Lenses for travel

The last time I trekked off to Europe (too long ago), I had only had a small, fixed focus Olympus 35mm film camera. Happily, my shots came out pretty well.

Now I've got myself my nice new Digital Rebel, so my question is... what lenses to bring without breaking my back? Just the kit lens and my 50mm f/1.8, keeping things nice and light, or is it worth bringing along something like a 75-300mm IS and the 28-135mm IS that many people have raved about? (Haven't bought them yet, but they're high up on the list)?

It would be great to have lots of lenses to play with, of course, but I keep thinking of the weight/bulk and start wondering if it's worth the extra haul. It's not a photo-only trip, obviously, so I'd love to know what others have deemed acceptable to cart around on such trips.

--

• Bryan

Thinking about where you are going and type of photos you may want to shoot would help, but for most trips I think my lens would be the following.

kit lens
Canon75-300 (non IS)
Sigma 15mm fisheye (for that extra wide angle and single row panos)
Peleng 8mm for easy spherical panos.

What else in bag.

Blower, lens pen, battery, 1 extra CF card, and Archos 20gb portable storage, and a few filters. Also maybe a monopod, but depends on where going.

--
David Goldwasser
http://www.inertia-llc.com

I just got my card reader for it!! ;-)

Do you have the car power adapter?

I just brought along a Tamron 28-200 to keep the weight down during a recent trip. I also brought along Olympus WCON07, a small external flash (Metz 32Z1), one extra memory card and 2 spare batteries. The Olympus WCON07 is used when I need a wider angle ( 32mm equivalent).

barchell said:

The last time I trekked off to Europe (too long ago), I had only
had a small, fixed focus Olympus 35mm film camera. Happily, my
shots came out pretty well.

Now I've got myself my nice new Digital Rebel, so my question is...
what lenses to bring without breaking my back? Just the kit lens
and my 50mm f/1.8, keeping things nice and light, or is it worth
bringing along something like a 75-300mm IS and the 28-135mm IS
that many people have raved about? (Haven't bought them yet, but
they're high up on the list)?

It would be great to have lots of lenses to play with, of course,
but I keep thinking of the weight/bulk and start wondering if it's
worth the extra haul. It's not a photo-only trip, obviously, so
I'd love to know what others have deemed acceptable to cart around
on such trips.

--

• Bryan

Click to expand...

--

Check out some fashion shots I have taken: http://mpenza.clubsnap.org/gallery/fashion

For simplicity the kit lens should do nicely.

The 28-135 IS would be hugely useful on cloudy days, shadowy village streets, inside museums, etc.., but it is bulkier. you might want to visit a shop and try it out.

Nicholas

barchell said:

The last time I trekked off to Europe (too long ago), I had only
had a small, fixed focus Olympus 35mm film camera. Happily, my
shots came out pretty well.

Now I've got myself my nice new Digital Rebel, so my question is...
what lenses to bring without breaking my back? Just the kit lens
and my 50mm f/1.8, keeping things nice and light, or is it worth
bringing along something like a 75-300mm IS and the 28-135mm IS
that many people have raved about? (Haven't bought them yet, but
they're high up on the list)?

It would be great to have lots of lenses to play with, of course,
but I keep thinking of the weight/bulk and start wondering if it's
worth the extra haul. It's not a photo-only trip, obviously, so
I'd love to know what others have deemed acceptable to cart around
on such trips.

--

• Bryan

Click to expand...

barchell said:

The last time I trekked off to Europe (too long ago), I had only
had a small, fixed focus Olympus 35mm film camera. Happily, my
shots came out pretty well.

Now I've got myself my nice new Digital Rebel, so my question is...
what lenses to bring without breaking my back? Just the kit lens
and my 50mm f/1.8, keeping things nice and light, or is it worth
bringing along something like a 75-300mm IS and the 28-135mm IS
that many people have raved about? (Haven't bought them yet, but
they're high up on the list)?

It would be great to have lots of lenses to play with, of course,
but I keep thinking of the weight/bulk and start wondering if it's
worth the extra haul. It's not a photo-only trip, obviously, so
I'd love to know what others have deemed acceptable to cart around
on such trips.

--

• Bryan

Click to expand...

Hi

For me the rule is travel light and shoot more. I would choose the kit or similar zoom. The storage of all your shots is the tricky part. Have a great trip.

