Island vacation question

I know its been discussed probably a brazillion times but for those of you who have gone on vacation to Carribean destinations what equipment did you bring that you used all the time vs that which you brought and ended up not touching.

I plan on bringing my 7D, tripod, remote and a couple of lens.

What kind of photography do you plan to do on your trip?

get a big enough bag and take them all. The one you don't have is the one you'll want. Just make sure you are insured.

If you only take two, I'd think the 17-55 and the 70-200 are the most obvious choices.

What markol asked. Carribean is awesome for seascape, landscape, insect/flower macro, bird photography, environmental portrait, local journalism...... Pretty much your entire arsenal can be used there.

I brought 5D2, 35L, Sigmalux, 17-40L, 100 f/2, 3x Speedlites, Pocketwizards, softbox, light stand (the last two neatly tucked into my golf bag).

Shot landscapes, street, and portraits.

Overkill? Perhaps. But the lighting gear was easy to pack in my golf bag, and I got shots I couldn't have gotten otherwise.

If limited to a smaller pack I'd probably just bring the 5D2, 17-40L, and 70-200 f/2.8 IS mk2, tripod, and shutter remote.

I would get a Pelican 1514 in which you can put two bodies, four lenses and accessories, and wheel it as carryon. Take a shoulder bag or a small pack on the plane to use for sandwiches, books, etc, and take what ever you need out each day. A travel tripod can go in packed luggage.

You'll find use for every lens.

Last time I went on an island type holiday, I was carrying so much diving gear, I didn't have enough by way of baggage allowance to take anything more than a compact. Can't say I missed the full DSLR gear though.

tvphotog wrote in post #13539457
I would get a Pelican 1514 in which you can put two bodies, four lenses and accessories, and wheel it as carryon. Take a shoulder bag or a small pack on the plane to use for sandwiches, books, etc, and take what ever you need out each day. A travel tripod can go in packed luggage.

You'll find use for every lens.

Basically what I did... Just got back Sunday from the Carribean, took 2 bodies, 4 lenses, 2 flashes (should have taken just one...) and misc filters, lens cleaning stuff, etc. packed in a Thinktank Streetwalker Pro HD (my carry-on), and used a LowePro shoulder bag (my personal item with water and books to read on the flight) and for daily excursions with a couple lenses and one body. Thought I might be taking too much gear (as my wife mentioned several times as well), but I'm glad I did. I used everything except the one flash.

Did I really need to use all of it? Not really, but I had a lot of fun and learned a few things using it just playing around doing things I normally don't get to try in situations I am normally not in. I also liked the security of having backup equipment as it was a special family vacation and didn;t want to miss the important moments due to equipment failure.

stormwerks wrote in post #13539076
I know its been discussed probably a brazillion times but for those of you who have gone on vacation to Carribean destinations what equipment did you bring that you used all the time vs that which you brought and ended up not touching.

I plan on bringing my 7D, tripod, remote and a couple of lens.

I took my 1D4 to Hawaii, and brought the following lenses:

Sigma 50 1.4
Canon 70-200
Tokina 11-16
Sigma 24-60

I used them all, the least used was the Sigma 24-60 though. I used the 50mm and 70-200 the most for landscapes, etc.

In the future, I plan on picking up an Olympus 4/3 system and some lenses, it will take up much less space and stress for such trips.

I'd take the 15-85 for sure, probably the 70-200 and forget the rest unless you have some special interest like nightclub photography or really want to do macro there. Take tripod assuming it's fairly light. That's assuming photography isn't the main purpose of the trip.

Where is your underwater gear?

Thanks everyone, thats the kind of feedback I was hoping to see. I guess I'll add in my fisheye and macro lens and my macro rail. I hadn't really thought about the macro opportunities there but it will be a great location for it.

For underwater I have a G12 and a water proof housing that is definitely going.

I think this will be the first time that my wife asks ME if I'm sure I need all that stuff .. lol

Post some pics from that G12 in the water, love to see them. Enjoy...

I took my Sigma 30 F/1.4, Sigma 10-20, Tamron 17-50, Sigma 70-200 F/2.8 and Sigma 50-500 when
I went to Nassau a couple years ago. I used them all. I think I used the 50-500 the most as there was
a small bog just down the road from the hotel, filled with all kinds of birds and Turtles.

--Evan