My gears for 14 Hrs at Grand Canyon

[Adam Schallau]

Thank you, Sir, Dear Mr. Adam Schallau.
Thanks for your Recommendations. Yes, Sir , I will use Graduated ND. Filter too, and Try to compare with Cir-PL at the same location.
Yes, Sir, I will be back to South Rim, Bryce and Zion National Park and Stay over night there for 2-3 Nights , Just my self alone---Ha, Ha, Ha---My wife do not want to see Million years old Rock/ Stone, But She want to spend some money at the Slotted Machine in Las Vegas.
Have a great Day , Sir.
Surapon

You're very welcome. I often see people with way too much gear at the canyon, and on my workshops. I believe you would do just fine with your 24-70/2.8L and the 70-200/2.8L, plus perhaps a teleconverter for longer shots. Lighten your load and enjoy the canyon.

Don't worry too much about lens changes. Yes, there is more dust in the air than what most people experience in humid environments, but it's not nearly the issue that some people make it out to be. I've lived in Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona...dust is just a fact of life, but it doesn't keep us from changing lenses and creating our work. Shoot, enjoy, and clone out a few dust spots when you get home.

 

[Valvebounce]

Hi Mr Surapon.
Was your intention to carry all that on the tour coach to the rim, or you were going to take it all to Vegas and carry a selection to the rim?
I think yo have heard enough lighten the load so I will just say I really can recommend at least an overnight stay, see sunset then sunrise the next day. We have some friends in Phoenix that we met through the Triumph car club we run on the Isle of Wight southern England.
They took us there for exactly that duration, I didn't realise until much later that he knew when to go from being a pro photographer at one point.
I will say that as the sun sets the walls take on beautiful hues, only to be totally trumped by the morning colours as the sun slowly climbs gently irradiating the stacks until the hard shadows appear.
I will go back there somewhen with a body and lens combination better than a 300D and 18-55 kit lens.

Have a great trip and don't forget that the best DR is from a MKI eyeball, i.e. don't spend the whole time looking through the lens..

Cheers Graham.

 

[TexasBadger]

All you need is a full frame camera, 24-70, circular polarizer and a tripod.

 

[RustyTheGeek]

Just noticed something... you add red stripes to your hoods and bigger red stripes to your L lenses?

Yes, Sir, Dear Mr. chilledXpress.
I add The Automotive Red Strip( Reflective Strip) and My own symbols on all my Lens hoods, to match to each lens = very easy to get the right lens hood for the right Lens in the dark of the night.
Yes, You have a great / Sharp eyes, Sir.
Surapon.
PS. On my 5D MK II, I add the View Finder Extender on View Finder too, For my Eye Glass , And that Great View Finder Extender is great for not let my Oily Nose wet LCD Panel.
Nice to talk to you, Sir.
Surapon

Strange about the red stripes. I do the exact opposite. I put high quality black gaffer tape over all of my L Lenses to cover the red stripes. I want my L lenses to appear generic and look like cheaper EF lenses. Plus, the tape protects the lens from scuffs.

I also agree with everyone about the weight and amount of gear. Every trip I go on I usually use 10% of what I take if I try to pack heavy. I've learned that realistically I use a 16-35 and 24-105 or 24-70. That's about it. If I know I will be in super tight quaters, I might use my 15mm FishEye. So I can fit two lenses into one LowePro lens bag with the 3rd lens on my camera. Done. My generic daypack still has room for misc batteries, water bottle, lunch and other stuff. It's not all about the camera stuff!

What are you going to do with all this stuff when you stop to go to the bathroom or eat lunch? Consider the logistics. I don't like to leave tons of expensive gear in my hotel room either.

 

[sanj]

Camera. Mid zoom lens. Tripod. Filters. That is it.

 

[chilledXpress]

Just noticed something... you add red stripes to your hoods and bigger red stripes to your L lenses?

Yes, Sir, Dear Mr. chilledXpress.
I add The Automotive Red Strip( Reflective Strip) and My own symbols on all my Lens hoods, to match to each lens = very easy to get the right lens hood for the right Lens in the dark of the night.
Yes, You have a great / Sharp eyes, Sir.
Surapon.
PS. On my 5D MK II, I add the View Finder Extender on View Finder too, For my Eye Glass , And that Great View Finder Extender is great for not let my Oily Nose wet LCD Panel.
Nice to talk to you, Sir.
Surapon

Strange about the red stripes. I do the exact opposite. I put high quality black gaffer tape over all of my L Lenses to cover the red stripes. I want my L lenses to appear generic and look like cheaper EF lenses. Plus, the tape protects the lens from scuffs.

