OS trip and i'm new to photography.

[Wink]

Hi everyone!

Firstly i'll say i'm a complete novice with photography...
In March i'm off to Europe for a month to visit Paris, Amsterdam, Berlin, Munich, Prague, Budapest, Vienna, Venice, and Barcelona.

For the trip I recently brought a Canon 450D twin lens kit with the EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS and EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS lenses.
Since then i've brought UV filters for the lenses, a Lowepro Flipside 300, 2 x 8gb Extreme III SDHC cards and a generic 2gb card.

After doing some reading i'm thinking i should also get a 50mm f/1.8 for low light or indoor shots and a 10-22mm for landscape/cityscape shots.

A tripod has been suggested but i don't have a massive budget to spend and thought i could get by using a beanbag and whatever is around. Thoughts?
If a tripod really is a must then i've been looking at a Benro Aluminium Travel Angel A-169 M8 with BH-0M head.

To help with my learning i've just ordered Scott Kelby's Guide To Digital Photography Vol 1-3 and Understanding Exposures by Bryan Peterson.

Any advice on anything at all would be greatly appreciated!

Cheers.

[Matt. K]

Welcome to the forum Wink!....Sounds like a fabulous trip coming up...and some great photo ops! Your kit is about right though I would pack a F1.8 50mm as it's the lens that will give you those magic shots. A small tripod would be an asset for the night shots. I'd be tempted to leave the 55 - 250mm at home and pack a wide angle instead. By the way Benor make a nice little carbon fibre tripod that's not too expensive. It's a cinch to carry.

[Alpha_7]

Hi Wink,

I've done a couple of overseas trips now, and my base kit is Camera, 18-200VR for convenience, 50mm 1.4 for ultra sharp, shallow DOF, or low light work, and a 10-20mm. If I'm feeling generous I'll also bring a flash, but it doesn't get used enough to really be warranted. I've also taken a different tripod, (begged, borrowed, or bought) on each trip (definitely the hardest bit I've found to get right). What sort of travel will you be doing, we primarly do a lot of driving in hire cars and staying in bed and breakfasts, if your busing, to backpacking then I'd travel lighter.

Also have you considered you storage requirements for the trip ? Including a backup of your photos in another bag, online, or posted home ?

I think the adding a tripod, and a 50mm (1.8 is fine) will leave you in good stead.

[Wink]

Thanks for the reply and welcome.

I'm going to the Melbourne Photo Tech Expo at Micheal's on the 29th so i'm going to get the 50mm then.

The carbon fibre would be nice but i can't justify the extra cost over the aluminium model. The weight difference is somewhere between 200-300 grams.

We are moving around fairly quickly. Only 3 nights at most cities (4 in Paris) so what i can carry is definately a priority.
I figured i'd have all my 'day stuff' in my camera backpack for tripping around within our stop. All the extra stuff like clothes etc would be left back at our accomodation.

For storage i was thinking about taking a small external 120gb USB HDD that i could move photos to. The downside to this is that i'm not sure on access to a PC to do it. I've read that a lot of internet cafes in Europe will transfer photos to another media for a fee.

[gstark]

Hi, and welcome.

I'm going to the Melbourne Photo Tech Expo at Micheal's

A tech expo ? At Michael's?

Hmmmm ..... reminds me of the Fred Dagg Real Estate dialog ....

I would echo the comments regarding grabbing the 50mm f/1.8 and something in a wider angle.

For tripods, perhaps look at the baby Manfrotto?

I would avoid a PSD - functionality is way too limited - and instead look at getting a netbook. The MSI Wind U100 is under $500 these days, and will probably suit your needs and then some.

Also, don't forget to consider the weight of your kit, in terms of your carry on allowance on your flights.

[Wink]

Thanks Gary.

Here's a link...
http://www.michaels.com.au/index.php?op ... Itemid=266

I'm not going to buy the lens there however. I'm in the middle of buying it, along with the 10-22mm from DWI right now.

Edit:
They have a 2% surcharge and 3% for Paypal so that changes things...

Also looked at Citiwide but their site was doing some strange things! It created an order without me confirming it.

[Wink]

Today i've ordered a 50mm f1.8 II and 10-22mm f3.5-4.5 USM with Hoya Super HMC UV Filters...
Now it's time to practice and learn like crazy!

Do people always use lens hoods (when outdoors i assume)?

[paulmac]

G'day Wink, and welcome to the forum.

I've just come back from three months overseas, and visited a few of the places you're going to, so I feel qualified to offer my opinion...

1. If you've bought your tickets, you do have travel insurance, right? http://www.tid.com.au Two OS trips ago they paid a $10k hospital bill and forked out $30,000 to bring me home... (and they cover your camera and computer gear too).

I took my 450D and 17-70 lens, which was on the camera 90% of the time (and yes the hood was always on; saves you having to put the cap on).

I took my 10-20mm, which, for the amount of pictures it was used for, should have stayed at home. I have brought home lots of panoramas easily stitched in software instead.

I also bought and took my lightweight tripod, a Velbon PHD-31Q, which surprises me how light and yet sturdy it is, and yet it rarely got carried and thus used. Museums and monuments don't allow tripods these days ("Because the sign says so" was the best answer I ever got...). That was an extra kilo that I had to account for in my main backpack, and again should have stayed at home. Consider a large gorilla-pod, if you must? Small and lightweight.

