Borneo 3 week holiday but what to take, advice needed

tomkbucks

tomkbucks

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thomas
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so for honeymoon we are doing a three week tour of Borneo, evening markets, rainforest, lakes, mountains, local villages the lot going to be amazing.... But I just can't decide what kit to take... I don't want to take too much but also aware that this is a once in a lifetime so don't want to miss anything! I'm torn... is this to much?
5dmk3 24-70 2.8, 70-200 2.8, 50mm 1.4, a flash,flash bender and gorilla pod. - should add she has an x100..
I will also have with me a go pro and an iPad...
I do also have a 24-105 which does make a 'good bit of everything' choice BUT can't say I really use it... My 70-200 always seems my go-to lens..
What would you take?
 
I'd take what you've listed for a trip like that. Loads of people will rock up in the thread saying it's a honeymoon don't ruin it with camera gear by this compact and such. Ignore them your wife knows you and is aware of your photography so she won't mind provided you don't have it glued to your face for three weeks!

My biggest tip for a trip like that would be don't forget to put the camera down and enjoy the place with your own eyes to many togs go places and only see them through a lens it's nice to sit quietly and soak the place up too!
 
Thanks thats kind of what i thought the trip will be amazing but i dont want to spend the whole time thinking i wish i had this and that... weight wise i dont think it will be to bad - will all sit in a rucksack easily enough.. but i nkow some people would just take the 24-105... all advice welcome :)
 
hum now having second thoughts about the 50mm as this range is covered by my 24-70... its just not as good hum decisions!
 
I'm going there later this year (amongst other places :) ) and I'm just taking my 24-105, 35mm f/2 and 14mm f/2.8 (on a Canon 6d). Should have me covered for everything and nice and light!

My only conderation for your setup would be the weight of the 70-200 f/2.8. If you're trekking through the rainforest you might not want the weight (though of course you can leave it behind, depending where you're staying).
 
One cursory thing that I would be taking when trekking is a load of ziplock bags to store your kit in. The humidity causes issues when spending time in the forest and near the rivers, but if you get stuck out in a heavy downfall (the rain can be immense here in Indonesia) it can be very obnoxious to the life span of your kit!

Have fun!
 
a1ex2001 said:
I'd take what you've listed for a trip like that. Loads of people will rock up in the thread saying it's a honeymoon don't ruin it with camera gear by this compact and such. Ignore them your wife knows you and is aware of your photography so she won't mind provided you don't have it glued to your face for three weeks!

My biggest tip for a trip like that would be don't forget to put the camera down and enjoy the place with your own eyes to many togs go places and only see them through a lens it's nice to sit quietly and soak the place up too!
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:agree: :)
 
thanks :) i think i may well ditch the 50m 1.4 and stick with the two lenses 24-70 and 70-200 - ive got a nice waterproof roll top stuff sack and they all sit in there :) i was tempted to ditch the 24-70 and 50mm and take the 24-105 but recon i will miss the 2.8 to much as a day lens....
 
tomkbucks said:
thanks :) i think i may well ditch the 50m 1.4 and stick with the two lenses 24-70 and 70-200 - ive got a nice waterproof roll top stuff sack and they all sit in there :) i was tempted to ditch the 24-70 and 50mm and take the 24-105 but recon i will miss the 2.8 to much as a day lens....
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What's the benefit of the 2.8 as a day lens?

For what it's worth, the nifty fifty would be the first camera in my bag. It's small, light and fast. Perfect for night markets. I'd also take the 24-105 and leave the rest at home.
 
just love it - night and day difference between that and the 24-105 as image quality goes - and def want my 200 for the reach as feel 105 will be limited..
 
I did a my Borneo trip a few years back, and all that's missing from your list would be a longer reach zoom, maybe the 100-400 L ?
A lot of the wildlife will benefit from a bit more reach, and maybe a macro for bugs and stuff.
Hope you have a great time, we certainly did.
 
tomkbucks said:
just love it - night and day difference between that and the 24-105 as image quality goes - and def want my 200 for the reach as feel 105 will be limited..
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Really? I prefer the IQ from my 24-105! It's probably my most used lens (on FF).
 
