Berlin - limited space, what to take?

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Amir
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Hi - I am going to Berlin on business for a couple of days and want to take my dSLR with me, it's a Canon 50d. I have 3 lenses and a flash but due to only taking cabin baggage I will have limited space (I need to take my laptop and other stuff too).

My choice of lenses is 10-22, 17-55 and 70-200.

I will have to shoot in the evening after meetings. By the time i can get out it will probably be dark. No idea what I can shoot - but probably go for some street photography. I MIGHT get some time in the day but not sure yet, unlikely though.

Was thinking of just taking the camera and 17-55. However I could take both the 10-22 and 17-55 OR I could take the 17-55 and a flash.

What do you think? Is taking the extra lens or flash a waste of time? I will have to lug them about after all :) Oh and I am going to take my gorillapod so if I can get it to work (never managed to yet) I could do some longer exposure stuff.

Dub

p.s. any tips on what to shoot appreciated too.
 
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When I go away with work I limit myself to just the camera body and a fast prime, very lightweight.

Given your options I'd go for the 15-55.
 
Out of interest what prime do you take? I have put stuff in my bag and i think i will take the 10-22 in addition to the 17-55. It is not too heavy and might come in useful at the Brandenburg gate. Sods law says I won't be able to get out at all lol.
 
I go for 50mm f1.4 (on 1.3x crop or full frame).
 
What to take when you go to Berlin? Well, the 1st Belorussian Front is traditional :)

10-22 and 17-55, ditch the flash. Nothing you have suggested shooting needs flash.
 
17-55 will probably do most of what you want, and I don't see a hug need for a flash.

There's some really impressive buildings in Berlin and some really unusual things (like the giant fishtank in the lobby of the Radisson Blu) so I'm sure you'll get some great photos.
 
i did use the 10-22 but could easily have done without it. The 17-55 served me well. I only had a few hours to walk around so I went to the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstags. All of my shots have come out very tourist snapshot though which I am disappointed about.

I will head over to the Radisson to check out the fish tank if i get time tomorrow. Plan to go back to Brandenburg tonight to do some long exposure night photography :)

Thanks,
Dub
 
I recommend Potsdamer Platz - The Sony centre building is AMAZING - went there when I first got into photography and there were togs everywhere, really was an eye opener for me!

You probably will want/need some kind of tripod though to get longer exposures if its night

Definately reccommend it though.

Oh and there's a fantastic little bar on the river bank by a train station - sorry I cant be more precise than that it was years ago I went... I think it was a main station though - you can get some very nice shots of the station with the river in the foreground.

Another cool place is Alexanderplatz - bit touristy but some nice buildings/things to do/photograph!

HTH
 
My hotel is in Potsdamer Platz. Is the Sony building good at night or in the day? What else in Potsdamer Platz can you recommend? Thanks for posting! :)

Btw - i have a small gorillapod so i should be able to do some long exposure photography.
 
IMO its better at night - at least when I went a few years ago it was very well lit up with purple accented lighting - it looked superb. And you can get nice pictures from inside the building looking up..
Flickr is blocked on my connection atm, otherwise I'd send you a link to my flickr page - but im sure on this page of google images a few of them are mine! And it gives you an idea of what to expect (http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=so...&source=og&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi&biw=1259&bih=573)
Im thinking your UWA lens would be pretty fantastic in this situation! Unfortunately for me I was using a P&S compact with M mode, hardly ideal but definitely gave me the bug! haha.
Other than that Im out of ideas for Potsdamer Platz! Although there is a very nice little Italian Restaurant near it called Vapiano which I would absolutely reccommend!
 
Not mine but Im sure he's copied my idea lol

Sony_Center_Berlin_1_by_Aerostylaz.jpg
 
Wow that's fantastic. I will try to get to it tonight! I did just walk to the Radisson Blu but I had to rush back to my conference because someone thought it would be funny to tell me that I was missing a mandatory session :( I fired off a couple of quick snaps but that was it. Again I think this one is better at night since the light was pouring through the skylight.

Plan for tonight, if i can get away from other delegates, is to do sony and brandenberg. Doubt I will be able to get to Radisson but may do so if time allows.

Thanks for all the tips :)
 
Go have a look at Normannenstrasse, thats a photo op of real Berlin ;-)
 
Hello all, I did not get that long to shoot photo's in Berlin in the end but I did produce a set of 47 pictures which I have put on flickr. I warn you, they are very touristy! I have to say, Berlin looks like a wonderful place and there is TONNES of interesting architecture there!

Thanks for all the advice.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/therealamir/sets/72157626813931430/

Dub
 
Charlatan - thanks very much mate. I have to be honest. The holocaust memorial shot is the only one i am really proud of :) My hit rate tends to be rather low lol.
 
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