Travelling - What to take?

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I have decided that I want to see a bit more of the world and get some great photos in the process, so am planning on taking a trip around Europe for a month or 2! (I was thinking of going around the world, but I decided I couldn't fit all that I want to see into 2 months).

This led me to thinking about how I can minimise the weight of my camera bag for the trip. On shorter trips, I have always taken nearly everything and either left a lot of stuff in the hotel and taken what I think I'll need for the day out with me or carried it all around and ended up regretting it by the end of the day!

The kit I currently have:

Lenses
Nikon 50mm F1.8
Nikon 10.5mm F2.8 Fisheye
Nikon 12-24mm F4
Nikon 18-200mm F3.5-5.6 VR
Nikon 35-70mm F2.8
Nikon 70-200mm F2.8 VR
Sigma 50-500mm F4-6.3
Nikon TC17E-II 1.7x Teleconvertor

Other Stuff
Nikon D200 Body
MD-D200 Battery Grip
SB600 Flash
Epson P2000 Viewer/HDD Storage
Various filters, chargers, cleaning bits etc.
Gitzo G1227 Tripod with Manfrotto
Gitzo G1564 Monopod

I am trying to work out which equipment to take and which to leave, in terms of electronics (camera, grip, flash, P2000 etc), support (tripod/monopod) and also lenses.

In terms of support, I am thinking of adding a Gorillapod SLR-Zoom to my collection and leaving the tripod and monopod at home - thoughts??

As far as electronics goes, I considered leaving the grip at home as I can cope without it ergonomically, however the extra battery life offered by the second battery and the fallback 'AA' adaptor made me think that I should take it.

Will I need a flash? I am hoping to take mainly 'fast' lenses (more on that later!!) and have the onboard flash at a push??

If I take my laptop, I will leave the P2000 at home and buy some more CF cards to get me through each day until I can offload the pics to the laptop (I currently have 7gb, but they fill up fast shooting RAW+Basic).

Which leaves the big one - lenses!

For the minimal weight it adds, the 50mm F1.8 is a must-take.

I can't see myself needing the fisheye (as much fun as it is, I need to make some sacrifices to keep weight down).

I won't be taking the 50-500mm, it's just too big!

This leaves me needing to cover the normal range (~20mm up to 200mm).

The obvious choice would be the 18-200mm VR, but I often find myself needing a faster lens in low-light situations and prefer the subject isolation that the faster lenses offer.

I could take the 12-24mm, 35-70mm and 70-200mm, but this is a little more than I had wanted to carry.

I have considered buying a 17-55mm F2.8 and taking just that and the 70-200mm VR, this would mean I had 17mm-200mm F2.8 (minus the 55-70mm gap) and could extend the range with the teleconvertor. The downside to this is the gap between 55-70mm (will I miss that range?) and the weight/size of the lenses. Also, how often will I find myself changing between the two? Will I find that the 17-55mm stays on most of the time or will I be constantly having to change to get stuff in the 70mm range that the 17-55mm doesn't reach?

So, what would you guys do? I can afford to buy a couple of new lenses, if needs be (and then look to sell some of my others later)...

Thanks in advance (and apologies for the length of the post!)
Richard
 
Always difficult this. There is a train of thought that you take the bare minimum and work harder at your composition by moving around/accepting the scene. I see three lenses I would take (in order);

Nikon 35-70mm F2.8
Nikon 12-24mm F4
Nikon 70-200mm F2.8 VR

But if really brave would just take first two.

Whatever you decide have a great trip! :thumbs:
 
I'd take the 35-70 and the 18-200, you're overlapping focal lengths but one gives you more and other gives you brighter. I'd also take the monopod not the tripod, it can double as a walking stick if needs be. Buy a beanbag and/or a gorillapod for longer exposures.
 
I thought the gorilla pod was only for small slr's, I don't think it would work with any of your longer zooms, I like the idea of the 17-55, 70-200 + tc, I don't think the small gap in range should be a problem and this also gives the satisfaction of buying more glass. The bean bag is a good idea, but how are you travelling aroud europe is the big question. you could always pick up a cheap tripod on your travels if you found you really needed one rather than lugging one from home, but with both lenses being F2.8 would you be missing out on that many shots.
 
