Travelling the world...what to take?

[bobbydaz03]

Hi all......

Pretty much a newbiwe when it comes to photography but i love pictures and capturing moments in life.

I am off to travel the world next month and i recently bought a Canon 700d and i have a Sigma 10-20mm and a Canon 50mm 1.8 prime.

I have also got a GoPro Hero 3 Black for the times and places i dont want to take the SLR......example, white water rafting etc.

I am contemplating what len / lenses to take with my as the GoPro takes ultra-wide angle pictures / videos....basically fisheye.

Any thoughts on the lenses for the DSLR?

Cheers

Daz.

 

[UaeExile]

Depends on a lot of things darren. If you're travelling the world you're probably not going to want to spend much on a new lens, nor will you want something big and heavy.

The 50mm on your camera should be ok for portraits, and the 10-20mm for landscapes. If I were you I'd try and get a good walk round lens for general use. Unless you have any specific types of shots you like.

 

[bobbydaz03]

Depends on a lot of things darren. If you're travelling the world you're probably not going to want to spend much on a new lens, nor will you want something big and heavy.

The 50mm on your camera should be ok for portraits, and the 10-20mm for landscapes. If I were you I'd try and get a good walk round lens for general use. Unless you have any specific types of shots you like.

Well that was my exact theory.

I thought the 10-20mm for landscapes and architectural things and the 50mm for people and portraites.....would the 50mm not be a good walk around lens then?

The main photos i want to take are landscapes and general people and street shooting.

Thanks!!!

 

[juggler]

I don't think you can go wrong with a fast 50mm lens - it was after all the default standard lens in the days of film. A 1.8 should do indoor portraits, street scenes and the like very nicely.

That said you're likely to find times when you're wishing for something longer. I don't think I'd necessarily suggest a zoom instead of the 50 as it Is likely to be slower and heavier. Maybe a teleconverter?

 

[jeff127]

Hi Darren,

I posted a similar question a few years ago here. We have similar kit, in the end I took:

GoPro
40D
10-20
50 1.8
100 2.8 macro

The 10-20 and 50 would serve you well. I certainly did change lenses often which was a pain but no chance of getting a zoom covering such a wide range and with a good aperture to replace the two so depends if you'd want to take one in addition? Saying that I have an older GoPro than you so image quality may be enough for you to not take the 10-20 but I think you would miss the speed that comes with the DSLR for UWA shots.

Unrelated to photography but I would hugely recommend having a read through this page, I found it an enormously useful resource.

Hope that helps.


Jeff.

 

[UaeExile]

Well that was my exact theory.

I thought the 10-20mm for landscapes and architectural things and the 50mm for people and portraites.....would the 50mm not be a good walk around lens then?

The main photos i want to take are landscapes and general people and street shooting.

Thanks!!!

Depends what you like shooting. For me a 50mm on a crop sensor would be too much but it's down to personal preference. The 50mm is a great little lens so you can't go wrong with it, that's for sure.

 

[bobbydaz03]

Hi Darren,

I posted a similar question a few years ago here. We have similar kit, in the end I took:

GoPro
40D
10-20
50 1.8
100 2.8 macro

The 10-20 and 50 would serve you well. I certainly did change lenses often which was a pain but no chance of getting a zoom covering such a wide range and with a good aperture to replace the two so depends if you'd want to take one in addition? Saying that I have an older GoPro than you so image quality may be enough for you to not take the 10-20 but I think you would miss the speed that comes with the DSLR for UWA shots.

Unrelated to photography but I would hugely recommend having a read through this page, I found it an enormously useful resource.

Hope that helps.


Jeff.

Thanks Jeff. Very helpful advise.

Looking through your thread you took a hell of alot of photos with the 10-20mm.

I personally love wide angle photos. Its just something about that kind of photography that gets me.
I considered buying a Sigma 30mm f1.4 instead of taking my 50mm 1.8.

What im thinking of taking:

Canon 700d
Sigma 10-20mm
Sigma 30mm f1.4 (have to buy).
Go-Pro Hero 3.

Im looking to do more street, building, landscape and people photography so i thought my kit would cover that nicely?

Darren.

 

[woof woof]

One thing I'd worry about with a DSLR is contamination on the sensor.

I know some are a lot better than in the past but from what I've read the main DSLR makers don't have as effective systems as the CSC makers and if intending to take a lot of shots and change lenses with a DSLR I think I'd want to take a cleaning kit with me and have some means of reviewing images while away from home.

