[Kombisaurus]

Hi gang,

I've been keeping pretty quiet lately but I've been busy doing some planning behind the scenes over the last few months for my next little chapter in life.
Basically I've been tidying up a heap of loose-ends and getting things in order so that I'm now in a position to quit my job and go travelling! woohoo!

I'm booked to leave Australia in a couple of weeks and am flying to Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City). From there I'll spend the next 6 weeks wandering up through Vietnam into China where I'll then take the trans-siberian railway through Mongolia and across Russia.
Then in December I'll leave St Petersburg and head down and across Europe to meet my g/friend Tina who is currently studying in Toulouse in the south of France. The idea is to get from Australia to France doing most of it overland to get a sense of just how big the world is.
Anyway, Tina and I will then hang around Toulouse until mid-February when she finishes her study, then we can both take off see more of Europe for another month before returning to Australia around mid-March or so...

...and then I'll need to come back to reality and think about working again. *sigh*

Overall I'll be travelling for about 5 months with nothing to do except whatever I feel like. It's pretty exciting!
Tina left Australia a fortnight ago and flew straight to Toulouse where she began her course yesterday. She's loving it there, and it looks beautiful.

So... why am I telling you all this?

Well as I'll be passing through some countries inhabited by some of our much-loved regulars here, I would really appreciate any local pearls of wisdom they could offer me regarding things to see and do.

But mostly I'd love to catch up for a coffee or go out shooting for an afternoon or something with anyone who's keen.

So... hit me up! Feel free to reply to this thread with general stuff or PM me to discuss details you don't want the whole world to know about.
I can't wait! The trip will be amazing, and it would be fantastic to also get a chance to meet a few shuttertalkers in real life along the way.

Thanks

[Toad]

Sounds Absolutely Wonderful!

As I was reading about your route relentlessly westward, I found myself hoping that you would pass through Canada on the way - and in particular Vancouver. But it was not to be.

Anyway - sounds fabulous. I am planning 2 treks next year (Italy and Iceland) - and am looking forward to gear head chatter re photo equipment chosen for the trip, travel hints, general, prep plans etc. etc.

It goes without saying that we all await your photos.

[edit] By the way, what equipment are you taking and how are you carrying it?

[Kombisaurus]

Hey Rob,
As much as I would love to visit you in Canada, I think that's a whole trip in itself and will have to wait until I get a chance to do it properly.
Mind you, if by chance you happen to be in Italy around Feb/March next year then we could definately grab a coffee at Piazza San Marco in Venice or something!
Iceland also sounds fascinating... I'd be very interested to hear more about that (both the reasons behind you going there and also what you'll find).

As far as the gear I'm taking.. well no doubt I'll change my mind a dozen times, but here is my initial plan:
* Panasonic GF1 + Panasonic 20mm f/1.7 prime + Canon FD 50mm f/1.4 prime (adapted) + Panasonic 14-140mm zoom + Canon EF adapter + Gorillapod SLR
* Canon 5D MkII + Canon 24-105mm L zoom + Sigma 15mm f/2.8 prime + Sigma 50mm f/1.4 fisheye + Canon 135mm f/2 L prime + EX430 speedlite

I'm a bit annoyed at the prospect of taking 2 camera systems, but together all the gear still weighs in under 6kg and when I'm actually out shooting I'll only be taking one system with me at a time.
The GF1 is by far the more discrete camera, and more suitable for a lot of the people photography I'll be doing on the way to Europe. But I can't leave the 5D2 behind - when discretion isn't critical then it's my favourite camera by a long way.

Of note is my choice to leave my EF 17-40L zoom at home and take the Sigma 15mm fisheye instead. I still might change my mind here, but when I want to go wider than 24mm I generally want to go *really* wide... and a 15mm fish is *really* wide. Plus it's easy to crop the 5D2's 21mp images down if it's too wide, and I have some decent de-fishing software to remove the fisheye effect when it's not desirable. I find that little Sigma fish to be a very versatile lens and often use it in non-novelty situations. Being f/2.8 is pretty good too, with a lens that wide you can get away with really slow shutter speeds, so can shoot handheld in very low light. Before I leave I might take the 15mm out for a wander around Perth pretending to be a tourist taking architectural photos... see how it fares..

Also of note is my choice to leave my EF 70-200 f/2.8L IS at home and take the EF 135mm f/2L instead. After lugging my 70-200mm f/2/8L IS mounted on a 1D3 all over Bali for a fortnight, the lesson my sore back taught me was to travel lighter! I wish I could take it, but the 135mm f/2L is almost as versatile and has slightly better IQ while being much smaller, lighter, and more discrete.