I also agree with everyone about the weight and amount of gear. Every trip I go on I usually use 10% of what I take if I try to pack heavy. I've learned that realistically I use a 16-35 and 24-105 or 24-70. That's about it. If I know I will be in super tight quaters, I might use my 15mm FishEye. So I can fit two lenses into one LowePro lens bag with the 3rd lens on my camera. Done. My generic daypack still has room for misc batteries, water bottle, lunch and other stuff. It's not all about the camera stuff!

What are you going to do with all this stuff when you stop to go to the bathroom or eat lunch? Consider the logistics. I don't like to leave tons of expensive gear in my hotel room either.

Even stranger... The use of hoods "in the dark of the night".

 

[bholliman]

We spent 3 days at the South Rim, staying at a cabin in the park in June 2012. Also two days at at the North Rim. Awesome experience! I took a 7D and 15-85 and 100-400 and used the 15-85 95% of the time. I wished I had a UWA many times however. I created quite a few panoramas to compensate for lack of a UWA. I used a grad ND filter quite a bit as well as polarizer. Be careful using a polarizer with wider angle shots, as the sky can be unevenly saturated. Also my tripod was invaluable and I used a monopod for a walking stick/stabilizer on longer hikes.

If I were going today I would take my 6D, 24-70 2.8 II, 70-200 2.8 II, 2x extender and 14 2.8 along with the same accessories.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

 

[gwflauto]

I would take my 14mm/2,8 , my 24-70mm/4, my 70-200mm/2,8 and perhaps an Extender. That will fit into my sling bag. A tripod is not a bad idea. I always had it with me in that area, but I shot a lot handheld.
If I go in June again, I will take the 100mm/2,8 Macro IS in addition because of the wonderful little flowers.

Enjoy your visit.

 

[danski0224]

Dear Friends :
Here are my gears for 14 Hrs. at Grand Canyon and 5 days and 3 nights at Las Vegas. (snip)
Surapon

Mr. Surapon-

You are bringing way too much stuff.

On my first time trip to the Grand Canyon, I brought my 7D, 16-35II, 70-200 II and a 1.4x. I also took a van tour (south rim) that went through Sedona (and lunch) on the way out and through Native American territory on the way back. About 14 hours in all.

Everything was well planned. They hit the high points on the trip. There was some interesting scenery that was passed on by due to scheduling.

The 70-200, while a nice lens, got very little use. I have one or two photos of the Colorado at the bottom of the canyon, which was visible at one of the planned stops. That's about it for that lens. It was neat to look through but not very well suited for capturing the panoramic views.

On the other hand, the 16-35 was on camera 97% of the time, which is ~24mm to ~56mm full frame.

I noticed that the wider end of the 16-35 changed the perspective too much for my tastes- it made stuff appear further away, but it worked quite well for many shots in Sedona.

I took a couple of 5-7 shot single row panoramas with about 50% ovelap on a whim, and regret not doing that a couple more times. The distances are so large that a simple handheld attempt worked for me. The end result more closely matches what I saw vs using something like a 14mm on a FF camera.

I do not own a 24-70, but on a FF camera, that would probably do the trick. I would also bring a 16-35 and maybe a 100mm macro- certainly some sort of macro lens. The handheld pano attempt worked well last time and I do not recall too many opportunities where I would have had the time or the space (physical space at the vantage point or space due to other people) for tripod use. Monopod, sure. The ability to have two camera bodies might be nice.

I didn't know about CPL filters at the time, and wish I had one then.

If you do not live at 7,000' above sea level, it makes a difference, and should be considered if you plan on trucking all that stuff with. Also check the weather forecasts and bring a jacket. Several warm climate natives on my trip bought jackets at the gift shop.

I'll echo previous comments about bringing well into 5 figures of camera gear, much less leaving it in a hotel room.

 

[RustyTheGeek]

I think I speak for everyone when I summarize and say that you should simply take much less. Take no more than 3 or 4 lenses max and make them count. Don't duplicate focal lengths if possible. Take one body and a few accessories that you will likely use, like a CPL or TC perhaps. Take a flash, batteries, etc and keep the weight down. Try to get everything comfortably in a medium sized daypack. Don't advertise that you are carrying expensive camera equipment. Take a jacket and take plenty of water. Enjoy your trip and don't just make it about the photography.

For pete's sake, your thread topic says you're only there at the Grand Canyon for 14 hrs? How much photography can you do in 14 hrs and still enjoy the trip itself? When you get to Vegas, I doubt you'll use more than a couple lenses. Maybe a 24-70, 24-105 or 16-35 and then maybe a fast prime? And keep in mind that the casinos don't allow photography in some areas. (Or at least that used to be the case.) And you might have to present your backpack for security searches as well.

Remember, there are millions of professional stock photography pictures on the web and in many photo books that you can view of all the major attractions. Taking a ton of boring pictures of buildings and fountains might be disappointing later when you realize that other better pictures already exist you can simply view later. Stick to taking interesting pictures that are memorable for you and your wife.

