I'm going to SE Asia for a month for my honeymoon in Dec/Jan and I'm trying to decide on lenses to bring. We'll be moving around a lot. My primary subjects are wildlife (I'm a biologist)--but mostly insects and small vertebrates like frogs, snakes etc (plus I don't have any super-teles) in addition to street photography. On the trip I'll certainly want photos of temples (interiors and exteriors). I do shoot lots of landscapes but on this trip I may be without a tripod and the only landscapes I know I will want are probably temples.
Anyway, here's what I'm considering bringing (all shot with a d300s)
I have an old 5T close up lens that I used to use on the 70-300 which works in a pinch for macro photos. If I was desperate to save weight I could leave the 105 at home, but it's such a great lens and doubles as a short tele that I don't want to leave it.
I could leave the 18-70, but it's a great daytime walk around lens that could work for wider angle shots (the 35 is not nearly wide enough).
Do you think this will cover most everything? I figure I'll have predominantly the 35 on at temples and around town and predominantly the 105 on with flash rig when in the field.
Thanks for any suggestions and advice,
Gabriel.
EDIT: I know I probably need faster glass for interiors, but I just finished graduate school and I'm pooooor. So no new glass will be bought for this trip.
You won't be getting the temple shots you want with 35 being the widest lens you have on DX.
Unfortunately, without something faster than your 18-70 or a tripod, you still might not get the photos you want.
Kind of a tough spot. I wouldn't leave my widest lens at home IMO. If anything I'd leave the 70-300. But I'm not a big 'long lens' kind of guy. I could probably get by with just a 28mm and 50mm on FX.
I have a tokina 12-24 f4 but it's slow and the d300s is not great above 600 ISO. I shoot RAW so I could use noise reduction in lightroom I suppose. Yeah, I agree...I'm not in the best position to be shooting what I want to shoot right now, but have to make due with what I have.
ha, not whining...You are correct, I'm not poor--it's all relative, I just meant in terms of being able to buy new glass (which people always immediately suggest).
We're both biologists so stopping and photographing everything we see goes with the territory. Also, the wedding was awhile ago, this is just when we finally had enough time to get away...she won't be upset.
I just came back from a month long trip from SE Asia and learned that you should keep your camera gear as light as possible. I brought a D7000 and 24-70/2.8 and felt it was a bit much sometimes. By the 3rd week I was mostly shooting with my Canon S95 and iPhone. The reasons being are:
-SE is hot. REALLY hot. The heat, humidity, crowds, and constant moving around is gonna make that camera feel like a brick.
-Depending on where you go in SE Asia it's not very safe to be walking around with a big camera. It also attracts all sorts of solicitors since they think you have money. You will be swarmed by 3-5 people at once.
-You need a lens wider than 35mm if you're going to the temples/indoors/attractions. 24mm wasn't wide enough for me sometimes.
-You need a lens that's 2.8 or faster especially when shooting indoors as some places do not allow flash photography or do not have adequate artificial lights installed. I had to shoot the D7k at 3200 or higher sometimes.
If I were to do it all over again I would only bring a 17-50 or 17-55 f/2.8 lens. That's really all you need unless you are going to be doing some serious shooting.
I just read that you can't afford new glass. Bring the 18-70 as a daytime walk around lens and the 35 prime for low light situations. That's all you need.
If you're not afraid to switch lenses I'd suggest:
12-24
35
50
105
flash
It's not too much. Feed your passion. You can share the load if necessary... I'd keep the 35 on the camera and that's a great setup. When necessary switch for what you need. You're not shooting a wedding to loose a critical moment when switching... The primes will offer the best quality and low light flexibility while the zoom will give the wide angle you need. When necessary try to put the camera on a support for longer exposure at lower ISO to avoid noise. Last... if there is no solution raise ISO but don't reduce too much the shutter speed... grainy photos are better than blurred one...
The problem with changing lenses is that SE Asia is extremely dusty and smoggy. Imagine the dustiest street in your neighborhood and multiply that by 10. Throw in tons of smog also. In some parts if you walk around for 30 min wearing a white shirt you'll notice a ton of black specks clinging to you. Coupled with the crowds I would not change lenses on the street or in a touristy location.
Having so many lenses also takes away from the experience since you're constantly thinking what lens to use.
Less is better when traveling. If you really take 4 lenses with you, I guarantee after the first few days you will be cursing yourself. And then when you decide to only use 1 or 2 lenses on day trips around the city/countryside/whatever, you run the risk of your belongings getting stolen in the hotel/hostel.
You should really only bring whatever you can carry comfortably on your person. That includes everything else besides your camera gear.
A lot of what you need depends on where you are actually going. We don't have a lot of long distance wild life. However the 300 mm will be useful if you are photographing area's with monkey's or water buffalo. December/January is the coolest period of the year in Thailand and proximate countries. The humidity will be considerably lower than it is now. For Temple shots you will want an effective length of around 24 mm or you will miss quite a few shots especially at places like Angkor.
Sunlight here is bright so light is not a problem during the "day", remember our sunset occurs around 6 pm that time of year and sunrise is around 6:15 am.
Mike