I see they do a gorilla pod slr-zoom now which will take up to 3kg so this might do.
 
Thanks for the thoughts/comments so far guys/girls :)

HIMUPNORTH - I want to have to think more about my shots this time, which is another reason for taking less, as you say.

Steep - I hadn't considered that combination of lenses... thanks :)

chrisiow - I was looking at the Gorillapod SLR-Zoom. As for how I will be travelling.. not 100% certain, but this isn't going to be a 'budget' trip. I was thinking of flying over to Europe, using some of the fast train services for the shorter trips and flying for the longer journeys.
 
I feel the question is how much of your travelling will be done on foot as this is when the weight is going to be a problem and the getting from A to B is when you will have all your cases as well, by taxi no problem.
 
I will be walking around for most of each day, I would imagine. The usual sight-seeing stuff..

As you say, between destinations shouldn't be a problem, but I'd still like to keep as light as possible because of the planned train travel between some destinations (I hate lugging heavy bags around train stations!)
 
One thing to bare in mind is Carry-on weight on flights, as i recently found out ;)

5KG seems to be the norm, 10KG for some flights (Ryanair allow 10). This really will cut down what you are able to take imho. You really don't want that gear going in the hold, then spending half of the trip without camera gear because it was stolen or damaged.
It is amazing how quickly things add up to 5KG. An average size laptop, power supply and a ruck sack to carry it in will be 5KG at least.

A gorillapod would survive in the hold I bet, but i wouldn't be too sure that a Tripod or Monopod would.... guess it depends what they are made of.
 
The other thing is you don't want to be leaving expensive lenses in hotel rooms.
 
Rich said:
One thing to bare in mind is Carry-on weight on flights, as i recently found out ;)

5KG seems to be the norm, 10KG for some flights (Ryanair allow 10). This really will cut down what you are able to take imho. You really don't want that gear going in the hold, then spending half of the trip without camera gear because it was stolen or damaged.
It is amazing how quickly things add up to 5KG. An average size laptop, power supply and a ruck sack to carry it in will be 5KG at least.
Click to expand...

I went to Canada last month and the carry on limit was 5kg... mine was twice that, and they never checked it's weight on any of my flights :)

I'd take the 12-24, and maybe the 35-70. Don't bother with tripods. I took a laptop with me, and would definitely recommend taking one if you can. There's no real need for a 70-200 unless you're going to watch some sport or something. I only took a 17-40 and 70-300 with me, and used the 17-40 everywhere, the 70-300 was only used for sports events.
 
I most often use my 12-24 OR my 18-70 on my D2Xs, though I have the fab 70-200 f2.8 too

If space was an issue, I'd buy the 18-200 and never swap the lens. A D200 is fine without the bulk of the battery grip, so buy a universal plug for your re-charger and leave that behind too

Just show us the photos after to make us all jealous!

Have a fab time

David
 
Seeing as you have already got the 12-24, rather than the 17-55 you should probably consider the Nikkor 28-70 f2.8 and just take those two.... but it really depends what you will be shooting when you get there.

I drove 3000 miles round Europe last week (France, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Italy, Austria, Switzerland) and took:

D200
17-55 f2.8
70-200 f2.8 VR
TC14E-II
2 spare batteries
8Gb CF cards
Laptop
Card reader
Tripod
Filters
SB600

but if I wasn't driving the laptop would have stayed at home, as would the 70-200 and TC and I would have bought some more CF cards instead.

If you're mainly shooting landscapes and general shots, the 12-24 and 28-70 would rule imho. For extra reach beyond 70mm move closer :thumbs:
 
Oops just re-read and see you have 35-70 f2.8 in which case take that and the 12-24
 
Matt. said:
I went to Canada last month and the carry on limit was 5kg... mine was twice that, and they never checked it's weight on any of my flights :)

I'd take the 12-24, and maybe the 35-70. Don't bother with tripods. I took a laptop with me, and would definitely recommend taking one if you can. There's no real need for a 70-200 unless you're going to watch some sport or something. I only took a 17-40 and 70-300 with me, and used the 17-40 everywhere, the 70-300 was only used for sports events.
Click to expand...

