4 months in South America - gear selection

This sounds like a great trip, so congrats on having the time and finances to be able to take such a journey. To ME, this sounds like a bit much but to each their own. On my last trip to NYC, I took 4 lenses and 2 bodies, along with many accessories, but most of that stayed in the hotel during the day and I would venture out with a much smaller bag. It sounds like you will be constantly moving about and getting all this gear plus all your clothes and personal items into and out of planes, trains, and automobiles seems like quite the hassle.

You seem to have your mind made up that this is what you want to bring. It is starting to sound more like a post of 'look what gear I have and where I am going' rather than a post looking for advice on what to bring. You have obviously put a lot of thought into what gear you want to bring so it is impossible for someone else to pick gear that will fit YOUR shooting style.

You will have a fantastic trip, and as long as you can get that gear everywhere you want, you will have fantastic pictures. I hope you plan on sharing the pictures during your travels.

TEA

TheExpertAmateur wrote in post #10844475
This sounds like a great trip, so congrats on having the time and finances to be able to take such a journey. To ME, this sounds like a bit much but to each their own. On my last trip to NYC, I took 4 lenses and 2 bodies, along with many accessories, but most of that stayed in the hotel during the day and I would venture out with a much smaller bag. It sounds like you will be constantly moving about and getting all this gear plus all your clothes and personal items into and out of planes, trains, and automobiles seems like quite the hassle.

You seem to have your mind made up that this is what you want to bring. It is starting to sound more like a post of 'look what gear I have and where I am going' rather than a post looking for advice on what to bring. You have obviously put a lot of thought into what gear you want to bring so it is impossible for someone else to pick gear that will fit YOUR shooting style.

You will have a fantastic trip, and as long as you can get that gear everywhere you want, you will have fantastic pictures. I hope you plan on sharing the pictures during your travels.

TEA

No, I've pretty much decided on the *quantity* of gear I'll be bringing - but not quite the composition of the gear...

CRAZY?????

hhuy888 wrote in post #10843492
CRAZY!
personally i would just bring 1 body and take good care of it,

Not to be disrespectful but, from experience, I would consider it "CRAZY" to attempt a trip like that bringing only one body.

I fell climbing a slippery slope on Alaska's Kenai Peninsula and creamed my 40D on the first day of a ten-day trip. Without my 30D as a back-up, I would have been without a camera for the rest of my trip. So much for taking "good care of" my camera.

In a more urban environment, a fellow tour member fell in front of the City Walls of Xian, China breaking his Nikon and 18-200mm lens. He had no backup lens or camera and was reduced to either giving up photography or buying a replacement at higher Mainland China prices.

Redundancy in equipment is, IMO, essential especially if you are venturing off the beaten track.

The amount of gear I am willing to hump is totally dependant on my reasons for the trip. If photography is my prime reason (which is often the case) then I will gladly carry quite a load. However if doing the touristy things with my wife or other couples is paramount, then I will pare down my equipment considerably.

However, I would expect that the above comments regarding safety are very pertinent. While I would not be worried about carrying a load of photo equipment in most parts of China, I would be very careful displaying a wealth of equipment in South America.

2 bodies, for sure. Salt and sand on Galapagos could render one dead!

[QUOTE=Shadowblade;108​43722]ting that you say that - 35-70mm are probably my least-used focal lengths. But, then again, I've never really had much of an eye for street photography... or maybe it's because I always seem to have the 16-35 and 70-200 mounted as walkaround lenses!

I did not care much about 35mm until I got a good 35mm prime and then I was converted. The focal length is incredibly versatile and you can use it for everything from portraits to landscapes.

I usually keep my 70-200/II on my 7D - it's a really great combination. The AF on the 5DII is not so great so you can't get the full performance of the 70-200. The 35L should definitely be mounted on a full frame camera.

The TS-E is as sharp and well corrected as a lens can be but the colors, micro contrast and overall rendering style of the 21 is just out of this world. Granted I have used the TS-E 17L a limited number of times (I had it and the TS-E 24L for a while before I got into the whole Zeiss racket) but although I was very impressed with its raw optical performance, the colors, contrast and rendering style were not too different from the 16-35.

I was this summer for a couple of weeks in Croatia and spent some of the time mountain hiking. In the UWA department I had both my 16-35 and the 21 with me. How much did I use each? Lighroom gives me the following answer:

Zeiss 21: 844 pictures
Canon 16-35: 22 pictures

Each time I used the 16-35 I experienced a twinge of disappointment at the result and quickly changed to the 21.