Regards
--
Rusty

It’s Not the Fiddle, But The Fiddler

To start with my main goal was just safe stable storage, viewing and other features are nice but I did not need them.

It plays the D300 jpgs slowly, and at the moment can't view RAW files (but it can store them fine). My way around this is to add an extras step using the Video recorder to play slideshow from camera into the recorder. You can even show histogram as you play slide show if you want.

I seem to be getting around 1.5mb/sec transfer from CF to Archos. Although there is not a precise battery meter seems to do well. As screen won't sleep for transfer I set to dimmest setting.

Mp3 player is nothing special but works, video recording and playback is really cool. It is now my home VCR as old one is broken and only DVD player sits on my TV. Plus if I don't have time to watch show at home, I can watch from Archos on the road.

I don't have the car power adapter yet. Most of my road trips are 4-6 hours. I'm more likley to buy the external battery pack they are developing. This will be dual purpose for long drives, but more importantly photo backup when not able to recharge overnight.

My plan is to shoot in RAW as much as possible now that I have this as well as Photoshop CS.

If I did not have the Archos I have to admit I may get the FlashTrax. It does not have the same video features, but it can view RAW and has clamshell style design to protect screen, and built in CF reader vs. adapter.

Another point to note that does not show on manual is that you can not move files back to CF (this is true of some other devices as well).

I'm hopefully that RAW support will come soon in some form or another (the easiest approach is to have it view the THM files). Sure they are small but will open very quick and would work well for 4 picture view. I have asked them about this feature and as well as reading the JPG embeded in the RAW file. The seemed responsive and forwarded info to development team.

Jim R. Cheseborough said:

I just got my card reader for it!! ;-)

Do you have the car power adapter?

Click to expand...

--
David Goldwasser
http://www.inertia-llc.com

Rusty1 said:

Hi
For me the rule is travel light and shoot more. I would choose the
kit or similar zoom. The storage of all your shots is the tricky
part. Have a great trip.

Click to expand...

For storage, I'm going with the a 40GB Tripper. At least by the specs, it doesn't seem to big, and I should be able to easily leave it in the hotel/locker/wherever during the day and transfer at night.

I'm still debating on the merits of bringing along a travel tripod (Cullman Magic 2) and a 420EX.

Should be an interesting trip; I've been hacking away at learning German for the past year, and this'll be my chance to try it out (trekking around southern Germany and Austria for 2 weeks with my girlfriend).

Thanks to all for your help!

--

• Bryan

David Goldwasser said:

Sigma 15mm fisheye (for that extra wide angle and single row panos)

Click to expand...

What do you use for fisheye panos? I find that even my 24mm shots are too distorted at the edges for Panorama Factory.

I'm off to southeast asia for a month soon, and I'm bringing the kit and 28-135 IS, which at the moment happen to be my only lenses. My choice to buy the 28-135 IS was based on the rational you mention below, directly in anticipation of the trip. The IS, combined with the fact that you can actually use ISO 800 or even 1600 on this camera, means I'll be able to handhold dark shots in temples, villagers homes, etc, but still use the same lens for a lot of outdoor work. I might look into a very wide lens as well.

I'm also bringing a 20Gb X's drive, purchased when I only had my DSC-V1. I may pull the drive and sell it to get a 40Gb or 60Gb before I go as the 20Gb will limit me to a couple thousand shots shooting RAW and I figure I'll easily do 100 a day (now what would the cost be to do that with film? )

For those who are familiar with the region, or otherwise happen to care, photogenic destination highlights include: Angkor and Phnom Phen in Cambodia, Yangon (Rangoon), Bagan, Mandalay and Inle in Myanmar, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai and Bangkok in Thailand, and Luang Prabang and the upper Mekong region in Laos. If I can't bring home some good shots from that, it's time to sell the cameras. ;-)

Nicholas Newell said:

Nicholas

Member said:

The last time I trekked off to Europe (too long ago), I had only
had a small, fixed focus Olympus 35mm film camera. Happily, my
shots came out pretty well.

Now I've got myself my nice new Digital Rebel, so my question is...
what lenses to bring without breaking my back? Just the kit lens
and my 50mm f/1.8, keeping things nice and light, or is it worth
bringing along something like a 75-300mm IS and the 28-135mm IS
that many people have raved about? (Haven't bought them yet, but
they're high up on the list)?