Personally I would probably just take the 24-105 and nifty fifty, I did Borneo on a 18-105 on DX and that was fine - the only thing that would have been nice was something faster for the Orangutang in the jungle - not much light in there! However, with the high ISO on the 5d3 you probably don't need quite such fast glass. I love the 70-300 range so if weight really is a concern then the Tamron 70-300 would be an option.

These debates is why I've switched to M4/3 :D
 
I've not been to Borneo but I've been on a few other wildlife trips like the Amazon (part of our honeymoon) and I wouldn't have wanted to be without a medium telephoto (70-210mm f4 in my case) and a fast prime for dusk!
 
hehe dont give me more to buy - actually a macro is something i dont have... i think i will have to stick with the 24-70 and the 70-200 i 'may' end up taking the 24-105 the 50mm and the 70-200 though as the 24-105 may be more 'usable' for the honeymoon... decisions decisions!
 
For Vietnam I took a 17-55mm F2.8 (on my D7000, so 25.5 - 82.5 equiv) a 90mm Macro and a 50mm F1.8 and I really wished I'd had something longer at times! Although, we also had our 3yo with us, so wouldn't have wanted my camera kit to be *too* heavy.

Off to Sri Lanka soon, so am investing in a 70-200 and 2x TC.
 
I've just got back from Borneo and I took a 7Dii, 70-300mmL and Tamron 17-50mm f2.8 (took the 100mm macro as well but never used it). Most of the time these were fine but I would have liked a little more reach for some of the birds and the occasional orang-utan we saw, so you may find 200mm a little short, but depends entirely on what you want to shoot. Also, if you're in the rainforests, even during the day it's pretty dark so the faster the better.

I was lucky and had very little rain; two downpours when out on night tours but just stuck the camera inside my jacket until they passed (everything else was soaked though!). There was a lot less of an issue with humidity than I expected, mainly I think as a result of not staying anywhere with air con so not so many condensation problems.
 
Not sure how u think an f4 24-105 beats the image quality of a 24-70 2.8 but think I'm getting there as to what go take.... Going to buy a cheap canon 50mm 1.8 as they weigh nothing. No were near as good as my sigma 50mm but worth taking - also going to look At either a 1.4 or 2x to add to the 70-200 then will prob take the 24-105 as it will be more useful and a lighter choice than the 24-70 so getting there thanks for the advice chaps :)
 
Hi Tom,

Dragging this one up from the archives. How did you get on in Borneo with the lenses selected? I'm heading there in a few weeks and can't decide whether the 200/2 will be enough with a 1.4TC or if I should man up and take the 400/2.8.


tomkbucks said:
Not sure how u think an f4 24-105 beats the image quality of a 24-70 2.8 but think I'm getting there as to what go take.... Going to buy a cheap canon 50mm 1.8 as they weigh nothing. No were near as good as my sigma 50mm but worth taking - also going to look At either a 1.4 or 2x to add to the 70-200 then will prob take the 24-105 as it will be more useful and a lighter choice than the 24-70 so getting there thanks for the advice chaps :)
Click to expand...
 
Impspeed said:
Hi Tom,

Dragging this one up from the archives. How did you get on in Borneo with the lenses selected? I'm heading there in a few weeks and can't decide whether the 200/2 will be enough with a 1.4TC or if I should man up and take the 400/2.8.
Click to expand...


What's your itinerary and what's the main purpose for your visit?
 
Purpose for the visit is holiday. My wife is understanding of my photography and since buying her an A7, she's got more in to it. Taking time for photography is not an issue.

Itinerary - KK, Orang Utan/Bears in Sepilok, no trekking as only a week.
 
Ok, well at sepilok the orangs are generally quite close but it is quite dark under the canopy - the 200 / 2 would be perfect.

Personally I wouldn't bother with the 400mm, not much use for it in KK.
 
hiya sorry for late reply ! im actually going in about two weeks :)

my kit list sounds like more than it looks when packed… is the following :
5dmk3
70-200 sigma os 28
nifty 50
24-70 tamron 2.8
yn600 flash / push on diffuser / flat panel bounce diffuser
Pair of 622cs
ring diffuser softbox
polarizer for lenses

3x camera battery’s
Battery Charger
Bundle of memory cards in 2x waterproof cases
12x lithium AA batterys
lens cloths
Jet blower

Go pro hero 3
Headmount/rucksack mount
Gopro remote
Smatree smapole
6x batterys
Bundle of memory cards


We are doing the following as an extract ! going to be quite the adventure…
nights in Kula Lumpa
nights in Kota Kinabalu
Borrneo Rainforest Lodge in Laha Datu
Spitlok nature resort
Myne Resort / jungle
Kinabatanga river and river cruise / oxbow lakes
Gomantonga caves
Lyankayan island (turtle beach and diving)
Spilok nature resort
 
i should add im about to buy a bag.. cant decide between a lowepro flipside sport 20l or a photosport 200...
 
