What to take?

[dindsy]

Hi There,
so, we have a family holiday planned to the USA. 5 weeks hitting SF, LA, Grand Canyon, Boston, New York and Washington.

My big dilemma is what to take. I have a camera backpack which i think meets all the carry on a personal bag requirements. So i can take a lot but do i need it all. It is a family holiday and so less time for just going out to shoot rather than taking holiday photos. but i want to do a bit of both. The grand canyon is a short stay but i hope to get some nice photos. weather permitting.
Oh and we're going end of next week. so winter and cold.
My kit and hence choices are.
Nikon D750 (tick)
Tamron 90mm Macro
Tamron 15-30mm F2.8
Tamron 70-200mm F2.8
Sigma 150-600mm
Nikon 50mm F1.8

I think the 15-30 is a must for city panorama and Grand Canyon vistas.
50mm 1.8 because its small and good for inside low light.

the 90mm is quite small and light and i think could be useful for a short telephoto.

But i am leaning towards not taking the 150-600. its big and i am trying to see where i might have need. And i could just take the 70-200.

thoughts and experience advice would be welcome.

cheers

[Glenda]

I'd definitely take the 15-30, 70-200 and 50mm. Unless you know you are going to be shooting a lot of wildlife or sport I wouldn't bother with the Sigma and you can crop fairly hard with the 750 + 70-200 combo.

My go to lenses for OS are my 24-70 for a walkaround, 70-200 used rarely, 20mm great for landscapes and architecture and 50mm again used rarely. They are all fast lenses so good in low light.

Not sure who you are flying with but don't forget more and more airlines are weighing carry on now. I've only had my bag weighed once flying out of Brisbane and not at the check in desk but between it and the security check. My roller bag weighs around 5kg unpacked so I knew it would be overweight. Luckily, after asking to check inside and seeing camera gear he allowed me through. It was also weighed on check in flying out of India where they insisted we put some in our checked bags. I took out the camera and heaviest lens which went over my shoulder until we checked in, cleared security and then went back in my bag while waiting in the departure lounge . By memory I think some US airlines have even lower cabin bag limits than ours so, if flying internally, might pay to check and also how strict they are.

[ameerat42]

Hi There,
so, we have a family holiday planned to the USA. 5 weeks hitting SF, LA, Grand Canyon, Boston, New York and Washington.

My big dilemma is what to take. I have a camera backpack which i think meets all the carry on a personal bag requirements. So i can take a lot but do i need it all. It is a family holiday and so less time for just going out to shoot rather than taking holiday photos. but i want to do a bit of both. The grand canyon is a short stay but i hope to get some nice photos. weather permitting.
Oh and we're going end of next week. so winter and cold.
My kit and hence choices are.
Nikon D750 (tick)
Tamron 90mm Macro
Tamron 15-30mm F2.8
Tamron 70-200mm F2.8
Sigma 150-600mm
Nikon 50mm F1.8

I think the 15-30 is a must for city panorama and Grand Canyon vistas.
50mm 1.8 because its small and good for inside low light.

the 90mm is quite small and light and i think could be useful for a short telephoto.

But i am leaning towards not taking the 150-600. its big and i am trying to see where i might have need. And i could just take the 70-200.

thoughts and experience advice would be welcome.

cheers

A couple of initial points:
1) Weight is not a major issue?
2) You have a "spare body", which may be in the form a of another camera altogether, such as a phone?
3) Do you intend to do much macro, or is it mainly "close-up" that you could press another lens into doing?

And to suggested choices:
1) the 15-30/2.8 for the reasons you give.
2) the 70-200/2.8 to cover the 90mm range and because they have the same f-ratio.
3) the 150-600 for those wildlife shots you don't see the need for yet.

And why not the:
1) 50/1.8 is just 2 stops wider than the 15-30/2.8, and an ISO change should cover any low-light contingency;
2) 90 Macro if macro is not going to be a major aim and it's just fr the reason you gave. I think that unless it's
for serious macro, you will find it less of use than you suggest.

Other:
1) Do you have a teleconverter that is of serious contention? If so, add that to the mix and then you can choose to
include your 90 Macro for a slightly more useful telephoto, and boost the 1:5 reproduction ratios of your 70-200 and
15-30. At a pinch, it could help decide against taking the 150-600.
2) Consider for yourself the most likely combo that will be useful and that will eliminate the need for frequent lens
swapping.

[Mary Anne]

Last time I went overseas I took two Canon bodies
Tamron 90mm for macro Insects & Flowers my two favourite genres.
Canon 70-200mm and 1.4 Extender
Canon 24-105mm.
Quite adequate for 8 weeks of Family, Bugs, Landscapes and even got a few Birds.
That fitted into my lowpro backpack on board luggage

Hubby carried the MacBook Pro, all the batteries memory cards the two chargers, power boards extension lead worked out to a little heavier than my bag.
Though just under the on board luggage weight.

Have fun and enjoy your holiday and don’t take the camera with you all the time.
The smart phone will get you some decent images these days.

[Colin B]

For holiday photos I take my trusty Nikon Coolpix B7500. The 60x zoom lens and smaller sensor may be a bit light on for professional standard work and it doesn't perform well in poor light but it covers 99% of shooting situations, takes up little room in my case and is light enough to hang around my neck all day without discomfort. For indoor and unobtrusive work Rosemary's little Fuji compact fits the bill nicely.

