A set of lenses for around the world travel.

  • Thread starter Thread starter 00Q
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
hey i dont have an answer to your original question but i want to tell you that that 8-16 works on a 5d its just that at the wider focal lengths i.e 8mm you will get a thick black frame around the image, but for the most part it works
 
Upvote 0
neuroanatomist said:
Rocky said:
40D (20D replacement), 17-40mm, 17-55 IS kit lens... 17-40 is my main lens. 17-55 is for low light in museum.

I would not recommend carrying both the 17-55mm f/2.8 IS and the 17-40mm f/4L. I don't even understand why? On a crop body, the 17-55mm is better in every way - sharper, faster, longer tele end, has IS. The sole advantage of the 17-40mm is weather sealing, but that only matters with a sealed body, which the 40D isn't.

But...maybe you meant the 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS kit lens?
Neuro, You are abolutely right. My typo. What I really mean is the Cheap and Very Light 18-55,f 3.5 t0 5.6 kit lens. Since my 17-40 does not have IS so the kit lens become very useful inside the museum. I did not buy the 17-40 for weather proof. I bought it for the focal length that I would use the most. It was bought with the 20D before the 17-55mm f 2.8 exists. Thanks for pointing out my mistake. For someone starting out fresh. definitely the 17-55mm f 2.8 is a better choice than the 17-40 f4.
 
Upvote 0
Start with thinking about how safe you'll be in your travels, and how much 'pain' you'd have to loose your new toys. Before you jump to FF, consider what impact you'd have to replace the 70-200 - if you take a 5DII or wait for a 5DIII it will find every possible issue with your existing glass. Reconsider on the 7D.

I'd carry a wide (17-55/2.8 or 17-40/4), 50/1.4, and (70-200/2.8 or 70-300L)
 
Upvote 0
Lot of good suggestions here... so I will not add to the equipment suggestions... but I will add one thing I've come to realize from recent travel in Asia. There are times you just wish you have a photographic instrument that doesn't announce itself. I had a long white zoom hanging off a pro body and it is rather intrusive. So, after the first day I switched to an older, much smaller crop body with an almost pancake like EF24 f/2.8. It was close to normal range on the crop sensor and I just zoomed with my feet when needed. Much easier traversing the crowds, the shoppers and capturing candid moments.

I realized just in time that nothing says tourist with a long barrel on your shooter and moments are less candid when your camera itself is a subject in the scene. Have a great trip wherever you are headed:)

P.S. What I really would have liked is a Leica M9...but alas I was told I have no more kidneys left to sell for equipment :)
 
Upvote 0
Thanks everyone for their replies. Lots of different suggestions. I have summed up what my current plan is based on everyone's suggestions so far:

I'll keep the 450D as it is pretty cheap and I wont get much money for it. For the lenses:

I will keep my:

Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 OS
Sigma 8-16mm f/4.5-5.6

Buy back:
Canon 24-70mm f/2.8 L ( MkI, I assume I wont be able to get the MkII version in Febuary )
Canon 50mm f/1.4

and add a x2 extender in there for wildlife. Yes, I will be shooting everything from landscape, to wildlife to portraits. ( Im going across central and s america for the 3rd time! but first time as a photographer)

And If I have the extra cash I will bite the bullet and get the 5D MkII. This way I will have a back up 450D. Will add in there a netbook and external harddrive.

I see myself burning a hole in my credit card. Ouch!
 
Upvote 0
I spent last year backpacking around Asia. i'm in alright shape and 30 and I can tell you that the gear you are talking about is going to be VERY heavy to backpack with unless you are literally bringing nothing else. I had a T2i and a 24-105, along with the 18-55(i bought the 24-105 halfway through the trip in HK.) The 24mm was simply not wide enough for me on the crop body. I later bought the 10-22 but then sold it and my T2i for a 5DC. now i'm living in china. I have a 5D, the 24-105 and a 50 1.4 Sigma. I think this is a pretty good combo. I'd like to have a 70-200 2.8 II, but it's too big and heavy for me to lug around the world. I had a netbook with me, and it sucked for viewing pictures and was worthless for editing. I'd suggest 2 hard drives of 1TB minimum. Ideal would be a 13" Macbook Pro, a 5DII, 24-70 2.8 and one other lens of your choice, with a flash(i have the 270ex and rarely use it.) This is extremely heavy already and is a lot of gear to worry about on long bus rides, train rides, etc. I'm struggling with this situation myself now and can't decide exactly which way to go. Thinking of swapping the 24-105 for the 24-70, but i'm waiting for a replacement to come out...... I really want a 17-40 II as well, so we will see, I had a copy of it, but it just wasn't sharp at all.
Good Luck
 