Yeah, they seem very slack with Carry-on weight to be fair. It only takes one do-gooder and your £1000 lens is going in the hold though....that worries me :lol:
 
Thanks for the advice/comments guys :)

Rich said:
One thing to bare in mind is Carry-on weight on flights
Click to expand...

I'll check into that a bit further, but I've never had problems before...

chrisiow said:
The other thing is you don't want to be leaving expensive lenses in hotel rooms.
Click to expand...

I would secure them either in a safe or with something like this (does anyone know of a better/alternative product to this one? - http://www.tripneeds.com/product_info.php/products_id/70

evilowl said:
Seeing as you have already got the 12-24, rather than the 17-55 you should probably consider the Nikkor 28-70 f2.8 and just take those two..
Click to expand...

My concern with that combo is that I'd be constantly changing lenses. I suspect that the 20-30mm range will be my most used (I could be wrong though??)

evilowl said:
I drove 3000 miles round Europe last week (France, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Italy, Austria, Switzerland) and took:

D200
17-55 f2.8
70-200 f2.8 VR
TC14E-II
2 spare batteries
8Gb CF cards
Laptop
Card reader
Tripod
Filters
SB600

but if I wasn't driving the laptop would have stayed at home, as would the 70-200 and TC and I would have bought some more CF cards instead.
Click to expand...

Are you saying that you could have coped with just the 17-55mm without missing too many shots (or making them a lot more difficult to get)?
 
I could have lived with just the 17-55 without doubt. I only took the 70-200 as we visited the Nurburgring for 2 days so needed the extra reach on track. It didn't get used at all otherwise.
 
On a recent trip abroad I took:

camera body
8G worth of cards (2x1g; 1x2G & 1x4G cards)
three batteries
Charger/lead

17-85mm (wasn't fast enough for inside churches etc)
70-300mm (wasn't fast enough for inside churches etc)
50mm f1.8 (brill for low light, hopeless for range!)

If I was doing it again, I'd take similar focal lengths, but faster lenses.

I had to make do with in-camera flash...didn't have anything else at the time. Don't think it mattered as I hardly ever use flash anyway. Camera shake was an issue in low light and I wished I'd taken my monopod....though carrying it would have been a pain. If you have one that doubles as a walking stick, that might be a good idea. If you are going for a couple of months, you will really need something to download images. Will you really need a laptop (will you be wanting to view and tweak whilst away) or would a portable storage drive of some kind do?

Hope you have fun.
 
evilowl said:
I could have lived with just the 17-55 without doubt. I only took the 70-200 as we visited the Nurburgring for 2 days so needed the extra reach on track. It didn't get used at all otherwise.
Click to expand...

That's reassuring, I may be able to get away with just the one lens!


photostar_1 said:
On a recent trip abroad I took:

camera body
8G worth of cards (2x1g; 1x2G & 1x4G cards)
three batteries
Charger/lead

17-85mm (wasn't fast enough for inside churches etc)
70-300mm (wasn't fast enough for inside churches etc)
50mm f1.8 (brill for low light, hopeless for range!)

If I was doing it again, I'd take similar focal lengths, but faster lenses.

I had to make do with in-camera flash...didn't have anything else at the time. Don't think it mattered as I hardly ever use flash anyway. Camera shake was an issue in low light and I wished I'd taken my monopod....though carrying it would have been a pain. If you have one that doubles as a walking stick, that might be a good idea. If you are going for a couple of months, you will really need something to download images. Will you really need a laptop (will you be wanting to view and tweak whilst away) or would a portable storage drive of some kind do?
Click to expand...

Did you find that you used the 70-300mm much or was the shorter range of the 17-85mm more useful?

In terms of storage, I have an Epson P2000, but it only has 40gb, my laptop has 100gb. Also, if I'm away for that long, I will want to stay connected to friends/family etc and may want to do some post-processing etc in quieter moments, so I think my laptop would be the better option..

photostar_1 said:
Hope you have fun.
Click to expand...

Thanks :)
 
Chez said:
Did you find that you used the 70-300mm much or was the shorter range of the 17-85mm more useful?
Click to expand...

I used the 17-85 almost exclusively. Only used the long lens for getting details of ceilings etc in chrches.

