Going to Cancun any tips....

I'm taking a vacation to Cancun Mexico and was wondering if anyone has any helpful tips? Any suggestions on equipment (filters,lenses ect) that I might want to bring. Thank you in advance.:cool

Exercise usual care with equipment re theft etc. I just took my 17-85 IS and kept things light. Mayan ruins are great. Watch out for fine sand on the beach if it's windy and take a plastic bag or two for lens changes if you really need to. Cloudy conditions can be interesting for pictures, local villages also interesting (we did an Eco-tour). Sealed plastic bag or tight camera bag can be useful for avoiding condensation if it's hot and the room is cool and you step outside. I love the contrasts in Mexico of old/new, rich/poor etc.

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Took an SLR for serious pictures and my son's digital Elph (sd450) with canon's cheap waterproof housing for fun at the beach, pools, and water parks. Consider something light and waterproof/sandproof as well as your SLR. Bet you will be glad you did!

These are a few of the snapshots taken with the little Elph:
http://justjoem.smugmu​g.com/photos/138977525​-L.jpg
http://justjoem.smugmu​g.com/photos/139042493​-L.jpg
http://justjoem.smugmu​g.com/photos/138976742​-L.jpg

Took the 5D and 24-104 for the occasional more "serious" shots
http://justjoem.smugmu​g.com/photos/139036620​-L.jpg
http://justjoem.smugmu​g.com/photos/139034190​-L.jpg

Rent a jeep and get down to Tulum.

Polarizing Filter would also be helpful to blue-up the skies and green-up the greenery. Maybe some ND filters as well.

Don't drink the water.

Dan-o wrote in post #4499974
Don't drink the water.

Agreed, and good point, unless you want to create a photo tour of the bathrooms of Cancun!

I remember to keep from getting Montezuma's revenge only drink things form bottles you've seen opened and NO LIME in your Corona because it may have been rinsed in the same water could give you the revenge. Lotsa beer. They sell it in carts on the streets.

Take a P/S.... slip into your pocket so you are ready for anything, anywhere. I don't leave home without one.

airfrogusmc wrote in post #4500240
I remember to keep from getting Montezuma's revenge only drink things form bottles you've seen opened and NO LIME in your Corona because it may have been rinsed in the same water could give you the revenge. Lotsa beer. They sell it in carts on the streets.

True. Also, no drinks on the beach. Lemonades, margaritas, they're all made with ice that's probably not been filtered for gringos. Stick to bottled beers. In clubs/tourist bars, you should be ok though. Don't mean to be a worry wart, but it's awful catching "the bug". Minor precautions/common sense will keep you A-OK. Enjoy the sun!

Be careful when going from air condition to the heat outside. I had a problem last time I went to Cancun with my lenses fogging up. I couldn't take pictures for hours I am not sure how to prevent it, though. I thought I heard someone say something about a ziplock bag?

Yeah I was in the Keys a while back and it would take 20 min or so for my lenses to clear.

I just got back from Brazil; here are my equiptment tips.

1. Graduated ND - Shots of the water at the beach provide a nice straight horizon which means that will be easy to correctly use a graduated ND if the shot calls for one.

2. ND Filter - Brazil has, as does Cancun, a lot of sun. I didn't bring a ND filter; there were times when using my polarizor, at f/29, and ISO 100 did not give me a slow enough shutter speed to get the flowing water effect that I wanted at the beach. I think a 4 stop ND filter or 2 stop over my polarizer would have done the trick.

3. Beware of sand. It can easily find its way into your gear if you are not carefull.

A polarizar, tripod, lots of memory, are lens cleaning gear are of course essentials.

Have fun and be sure and share some photos when you get back.

I also want to second the point Lungdoc made about minimizing the gear you take. Baybysitting a bunch of gear can really put a damper on your vacation. If your primary purpose in Cancun is to take photos then by all means take a lot of gear, otherwise try to minimize. The next time I go to Brazil I will likely take a lot of gear for the days when my main objective is to take photos, but I will also take a nice point and shoot, like the G-9, for the days when my primary objective is to spend time with family and relax.

Don't leave home without a circular polarizing filter, IMO of course