Upvote 0
I've been on a trip for the past couple of weeks and was conflicted about what camera set up I wanted to bring. I really wanted an M9 and a 50 f2 but couldn't pull the trigger. I also considered a 5d mark ii because I have L lenses already and the price is great right now but ended up leaving with just my 7d, 50 1.2 and 24-70. With this combo I've been able to do everything I wanted. The only problem is weight. With two lenses I always have the dead weight of the second lens so I usually pick one and leave the other at the hotel. Also it is heavy carrying that camera around all day (especially at the great wall) so the M9 dream stays alive.
 
Upvote 0
handsomerob said:
If I were to travel the world for 6 months, I think I would sell everything and buy a 5DII + 24-105L kit and add a 50mm f/1.4 for low light work. Paired with decent glass, FF is the way to go if you want the best possible IQ to capture those priceless moments.

One important thing you should consider is the storage of your photos, especially if you are shooting RAW. You should see that your laptop has a big enough hard drive with enough empty space to hold all those photos you will take for 6 months. You can also store them in an external drive of course. ;)

I would take ONE MORE external drive as backup, which is probably more important than having an extra lens. You could eventually also store them with online services or on your website but whatever you do, you have to have a backup!!!!

Last but not least, I would replace the tripod with a carbon version which would be much lighter for travel.

Don't forget to enjoy your time and try to also watch the world only with your eyes, not always through the viewfinder ;)

Have fun!

+1

Some very good advice here, especially regarding the back up drive. For 6 months you will be needing a lot of memory.

I think the full frame option will be great for your travels as well, the 5DmkII would be great, but the 5D classic would also be an option. I used it for a lot of travel work and loved it.

With the FF body you'dhave to get rid of your current UW Sigma, but if you kept your 70-200 Sigma, got back a 24-70 and got the other wide Sigma suggested above you'd have all your travel photo bases covered.
 
Upvote 0
I would take the 5Dm2 and the 24-70mm (with flash & tripod) if you want to go light.

The problem with these Cameras is that most of the weight I carry is camera gear and not food, water, or tent/sleeping bag.

I carry the 5Dm2 with 16-35, and an 85mm, which is also a good combination along with a carbon fiber tripod that is a little too big...
But I have a 300 f/4 & 1.4x for wildlife that works well. I would take it if I were biking around the world, but not on hikes.
 
Upvote 0
+1 for the 5d classic. Great camera, not quite as good in ISO performance as the mk ii, but still miles better than your 450d, and still capaable of taking AMAZING images. That way, you save money for glass and an external hdd (VERY important), and won't have buyers remorse when the mk iii comes out. Plus you'll have the cash to upgrade :)

For lenses, you seem to be pretty sorted. I'd take the:
Canon 24-70L
Canon 50 1.4
Sigma 70-200 OS
are probably the best choices for you. If it was me, I'd replace the 50 with a nice macro lens and add the 16-35L, as I take a ridiculous amount of wide landscape shots, and love all the interesting flowers and assorted stuff you find overseas.

For an external hdd, you probably want at least 500gb, and it needs to be USB powered. The Acer 640GB portable one is good and cheap.

Lastly, I'd take a couple of large memory cards, and two or three batteries. I'd replace the tripod for the trip with a Kathmandu travel tripod. A ripoff if it's not on sale, it's really lightweight and compact, but it isn't the sturdiest of beasts, and I'm yet to try it with a 5d. A monopod could also be useful; you'd take it more places, but you wouldn't be able to have the really long exposures, which is probably pretty important.

Anyway, that's my two cents (or maybe buck fifty by the time this post is finished). Listen to everyone's opinions, and remember you're buying gear for yourself, not all of us. It needs to be the right weight, focal lengths, blahdy bladhy blah for YOUR style of shooting.

Have a great trip, and belated Merry Christmas :D
 
Upvote 0
My only advice is to get a 5D Mark II !!

I shot for 3 months in Japan in 09' with 450D as it was my first dslr and my friend did the same thing with a 5D II and you cant even compare the pictures or talk about them in the same room.

I have been so depressed about shooting with the 450D that i will shoot the next trip to Japan this fall with a 1DX, 1D IV, ts-e24mm II, 70-200mm is II, 50mm 1.2, 85mm 1.2 II.

I know you are only as good pictures as you are as a photographer but i concider 90% on the files from the 450D useless.
 