I have a 50mm f1.8 which I love, but didn't take because I couldn't fit it in my daypack, and didn't really miss either! My flash was also present, and apart from a few pub shots, should have also stayed at home.

I splurged when I got to New York and bought a 70-200 F4, and a bag to carry it in. I had this strapped into my belt around my waist, along with the 10-20mm in it's little case. The zoom is great for people shots, and should definitely go with you.

Having a laptop is also handy for keeping in contact, as well as for photo storage. I took an eeepc, which was just over a kilo, and fit into the daypack. Net kiosks ranged in price from reasonable to outrageous, but wifi was almost always able to be found for free. Making skype calls in the park at the base of the Eiffel tower, or on a train at 200km/h was pretty cool!

You didn't mention how you're travelling, ie backpacking like I was, or having a car to lug your gear around. You'll soon appreciate what it means to pack light. By the way, Europe=stairs, staircases, and cobblestones. Lots.

I consider myself to be a photo nut, and I love going out for a wander in Melbourne for a day with just one lens, because it forces you to be creative. Can I suggest to you that if this is your first visit to Europe, go there and soak up the place instead. Forget whether you should be documenting it with a 50mm or your 10mm. You won't have the time, because you'll be too busy saying Wow! (either that or standing in queues...). Can I also suggest that you already have a steep learning curve ahead of you with your new camera for the next few months. There will be a few forum members here that will respond back that they would leave all their gear at home, and just take their G10s instead!

I went in summer time, and the last thing I wanted to do was to lug around my daypack, so that limited what I carried each day. You will be going in a much colder time, so you might choose to ignore the above and carry it all with you. I probably would have too. Can I suggest you pack 5+ kilos into your daypack and carry it around all this week?

Actually one of the best investments I made was to replace the (bright-red-come-and-mug-me) Canon neck strap with an Optech strap made from wetsuit material. It really does make the camera feel lighter. $20ish at Michaels.

Just my thoughts and experiences, having just done the same thing as you're planning. Reviewing this thread, I've just given you an opposite view to what Alpha_7 has suggested. You're sure to get a few more opinions too! I think you'll know by the time of the trip which lenses and accessories you can't go without.

My blog is in my signature below. Check out some of the pictures I came home with.

[Wink]

Thanks for your suggestions!

[Alpha_7]

Just my thoughts and experiences, having just done the same thing as you're planning. Reviewing this thread, I've just given you an opposite view to what Alpha_7 has suggested. You're sure to get a few more opinions too! I think you'll know by the time of the trip which lenses and accessories you can't go without.

Not that there is anything wrong with that


I agree with the insurance being something you don't want to forget, and also to make sure you enjoy yourself, dont' let the photography ruin your holiday.

[losfp]

Of course, it really depends on your individual needs.. But this is what I would do.

- If you are getting an UWA lens, forget about the normal zoom. When I'm travelling, I find that I either want to be as long as possible or as wide as possible. Unless you are going to be taking a lot of shots of people, I wouldn't bother with the 17-70. As mentioned though, a 50/1.8 is small, cheap and light enough to qualify as "why not".

- Laptop if you can afford the weight and size.

- Tripod if you need it. When we went on our holiday to Canada, I brough mine along as I knew there would be waterfalls and lakes galore. Otherwise I would simply go with a gorillapod or beanbag.

[DaveB]

Do people always use lens hoods (when outdoors i assume)?

YES!

Sorry, was I shouting? Definitely use them whenever you can. Not only can they help protect your lens against bumps and scratches, they can only improve your images by reducing flare.

[Wink]

We'll definitely be getting insurance!

My 10-22 and 50mm f/1.8 have just arrived.

I'm just not going to have the time to spend with a tripod everywhere and enjoy my first trip outside Australia.
For the most part my pictures will be just for the memories. However, i would like to get some photos from each place that would be (hopefully) good enough to hang on my wall.

Although i'm talking about travelling OS here it really is only a one off occasion. After this it's mortgage time so no more trips for me.

I ideally want a nice spread of lenses that will cover most situations without having a specialist lens for every style.
From here i think about the only other lenses i could see myself buying would be a macro, 70-200 and a 1.4x TC.

Back to my trip...
Since i've got the room in my backpack i'm going to take my 2 kit lenses, the 10-22 and 50. That has me covered from 10-250mm. I'd say just using something like a 18-200 would be easier but i'd rather just swap lenses than buy one of those just for the convenience factor.

Please keep your advice coming!

[ian.bertram]

I want to echo the netbook sentiment. I just bought an Asus Inspire1 for $500 and absolutely love it- it fits in my camera pack, stores all my photos and allows basic editing and deleting. I'm going to Japan soon and bought it for that trip. I think you're spot on with the 50mm as well- I wouldn't be without mine.

[Wink]

Well, a lot has changed in the few short months since i first joined this site, started this thread and started taking a few photos.

I really enjoy looking at everyones images here. I'm amazed every day at what some people are able to capture.

I brought the 450D for my holiday and didn't think i'd use it a great deal before or after the trip. I was wrong. I never thought i'd enjoy taking photos as much as i do!

So, i've just sold my 450D twin IS kit and ordered a 7D with a 24-105mm f/4L IS lens.
The new camera and lens along with my 10-22mm and 50mm will make the trip to Europe.

I'm really looking forward to trying to figure this thing out of the next few months.
If anyone has any tips then i'd love to hear them!

(Now, what's this about a duck?)