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ok gone a different way and bought a Tenba Tools BYOB 13 seems that will be far safer to just slot in to the decent walkign rucksack i already have !
 
I'm surprised no one has suggested a back up body !
 
I spent 3 month in Brunei and Sabah and I regretted not having a long reach lens. Also the humity did for one of my camera's, it was quite a while ago and hopefully todays camera will handle the weather better. My spare body would be a good compact with a zoom. Have a great time and beware of Water Buffalo and the Surun lol.
 
Hey Tom,

Thanks for the reply.

In terms of bodies, I always carry a spare. I destroyed camera's both times I visited Iceland, and will be taking my D4s and D800E. I'll also be taking GoPro for really wet/diving stuff, together with my Syrp Genie and slider for some time-lapse stuff.

Everything will be packed in by F-Stop Tilopa BC.

I've decided (and I know I'll regret it) to take only my 200/2. I have a 1.7TC which I'll take but it's not a brilliant converter and the new 1.4TCIII isn't available yet in Dubai.

We're doing a similar trip to you Tom, although not going to Turtle Island, and only there for a week.

Thanks for the advice.
 
im still undecided if i should buy sigmas 2x convert
... i may even take my canon 60d body..but cropping an image on the 5d3 will be just as good if not better than images from the 60d...
 
haha this is strickly a two person trip ;) its going to be amazing! ive just taken delivery of the Tenba Tools BYOB 13 and cant wait to get home and pack it up! now tempted to take a second body lol...
 
Don't take too much stuff, you can really get carried away and not use half of it. Personally I'd take the 24-70 and the 70-200. Anything more and I'd spend the first day swapping between lenses so much I'd miss the shot, my wife would get there hump and I'd not take anything other than one lens out again for the rest of the trip.
 
I know I said I was taking my 6d and a few lenses on my trip, but I bit the bullet and just took delivery of a Sony RX100 as I really didnt want to lug it all about in a lare camera bag as I'll have a bergen strapped to my back most of the time (I'm also taking in NZ, Vietnam, HK and Shanghai)! TBH I'm blown away by the IQ of this little thing! And you can buy the mk1 for ony £270 now... Best of both worlds.
 
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you make a good point point about the two bodies... im taking the 50mm as its a nice lens, plus with the Ranox 250 it give me a macro option, as it does not fit on any other lens - oh forgot to add im taking that ! the misses is getting a prezzy after the wedding of the rx100 mk3 so that will cover everything else, hum though perhaps the macro on the rx would do thus i can forget the ranox and the 50mm..
 
Head's up for anyone heading out to Borneo, and in particular Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation (who may use this search feature). They charge camera fee's, which isn't unusual for Borneo, however if you take in anything 300mm or above (from what I could tell), they will charge you 1,000MYR for the privilege. Below 300mm the charge was 10MYR.

There were plenty of people in there with 100-400mm's who've seemingly circumvented the rules with the zoom, but there was one very unhappy tourist with a 500mm who decided to leave it in a locker and shot with a 70-200mm, plus 2x and 1,4x stacked TC.

I, luckily, just took in my 200mm f/2 which in all honesty was plenty (could've put on a TC), but I did get questioned and had to talk off the lens coat to prove it was just 200mm.
 
I'm here currently still - I did not spot ( and was not asked ) at the sepilok - the sun bear sanctuary across the road though had a big sign saying 500mm + was 1000 myr - which is about £120 !!! The caves down the road ( usually go to if you do a day trip there ) the entrance was 30 and another 30 for a camera!! Our Guide was spot on with this as well and would not let us take other cameras in a bag!! Given that all the places say that photos cannot be used commercially this is a true rip off to tourists :(

if you want to photograph something different for free get to the night market ( food ) in Kk it's full of great and interesting people! Here is one quick image from sepilok though - this chap tried to attack me.. It was nearly called the last image I ever took! View attachment 43102q
 
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