What Gear do you take when traveling O/S

[Grumpy John]

Hi everyone, we're off to Beijing for four nights in October and then on a 28 day cruise from Beijing to Melbourne. In the past I've loaded the Lowepro with every lens I have and also packed the tripod. Trouble is most of it never comes out of the pack as most organised tours are so rushed you don't get a chance to spend time creating well composed images. This time I'm thinking of just taking my 17-70 and 8-16 UWA plus my Kenko circ polarizer and Hoya FL-W filters.
I'm just wondering what camera gear people take with them when traveling overseas.

[joe greiner]

Batteries.
"Film," i.e. storage media.
Some sites forbid tripods anyway; buy a bag of rice or beans locally, and find places to perch.

[Repliconics]

I can't help you out there mate.
The closest I've been to an overseas trip is moving to Tassie!. :U

Cheers
Trev.

[Optimark]

Hi everyone, we're off to Beijing for four nights in October and then on a 28 day cruise from Beijing to Melbourne. In the past I've loaded the Lowepro with every lens I have and also packed the tripod. Trouble is most of it never comes out of the pack as most organised tours are so rushed you don't get a chance to spend time creating well composed images. This time I'm thinking of just taking my 17-70 and 8-16 UWA plus my Kenko circ polarizer and Hoya FL-W filters.
I'm just wondering what camera gear people take with them when traveling overseas.

I would suggest you think about one of these.

Cam-Pod.com | Take perfect pictures every time (http://www.cam-pod.com/?doing_wp_cron=1470117765.3607499599456787109375)

They are made in Australia, are excellent and better than any other kind of bean bag type design made for cameras that we have ever used. We always take this along with super minimal equipment. We have had ours for some years, possibly 4 years, but certainly 3 years, really works well.

It is so good, it can and does support my 4x5" wooden folding view camera.

Mick.

[tomartomau]

I think we are a bit on the nose with Beijing, take one of these just in case.

[tonzeyd]

I always say this when people ask, it ultimately depends on how much you really care about your photos and how dedicated you are. No point lugging gear half way around the world if it doesn't get used.

I vary the gear that i take depending on where I'm going and purpose of trip, for eg Bali trip where i knew lots of extreme sports took nothing, New Zealand road trip took the lot. If it were me 4 days doesn't give you alot of time to really take your time so I'd pack light. Similarly with cruises, most of the time you're on the boat which is on the move, tripods don't really do much good in these situations so you end up relying on fast exposures and stop offs are fairly short and you end up most of the time rushing from spot to spot to really setup.

On a recent cruise I just took my 18-200mm and some filters, and if I planned on taking night shots a 50mm prime or similar for some candid shots. I also generally carry an inexpensive point and shoot with a gorilla pod for easy timed shots.

edit: also be very mindful of where/what you take photos of. They can be quite grumpy with tourists in the wrong areas.

[Grumpy John]

I always say this when people ask, it ultimately depends on how much you really care about your photos and how dedicated you are. No point lugging gear half way around the world if it doesn't get used.

I vary the gear that i take depending on where I'm going and purpose of trip, for eg Bali trip where i knew lots of extreme sports took nothing, New Zealand road trip took the lot. If it were me 4 days doesn't give you alot of time to really take your time so I'd pack light. Similarly with cruises, most of the time you're on the boat which is on the move, tripods don't really do much good in these situations so you end up relying on fast exposures and stop offs are fairly short and you end up most of the time rushing from spot to spot to really setup.

On a recent cruise I just took my 18-200mm and some filters, and if I planned on taking night shots a 50mm prime or similar for some candid shots. I also generally carry an inexpensive point and shoot with a gorilla pod for easy timed shots.

edit: also be very mindful of where/what you take photos of. They can be quite grumpy with tourists in the wrong areas.

I agree 100%. My last O/S trip was a cruise around uNZud and I took everything. 10mm fisheye, 8-16 UWA zoom, 17-70 zoom, 30mm prime, 70-200 zoom with 2x converter plus tripod, filters and remote shutter release.
Took a total of 625 shots - 9 with the 8-16, 45 with the 70-200 and 625 with the 17-70. didn't use any of the filters nor the remote or the tripod.

[gritpipe]

There's an old travel adage, "Travel light an go far". You're getting on an aeroplane so you want to keep it light and reduce space. Also, unless you're specifically going on a photographic holiday, I'd leave the extras behind and concentrate on having fun. No more than two lenses should see you right.

[BobL]

For me it depends on what sort of travel is involved.

If it's short stay in and out of hotels and via planes and trains then I usually pack light (1-2 lenses, mini tripod). If we're staying are each place for a longer period and or hiring a car for an extended period then it can do the carrying so I might pack a bit more (2-3 lenses, monopod or tripod etc). If we have travelled and lived in places and had to send unaccompanied baggage I have often taken pretty much everything including the HD tripod and the 5kg Manfrotto Panoramic Tripod head.

I prefer a mini-tripod over a bean bag thingy because with the mini tripod you can brace it on yourself for extra stability.
I have several but my fave is this small Slik.
389438

Because I take panoramic shots I end up taking a lot of shots, many in RAW format. 750 shots per day is not unusual and sometimes its around 2000, so batteries and storage are important. A laptop has been part of carry on luggage for more than 20 years and from 1999 when I got my first digital camera I have travelled with a portable hard drive. SOP every evening back at accomodation has been to transfer the days photos from camera to laptop and back them up on the extra hard drive. The laptop usually stays back at the accomodation and the small hard drive stays in my camera bag.

