Packpacking Through Europe: Big, Ole Photo Vacation

Thanks for that advice. I truly appreciate it.

I don't want to be naive or arrogant when I say that I don't want to necessary worry about theft (of course, use best judgment). I mean, my damn car cd player was stolen at my apartment in Columbus, Ohio.

FWIW, I'm 5'9" 170. P90X isn't even hard anymore (well, I make it hard, but you get the point). I'm not big, but am compared to SE Asians.

Yeah, lugging around that gear can be a PITA, but the results are worth it.

Plus, really cool vita!

21 and 50


Or 24-105

Or better yet a mirrorless.

I was thinking of a 24 1.4 for its speed and AF. Otherwise, a 21 2.8 would be in hand.

DocFrankenstein wrote in post #15811884
Or better yet a mirrorless.

That was my suggestion/that's what I'm doing, but the OP is set on taking his DSLR kit...

LowriderS10 wrote in post #15817277
That was my suggestion/that's what I'm doing, but the OP is set on taking his DSLR kit...

Doesn't discourage me in the least from giving my preference, especially since the OP states his output medium is a BLOG. I guess it depends on the type of backpacking being done. If one drives from the flight to the hotel storing all the stuff in a backpack, is it backpacking?

I can't do both?

You can...it just may not be the most advisable thing to do.

Life is full of compromises and this situation is no different...you can either compromise on the gear you take or the experience you have...I'm going to compromise on my gear.

I've found that having gear that gives me 95% of the quality of a big DSLR setup gives me much more freedoms and less worries...therefore, I've ruled that I'm willing to compromise on the gear, in order to get more out of the actual travel experience.

I dunno. Live and learn I guess. Taking pictures is part of my fun.

LowriderS10 wrote in post #15818007
I've found that having gear that gives me 95% of the quality of a big DSLR setup gives me much more freedoms and less worries...therefore, I've ruled that I'm willing to compromise on the gear, in order to get more out of the actual travel experience.

In my experience it's not even a trade-off between pictures and experiences.

If I carry less weight I'm less tired. If I have less equipment, I have more time to focus on composition with the lenses I have.

But I've been into backpacking of the "live in a tent, eat out of a cup" variety for the last few years. And it influences the way I look at the weight of things I carry around in general.

There's no way I'd drag all of that across Europe. What do you think your going to gain from bringing all of that stuff? Its just going to become a burden on your creativity.

Leica X2. I should learn, but I don't. Whenever I go on a trip and take all this gear, I inevitably end up keeping one lens on the camera about 90% of the time and all I've done is lug a bunch of crap around. The Leica is a good choice because it's light, takes great photos and you'll have no problem printing out a large photo of something if that's what you want to do. The simplicity of it is great too and really lets you just concentrate on what you want to shoot instead of worrying about keeping up with a bunch of gear.

@the OP.

If you're coming to Asia, travel LIGHT!

It's likely you'll be here in the rainy season and/or summer, and the heat + humidity is a killer. It really is no joke. Massively uncomfortable, and can make you dizzy, very quickly.

I'm doing the opposite trip July-August (though, with family, no backpacks and lots of expensive hotels!) from Japan to Europe, and I'm still pondering on whether to take only one lens...or maybe two.

Extra gear on top of that might, imho, end up annoying the crap out of me....and you!

LowriderS10 wrote in post #15809570
...//...This year will be Japan (twice)...//...

Really?
Are you coming down south?
If so, when?

Regards,

Simon

Southeast Asia guys. I wish a mod would edit the title or something.

I'm thinking a body and two lenses 50 MP and a 21 or 24. Or just my 50.

What's 50 mp?

Zeiss 50 f/2 Makro Planar. A stupid-sharp lens.