What do you do when your on vacation? Do you bring all your expensive gear?

I have 2 short trips coming up in March. One to Japan and another to Washington DC. Unfortunately I'll miss the cherry blossom festival in both places. I can't wait to give my new 5D2 a workout, but here's my dilemma.

I've been shopping around for a 24-70L and a 70-200 f4 IS. Great lenses, but if I buy them, I really wouldn't feel that comfortable carrying around ~$5k in gear (not to mention it's kind of heavy). I could bring my 40D and my efs lenses, but what's the point of having a 5D and leaving it at home on a great trip.

So what do you guys do when you're on vacation?

On my last trip I brought 5 lenses + my 5DII + flash.

All the lenses + flash were used and would have been missed if left behind.

I take my cheapest camera and a 28-75 zoom. I don't like to haul a bunch of gear around on vacation. I also don't shoot much while on vacation however the wife and I are going to Italy for two weeks in June so I'll make an exception and maybe bring the 16-35 as well.

Was it long trip or a short trip? I'm going to be in each place about 3 days. Maybe I'm paranoid about being ripped off, but my 5D2 is brand new, and I'm still putting picking it up and putting it down very gently.

Its usually a time when I can get some work done for just me. I always take 2 5Ds, 24L, 35L, 85L and 200 2L. I usually paln trips around places I want to shoot at.

jcolman wrote in post #9543588
I take my cheapest camera and a 28-75 zoom. I don't like to haul a bunch of gear around on vacation. I also don't shoot much while on vacation however the wife and I are going to Italy for two weeks in June so I'll make an exception and maybe bring the 16-35 as well.

With your gear, your cheapest camera's not that cheap. I don't get out to nice places much, so I'm wanting to bring my nice gear.

I'm taking all my gear to northern peru in august, the virgin islands/saint martin/lucia/barbados in december...

Apollo.11 wrote in post #9543620
With your gear, your cheapest camera's not that cheap. I don't get out to nice places much, so I'm wanting to bring my nice gear.

I just sold my 5D which is the camera I would have taken. I guess I'll take the 1Ds II instead. The 1DIII is cheaper but I like the larger file size for vacation type pics. However the 5DII might be a better choice since I have a grip for it and two batteries......decisio​ns decisions.....

You bought the gear to take wonderful photos... why then would you leave it behind? If you don't take it, you WILL find yourself in a situation where you see a perfect shot, but don't have the gear to capture it. Everything I have is 1)insured and 2) expendable (see #1)

drtidefan wrote in post #9543679
You bought the gear to take wonderful photos... why then would you leave it behind? If you don't take it, you WILL find yourself in a situation where you see a perfect shot, but don't have the gear to capture it. Everything I have is 1)insured and 2) expendable (see #1)

This is true however I look at a vacation as a chance to get away from work, not to take it with me. I shoot video and photos for a living. While I want to have a camera available, I also want to enjoy myself and not worry about hauling a bunch of gear around with me. I've travelled around the world hauling 80 lbs of photo gear with me and it's not a lot of fun.

I purchased a ThinkTank Streetwalker backpack and lug all my primes along with my 5D. I found it easier to carry more equipment in a backpack than less gear in a shoulder bag. I've missed too many shots where I wished I brought a different lens, so I do bring most of my gear while I'm on vacation. I didn't purchase this much gear to leave it at home.

why not look into insurance before you go...

Our last real vacation was a trip from Houston up through Colorado and on to Salt Lake City Utah. This trip had more than one agenda.
We stopped in Colorado because our grand daughter was playing softball in a big tournament. Also my wife's cousin's niece was also playing in a different age bracket. I used the 70-200 f/2.8 and the Sigma 120-300 f/2.8 for the games.
Then we went to the Royal Gorge, Garden of the Gods and Rocky Mountain National Park. I used the Tokina 12-24 almost exclusively for the sight seeing.
After reaching Salt Lake City, we visited with the grand kids and mom and dad, then took a ride up in to the mountains/gorges. All 12-24 for me on that trip. The following weekend it more softball at Park City.

I forgot to mention we were driving and not flying!
30D and 40D
Tokina 12-24 f/4
Tamron 17-50 f/2.8
Tamron 28-75 f/2.8
Canon 70-200 f/2.8
Sigma 120-300 f/2.8
Tripod and monopod
battery chargers.
We still had room in the Tahoe for our clothes!

DreDaze wrote in post #9543724
why not look into insurance before you go...

If this is addressed to me, I have insurance on all my gear. It's the hassle of lugging it around that I don't want to deal with. I have a nice backpack that will hold a camera, speedlight and a couple of lenses that I'll take but I don't want to take any more gear than necessary. I still have to carry all this stuff with me.

Apollo.11 wrote in post #9543557
So what do you guys do when you're on vacation?

I have the wife carry a P&S in her purse, all the good stuff stays at home.