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Hi all,

I've been having my leg gnawed at by the travel bug for some time now so I've finally chucked in the 9-5 for a year to try and fix it once and for all! My boss, god bless him, has granted me twelve months leave without pay so my girlfriend and I are heading off at the end of May. Going to the states and then working south to Brasil via Mexico, Cuba, Dominican Republic and Venezuela.

Anyways, I am going somewhere with all this (apart from just gloating ). I'm going to spend the next 12 months living out of a backpack and need a light, flexible and preferably bland looking travel kit. I've got a Sigma 12-24 but would like to replace my kit lens and 70-200 VR with one of those mega zoom 18/28-200/300. I'm looking for opinions on performance of the Sigma, Tamron and Nikon 18-200s and the Tamron 28-300 (for that little extra reach). I like the look of the Nikon but for double the cost?? Also, a 28-300 would give me a lot more long with only a little convience loss. I just need to know what sort of performance i can expect from these things?!?!

Open to other suggestions also regarding travel lenses, acessories etc. Are there any things you found useful on holidays, while travelling etc? I'd be very keen to hear about ultra discreet bags for carrying the camera (ie NOT camera bags)! My kit will be something like D70, sigma 12-24, travel lens, sb800, mini tripod, polarizer, image storage box, chargers, remote and maybe some graduated ND filters that i'll pick up in the US.

Finally, love to hear any suggestions for unusual places to go and things to do in the above countries. I've done my research and know all the tourist traps. Want to know about the other stuff

Thanks guys, sorry for rambling, I'm not very good at short and to the point...

adam

Adam, individual requirements vary, but the sb800 may be a luxury when the D70 already has a flash. Spare batteries, especially in that part of the world, are a must

Adam, have you considered the Nikkon 80-400VR and 18-200VR combination? Selling your 70-200VR should come close to paying for these. And you would have 18 thru to 400 all at VR in just 2 lenses. Both physically smaller than 70-200VR.

If you decide to get rid of the 70-200VR, let me know. We might be able to do a deal.

Cheers
John

hi

if you are goin to travel a lot i will say leave the sb28.

chile is a wonderful place to visit, you have desert, mountains and if you go a bit more south, the antartica.

peru is also very nice, machupichu is beatifull.

learn some spanish!!!!!

Glen - very true. I'm kinda hoping to talk some of those gorgeous venezuelan girls into some photo shoots on the way (my girlfriend knows some models over there) so I thought i'd better hang onto a decent flash for sunset shoots etc. That said, carrying an AA charger sucks.

John - never even thought of the 80-400! That's a top idea! I could probably take it one step further and get away with the 12-24 and the 80-400. Maybe take a 50mm for the mid range... Cheers!! Pity the 200-400 is so big and expensive! Idly thinking about selling the 70-200 but think i'll probably leave it here for when i get back - i love that lens!

Byrt - would like to ditch it but think i'll hold onto it incase of shoots and for added flexibility. Might have to have a harder think about it though.. Will definately learn some spanish - planning on a week long course in mexico to start us off!

adam

First of all congrats on organising your trip!

Macka and I spent 1 month in Vietnam recently. All we took was the 18-70 kit lens on a D70s, a Canon P&S, plus Manfrotto tripod. Our lens choice was more dictated by lack of funds than anything else, but if we'd had the choice we'd probably have taken a Nikon 18-200 & either Sigma 10-20 or Tamron 12-24.

I'd go for the Nikon 18-200 over the others you mentioned purely for VR - the number of times the ISO went way up because of low light was huge, and this would be even more of a problem at longer focal lengths.

If you're really travelling light, I'd consider dropping the 12-24, it'd be bad to lose the wide end but the weight saving (as well as avoiding the inevitable dust bunnies) may be worth it. It really depends on your shooting style. If you take multiple lenses, remember that dust will be a problem, and you'll have to take some sort of cleaning kit as well - definitely a blower, and possibly a wet cleaning kit.

Storage is a real issue, particularly when you leave areas with lots of computers. An image tank is a great idea, but at some stage during your trip you're going to want to burn DVDs, mail one set home and keep another lot with you. It's a hassle, but better than losing the lot if the HD dies

Tripods & backpacking don't mix well - I know as I lugged all 3kg of solid metal several thousands kilometers. What sort of tripod do you have, a tabletop (ie 10cm high) or just a short one (~50cm)? We got some of our favourite shots with it, but then again, we were only going for a month, not a year. A beanbag (or better yet a rolled up jumper) gives you some options for long exposures, it's not ideal but neither is carrying a tripod easily

Finalmente, ¿hablas español? Learning a bit of the language will make it much easier to get around. Here's a useful phrase to start you off - No soy estadounidense (I'm not American) - the locals will like you more straight away

I've never been there, but apparently there are stunning beaches in the Pacific coast of Mejico south of the Yucatan, but without all the Cancun-style development. Make sure you eat some cucarachas while there - my Spanish teacher liked them fried . She was Peruvian (and hence biased in this matter) but always told us that if we went to Latin America, Bolivia and Peru were the 'real' places to see, especially up in the mountains. Friends who've travelled in Cuba say to get out of Havana as much as possible - it's devastatingly poor, but the people are wonderful and the country fascinating.

Patrick

To be honest, I'd leave out the 12-24 before I'd leave out the SB-800, especially if you can live with 18mm as your wide-end limit.

But of course that is a personal preference