Upvote 0
Although I bought some nice glass this year (TS-E24 II, 100-400L, 70-200 2.8L II)
if I were to travel a lot I guess that I wouldn't take everything with me.

So I would take the following:

EOS 5D mkII (no choices here: It is my only digital SLR)
EF24-105 f/4L
EF70-200 f/4L IS (yes one stop less than my 2.8 lens but very portable)
TS-E 24 L II
The above set can be carried in a small thinktank bag I own.
An EF1.4X II could be put with its case in one of my jacket's pockets...
So the above equipment is the absolute minimum.

If I were to get a larger bag (my lowepro Micro Trekker 200) I would also choose between:

EF16-35mm f/2.8L (version I) and
Zeiss Distagon 21mm f/2.8

I know the Zeiss is much less versatile but you have to see the edges of the
photographs it takes...

Optionally one or more of the following:

50mm 1.8 (version I),
85mm 1.8
135mm f2.0 L (this would be nice for photographing people but still
I do not believe that I would pass undetected...)

Of course a tripod is a must. I would get
my gitzo systematic 3541LS with a Markins M20 head.

A smaller and even lighter combination would be enough but I do not intend
to buy something soon. By the way this is my lighter combination
(compared to my Manfrotto 055pro tripod and 410 head combination)
 
Upvote 0
There's been a lot of good suggestions already, so I'll just discuss my personal thoughts.

I've done a lot of travel in the last couple of years. Nearly all of this has been with a 30D. Everyone above is right. A 5Dii is "better" than a 450D. But I look back at my photos from a crop camera and I don't feel any regrets. I love the ways my photos have turned out. If you look in magazines and on the net, some excellent photos are taken with a 450D. The only reason I'd consider changing is if you are doing a lot of low light photography as the 5Dii has a clear advantage. The other significant advantage of a full frame camera - shallower depth of field - is less relevant for travel photos. Usually, you don't want to blur the background totally. Instead, you'll want to leave a hint that you are somewhere exotic. Crop cameras can actually do this better, as you can use a wide aperture and still have more of the background in focus. I'd only consider changing cameras if your finances are in top shape. If you're concerned about having enough spending money, save it so that you can have more fun.

South America and Central America scream wildlife photos to me. Are you sure a 7D with a 1.6 crop factor and great autofocus isn't a better option? The 7D also has more weather sealing, which might be useful if caught out in a storm.

Until recently, my usual travel kit was a 30D, 10-22, 50, 70-200 f/4 IS, plus batteries, charger, filters, flashes, memory cards, tripod, laptop, small external HDD. I'd be prepared for nearly everything except serious wildlife photography. But after the second or third day, I'd generally have the same thought - "NEXT TIME I WON"T PACK SO MUCH!!" (Although I still haven't learnt...). It seems that you’re planning on taking more than I would, so I'll just mention two problems. First the weight. You've travelled to South America before and must know about the 35 degree heat and 100% humidity. Are you sure you want to carry another 5 - 8kg of camera and computer gear?

The second problem is the stress of taking it all. You can't take it everywhere with you all the time. There will be occasions when you will want to go to dinner, nightclubs, or a carefree walk around town. That often means leaving your camera gear and laptop in your hotel room. You'd be very unlucky to have problems, but if you're like most people, you'll worry a lot about it and it will spoil the trip a bit. A lot of people end up with a small day pack that they take everywhere. But that idea gets very tired very quickly. My solution is to store expensive gear amongst my dirty socks and laundry. Or to stash it on top of a cabinet or under a drawer. No thief would ever think of looking there....

Also, get more opinions about taking a tripod. The times I use mine, it’s invaluable. They're really useful for taking self-portraits in remote locations when you’re on your own and photos at night. But they are heavy and take up a lot of room. With a bit of ingenuity, you can often find another way to brace your camera.

Therefore, my “Do what I say, not what I do” advice would be to take less stuff and reconsider any expensive new purchases.

Also, you haven’t mentioned if you’re male or female and if you have a wife or a girlfriend. If you don’t have one, I’d ditch the new lens and get a wife or girlfriend as an accessory. They can be really handy as they almost always carry handbags. Each morning can start off with the same conversation. “Honey, do you mind if I put the 70-200 in your handbag”. This also allows you to double your carry-on luggage allowance. If you're a girl, just find a boyfriend that's chivalrous enough to carry your camera bag everywhere for you. (If you don't have a boyfriend or girlfriend to take with you, make it your first priority to find one upon landing and they can also act as a a tour guide and interpreter.)