In my (fairly extensive) travels I have found a few extra clothes, (particularly undies and socks) and maybe another pair of shoes to be more useful than a couple of kilos of photographic gear. To be brutally honest - carting heavy high-end gear around and looking after it on a holiday is more nuisance than it is worth and the people you show those pics to on the T.V. or computer will not notice the difference in image quality.

That is just my take on it - for me it is more important to enjoy the experience myself than record it in detail to bore the socks off my family and friends later.

[nardes]

Unless you are pretty confident of carving out some substantial shooting time for long distance wildlife, I'd leave the 150-600mm at home and maybe look at picking up a decent x1.4 or x2 Converter for the 70-200 F2.8, if the IQ is good enough with that combination.

Cheers

Dennis

[J.davis]

On my last trip to Europe, I only took my 24-105 Sigma and 16-28 Tokina. worked well for my purposes around the little villages and landscapes.

[farmmax]

I'm afraid to say I use one lens only. The Tamron 16-300mm. Covers pretty well everything. I don't want to be bothered worrying about multiple pieces of camera gear. Takes the fun out of the trip.

[Hawthy]

Beware overpacking. Lugging a bag full of lenses is a pain in the backside. On my last trip, I took a Sigma 10-20mm, the 18-55mm kit lens, a Sigma 70-300mm, and a 35mm f1.8 prime lens. 95% of the time, I simply used the 18-55mm kit lens. 18mm works for me for most landscape shots and setting it at 35mm works out for panos. It is cheap and, should the worst happen, it is expendable and easily replaced. It is light and versatile. I am not sure what the equivalent lens is for a full frame Nikon though.

The 10-20mm Sigma was great for waterfalls. I barely used the zoom, which was the heaviest, and did not use the 35mm prime. I always thought I would use it in low light but never did.

Don't forget to take a light tripod and spare batteries and a charger. Maybe a tiny flash like the Nikon SB400. And a microfibre cleaning cloth to wipe the lens if it is raining.

Have a great trip.

[Geoff79]

It’s pretty much been covered, but to me, unless you were specifically looking to take macro shots or shots that require 600mm, I’d be leaving those two behind as the other three cover most of what I assume you’ll require.

[dindsy]

Thanks all for the advice. As usual there are so many choices and options for everything. it really highlights that there is more equipment to add to the wish list.
F2.8 primes are nice but it'd be nice to have some choices that aren't, and so are smaller, lighter.
I think i will take my 15-30 and 70-200 because when i decide to take a photo of something i like, then i want the good lenses. but i will probably have to 50mm as my walk around to take photos of kids.

[William W]

I think you've made a good choice, those are the lenses I would have suggested.

A couple of other points FYI -

> You mentioned in your OP that you think that your Camera Backpack meets the requirements for Carry-On, I assume you meant "size": be aware that many Airlines have a weight limit. My Slingshot bag has been weighed quite often in the last two years: Air New Zealand and Qantas for International here and Ryanair in Europe.

> Regarding your desire to have some smaller/lighter lenses fr your D750: I suggest to think wider than a lens and consider a quality Mirrorless with a quality Zoom Lens - and that's your back up camera.

My personal 'travel kit', like my soup, has been reduced, reduced, reduced... last few trips being: (Canon) EOS 5D Series Body; Battery Grip; 24 to 105/4 IS Zoom; 35/1.4; and second camera: (Fuji) x100s - OR - EOS M5; EF-M 11-22; EF-M to EF Lens Adapter.

Provided I have a fast 35 Prime, I don't have much need for my F/2.8 Zooms when on holiday, as you mentioned they're heavy, additionally any Canon 70 to 200 Lens is white, which I prefer not to use when I am on holiday.

WW

Post Script:
Just noticed Glenda mentioned Carry-On weight.
Being curious I just checked Qantas International Carry-On, it is 7kgs per item.
Note that Economy, one Carry-On item is allowed. In premium Economy one can use two smaller Carry-On bags, 7kgs each.
That's a weight reduction, I think I was allowed 10kgs per Carry-On item, last year.
But the main point is - they are weighing it more often and that can be at boarding, if that's the case one can be on an hiding to nothing, with little leverage.

REF [LINK]

[dindsy]

I think you've made a good choice, those are the lenses I would have suggested.

A couple of other points FYI -

> You mentioned in your OP that you think that your Camera Backpack meets the requirements for Carry-On, I assume you meant "size": be aware that many Airlines have a weight limit.


REF [LINK]

i have reduced my bag as well. i will now take my smaller camera bag. total weight with camera and lenses is 4kg. So should be OK but i will still airline carry on weight limits.

[richardb]

The wide angle zoom for the panoramic views,
and the 70-200mm for medium tele shots,
a 2nd body if possible, may be rent it,
have enough memory cards,
dust blower,
few filters
the rest is unneeded ballast load, looking at ur planned cities, I guess no macros will be encountered
Enjoy ur hols

[Jorge Arguello]

Enjoy your trip, and enjoy taking holiday photos.
The Grand Canyon is less crowded during sunrise, but still you can enjoy the view at any other time.

All the best in your trip. One or two steps back.

[glennb]

I think you will be good with 15 to 30 and the 50mm (or 24-85 if you can) From past experience on International travel for "Holidaying" is keeping it light. But everyone is different. I actually purchased a Fujifilm xT20 with 10-24,35mm and 18-55 (crop) for holidaying and walkaround. I did New York with my Nikon D610 and found you will do a lot of street photography (Laneways buildings people ) and City/Landscape. I would take 70-200 before the 150-600 sigma , unless you huge on nature.