Travel dilemma

[acbruce]

I have a very nice Nikon D700, Nikon 17-35, 24-120 50mm 1.8 and 70-300 lenses. I'm about to retire and have trips to Italy and Vietnam planned. As you'll appreciate taking all of these lenses and an - about to be added - couple of Lee filters it's quite a heavy load - the D700 itself is, albeit reassuringly, hefty. Just back from Barcelona, where I took most of this kit in a Kata 3N1-20 bag, bought when I had my D70 and a couple of lenses, I found the bag quite uncomfortable to carry round all day and so my dilemma is whether to get a slightly bigger but more comfortable bag or get an all-purpose lighter camera, say the Olympus Pen and smaller bag which would seem to kind of defeat the object of finally owning such a lovely bit of kit like the D700. Sorry to be quite so long-winded on my first ever post here, but suggestions very welcome.

 

[woof woof]

Hi Alistair,

I'm a big fan of micro four thirds cameras like the GF1 and Pen but I love my SLR too. Since Christmas I've been to Kazakhstan and Belgium with a Panasonic GF1+20mm f1.7 and a LX5. I didn't regret leaving my DSLR at home but they were holidays with my girlfriend and not dedicated photography holidays.

If your trip is more photography and less partner orientated could you maybe limit yourself to a SLR with either your 17-35mm or 24-120mm as a general purpose lens and your 50mm f1.8 as an indoor and low light lens? The camera + one lens should fit in a camcorder bag and I'm pretty sure you'd be able to carry it all all day long.

Of course you could always get a Pen or GF1 too and carry it in a jacket pocket or smaller bag on days / evenings when you don't want to take your SLR kit.

 

[redhed17]

I'd always stick with the DSLR if possible, but lightness and compactness is more important to some people. For all of my trips taking pics is the main reason for the holiday, and I wouldn't want to feel I didn't get the pictures I wanted because I left something at home, or took the pic with the wrong camera.

If the trip to Barcelona was the same type of trip as the upcoming ones, either photo trip or photo+family trip, what lenses did you use the most? I know when I went to Barcelona, I only used my 70-300mm when I was looking over the city from Tibidabo. :shrug: I haven't used the 70-300mm in many places on holiday, as I'm on city based holidays most of the time, so generally the wider angle lens is preferable. I have the 16-85mm on almost permanently. I've used a 10-20mm occasionally when I've borrowed it off a friend and taken it with me.

As for bags, I use a normal backpack which doesn't tell people that I have loads of gear, (not that I do) but also has room for drinks and food whilst walking about. When travelling as well, it has enough room to get all my gear in plus laptop for taking onto the plane.

If I was on holiday where I was constantly travelling from place to place, I would maybe have to reconsider what and how I would take. I normally am in the same place for a week or so going out each day and returning to the accommodation each night.

So my advice would be, 'it depends'.

 

[woof woof]

Is getting the wife / girlfriend to carry something an option?

 

[Critical I]

I have a very nice Nikon D700, Nikon 17-35, 24-120 50mm 1.8 and 70-300 lenses. I'm about to retire and have trips to Italy and Vietnam planned. As you'll appreciate taking all of these lenses and an - about to be added - couple of Lee filters it's quite a heavy load - the D700 itself is, albeit reassuringly, hefty. Just back from Barcelona, where I took most of this kit in a Kata 3N1-20 bag, bought when I had my D70 and a couple of lenses, I found the bag quite uncomfortable to carry round all day and so my dilemma is whether to get a slightly bigger but more comfortable bag or get an all-purpose lighter camera, say the Olympus Pen and smaller bag which would seem to kind of defeat the object of finally owning such a lovely bit of kit like the D700. Sorry to be quite so long-winded on my first ever post here, but suggestions very welcome.

Well, I also have a lot of D700 kit, though I used to have a nice compact Pentax K20 and a few lovely lenses. When travelling abroad the D700 adds the extra low light dimension that I often used to miss out on when exploring cities in the twilight or after dark, or in interiors where you cannot use tripods or flash. There is no way I would compromise on a smaller sensor nor, having made the investment, leave it all at home. At any ISO over 400 the difference between a D700 and a micro 4/3 is literally night and day.

However, I would concur that the design of ones backpack makes a huge difference to how comfortable you are when hauling gear around. Specifically, the width and amount of padding on the straps, as well as the shape of the back padding and centre of gravity, all make a huge difference.