Even better, get a baby. Strollers are really useful for transporting equipment around town. Plus they will also increase your carry-on allowance. Even better, with the exception of some minor fees, they generally fly for free. I can't think of any downsides to taking a baby on a six month backpacking trip through South America.
 
Upvote 0
Hillsilly reminded me of a few key accessories you'll want to take for travel:

A cable lock (the type they use to lock skis). It's cheap, small, and light - and you can creatively wrap the cable to lock spare gear in Armoires, drawers, etc (this will become your white-lens lock - because after awhile that's what will be left back at the hotel/hostel/etc). If someone really wants your stuff, they can cut the cable... but people won't know what's in there - any you'll immediately know if someone broke in. It gave me piece of mind. And never store your spare lenses in a convenient bag with a handle... that's too easy for a thief to grab the entire kit. Store stuff in big piles so a thief grabs one or two things and runs.

Gaffers Tape. You want to disguise your external hard drives - make them ugly; the last thing anyone would ever want to steal. That's the problem with digital... in the old days, at least no one would steal your film... but now, hard drives and CF cards have value. I considered spraying my hard drives with the same stuff they spray under cars to prevent corrosion... but it's sticky. Gaffers tape and primer spray paint was my solution. Also, get an online backup service... I uploaded my treasured jpgs there... at least, if everything was stolen, I'd have the jpgs. Internet cafes also typically have a DVD burning service and you can periodically mail discs home to yourself. And always have two hard drives... a backup, and a backup of your backup. One of my drives went 'click' one day, near the end of a 4 month trip, with 10,000 images on it. And that was that. (Luckily I had a duplicate drive and lots of backups).

I also put black gaffers tape over the logos and the red rings on my camera when I'm in high theft areas (Gaffers tape is expensive, but it is designed for film gear and doesn't leave a sticky residue). Honestly, I'm not sure it really helps - a thief will steal a camera regardless of value... but it makes me feel a little better.

Sensor blower (e.g. Rocket). Either bring one, or you'll end up buying one on your trip.

A discrete bag. I used a Domke 803, and it holds a body with a 70-200 f/4 and a spare lens... and looks like a little messenger bag. I just switched to an 831, which is a little bigger... but haven't put it to the test yet.

I assume you'll have a compact camera as well... you better. Many of my BEST shots came from my little compact... because it was always in my pocket. But... I dropped into the Antarctic ocean while trying to climb an iceberg to get a shot of a penguin... which taught me to not use my cards to store images... get them off as soon as possible.

A Wolverine drive works well for that... and if you are on an expedition where someone got a great shot of you, you can always ask 'can I borrow your SD card for 5 minutes? You can slip their card in your wolverine and grab all their shots... and it counts as one of your extra hard drives... and doubles as card reader.

Bring SD/CF recovery software. I didn't... and I met way too many people who lost everything on their cards and were staying up all night trying to figure out how to recover their images. Some of the memory cards include recovery software for free... bring it and save it on every device you have.

anyway... hard won lessons from the field.
 
Upvote 0
i've converted a compact leather manbag into a stealth camera bag, bassically just put in the insert from a lowepro messanger sling it can hold 5Dmk2 with 16-35f2.8, 50mm f1.4 and the 70-200 f2.8IS II a teleconverted spare cards and batteries, rapid strap and has a pocket for an ipad or similar sized device, may eve fit a macbook air but i havent tried one. pretty comfy to carry around town and looks far more casual than hauling around a big bag full of stuff when worn accross your body

edit if anyone is interested this is the leather bag
http://www.zushoe.com.au/catalogue/manbagswalletszu/PUZZLE_2.aspx
 
Upvote 0
Cosk said:
Hillsilly reminded me of a few key accessories you'll want to take for travel:

A cable lock (the type they use to lock skis). It's cheap, small, and light - and you can creatively wrap the cable to lock spare gear in Armoires, drawers, etc (this will become your white-lens lock - because after awhile that's what will be left back at the hotel/hostel/etc). If someone really wants your stuff, they can cut the cable... but people won't know what's in there - any you'll immediately know if someone broke in. It gave me piece of mind. And never store your spare lenses in a convenient bag with a handle... that's too easy for a thief to grab the entire kit. Store stuff in big piles so a thief grabs one or two things and runs.