I took my 5D+50mm f1.4 to Kazakhstan once and although it was clean when I set off and I never changed lenses I still had dust bunnies when I checked my shots at home. Actually, I'm now a fan of smaller systems and personally I'd take a CSC and a couple of lenses and a quality compact, in my case a LX5.

 

[jeff127]

Thanks Jeff. Very helpful advise.

Looking through your thread you took a hell of alot of photos with the 10-20mm.

I personally love wide angle photos. Its just something about that kind of photography that gets me.
I considered buying a Sigma 30mm f1.4 instead of taking my 50mm 1.8.

What im thinking of taking:

Canon 700d
Sigma 10-20mm
Sigma 30mm f1.4 (have to buy).
Go-Pro Hero 3.

Im looking to do more street, building, landscape and people photography so i thought my kit would cover that nicely?

Darren.

No problem Darren.

Yes I certainly took a lot of photos with the 10-20!

For me at the time it had to be a choice between keeping the GoPro and 30 1.4, and since I had the 50 1.8 with me I chose the GoPro. I have used the 30 1.4 a lot and it is a wonderful lens and I think it would fit your needs very well. It is a great lens for street photography.

I wonder though if you will feel limited having 30mm as your longest focal length?

It may help before you leave to take a trip round your local town with the kit you intend to take (if you dont have the 30mm, borrow a zoom from a friend and use it at just that focal length) and see how it suits you.

One thing I'd worry about with a DSLR is contamination on the sensor.

Not to discount this by any means but during my trip with regular lens changes in less than perfect conditions I was pleasantly surprised by the [near non-existant] lack of dust build up in my 40D. Taking a rocket blower or similar would be prudent though.

Jeff.

 

[UaeExile]

One thing I'd worry about with a DSLR is contamination on the sensor.

I know some are a lot better than in the past but from what I've read the main DSLR makers don't have as effective systems as the CSC makers and if intending to take a lot of shots and change lenses with a DSLR I think I'd want to take a cleaning kit with me and have some means of reviewing images while away from home.

I took my 5D+50mm f1.4 to Kazakhstan once and although it was clean when I set off and I never changed lenses I still had dust bunnies when I checked my shots at home. Actually, I'm now a fan of smaller systems and personally I'd take a CSC and a couple of lenses and a quality compact, in my case a LX5.

Maybe it's just me, but that's one thing I never worry about. Damage, scratching, dropping etc yes, but I think if you worry too much about things sometimes beyond your control you can take the enjoyment out of it.

 

[woof woof]

Maybe it's just me, but that's one thing I never worry about. Damage, scratching, dropping etc yes, but I think if you worry too much about things sometimes beyond your control you can take the enjoyment out of it.

My reason for mentioning this is because it's happened to me and I know what it's like to load the shots from a trip onto the pc and find that bunnies need cloning out of literally hundreds of shots and that can take the enjoyment out of it. In fact when I came home from one holiday my 20D was lucky not to be taken outside and smashed with an axe such was my disappointment and frustration with it.

However, in my years of using my 300D, 10D, 20D and 5D I only gave up on a very small number of shots, maybe just in the single figures, so it may not be an issue from a point of view of actually losing shots that can't or are just too difficult to repair and it's probably more of an issue of having to spend additional processing time. After that fiasco with my 20D I spent something in the region of 6 hours additional processing time over what I'd have expected.

It's also a matter of how fussy you are as many people just don't seem to notice or care about bunnies in their shots.

Personally, what I'd do if taking a lot of shots over an extended period abroad with a DSLR is review my shots as often as possible and clean the sensor when necessary. These days just about everyone seems to take a pc with them so checking and cleaning may not be that much of an issue.

I just thought it worth mentioning, a rocket and a cleaning kit and a routine of checking and cleaning if required could save hours of hair pulling when back home.

 

[bobbydaz03]

My reason for mentioning this is because it's happened to me and I know what it's like to load the shots from a trip onto the pc and find that bunnies need cloning out of literally hundreds of shots and that can take the enjoyment out of it. In fact when I came home from one holiday my 20D was lucky not to be taken outside and smashed with an axe such was my disappointment and frustration with it.

However, in my years of using my 300D, 10D, 20D and 5D I only gave up on a very small number of shots, maybe just in the single figures, so it may not be an issue from a point of view of actually losing shots that can't or are just too difficult to repair and it's probably more of an issue of having to spend additional processing time. After that fiasco with my 20D I spent something in the region of 6 hours additional processing time over what I'd have expected.