Judging from my kit list I would say your load is "moderate" compared to mine, but compared to an APSC camera and couple of lenses it will require a better carrying solution. I tried the Kata you have, but for heavier loads found it very poor in the comfort department because the shoulder straps are way too thin, although it was a very clever bag. Also, when I upgraded to the D700 from a Pentax K20, I found even the few extra KG involved turned my Lowepro mini-trekker from trusted companion to pain in the neck - this time because of lack of padding and poor shape.

Over the years I have bought and sold a lot of rucksacks and very few have managed to combine the qualities I need in a sensible package, but the most comfortable I ever found for moderate loads (5kg) are either of these two.

If you can bear to leave one lens at home (I seldom use a long lens when travelling) then you could easily get away with this one:

http://www.warehouseexpress.com/buy...ler-Cupcake-Half-Photo-Black-Backpack_1524132

Plenty of room for D700 plus 24-120 in the lower section, plus a couple of extra lenses. Weight carried nice and low too. This leaves loads of room on the top half for the kind of stuff you normally need to carry on holiday (hat, sunglasses, extra jumper, maps etc.). I have walked miles (12 in one non-stop session the other day) with this pack, D700 plus 24-120 and 16-35, flash, spare batteries and a 12" laptop.

The full photo version would hold all of your gear very easily and would probably still be comfortable though I can't find any going cheap.

Both worth a look I would say, though don't buy one in a Crumpler dealer for £119!

 

[woof woof]

At any ISO over 400 the difference between a D700 and a micro 4/3 is literally night and day.

I wouldn't argue that larger sensor cameras don't offer more ultimate quality than MFT because they do if you look closely but my recent experience is that at reasonable print and viewing sizes there is very little difference between my MFT and APS-C DSLR in whole image shots after processing.

Check out the MFT thread here for examples of higher ISO shots.

 

[tijuana taxi]

If you can afford it buy something like the Pen for the Italy trip and see how much you miss the D700.
Bags that can carry your amount of kit securely will always be fairly weighty and in the humidity of Vietnam won't seem any easier

Hard choice and one i'm sure many of us face, could also consider a discreet shoulder bag for when your arrive and just take the D700 with one or two lenses out with you depending on what you think you will need

 

[jacob12_1993]

I have a crumpler rucksack that I would recommend!

 

[Nikon Fan]

I spent a month in Vietnam not so long ago, but as we were trekking a lot, I just took my D200 with 18-200VR Lens and my sigma 10-20 Lens. Travelling light is more fun, and I still came back with some great images with a couple of them being accepted into the Welsh Photographic Salon.

 

[Critical I]

I wouldn't argue that larger sensor cameras don't offer more ultimate quality than MFT because they do if you look closely but my recent experience is that at reasonable print and viewing sizes there is very little difference between my MFT and APS-C DSLR in whole image shots after processing.

Check out the MFT thread here for examples of higher ISO shots.

Sorry, I simply cannot agree. I own a d90 and there is no way I would compare it's performance, in print, to a D700 at higher ISO. And the D90 is measurably better than any micro 4/3 camera.

If you are going to invest in equipment of the quality of a D700, you should use and enjoy it and if you need to buy a better rucksack its a small price to pay.

 

[acbruce]

Many thanks for all this advice to date. The crumpled bag looks ok any other long walking trip bags I should consider?

 

[seltechpc]

You could look at the f-stop range of bags. They look and work like a hiking rucksack and are configurable with different internal storage units to fit whatever you need. You would be able to carry your camera gear plus some clothing and drinks at the same time.
I do not think you will ever get a camera bag that is as comfortable as a proper walking rucksack, the fstop is probably as close as it gets.

Here is a link to one of there bags:

http://fstopgear.com/en/product/mountain/tilopa-bc

I hope this helps.

 

[evo456]

I think the bag really helps in making the load feel heavy or not. Having said that first principles with travel is just take what you absolutely need. More lens for me becomes a burden not only on weight but in enjoying my holidays, if the other lenses aren't with me, then I simply do have to worry about changing for the right 'shot'. I always dump my tele, and go with the following 3: ultra wide - for scenario, crowded areas, landscape. Standard zoom- for general shooting, standard fast prime- for portraits/low light.

I came back from Barcelona a couple of months ago with that set-up plus flash and tri-pod, and it was relatively comfortable esp when the camera is out the bag, in my hand, around my neck.