[Rum Pig]

You can go on all day about what to take but as many have said it dose depend on what you are doing on your holidays and where you are going etc.
My basic kit is 70-200 and a 24-105 plus spare batteries and cards. I take these as my base because it cover almost every situation and will fit in my small camera bag.
From this I will add extras as my trip requires.
Having said that if it is a road trip I have a pelican case that I fill and tis will have the basics in it.
I think as long as you take a camera be it a point and shoot or DSLR with all the lenses and filters you will have special photos for a life time.

[swk]

... I'm just wondering what camera gear people take with them when traveling overseas.

My experience FWIW

I usually take the SLR and a single 24-105 lens. As others have said, with spare batteries, cards and bits and pieces. I can carry that in either my back pack (with diary and other bits and pieces) or a small camera bag. Even that can weigh me down a bit over a full day carrying it.
Supplementary Camera - In addition to the SLR I have started to carry a GoPro. These are small and acceptable as a little video camera and for some stills. They are very wide angle, so handy for taking pictures of eg buildings in narrow European streets.
https://goo.gl/photos/7y4wfkWHndZBEX4A9
https://goo.gl/photos/BaXEF8QDiuYizV6y5
Obviously not as good as the SLR and poor in low light, but a good supplement. Also slightly less obtrusive for situations that tonzeyd indicates.
I bought a cheap but brand name video camera (duty free) one trip. Used it a lot but swings and round abouts with the GoPro. The GoPro also has the useful feature of firing off a set number of stills. This can be handy eg if in a moving car, cos you know if you just take one picture you'll get a lamp post or something in it!
https://goo.gl/photos/dXFGFyhnnbt7R1tr5
I also have a Canon G15 which I bought for underwater use, but am very impressed with the quality of pix. I might take this next time as I got a bit of a scare with the 7D last tinme I was overseas. It started showing a whole lot of weird error messages and I thought the camera was crook, but it turned out only to be the memory card. Still left me without a good camera for a half a day.
Tripods - I have generally got by without them by resting the camera on something. One time I borrowed one (but didn't use it) and one time I took a lightweight one*. Usually I have used my wallet or a stack of coins to position the camera, but the bean bag things linked to above look useful. I didn't know they existed and might have to think about getting one.
https://goo.gl/photos/wk4zM9RjBK8J8pLx6
https://goo.gl/photos/HtBdX94b4VBWyQHP7
*on a ship cruise. Only used it in port and it seemed to work OK.
https://goo.gl/photos/P3kqUcZD3c4K6TVFA
Backup - I have always carried a small laptop/notebook overseas since about 2005. I used to back up to CDs but have been backing up to external drives for the last 8 years or so. The current notebook isn't big enough memory wise to hold all of the pix from an extended holiday, but what I do is that the partner has her own hard drive and I back up all our pix so we end up with 2 drives with all the pictures on each one. One drive in each persons luggage for better security. Last long trip between us we bought back 12000 pictures

My next trip (about a month over Christmas in Europe)
I will take
- the SLR and one 24-105 lens.
- a GoPro
- laptop
- external drive
I might take
- tripod*
- back up point and shoot (Canon G16)
*depending on packing space available since it will be Europe winter with short days and long nights (although finding out about the bean bags counts against the tripod too)

Regards
SWK

[BobL]

A useful tip given to me by a mountain climbing relative for very cold weather photography.

Carry your batteries on your person so they stay warm and buy a pair of silk gloves.
The gloves easily fit inside other gloves and provide some warmth but still provide good feel for the buttons and controls on a camera.

[bigun913]

In a recent trip to Europe, I carried only a mirrorless Sony camera and two lenses a 16 to 55 and a 70 to 300 Zoom. I shot all available light and carried only a bipod for those longer exposures. Many of the sites we visited would not allow backpacks so I previously purchased a hard side media case that fit in my hip pocket and a leather ever ready case for the sony. I took thousands of photos both on the cruise ship and on land and at places like the Vatican and other historic sites. I was extremely pleased with the photos that I took and the smaller Sony made it easier. This was my first outing with this type of camera as I usually shoot a Canon 7D MK II. The Sony was an a6300 with the kit lens and the 70 to 300 Zoom. Have a nice trip and good shooting.

[NathanaelBC]

Carbon fibre Manfrotto - cost me about $400 but it's really good, and super light

Canon 70-200 f/2.8

Sigma Art 24mm f/2.8

Mostly wildlife and landscape photography, not much birding - would need longer lens for that and I don't really like the Sigma 150-500; the 70-200mm cropped does better quality.

EDIT: Whoops, forgot the body. Canon 70D

[bueller]

I realised after a number of trips that I take more photos when I travel light. First couple of trips I took a full frame body, 24-70, a couple of primes with a tripod and while it was nice having my usual shooting gear with me I was moving around so much it spent most of its time in the bag. Before I went to Japan last I sold all my Nikon gear and
bought a RICOH GXR on arrival with the kit lens and a couple of Olympus OM lenses for shooting street. Consequently my camera was always in my hand and I came home with a ton of great shots.

The best camera is the one you have with you!

[Grumpy John]

Thanks everyone for all the great feedback. As most of you said, it's all about what you want to shoot, and where you'll be going.

I've narrowed it down to:
Camera body, 7D
3xBatteries and charger
8-16 Ultra Wide Angle zoom
24-105 zoom (Purchased for this trip)
2x16G CF cards plus I've just ordered a 128G CF card. This should be good for at least 3000 images. Saves me having to pack the laptop and external HDD.
Lenspen
Blower
Lens wipes
Lens cloth
Cary Bag

All up just over 4Kg.

393909