 17-35, 28-70, extra batteries and filters etc.