First photo tour for advanced amateur, upgrading gear and need advice

I've been a lurker of the forum by finding results in Google on the searches I've done about gear I want. Here is my story.

I have a 40d which I bought at the release and 24-105mm 4L IS, 50mm 1.4, 100mm 2.8 macro and wanted to upgrade to FF. I am also going on my first photography tour in May and will visit a lot of amazing locations like the Grand Canyon and many national parks in the area. I want to be able to take the best possible pictures as possible. Hence my interest in purchasing a 5D Mark III. I made a mistake of purchasing 24-105mm 4L only a few weeks ago before I made my mind about buying the III over II. I would have saved $300 if I purchased III with the lens bundle. Oh well...

Since its a one in a lifetime experience for me I am trying to maximize picture quality in every way possible. To supplement wide shots I am also borrowing 17-40mm 4L from a friend. I will be carrying 2 lenses with 58mm filter size and 2 with 77mm filter size. I will be buying new filters to use on this trip and beyond. For protection I will purchase B+W UV Haze MRC 010M which are solid filters from my previous B+W experience. Now here comes the fun part. I recently read up on Singh Ray filters and did some reading from the older posts of this forum. I was hoping that someone who has been using Singh Ray can give me some advice.

1) I am looking at Vari-N-Trio as a combo package which will give me a lot new tools to play around with and can help me achieve better results during my trip and beyond. I read about vignetting on FF bodies and about thin mount being slightly better. Is the only difference between thin / thick is the vignetting difference + loss of ability to stack more filters on thin version?

2) Vari-N-Trio is not offered for 58mm size and originally I was planning on buying at the minimum a B+W CPL which is $80+. From Singh Ray lineup I could go for LB Color Combo. Is there any variable ND filters for 58mm size? Is my only option to match VNT is to buy various ND filters and adjust each time?

3) I will need to buy a new tripod for the trip. My current Manfrotto setup is too heavy, I've carried it for a few hours yesterday and was tired. I did my research and saw notions that Gitzo is better on many levels. I was considering buying Gitzo Series 1 Traveler legs + head and they are both very expensive. Yesterday I was at the Botanical Gardens doing some macro work and was not happy with my current macro setup (big tripod that I have and Gorillapod. I did some searching and came across Redged RTA 320 macro tripod. It looks like I will be able to take better pictures with it, it is more versatile. As I watched videos about various Redged products I came to do more research about bigger tripods that they have. Redged has some extra features that Gitzo doesnt have - the way it folds for lower settings, quicker opening, teflon lubricant. What do you guys think about this company? From my research they are just getting distributed to US but have been around in Europe from 2010. Getting Redged over Gitzo can save me a few hundred dollars and can pay some of the filters.

4) Any other suggestions or advice?

dkizzle wrote in post #14107414
I am also going on my first photography tour in May and will visit a lot of amazing locations like the Grand Canyon and many national parks in the area. I want to be able to take the best possible pictures as possible.

Since its a one in a lifetime experience for me I am trying to maximize picture quality in every way possible.

Any other suggestions or advice?

Given that you want to create the finest images possible, I find it interesting that your entire post focuses on equipment. I believe that research and skills will have a far greater outcome on the final quality of your images.

Perhaps you could spend most of your time researching the areas you will be visiting. If you are going with an organized tour, I wouldn't just blindly trust the tour leaders to know all of the best locations.

Try to contact the area's best resident photographers and pick their brains about light, seasonal variables, access, etc. In doing so, you will likely learn of several excellent local opportunities that have not been exploited by those on the tour circuits. There are several world-class nature photographers living in the southwest. You may be surprised at just how willing they will be to help you.

Download an application called

The Photographers Ephemeris.

and apply what you learn from using it to your trip.

Here is part 1 of 3 videos for the app on the iPad.

From the third video, I like the fact that he shows an image that was shot in (IIRC) August 2006. Using the ephemeris, he calculates that the next time the shot will be capable of being replicated is in 2018.

Tom Reichner wrote in post #14108014
Given that you want to create the finest images possible, I find it interesting that your entire post focuses on equipment. I believe that research and skills will have a far greater outcome on the final quality of your images.

Perhaps you could spend most of your time researching the areas you will be visiting. If you are going with an organized tour, I wouldn't just blindly trust the tour leaders to know all of the best locations.

Try to contact the area's best resident photographers and pick their brains about light, seasonal variables, access, etc. In doing so, you will likely learn of several excellent local opportunities that have not been exploited by those on the tour circuits. There are several world-class nature photographers living in the southwest. You may be surprised at just how willing they will be to help you.

Once I am done with the gear I will be researching other aspects. Currently I am lacking the gear needed to do this trip. I will be going on a organized trip and will be following their schedule and routes.

Thanks for the idea about contacting local photographers.

You can get adapters to fit wider filters onto narrower lenses.

You don't say anything about the camera/lens kit you'll be bringing. A 58mm lens would in my opinion be long for landscape shooting, even on a full-frame body. I'd suggest you bring a good quality wide lens!

As to the tripod, I know nothing about the Redged outfit/gear, so take your time to read reviews. We all know Gitzo and Manfrotto are good quality, but research before buying, and don't think "cheap"! Tripods, monopods and heads are all needed for optimum quality shooting, and they should be of good quality. As to something lightweigh, I believe that carbon/fibre is the way to go. The idea is that your tripod and head should be desigined for both the weight of your camera/lens/accessorie​s and also, as far as the tripod, it's really important that it be sturdy!! A bit of a breeze or the touch of a finger can ruin a shot if the gear is not sturdy!