It's also a matter of how fussy you are as many people just don't seem to notice or care about bunnies in their shots.

Personally, what I'd do if taking a lot of shots over an extended period abroad with a DSLR is review my shots as often as possible and clean the sensor when necessary. These days just about everyone seems to take a pc with them so checking and cleaning may not be that much of an issue.

I just thought it worth mentioning, a rocket and a cleaning kit and a routine of checking and cleaning if required could save hours of hair pulling when back home.

I apprecaite your comments!!! Its good to hear about others experiences.
I am taking an iPad mini with me to upload the shots dailey or every other day and then ping them through iCloud back to the PC at home so i will get the oppotunity to review pictures.

But you are right, i will get myself a little cleaning kit. Probably wait until i am in HK which is my first stop. Should be cheap enough there

ps.....the statement about smashing it up with an axe made me laugh!! I could see myself doing that haha

 

[juggler]

I am taking an iPad mini with me to upload the shots dailey or every other day and then ping them through iCloud back to the PC at home so i will get the oppotunity to review pictures.

Just be aware that most iPad photo editing apps including -I think - the native one - will seriously reduce the resolution of your work. They're fine for most purposes but I wouldn't use the result if I was going to further edit them on PC or print them.

Using the camera connection kit does preserve full resolution, the damage is only done when editing.

 

[bobbydaz03]

Just be aware that most iPad photo editing apps including -I think - the native one - will seriously reduce the resolution of your work. They're fine for most purposes but I wouldn't use the result if I was going to further edit them on PC or print them.

Using the camera connection kit does preserve full resolution, the damage is only done when editing.

I dont plan to edit any of the photos via the iPad......more to just view them or delete them before i send them back to the PC via iCould.
Once im home, i can edit on the PC properly.

Thanks for the advice never the less and the connection kit looks better then the one i already have!!!! Dam haha

 

[bobbydaz03]

No problem Darren.

Yes I certainly took a lot of photos with the 10-20!

For me at the time it had to be a choice between keeping the GoPro and 30 1.4, and since I had the 50 1.8 with me I chose the GoPro. I have used the 30 1.4 a lot and it is a wonderful lens and I think it would fit your needs very well. It is a great lens for street photography.

I wonder though if you will feel limited having 30mm as your longest focal length?

It may help before you leave to take a trip round your local town with the kit you intend to take (if you dont have the 30mm, borrow a zoom from a friend and use it at just that focal length) and see how it suits you.



Not to discount this by any means but during my trip with regular lens changes in less than perfect conditions I was pleasantly surprised by the [near non-existant] lack of dust build up in my 40D. Taking a rocket blower or similar would be prudent though.

Jeff.

Yea, not a bad idea......Will bear this in mind seeing as i will have to buy the 30mm still.
Choices.....i just dont want to go and wish i had bought one before i left.

I think the kit i have chosen will suit what im planning to do well

Roll on 7th November!!!

 

[ancient_mariner]

It's going slightly against the (profesional) grain here, but the other thing to consider would be some kind of extended length zoom - say 18-105mm or 18-205mm. It won't give you the pristine shots that a nice prime lens will, but it will let you take images that wouldn't be possible with a few short prime lenses. Another advantage is that you could leave it on the camera to go walking round, rather than lens swapping in dusty environments.

It's not classically 'good' photography, but it is effective. Hope you have a great trip.

 

[005269]

90% of my travel photo's this past three years have been taken with a 35-70 f2.8 zoom, if I was found lacking it was usually at the wide end, hence it's now been replaced by a 24-70, unless you want to do any wildlife work I think you've got it covered with your two lenses on a crop sensor. The 50mm wide open makes a lovely lens for people photography in the street, you'll need the faster apertures in night markets etc. Have fun, hope I can do the same some day.

 

[bobbydaz03]

90% of my travel photo's this past three years have been taken with a 35-70 f2.8 zoom, if I was found lacking it was usually at the wide end, hence it's now been replaced by a 24-70, unless you want to do any wildlife work I think you've got it covered with your two lenses on a crop sensor. The 50mm wide open makes a lovely lens for people photography in the street, you'll need the faster apertures in night markets etc. Have fun, hope I can do the same some day.

Thanks for the advise.

So you think the Sigma 10-20mm + the 50mm is good enough?

Or

ditch the 50mm and buy the Sigma 30mm 1.4?