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

I bring a birding lens, and landscape lens and a macro set up in case I cant find any birds or landscapes to shoot. I just assume have what I might need instead of wishing I had brought something else along

I bring all I can in my ThinkTank Bag, and was charge for overweight, lol.

Apollo.11 wrote in post #9543557
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?

FIRST OF ALL! Bring your 5DII. How often will you be there? Most of the general public don't know what the difference is between a 5DII and a 40D. and if they really intend to steal your camera, you can't do anything about that. So why not take your chances?

Think about the things that you will be doing there...

Will you be walking lots? And if so, how long will you be walking without resting? Weight will be an issue. no matter how strong you are, you will feel fatigued after long periods of walking with a heavy pack.

Where will you be going? Will you be seeing statues and buildings? if so, you need a wide lens! preferably wider than 24mm.

Will it be indoors or outdoors? Will it be at night (ie. a street market)? Speed of the glass matters depending on how dark the venues will be. Will you be comfortable with shooting at ISO 6400 on the 5Dii in indoor situations?

When it comes to traveling I'll be choosing from the following sets:

24LII + 50L (2 lenses i am set out to get this year or next) OR 16-35L II (another one that i need) + 35L

Notice that i won't be bringing the 85L or anything longer than 50 because i wont be shooting portraits or have a need for street shots of strangers. If i feel that i would, i'll just ask for permission and shoot them.

The 24-70 is a really heavy lens. I'm glad that i got rid of that lens because it wasn't sharp, was heavy and i was limited to the f2.8 aperture. Don't bother carrying your 70-200. You'll never use it when you are on a tour unless you are into birding or snooping on people.

I carry a couple of things on trips...
5DII - You can't beat full frame!
32-64GBs worth of memory - CF cards are really light.
3-stop ND filter so that i can take advantage of those wide wide apertures
a Blower and a Lens cloth
A small discrete bag. I'll most likely use a thinktank or think about buying one...
If you are into landscapes, or intend to take serious landscapes, bring a remote and a small light tripod. if you don't, leave this at home.
A Laptop that I can store - I can leave this at the place i am staying at.
And a flash (though with the WIDE apertures of those primes, i doubt that i'd need a flash unless if i was going to a club with my girlfriend or something similar to that situation)

A lot of food for thought Marloon. Maybe just a 24-105 and a prime will do it.

I bring much of the gear in my sig. About 30 pounds in a backpack. Get insurance and don't worry about your gear. Take lots of pictures.

Apollo.11 wrote in post #9544007
A lot of food for thought Marloon. Maybe just a 24-105 and a prime will do it.

If you feel that it would suit your shooting style, then by all means, go for it. I'd go for a 24-105 + a 50 prime.

Personally, i'll never reown a 24-105. I hate the aperture and i hate how stiff the zoom ring is. Since i shoot a lot of people and their movements, i find that the 24-105 can't cope with that situation

Apollo.11 wrote in post #9543557
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?

i take two cameras, a tripod and 4-5 lenses, as well as accessories. i also take a flash and a monopod.

ed rader

Everything is going with me.

I like to travel light on vaction, but it depends if it's the first time or if I have been there already and don't find the need to get every shot just right.

1st Time = 5D + 35 F1.4 + 100 F2.8 IS + 24-105 F4 IS + small pocket tripod
2nd Time = 5D + 35 F2.0 + 85 F1.8 + extension tubes + small pocket tripod

you're all lucky because you have insurance for your photo gears there... here in our country we don't have one or should i say a reputable insurance company that offers one. i heard of 1 insurance company that covers only up to $2,000 at an annual premium of $90 but nobody has any experience of claiming damages yet. so basically we have no choice but to be careful.

Depends on the trip. I usually lug with me AT LEAST 1 Body + 4-5 lenses + 1 flash. But I have been known to carry as many as 2 Bodies, 8 lenses, and 2 flashes.

As a rule, I take minimally 11-16 f/2.8, 17-55 f/2.8 IS, 70-200 f/4L IS, 1 of the fisheyes, and 1 of the fast 50's.

I'd rather pack light locally, and focus on less focal ranges, but when I'm travelling (unless I know specifically otherwize), I'll pack more so that I don't end up hoping I hadn't left a particular focal length at home and end up needing it.

As others have said, whats the sense in having gear that lives a bored life on a shelf.

If I bring all my equipment then it's not a vacation for me. I end up shooting something interesting and editing the photos back at the Hotel. I leave it all home and bring the point and shoot.

Since almost all my travel is photography related, I take whatever gear i think I'll
need - sometimes a 5D/24-105, sometimes 1DmkII, 5D, 1n, lenses from 16-35L to 500L.https://photography-on-the.net …/smilies/icon_b​iggrin.gif

Just got back from a trip to Tenerife for some winter sun, as we go there quite a lot i took the 40d with the 24-105 and the 50 1.8. simply for weight and convenience.
in all honesty though my fiancee has a fairly new canon P&S which takes excellent holiday 'snaps' so she took 600 shots and i think i took 75. and i didn't use the 50 once!

however when we went to the Maldives i took everything with me. didn't have my 5dmk2 then but every other piece of camera gear i had went with me. (40d 24-105, tok 11-16, 100-400, 50 1.8, 580 EX II, tripod, filters all in a waterproof lowepro dryzone 200)
its insured, and i bought it to take pictures with, i'm a hobbyist so an opportunity like that i would have been stupid not to take it all.

I have only recently come to the point with my camera gear that i consider it as a tool to achieve what i love, which is great pictures.
don't get me wrong i absolutely love my gear, but i'm not scared to use it or take it anywhere now.
if it gets damaged or stolen its insured.

Apollo.11 wrote in post #9543557
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?

What's the point of having all those gears if you're too afraid to bring and use them specially when you know that you're going to a great place.