It would be great to have lots of lenses to play with, of course,
but I keep thinking of the weight/bulk and start wondering if it's
worth the extra haul. It's not a photo-only trip, obviously, so
I'd love to know what others have deemed acceptable to cart around
on such trips.

--

• Bryan

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Unfortunately a good telephoto zoom lens is heavy...

But you dont have to get the zoom right??

How about 100/2? or 100/2.8 macro which adds macro capabitlity?

Sure they are more expensive than average telezoom, but you get top notch optics!

barchell said:

The last time I trekked off to Europe (too long ago), I had only
had a small, fixed focus Olympus 35mm film camera. Happily, my
shots came out pretty well.

Now I've got myself my nice new Digital Rebel, so my question is...
what lenses to bring without breaking my back? Just the kit lens
and my 50mm f/1.8, keeping things nice and light, or is it worth
bringing along something like a 75-300mm IS and the 28-135mm IS
that many people have raved about? (Haven't bought them yet, but
they're high up on the list)?

It would be great to have lots of lenses to play with, of course,
but I keep thinking of the weight/bulk and start wondering if it's
worth the extra haul. It's not a photo-only trip, obviously, so
I'd love to know what others have deemed acceptable to cart around
on such trips.

--

• Bryan

Click to expand...

For me, I'd carry the following:

• kit lens: For wide angle shots; I don't own a better wa lens
• 28-135 IS: the main walk about lens.
• external flash - Assuming you'll be in locations that will let you use it.
• Two extra batteries. I bought cheap generics that were recommended by a few folk in the forums. Never know when you won't have the opportunity to recharge.
• A couple of CF cards
• Portable storage. For me, it would be a X'S-Drive II w/ 40 GB hard drive
• Cleaning kit. I'd carry both lens paper and micro clothes. A good air blower helps (those stupid small blowers in the generic cleaning kits suck).
• Lens hoods and filters (if you use them)
• Small, table-top tripod that has a velcro strap so that you can mount camera to a rail or branch

When I went to London last year, I took the above lens (along with an Elan IIe) plus my 75-300 USM. I personally found that I didn't take as many long shots and found myself leaving the 75-300 in the hotel room safe to save weight. If you feel you want the longer zoom (e.g., attending sporting events), you may want to consider replacing either the kit lens or the 28-135 with a 75-300 IS or equivalent.

Don't forget that whatever you end up carrying in terms of lens, camera, and other high priced fragile items has to go in your hand carry luggage. I packed all of my gear, plus walkman, book, etc., in a large Tamrac Photo Messenger bag for the flight. I had a smaller camera bag plus a tripod in my check-in luggage. The smaller camera bag was invaluable when I needed to travel light. I only used the tripod a few times, shooting some panaromics (lack of time).

Lastly, bring a small point & shot camera if you have it. I found it really useful when attending plays and other events where large cameras were frowned upon.

I'd go for the 75-300 IS and forget about the 28-135 IS. Too much overlap (and twice as much expense for both compared to one). The 50mm 1.8 is probably a must have too, though I don't use mine very much. I got the original 50 1.8 for $60 used. with real focusing scale and metal lens mount (gee whiz!).

Regards

Bob the Printer

People are so crazed about 75-300IS. Dont get me wrong, the IS is great. But it does have some shortcomings. It's slow. The front element rotates. And quality and long end suffers quite a bit.

Have you thought about 100-300 USM?

Although no IS, it has ring-USM which means focuses much faster and the front element does not rotate. More ideal for sports/focus tracking. The optical quality is said to be much improved, especially at 300mm.

I'm not saying 75-300 IS is a bad lens. I'm just saying it might not be for everyone and you have OPTIONS!!

anotherEOSuser

barchell said:

The last time I trekked off to Europe (too long ago), I had only
had a small, fixed focus Olympus 35mm film camera. Happily, my
shots came out pretty well.

Now I've got myself my nice new Digital Rebel, so my question is...
what lenses to bring without breaking my back? Just the kit lens
and my 50mm f/1.8, keeping things nice and light, or is it worth
bringing along something like a 75-300mm IS and the 28-135mm IS
that many people have raved about? (Haven't bought them yet, but
they're high up on the list)?