Gaffers Tape. You want to disguise your external hard drives - make them ugly; the last thing anyone would ever want to steal. That's the problem with digital... in the old days, at least no one would steal your film... but now, hard drives and CF cards have value. I considered spraying my hard drives with the same stuff they spray under cars to prevent corrosion... but it's sticky. Gaffers tape and primer spray paint was my solution. Also, get an online backup service... I uploaded my treasured jpgs there... at least, if everything was stolen, I'd have the jpgs. Internet cafes also typically have a DVD burning service and you can periodically mail discs home to yourself. And always have two hard drives... a backup, and a backup of your backup. One of my drives went 'click' one day, near the end of a 4 month trip, with 10,000 images on it. And that was that. (Luckily I had a duplicate drive and lots of backups).

I also put black gaffers tape over the logos and the red rings on my camera when I'm in high theft areas (Gaffers tape is expensive, but it is designed for film gear and doesn't leave a sticky residue). Honestly, I'm not sure it really helps - a thief will steal a camera regardless of value... but it makes me feel a little better.

Sensor blower (e.g. Rocket). Either bring one, or you'll end up buying one on your trip.

A discrete bag. I used a Domke 803, and it holds a body with a 70-200 f/4 and a spare lens... and looks like a little messenger bag. I just switched to an 831, which is a little bigger... but haven't put it to the test yet.

I assume you'll have a compact camera as well... you better. Many of my BEST shots came from my little compact... because it was always in my pocket. But... I dropped into the Antarctic ocean while trying to climb an iceberg to get a shot of a penguin... which taught me to not use my cards to store images... get them off as soon as possible.

A Wolverine drive works well for that... and if you are on an expedition where someone got a great shot of you, you can always ask 'can I borrow your SD card for 5 minutes? You can slip their card in your wolverine and grab all their shots... and it counts as one of your extra hard drives... and doubles as card reader.

Bring SD/CF recovery software. I didn't... and I met way too many people who lost everything on their cards and were staying up all night trying to figure out how to recover their images. Some of the memory cards include recovery software for free... bring it and save it on every device you have.

anyway... hard won lessons from the field.

Thanks, this is all very helpful stuff from board members. Getting a camera bag is the last thing that I will get once everything is finalised. Im not sure about getting a leather bag as it is a bit slow for my style of photography. I meant that I walk around, going to places quite fast and I travel with a daysack. Im thinking of getting some photography bag that is light to hold all my equipments INSIDE the backpack and it will stay in there the whole time. So it acts as:

1) a bag that seperates camera stuff from the rest
2) just for protection against my backpack thrown everywhere during a tough 6 months trip on chicken buses.

Im thinking of getting a smaller protective bag so just to fit the camera with 24-70 lens. And I till but that in the day sack when Im out during the day. Im not a fan of those sling shot bags, it screams"rob me" and the zips are too accessible. Also it is very bulky and takes up volume in the backpack.
 
Upvote 0
Already much good advice has been given (well done, applause to several folks) ;)

I have a Canon 7D and have travelled with it already to many places. Whether I go on short term or longer term trips, I've been appreciating taking mainly versatile zoom lenses.

For a full frame (eg Canon 5DmkII) - the Canon 24-105mm makes a lot of sense. I use my Canon 15-85mm lens on my 7D for most of my shots. I also take the 70-300mm as my most common 'second lens' (awesome IQ and very hand-holdable telezoom).

A lot about which lenses, DOES depend on your shooting style. There are time when I might want ultra wide angle (eg for architecture / some dramatic landscapes) or a fast prime (for eg candid portraits, or low light photography). ::)

When I went to SE Asia last year, I took along my 'whole kit' (including 2 camera bodies). I'm not sure I'll be doing that again in a hurry - because basically all of the time I had 1 camera with me, and the other in the hotel, and 'extra lenses' did add weight. I have lived 'overseas' for over a decade, and never had anything stolen from me in my life (except a t-shirt left drying on a village fence in remote Romania).

I do back up photos every evening both on a laptop and then on a portable USB powered Gigaone hard-drive / card reader, keeping both separate so there is less risk of 'loosing all' :-\

Generally when I travel for some tie again, I'll probably take either JUST my 7D with 15-85mm (and no tripod). This is also what I use when I travel interstate to Tasmania (I'm in South Australia) to visit my extended family and friends there for a week or two each year. However if I went on a photographic excursion (eg a 1 day or few day travel specifically to take photos) -then I might take specific lenses (eg a macro too). For me though, 'less is more' - as it allows me to feel freer, travel with greater ease and 'actually' free up my moving to take more photos when I want, rather than carting a lot of things.

That's just how I've evolved over the years. ;D

I do hope the OP has a great, wonderful 'around the world' travel (I'm jealous!) -and we might get to see some of the best of the best photographic outcomes! Best wishes.

Paul
 
Upvote 0
Status
Not open for further replies.