 

[danski0224]

For pete's sake, your thread topic says you're only there at the Grand Canyon for 14 hrs?

The total time of the van excursion I took was about 14 hours.

Actual foot time at the Grand Canyon was maybe 1/4 of that.

About 8 hours was driving time, in the van, to and from the park grounds. More driving time once inside. I was lucky enough to get a good seat- good enough to get some pictures out a window. There was an opportunity for a helicopter tour- i declined.

I could easily see spending 2 weeks at the Grand Canyon.

 

[Valvebounce]

Hi Mr Surapon.
That reminds me I meant to say we took a helicopter trip when we went, I took some nice, IMHO, pics out through the canopy, but at times all I got was internal reflections of all of us in there!

Cheers Graham.

There was an opportunity for a helicopter tour- i declined.

I could easily see spending 2 weeks at the Grand Canyon.

 

[scottkinfw]

Be sure to calibrate your lenses

 

[surapon]

Dear Teachers and All of my friends.
Yes, I just came back home last night after midnight. Yes, I have a lot of FUN at Las Vegas, Hoover Dam and Grand Canyon at South Rim.
YES, All of my Dear Teachers and my friend are 1000 % RIGHT-------After I remove some of Lenses and equipment = still too much for the short Trip.
Yes, I wish, I just Two Camera bodies with 2 Lenses, Canon TS-E 24 mm. F/ 3.5 L MK II with Canon 5D MK II, and Canon EF 70-200 mm. with Canon 7D---With Tripods-------- NO, Every things in my back pack and my belly pack are useless = 48+ 12 Pounds are useless on my body---And I can not leave them in the hotel room. Yes, 14 Hours Tour trip at South Rim at Grand Canyon already take 7 hours on the Bus, and 2 Hours in the Tour Jeep---Only LESS THAN 1 HOUR for my PHOTOGRAPHY SHOTS at grand Canyon--With my feet on the ground AND ONLY 10-15 MINUTES for hand held shots( 5 Stops @ 5-10 Minutes each---Ha,. Ha, Ha).
Now, I know---Next trip to Grand Canyon, Must be 2 Night stay at Grand Canyon , for the Sun rise and Sun set Shot, Plus Halicopter ride as my friends said.
Yes, 4 days and 3 Nights, I got about 2000 Pictures---And Here are some samples for all of my friends to see. Yes, With in 2 week, I will have more photos to post here and On my Face book too.
THANKSSS.
Surapon

PS. 95% of my Photos on this trip = Canon 5D MK II, and Canon TS-E 24 mm. F/ 3.5 L MK II with B+W 82 KMS C-POL MRC FILTER. ---Plus 5% EF 70-200mm for shoot the Beautiful ladies from the long distant.

 

[surapon]

Las Vegas-Grand Canyon

 

[surapon]

Las Vegas-Grand Canyon

 

[K13X5C]

Great photos Surapon ! I especially like the grand canyon photos. That's a lot of bus riding, but it looks like it was worth it.

 

[surapon]

Great photos Surapon ! I especially like the grand canyon photos. That's a lot of bus riding, but it looks like it was worth it.

Thank you, Sir, Dear K13X5C
Yes, Sir, Long hours Riding the Bus, But It better than rent the car and drive by our self. Plus, I can take the shots from the Bus's window too.
Here are more night time in the sin city= Las Vegas.
Surapon

 

[lion rock]

Now that you got a taste of the LV/GC trip, I hope you'll try to go again. I bet you must have been wowed by the grandeur of the canyon, as were my wife and I.
If you do go again, fly out to Grand Canyon from Las Vegas on a small airplane (photo 1), the air view is simply magnificent! But wait! When we flew the return flight back to LV, the route was different. It was over most part of the canyon, making it feel like an unending gorge (photo 2 & 3). You will simply feel tiny compared to the striking place.
Try to arrange a helo flight booking it in LV Strip, it was less expensive than booking at the Grand Canyon airport. There were a couple different packages of different flight time and locations. Get the best you can afford in terms of time and finance.
Bring the least gear for that, you won't have time while flying to catch the environment and change gear, nor the space in a cramped helo, they also weigh you (the passenger complement) to distribute weight in the copter so they can fly well. (photo 4) Our pilot, Mr Chan (photo 5).
To reduce glare from reflections from the aircraft window(s), there is a gadget on the market (http://www.adorama.com/LNLSKIRT1.html) that is made with some kind of nylon fabric that fits over the front of your lens so when you put your lens and gadget against the window, thus reducing glare.
I know you had had a wonderful time west!
-r

 

[lion rock]

The helo pilot (photo 5)