Also, do you have a remote shutter release? Either a cable release or a wireless remote can be invaluable when shooting with a tripod.

As to filters, my main advice is, first of all research, and second, don't go cheap...sound familiar? Filters do vary in their quality of image that they pass back to the lens/sensor -- all are not neutral!

The variable ND filters can be great to work with, but they are relatively spendy. If you do decide to get one, again, do your research and don't go cheap! Singh Ray has a good rep for theirs. I don't know about other brands.

Make sure you pack a Rocket Blower to occasionally blow out your sensor chamber, and I'd also look into options for wet/dry sensor cleaning. Being on a prolonged photography "tour" will expose your gear to "the elements" in ways in which dust on your sensor could be a problem. It would suck to be stuck in the middle of your tour with ugly dust spots showing up in your images!

Well, I'll stop rambling for now...

Welcome to POTN. Did you just retire?

I guess my experience shooting landscapes in SE and central Australia might apply. I've been at it seriously for 15 years, and before that had walked many of these areas, sometimes carrying a camera. I do plan a trip to the American SW, and it is in many ways similar to the areas above I know well in Australia.

First of all, I question your need to have 58mm filters at all. Both the 24-105 and 17-40 have 77mm filter threads, and those should be the only two lenses you need filters for. You won't need filters for the 50mm f/1.4 because you shouldn't be taking it, and you won't need filters for the 100mm macro because you only need that lens for macro.

If you are unhappy enough with the performance of the 24-105 at 50mm or 100mm, why are you taking it at all? Then, if it is good enough at 50mm - and unless you're doing something novel you will always need to stop down to f/4 for depth of field with landscapes on this lens - the 50mm f/1.4 is redundant, and furthermore that lens is known for its fragility. The coatings on the two modern zooms are likely to be better than those on the much older 100mm macro design (we know it's the non-L because you told us it takes 58mm filters). I don't have the 24-105, but many people like it for landscape, because its flaws of distortion and fall-off either don't matter or can be easily corrected in post.

This greatly simplifies your filter selection problem, since you now only need 77mm filters, and this is a very common size.

Second, I suggest you consider getting a 5D Mk II instead of a Mk III. There is not much time left, and several earlier camera releases required fixes before the cameras were usable, e.g. the black dot problem for the Mk II. I do see the attraction of the Mk III for you, but if this is a trip of a lifetime it wouldn't be good for all your images to be ruined by some stupid firmware problem.

S.Horton wrote in post #14109898
Welcome to POTN. Did you just retire?

I wish. If you go by the traditional retirement age I am only 1/2 way there.

tonylong wrote in post #14109813
You can get adapters to fit wider filters onto narrower lenses.

You don't say anything about the camera/lens kit you'll be bringing. A 58mm lens would in my opinion be long for landscape shooting, even on a full-frame body. I'd suggest you bring a good quality wide lens!

As to the tripod, I know nothing about the Redged outfit/gear, so take your time to read reviews. We all know Gitzo and Manfrotto are good quality, but research before buying, and don't think "cheap"! Tripods, monopods and heads are all needed for optimum quality shooting, and they should be of good quality. As to something lightweigh, I believe that carbon/fibre is the way to go. The idea is that your tripod and head should be desigined for both the weight of your camera/lens/accessorie​s and also, as far as the tripod, it's really important that it be sturdy!! A bit of a breeze or the touch of a finger can ruin a shot if the gear is not sturdy!

Also, do you have a remote shutter release? Either a cable release or a wireless remote can be invaluable when shooting with a tripod.

As to filters, my main advice is, first of all research, and second, don't go cheap...sound familiar? Filters do vary in their quality of image that they pass back to the lens/sensor -- all are not neutral!

The variable ND filters can be great to work with, but they are relatively spendy. If you do decide to get one, again, do your research and don't go cheap! Singh Ray has a good rep for theirs. I don't know about other brands.

Make sure you pack a Rocket Blower to occasionally blow out your sensor chamber, and I'd also look into options for wet/dry sensor cleaning. Being on a prolonged photography "tour" will expose your gear to "the elements" in ways in which dust on your sensor could be a problem. It would suck to be stuck in the middle of your tour with ugly dust spots showing up in your images!

Well, I'll stop rambling for now...

Thanks for your advice. This is why I am here to see if those with more knowledge than me would justify me buying Singh Ray filters. I am the kind of person that would rather pay more for quality than purchase cheap stuff multiple times.

I purchased a cheap cleaning kit that I will take on this trip. I am also planning on putting the camera into a ziploc bag when not in use. I will look into Rocket Blower.

melcat wrote in post #14111301
Second, I suggest you consider getting a 5D Mk II instead of a Mk III. There is not much time left, and several earlier camera releases required fixes before the cameras were usable, e.g. the black dot problem for the Mk II. I do see the attraction of the Mk III for you, but if this is a trip of a lifetime it wouldn't be good for all your images to be ruined by some stupid firmware problem.

I would rather take my 40d as a backup than buy an outdated model. How long did it take for Mk II to get new firmware after release?

dkizzle wrote in post #14112814
How long did it take for Mk II to get new firmware after release?

Top hit on Google with the keywords I gave you:

http://news.cnet.com/8​301-13580_3-10136055-39.html

About 6 weeks, a couple for the problem to be discovered and about a month for Canon to fix it.

Thanks mate!