Taking camera abroad!!

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chassyp

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charles
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I am pretty new to photography, and next week have the opportunity to shoot abroad. I guess there will be the usual sunshine and whiter than white buildings everywhere! So really my question is to start with, what setting would one use in these conditions?? I have a Nikon D80, and feel I may miss the opportunity in capturing the moment. Should I go for Raw? Stick on Auto and forget it? Or should I experiment?? Most of my shots will be of buildings, people, and scenery. I also love the detail with Macro, and hope to get the opportunity in snapping some Butterflies/Moths and stuff! I wont be taking a laptop, so checking my work will have to wait untill I get home I guess Any advice would be much appreciated.

Thank you in advance.
 
Shoot RAW, it will capture a lot more data than jpg, use your histogram and look out for anything that is burning out, if there are any parts of the image burning out then stop down a third or two. Do as they do in Rome, take a siesta during the hotest parts of the day, save your photography for when the natural light is a little softer.

If you are photographing moths etc, remember they will be less active when cold.
 
Have you got a cable that you can connect up to a TV? That way you could run through your pics and see them nice and big, then delete the ones you know you will not keep. Saves me the hassle of going through 100's on my return.
 
i just take the lappy swag :D

though on a more serious note I allways find my pics look crap on the tv (but I have never tried them on hd) due to the way they are 720px long side but on a big screen
 
Manual or AV mode all the way for me, and I haven't got a clue what I'm doing!!?? Using the histogram & clipping tool, I could quickly make adjustments when in dark buildings/shooting into the light etc when I was in Andalucia last week, and shot RAW in case I needed to rescue any when I got back.
 
Take loads of memory cards or at least be prepared to find an internet cafe or similar where you can either burn files to a CD or load them to a flickr pro account or similar.

Always shoot RAW and do experiment.

For some shots it might be useful to use a polarising filter although they do have their limitaions they can help with all that super bright sunlight.
 
Thanks Guys! Some really good info there. Raw it is then. I`m gonna take at least 20 gig with me so that should cover me. I will take a tv lead with me, but to be honest, It will depend on the tv over the re also!! I would love to take the lappy with me but the hand luggage allowance is on 5Kg, and my camera, batteries, leads and stuff take up most of that. Do they really weigh your hand luggage by the way?? I may risk it!
Cheers again.
 
I’ve just come back from the canaries but before I went I bought a lap top case from PC World that held my lap top (17” widescreen) in one compartment, two cameras (Nikon D80 + a Fuji S9600) various leads and a couple of books in the bottom half. It also has a couple of wheels and a pull out handle, all for about £35 - made by ‘Antler’. It is sized to fit those hand luggage testing frame thingies they have at airports, no-one questioned how much it weighed (but I did have to remove the lap top when going through the custom checks).

As for shooting in raw or jpeg why not set your D80 to shoot both? I did, so I can if I wish to do so adjust any good raw shots later. I took over 300 pictures and didn’t want to send the next month converting them all, just the ones I feel might benefit.

I would also suggest you purchase a CP filter before you go, really makes a difference in bright light

Here’s a couple of my sample images with a cp filter …

HTH
Cyb

oh and have a good holiday:thumbs:

zharbour1v800.jpg


zharbour3v800.jpg
 
poratable HDD at 40gb is not expensive and would allow you to transfer and transport a lot of data after visiting a cyber cafe.
UV and CPL filters might be handy with those nice rays of sunshine
AV mode would be a bonus, f5.6 or f8 depending upon what your lens likes the most
low ISO 100-400. if you have the space, exposure bracket by a stop if the shot is critical although RAW will give you post processing options
 
I was on Ryanair last week, and had my camera, lenses, laptop, and shoes in my camera bag (had to repack at the check in desk as their hold allowance is now 15Kgs FFS!!!??). It must have been at around the 10Kg mark, but wasn't asked about weight at any point. As a general rule, I think if you look comfortable with your bag slung over your shoulder, ie not straining, and it will fit in the metal measurement thingy, I think you'll be pretty safe!

Who are you flying with???
 
On the flying front, I flew to New York with Virgin about 6 weeks ago and took my camera (Canon 350D), Sigma 10-20, kit lens and various bits and bobs in the bottom of my camera rucksack, then documents, money, ipod, food etc in the top half. They did ask me to weigh the bag and I think it weighed in just under the 6kg limit for hand baggage :)

I didn't take a laptop with me either as I wasn't going primarily to do photography, so was only able to see my shots when I got home, but they were pretty good given the fact we were on a fieldtrip and were meant to be doing work at the time so I was happy.

Make sure your camera is insured though, I think I had a policy with Norwich Union which covered all of my bags and luggage, not just my camera.
 
Virgin to the US is the only time I have had my hand baggage weighed!! on the return trip the just felt it, and thought it too heavy a book for the plane, wash bag and 1 change of clothes, I was just an overnignt trip :bonk::bonk:
 
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