Thanks for the info about your travels. Its always good to have more information to help make better decisions.
I used a shuttle service (Morpho Vans) because I had not been to the country before and didn't speak the language. It worked out very well for me and my travel partners because our driver, Karla, did much more than just drive. She translated for us, helped us shop, did currency conversions, talked to the locals and found us the best places to eat along the way. She also called ahead and spoke to the owners/operators of several places to verify current conditions, hours of operation and pricing. Her efforts allowed us to spend our time worrying about photography, not all the other logistical issues associated with travel in another country. As I become more familiar with area, I will probably move more toward driving myself, but not at this point.
With respect to my gear, I've found that my Canon 100-400mm IS v2 is quite capable of replacing several lenses in my bag, and worked extremely well at photographing reptiles, flowers and bugs due to its minimum focusing distance of 3.2 feet. 400mm (640mm with a crop sensor) at 3.2 feet gave me plenty of magnification and working distance at the same time..... especially when photographing a fer-de-lance.
As a result, I was able to pack a Gura Gear 22L with a 16-35mm, 24-105mm, 100-400mm, 500mm, 1.4x, 2x, 580ex, 6d and a 7d2. This setup allowed me to shoot with effective focal lengths of 16mm-1600mm with near-macro capability as well. The compact size of the bag meant that I was never concerned the bag wouldn't fit in an overhead or under the seat. I was pretty happy with the way the gear worked out.
Mar 11, 2017 at 05:11 PM
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