It would be great to have lots of lenses to play with, of course,
but I keep thinking of the weight/bulk and start wondering if it's
worth the extra haul. It's not a photo-only trip, obviously, so
I'd love to know what others have deemed acceptable to cart around
on such trips.

--

• Bryan

Click to expand...

Pano Tools is probalby one of the best panoroamic creation software out there and it is free. Its not a slick and you used to have to hand write scripts for it but now there is a front end GUI application for both mac and PC.

Here is a link to panoguide.com; a great reference site.
http://www.panoguide.com/software/reviews/panotools_v21.html

If you download pano tools you will have to use one of the mirror sites. There is a link there to PTGUI (the PC front end)

Here is the link for mac side.
http://www.kekus.com/

By the way Pano Tools also has a photoshop plugin so you can use it to correct distortion on shots even when you aren't going to use them for a pano.

dfg

Jared Hunter said:

David Goldwasser said:

Sigma 15mm fisheye (for that extra wide angle and single row panos)

Click to expand...

What do you use for fisheye panos? I find that even my 24mm shots
are too distorted at the edges for Panorama Factory.

Click to expand...

--
David Goldwasser
http://www.inertia-llc.com

Since I’m doing mainly travel photography during the 15 years I have this hobby I’ve found out that the ideal range in order to be able to shoot nearly everything you come across is 24-300mm and thoroughly enjoyed using my two Sigma zooms 24-70 and 70-300. I’ve had a 17mm or 18mm lens which I hardly used it, although it’s nice to have in some situations.

Canon’s 1.6 factor forms a limitation though and if you were willing to spend the money for costly ultra wide zooms you would have to compromise weight wise.

To cut the long story short, as things are, the ideal price/weight/quality lens configuration would be IMO the 18-55 + 55-200. With this combination you have a cheap 28.8-320mm focal range with which you will be able to travel light and anticipate to most photographic situations and have enough money left to spend in a good flash and a couple of 512MB memory cards.

Having said that I realize that there are some objections. These are pretty slow lenses and probably not the best quality glass. Well, I’m focusing to what is the best compromise and take into account that the DR is quite capable of producing very good results in higher ISO values which will compensate the lack of bigger apertures.

Another lens combination you could consider is the 20-35 and the famous 28-135 IS (32-216mm) for more than the double amount of money and weight but offer good quality optics and a very useful focal range (this is actually the combination I’m thinking to buy when I finally make up my mind between the DR and 10D).

These are just my thoughts. I hope you find them helpful.

Good luck with your decisions!

Vasilis

barchell said:

The last time I trekked off to Europe (too long ago), I had only
had a small, fixed focus Olympus 35mm film camera. Happily, my
shots came out pretty well.

Now I've got myself my nice new Digital Rebel, so my question is...
what lenses to bring without breaking my back? Just the kit lens
and my 50mm f/1.8, keeping things nice and light, or is it worth
bringing along something like a 75-300mm IS and the 28-135mm IS
that many people have raved about? (Haven't bought them yet, but
they're high up on the list)?

It would be great to have lots of lenses to play with, of course,
but I keep thinking of the weight/bulk and start wondering if it's
worth the extra haul. It's not a photo-only trip, obviously, so
I'd love to know what others have deemed acceptable to cart around
on such trips.

--

• Bryan

Click to expand...

Have you tried the kit + WCON for 20mm equiv? I don't think I would screw it on but rather just hold it up to the lens so you don't stress the kit lens. While the kit lens has 58mm threads, I believe it takes smaller filters/lenses before vignetting?

KC said:

barchell said:

The last time I trekked off to Europe (too long ago), I had only
had a small, fixed focus Olympus 35mm film camera. Happily, my
shots came out pretty well.

Now I've got myself my nice new Digital Rebel, so my question is...
what lenses to bring without breaking my back? Just the kit lens
and my 50mm f/1.8, keeping things nice and light, or is it worth
bringing along something like a 75-300mm IS and the 28-135mm IS
that many people have raved about? (Haven't bought them yet, but
they're high up on the list)?

It would be great to have lots of lenses to play with, of course,
but I keep thinking of the weight/bulk and start wondering if it's
worth the extra haul. It's not a photo-only trip, obviously, so
I'd love to know what others have deemed acceptable to cart around
on such trips.

--

• Bryan

Click to expand...

--
Check out some fashion shots I have taken:
http://mpenza.clubsnap.org/gallery/fashion

Click to expand...