Travel Gear What will I take

[krobert6]

I am off on a holiday to Laos, Cambodia and Thailand soon inland and coastal.

What equipment should I take I have a 70-200 2.8, a 50mm 1.4 and a 70-40 f4. and a 550ex and 420ex flash

I have also recently purchased an 77mm HMC cir polarizing.
I also want to buy a portable tripod like a Manfrotto 714B

[PhotosGuy]

I don't know where you're from. Take copies of equipment reciepts. If you can, register it with customs before you leave. Find out if there's an advantage to buying equipment while you're there.

Oh, and... take only what you'll need! :lol: :lol: :lol:

[robertwgross]

I am off on a holiday to Laos, Cambodia and Thailand soon inland and coastal.

What equipment should I take I have a 70-200 2.8, a 50mm 1.4 and a 70-40 f4. and a 550ex and 420ex flash

I have also recently purchased an 77mm HMC cir polarizing.
I also want to buy a portable tripod like a Manfrotto 714B

I think you really ought to take an EOS digital camera body!

---Bob Gross---

[krobert6]

Thangs Guys, I am from Australia and will take the hint on lodging with customs. I do not think the equipment is any cheaper in these countries.

:D I will be taking a 300D - once I get the annoying err99 fixes :roll:

[Case]

I am off on a holiday to Laos, Cambodia and Thailand soon inland and coastal.

What equipment should I take I have a 70-200 2.8, a 50mm 1.4 and a 70-40 f4. and a 550ex and 420ex flash

I have also recently purchased an 77mm HMC cir polarizing.
I also want to buy a portable tripod like a Manfrotto 714B

I recently cyled through Cambodia with just my 10D and 28-135 IS USM. This lense was a great compromise for me...as the focal length covered most of what i needed and i didn't want the extra weight of multiple lenses. I would have been hesitant to change lenses just about anywhere in Cambodia anyway...it was sooo dusty.
Tripod is probably a good idea if you're happy to carry the weight (i'm definetly lugging my new tripod to Peru this year...but it would have been way to heavy for a cycling trip)...there will be some awesome opportunities for shots around sunrise/sunset.
I personally wouldn't worry about the flashes...but it really depends on how much you're happy to carry around....all this gear gets heavy when you're backpacking!
One more thing, remember to take plenty of file storage....there's plenty to photograph where you're going!

Here's some samples from my trip :

http://chrisidle5118.fotopic.net/c138972.html

Cheers

Chris

[krobert6]

Thanks for the advise Case. I have backpacked amny times myself - bt will not be doing it too rough this time. So I will probably take all I have incl purchase that tripod.

I loved the photos you took - how was Saigon?. I was thinking of travelling from Thailand to there by air and road back to Thailand.

Where were the pictures of the killing fields taken?. Did you use a polarizeing lense?.

[Case]

Saigon was great, very vibrant and clean for a SE asian capital! We only had a few days there during our month in Veitnam but wished we had more. It'd be a good road trip Saigon - Bangkok (with maybe a boat trip Phnom Penh to Siem Reap).
The killing fields were Cheung Ek (probably wrong spelling) in Phnom Penh. Very depressing stuff, but a must see if you're there (as is the old school that the Khmer Rouge used for torturing, also in Phnom Penh).
I don't think I used my polariser a great deal, but it came in handy at times. Most of the time i was in Cambodia it was hazy and overcast, which makes a CPL sort of useless.

BTW, for anyone even vaguely interested in photography Angkor is phenomenal....give yourself at least 3 days there

If you want some more info throw a PM my way.....

Cheers

Chris

[PhotosGuy]

I think you really ought to take an EOS digital camera body!

Good catch, Bob! I totally missed that!

I do not think the equipment is any cheaper in these countries.

You never know unless you ask.

Years ago, there was this guy named Lindsay Wu in Kowloon, HK who we bought Nikons from at a BIG discount. Almost every order he'd include a body that we hadn't ordered & we were always able to sell it here!
We'd have them shipped to the Windsor, Ontario post office (just across the border) & import them, & Canada would rebate the customs duty.

[cocasana]

You are very lucky!!! Those are beautiful places. I've been there several times, and I would return there tommorow if I only could! Don't miss Phnom Penh. Don't forget a WA!
Have fun

[krobert6]

Thanks Cocansa,

I cannot wait till I depart.

I will probably stack as much as I can get into my Lowpro backpack and tie a tripod to the bottom :lol:

[12345Michael54321]

Saigon was great, very vibrant and clean for a SE asian capital!
Ah, it's probably nitpicking on my part, but it hasn't been called "Saigon" in decades. The name was changed to Ho Chi Min City, back in... I think around 1976, the year after the Communists, in violation of the treaty they'd signed in 1973, invaded and took over the south.

And it's not a capital. The capital of Vietnam is Hanoi. (Saigon was, of course, the capital of South Vietnam, up until 1975.)

Just as Richmond is no longer a North American capital, and Thailand is no longer called Siam, so is "Vietnamese capital - Saigon," a thing of the past.

I've never had opportunity to photograph in Vietnam, but maybe someday.

[Case]

Ah, it's probably nitpicking on my part, but it hasn't been called "Saigon" in decades. The name was changed to Ho Chi Min City, back in... I think around 1976, the year after the Communists, in violation of the treaty they'd signed in 1973, invaded and took over the south.

And it's not a capital. The capital of Vietnam is Hanoi. (Saigon was, of course, the capital of South Vietnam, up until 1975.)


Yes, you are nitpicking. :wink: It's still called Saigon by many Vietnamese...although Ho Chi Minh City is the government prefered name. When we were there it seemed to be about 50/50 to what name people used.....locals and travellers alike. I tend to use Saigon 'cause it's easier to say/type (well, quicker anyway). And despite the war happening before by birth, i'm quite aware of what it's modern history...from both perspectives.

Your arguement about Hanoi being the capital is semantic. Hanoi certainly is the political capital of Vietnam, but HCMC/Saigon is the business and tourist capital (although both cities have their charms), as well as being the provincial capital. More importantly i was using the capital in the context of it being a major SE Asian city...and it certainly is a capital.

Cheers

Chris

Oh, and i thouroughly recomend Vietnam as a destination....we had a great time....:)