Having said that, I was lucky with the weather. The 16-35 is weather sealed and the 21 is not.

denoir wrote in post #10845121
I did not care much about 35mm until I got a good 35mm prime and then I was converted. The focal length is incredibly versatile and you can use it for everything from portraits to landscapes.

Fair enough.

The tradeoff being that, for any given framing at any particular distance, you can get much more subject isolation with the 5D2 than the 7D.

If Zeiss made a Distagon 16 it might be a different story... I tend to do a lot of shooting from 16-20mm and often wish I could go even wider.

Here is my suggestion:

Bodies:
5D2 x 1
7D x 1

Lenses:
16 - 35 (usually mounted on the 5D2)
70-200 f/2.8L II (usually mounted on the 7D)
24 - 105 (alternate between bodies as needed)
Canon 1.4x TC

Flashes:
580EX II

Accessories:
Lee filter system
Gitzo 1541T with Markins Q3T ballhead
Timed remote shutter (for bulb exposures/nightscapes)
Chargers/batteries/CF cards/etc.
Shooting harness to carry everything around
Large drysack to put everything in for wet landings

denoir wrote in post #10848073
There is an 18mm Distagon, but it's not very good...

I know.

The TS-E 17 is wider and sharper... that said, it's also just as sharp as the Distagon 21. Colour depends on preference, the Distagon has more microcontrast though.

I like it wide as well, when I used the 16-35 regularly it was almost always at 16mm. In the end however image quality and overall look has been a priority. I can't take a picture with the 16-35 without thinking about how much better it would have looked with the 21. When you get thinking like that then focal length and the convenience of a zoom becomes a secondary issue.

My only real reason for keeping the 16-35 is because of the weather sealing. It also forms a nice duo with the 70-200 as when you use them with a 1.6 crop and an FF camera you have basically 16-320mm (in 35mm equivalent) covered - although in reality I can't see myself ever limiting myself to those two lenses. I did use them on a week long safari in South Africa this spring and both performed admirably - but that was before I got stuck in the Zeiss swamp.

There is a third UWA prime alternative. I have not used it myself but the images I've seen have been very promising. It's the Samyang 14mm/2.8.

denoir wrote in post #10848622
I like it wide as well, when I used the 16-35 regularly it was almost always at 16mm. In the end however image quality and overall look has been a priority. I can't take a picture with the 16-35 without thinking about how much better it would have looked with the 21. When you get thinking like that then focal length and the convenience of a zoom becomes a secondary issue.

My only real reason for keeping the 16-35 is because of the weather sealing. It also forms a nice duo with the 70-200 as when you use them with a 1.6 crop and an FF camera you have basically 16-320mm (in 35mm equivalent) covered - although in reality I can't see myself ever limiting myself to those two lenses. I did use them on a week long safari in South Africa this spring and both performed admirably - but that was before I got stuck in the Zeiss swamp.

There is a third UWA prime alternative. I have not used it myself but the images I've seen have been very promising. It's the Samyang 14mm/2.8.

16-35 and 70-200 on two full-frame bodies makes a great walkaround combination. For landscapes I prefer TS-E 17L (with or without TC, giving me a number of focal lengths to choose from) but will happily shoot with the 16-35 if I need to use filters, don't have time, etc. - it's never given me a non-saleable print due to IQ, even though I wish it had much sharper corners. I've been looking at the Samyang as well; if I go that route, though, I may as well use the Nikkor 14-24.

+ An assistant to carry it all?

After going with all that lot I hope you get some good shots

NinetyEight wrote in post #10849062
+ An assistant to carry it all?

And a AK47 to make sure he keeps it.

Just FYI,

I am going in October (3 wks) and have been told of weight limit impose by charter flights. Not including myself and the clothes I am wearing I am limited to 33 lbs. If that is your case also, I think you might be wearing one set of cloth. Going on a safari in Masai, cruise on the Nile, other off excursions.

For me I am taking:
7d
17-40
100-400
50 1.4
580 II
1541T w/ Q3t
3 extra CF
extra batteries for body and flash with extra charger
blower, lenspen
remote release


Haven't figure out:
backup system, 24-105 or 24-70, laptop, which bag to use.

Wow that seems like overkill on the kit. Unless you are being paid big bucks to do the work in which case go nuts!

Otherwise I don't see the need for 3 bodies ? Unless you are being careless I can't imagine you would kill 2 cameras.

Also the 2x TC suggestion instead of the 100-400 seems like a good one to me.

Any updates on this trip? I just went to South America (Paraguay) and am moving there soon (Uruguay).