 Janet Sitas |
Essential Equipment for a Trip? I will be traveling throughout Panama in January on an eco tour that has weight restrictions on parts of the trip limited to 25 pounds. What basic equipment is essential for wildlife and landscape photos? Thanks!
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Samuel Smith |
wildlife and landscape.2 different animals.
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- Gregory LaGrange Contact Gregory LaGrange Gregory LaGrange's Gallery |
Wide to regular focal length for the landscapes(24-50mm). For nature, a zoom of 70-200 or 100-400. That way, you have just two lenses that can cover a good range. If the 50mm is a macro, then you can expand to more things. The only other thing I would suggest for a bare minimum trip is a table-top tripod for evening or morning landscapes. It is good enough to set on a rock or something. You could substitute a bean bag, but a tripod would be better for self-portrait group shots ("Here we are in Patagonia!").
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Janet Sitas |
Thanks, Gregory! Your response to my question will help my decision on which lenses/equipment to take.
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Pete H |
Hello Janet, If you will be shooting in the wild outdoors, I don't think I would want to be changing lenses all that often...Sensor dust city!..and you WILL get dirt on the sensor if you change lenses outside very often. Buy or borrow a wide range lens. All the Best, Pete
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Janet Sitas |
Thanks Pete. That is an excellant thing to consider. And it will help with the weight restriction.
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Daniel O |
Hi Janet, I would only add that Sigma has come out with an 18-200 OS (OS=VR -- Optical Stabilization / Vibration Reduction) intended to be direct competition to the Nikkor lens, and my search on the on the web showed it as comparable, and better by some accounts. And is considerably less expensive, so I'd recommend looking into it. (I own the Sigma 18-200 without OS, and I only take it off my camera when I need the reach of my 300mm. The OS version will be my next lens.) Then if you feel a need for a longer reach for wildlife, you can add the 100-400 range that Gregory suggested. I consider a tripod essential, maybe an ultra-lightweight travel model if you can manage it, or the tabletop type. The OS gives you from 3-5 stop advantage for handholding (depending on conditions and who's reporting) but these lenses are pretty slow at high zoom/low light. Hope this helps!
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Janet Sitas |
Thanks Dan! All this info will be helpful. Janet
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Bunny Snow |
Hi Janet, I've been traveling quite a lot lately and with both a new hip and a new knee, I've had to travel lightly. My recommendation is a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ30, which has the capability of a 12x optical zoom (432mm, 35 mm equivalent) and will still shoot wide angle and macro. It also has image stabilization. At long as you are shooting in the open with fairly bright skies, this one pound camera is wonderful. http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/FZ30/FZ30A.HTM One of the few negatives that I have with the Lumix is that it does not perform well in low light (which you may have when wildlife is most active). Regardless of which way you go, if you want sharp images, a sturdy tripod, or at least a good monopod, is a must. I took both a light weight tripod for night, and a monopod for daylight captures to China in 2005, where weight was restricted. I also found when photographing Costa Rica several years ago, that I wished I had GRAD filters with me, as often I'd see a beautiful sunrise or sunset and a lovely foreground with too high a contrast ratio. The only way of capturing it was with 2 and/or 3 graduated reduced density filters, such as Singh-Ray rectangular filters. I don't know how to manage this with the Lumix (as it has no DOF preview --low DOF), but if you are taking a SLR and a tripod, you'll really find these filters worth having in your pack. Have a wonderful trip! Check out my web site, as I have both my China and Greece images there.
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