Advice please on trip to Australia

[pfogle]

Hi, I'm planning a trip to Australia in a couple of months to shoot clothes and designers.

I've never travelled with digital, I'm taking a 1Dm2, 2 x 2 GB cards, a 20GB flashtrax, and a bowens lighting kit (arrived tonight :D) that can run off battery or mains.

My weak spot is how to handle archiving, processing etc on the trip. Can anyone recommend what I should look for in a laptop? I wouldn't mind CD's or DVD's for temporary archiving on the trip, but I don't use them at home; I prefer to keep everything on hard disk drives.

Any advice please? All suggestions welcome.

thanks
Phil

[Carzee]

Hi and hope it all turns out terrific.

Note that Aussie mains is 240v AC re the Bowens kit etc.

In a coupla months its summertime, high summer infact. Outside air cond work places, pubs, eateries, shopping centres etc, clothing is very casual. What clothing is involved in your shoot?

[pfogle]

Hi and hope it all turns out terrific.

Note that Aussie mains is 240v AC re the Bowens kit etc.

In a coupla months its summertime, high summer infact. Outside air cond work places, pubs, eateries, shopping centres etc, clothing is very casual. What clothing is involved in your shoot?
thanks for the welcome Carzee, I see you're in the Hunter Valley. Isn't that wine country? I'm going to be in Adelaid and Melbourne, maybe (I hope) I'll get to Sydney - I have a friend who's a fashion photog who lives in Bondi.

The clothes are what are known as 'wearable art' - one-off art pieces for parades or that end up in museums. Great fun.

cheers
Phil

[PhotosGuy]

I'm planning a trip to Australia in a couple of months... For starters, I suggest that you don't plan to hitchhike! :D
Actually, I've been looking at laptops & decided that a cheap one will do since the LCD screen isn't the best for editing & I won't be doing that, so I figure I don't need the latest & fastest simply to hold the files for me. I plan to get an external DVD/CD writer to back up.
WinXP so I can use the software I have in a pinch.

[pfogle]

Frank - I agree with you about the laptop. I'm using an old thinkpad x20 now, max speed 800MHz and max RAM 192MB, so it might just make it! My main concern is the slow download (no USB2 or firewire) but I'm thinking of taking a USB external drive for the storage.

One thing I've noticed is that a lot of the newer laptops, even cheaper ones, have these shiny screens that looks really nice - I'm thinking that they might be good for showing the pictures to clients, but I haven't done a side-by-side comparison. That, plus a built in DVD writer and a larger hard drive might just make it worth while upgrading.

Any particular models of laptop catch your eye?

ps - is that your Nikon R/F on your site? Is it an S2? I used to have one, and loved it!

[PhotosGuy]

but I'm thinking of taking a USB external drive for the storage. I have a 160GB one that I use for backup & keep in a different location, but wouldn't want to travel with it. DVD/CDs seem less delicate to me.
max speed 800MHz and max RAM 192MB, :D I'll probably get something a little faster than that, maybe 1.2MHz w/40 MB HD. Haven't decided on a model yet. Is it an S2? It's an S2 Black Dial. Thinking of selling it to finance an "L". I'm amazed at what they sell for these days!

Have fun on your trip!

[tim]

People around here are mad. Get yourself a G6 and have a nice holiday, forget the camera for a while.

If you must travel with an SLR i'd take something smaller than a 1 series, i'd add a wide lens and a 24-70 style lens, and there's no way i'd take a lighting kit. What are you planning on doing with your lighting anyway?!

[Desertraptor]

If your coming to Adelaide then you must visit Australias real wine country. The Barrossa Valley area :)

What's wrong with hitch hiking in Auss ?

You would be amazed at the numbers of people who think they can get a taxi from Darwin to Melbourne or Adelaide :o

For those who don't know Australia is as wide as the US almost.

[pfogle]

People around here are mad. Get yourself a G6 and have a nice holiday, forget the camera for a while.