Chez said:
....if I'm away for that long, I will want to stay connected to friends/family etc and may want to do some post-processing etc in quieter moments, so I think my laptop would be the better option..
Click to expand...

...I thought that was probably the idea. Good move.
 
Chez,

you haven't really said what you enjoy taking pics of as that would have a huge bearing on which lenses I would take.

If you don't have the 17-55mm, I would definitely take the 35-70f2.8 as my main lens for 95% of shots and then one of the 18-200 as it's a VR and still have a good chance of shooting well in lower light or 70-200 if you can bear the extra weight! I think the biggest difficulty I would have with this is I like shooting wide in cities and therefore would rather have the 17-55 over the 35-70. I have both and since buying 17-55 I hardly use the 35-70.

No flashgun, lots of CF and the laptop would probably be my preference. Also, I would be tempted to take a monopod. Not sure how heavy the Gitzo is, but manfrotto do a four section carbon fibre one so packs really small and light, think it's around £43.

Will be fascinated about hearing how you are getting on during the trip. Off to Italy next week for 2.5 weeks so been through the same dilemmas!
 
Re: The carry on weights .....

Check with your airline. If it's not a budget airline, the chances are the policy will be as long as it fits in the designated area, and you can lift it there, then you can take it on board!!

Check first though.

Good luck.

Anth.
 
Jas said:
Chez,

you haven't really said what you enjoy taking pics of as that would have a huge bearing on which lenses I would take.

If you don't have the 17-55mm, I would definitely take the 35-70f2.8 as my main lens for 95% of shots and then one of the 18-200 as it's a VR and still have a good chance of shooting well in lower light or 70-200 if you can bear the extra weight! I think the biggest difficulty I would have with this is I like shooting wide in cities and therefore would rather have the 17-55 over the 35-70. I have both and since buying 17-55 I hardly use the 35-70.

No flashgun, lots of CF and the laptop would probably be my preference. Also, I would be tempted to take a monopod. Not sure how heavy the Gitzo is, but manfrotto do a four section carbon fibre one so packs really small and light, think it's around £43.

Will be fascinated about hearing how you are getting on during the trip. Off to Italy next week for 2.5 weeks so been through the same dilemmas!
Click to expand...

I guess the majority of the shots I take when on holiday are street pictures - people, buildings etc..

For examples, here's the shots I took in Hong Kong, Prague and New York.

Interesting to hear that you have both the 17-55mm and 35-70mm..obviously you find the 17-35mm range more useful than the 55-70mm.. I suspect I would find the same.

Here are the specs for my Gitzo monopod:

* Minimum Height: 59.0 cm
* Maximum Height: 159.0 cm
* Weight: 0.9 kg
* Load capacity: 13.0 kg
* Number of Leg Sections: 4

I have looked at the Manfrotto ones and assume you're talking about the 676B (49-155cm, 0.38kg), which is £30+p&p at Warehouse Express.

Gitzo also do the GM2560T, which goes from 36-143cm and is 0.4kg, but has 6 leg sections (while this is shorter when collapsed, I think it may be too short when extended and the 6 leg sections may become annoying?)
 
Chez,

had a look through your pics the other night before you posted and you are right, I don't miss the 55-70mm missing at all as for that amount of mm I can just move a little back or forward as needed.

That Manfrotto was the one, it as light as a lens so not too much weight!

Have you tried packing your kit into a bag and checking you are happy with the weight to lug around? Once you take the laptop out of the bag, it probably makes the most difference. Good luck in selling the equipment to fund the 17-55, you won't be disappointed. The 35-70 was my previous favourite lens so will be selling mine when I get back from hols.

Have a great trip.
 
Thanks Jas

I have ordered my 17-55mm, it should be here in the morning :)

I'm not overly worried about the weight of the laptop. Firstly my Vaio only weighs 1.6kg and secondly I could leave it (secured) in the room during the day and just use it at night for transferring/processing of images.

I'm going to try and find store that has both the Manfrotto and Gitzo monopods and see which I prefer (I really like Gitzo stuff but as I said, I need to check out the convenience of it being shorter against the hassle of having 6 leg sections..

Have a great time in Italy :)
 
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