Well, thanks for the vote of confidence in my sanity!

This is a work trip, so DSLR and lights are, unfortunately, essential. The kit is a Bowens Gemini two head with battery pack in case I get caught in the outback ;) - very nice kit, reasonable price but weighs about 40kg, so not exactly hand luggage!

[tim]

Well if you have to have the gear for work that's different. You're going to be paying some excess luggage charges!

Take your lightest EOS digital camera I rekon, a wide zoom lens, and a standard zoom lens, and you should be fine.

[pfogle]

Well if you have to have the gear for work that's different. You're going to be paying some excess luggage charges!

Take your lightest EOS digital camera I rekon, a wide zoom lens, and a standard zoom lens, and you should be fine.

Tim, I see from your byline that you're in NZ - I shall be over there at xmas before heading off to Oz, so maybe we could meet up for a coffee? I'll be based in Auckland.

cheers
Phil

[tim]

Tim, I see from your byline that you're in NZ - I shall be over there at xmas before heading off to Oz, so maybe we could meet up for a coffee? I'll be based in Auckland.

cheers
Phil

Sure, just drive about 9 hours south and you'll find Wellington... if you'll be down here drop me a PM and i'll show you the cafe scene here in Wellington :)

[pfogle]

I LOVE the cafe scene in Wellington - party town! I'll definitely PM you if I get down there
:)

[MattyB]

yaya for coming to melbourne :D
my town rocks.

is this a public parade that i can attend for some photos? :D where abouts is it?

also - when you're planning to be in the city of melbourne, send me a PM if you need a free guide, i'll show you the touristy stuff, and the areas tourists miss, and regret it later :D

[joekr]

With regard to the laptop, if it has a pcmcia card slot in it and you don't mind a potential driver install, I would get a pcmcia card that supports either usb 2 or firwire. USB 1 will be soooo slow (which I know you know).

Here's a link to newegg.com for a usb 2.0 pcmcia card. They are a very well respected hardware store.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16815104803

Then just pick up a usb 2.0 compliant card reader and you are good to go! Hope you have a good trip!!!

Joe

[joekr]

or you could just buy one of those pretty new powerbooks from Apple... ;)

[Tdragone]

Just note; if memory serves me; that if you use a PCMCIA card -> USB 2.0 adapter; you will not be getting true USB 2.0 speeds as I think you will be limited by the bus speed on the PCMCIA interface.

If I remember correctly; you get somewhere between USB 1.1 and USB 2.0 speeds depending on the pcmcia reader/writer hardware you have.

[clipper_from_oz]

People around here are mad. Get yourself a G6 and have a nice holiday, forget the camera for a while.

If you must travel with an SLR i'd take something smaller than a 1 series, i'd add a wide lens and a 24-70 style lens, and there's no way i'd take a lighting kit. What are you planning on doing with your lighting anyway?!


Sydney Harbor Bridge at night? :)

[tim]

Sydney Harbor Bridge at night?

Sure, set the camera on something solid and it'll do fine.

[blackviolet]

if you need lighting, why not hire something while you're here? not only is the voltage different, the cycles are as well. i wouldn't trust just any converter with my lights.

good shooting spots for clothes/people
portraits on north bridge (sydney) @ early evening (a little while after the lights come on- great with good dof and fill). blues point. the rocks. museum station. and of course just about any little town for the atmosphere.

[condyk]

I'd get a light and fast Toshiba Portege A200 and you an burn to CD as backup if you want to. It is wireless too so you can access internet in cafe's if you need to send stuff or check emails. I've bought three of these for clients and all delighted. Good screens and you can use RawShooter Premium to PP. Comes with XP Pro

http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=83319&_LOC=UK

They have a bundle deal if you read carefully where you can get an extra 256mb memory upgrade.

There are at least half a dozen equally good machines, and many better for big money, but for travelling and expandability (and I've travelled all over the world with laptops of different brands) I think it is about the best all round option right now for the price and so it represents very good value. It also looks very cool.