Finally, I'm a bit annoyed at carrying two 50mm primes... seems like duplication.. and common-sense might say it makes sense to carry a 35L and 85mm combo instead of the Sigma 50mm (spacing my primes out more evenly - 15mm, 35mm, 85mm, 135mm). But I don't know.. I don't want to add another lens to the lineup and I love the 50mm FOV on the 5D2.. although the AF on both the 35mm and 85mm easily outclass the AF on the Sigma 50mm, and IQ in all three lenses is excellent.
I'm not sure.. I really want to love my EF 35mm f/1.4L, but I haven't "bonded" with it. It's an excellent lens but just not a focal length that seems to suit my photography. Maybe I need a trip like this to get to know it better. Certainly I've seem some amazing results taken with it.

Oh, and I'm carrying it all in a Crumpler Karachi Outpost (Medium) which I bought a couple of months ago. It's a combination photography/laptop backpack that allows both the photography and the laptop sections to be removed completely, leaving a good-sized normal backpack for clothes and other stuff when necessary. It's absolutely perfect for my needs and I've been using it every day since I bought it.

[Toad]

Thanks for all the detailed info. Unfortunately, I will not be in Italy until May.

If I was to advise on any *lightening* of your load, I would skip the adapted Canon FD 50 / adapter - but that is a relatively insignificant reduction in the grand scope of things. Its a good rig you have selected - but I see your issue with taking 2 complete systems - seems like overkill. I suppose one option is taking the full Canon rig and just the GF-1 / 20 as your street shooter.

The Crumpler looks good as well - I will be interested to find out what the final gear manifest looks like.

What is your take on the Gorrillapod - I am looking at that rig myself for next year?

[Irma]

What a wonderful adventure and experiences are awaiting for your Adrian....
I wish my son had the guts to do something like that.

I send you a PM to see if we could fix something if you pass by Germany.

I wish you all the best!

[matthew]

That sounds like a fantastic time. Like Toad, I was sad to see that you're not going to be in my neighborhood, but we'll get you next time (I hope).

I can't imagine how busy you must be right now - I just have a party and a little ten-day excursion coming up, and I'm barely keeping up with everything. (I was supposed to be booking a hotel tonight, but went out with the brother for dinner, and now I'll be off-line for the next couple of days….)

I have to fight an urge to suggest gear to leave home, but since this is it for almost half a year, I can't see any reason not to have everything you've listed. The sole caveat is that it will be a lot to carry if you're also tethered to all of the luggage that you'll need as you go across the continents. But the only lesson that I've learned from my short trips is that I won't do anything different just because I'm not at home, so I wouldn't bring a lens that I haven't bonded with in the hopes that I'd come to like it better.

[Kombisaurus]

Thanks for the PM Irma, that's very kind of you. I've just replied.
I've also been in touch with Uli and it would be great to catch up with both of you in Germany at some point.

Matthew, I will get to Canada someday! My mother was born in New Zealand but grew up in Ottowa before moving to Australia, and two of her brothers (my uncles) were born there. There are many old family photos from Canada and many stories.
My grandfather used to be a surveyor who would spend months at a time away from home surveying parts of the Yukon. I was speaking to my grandmother the other day about the cold weather I'll be facing in Mongolia and Russia, and she mentioned that she still has one of my grandfather's old fur hats that he used to wear while surveying, and she offered to send it over to me for me to take on my trip! I'm not sure if I'll take it, but if I do I promised her a photo of me wearing it in Red Square.
(They are the same grandparents who's wedding photo I tidied up in an article a few years ago).

Toad, I can't drop the FD 50mm lens + MFT adaptor. I apart from the great IQ and usability, it has sentimental value to me, I know you didn't have the same instant love when you used legacy glass on your GF1, but for me it's just perfect.
I am thinking about dropping the external speedlite though. I've lugged an external flash around Indonesia and Malaysia and probably only used it about once. Natural light is the name of the game, and the GF1 has a built-in flash for night-time emergencies where 6400iso+f/1.4 isn't enough for an exposure.

[Toad]

Toad, I can't drop the FD 50mm lens + MFT adaptor. I apart from the great IQ and usability, it has sentimental value to me, I know you didn't have the same instant love when you used legacy glass on your GF1, but for me it's just perfect.

I can understand that.

It still sounds like quite a load - but if anybody will make use of it, you will. I am sure that we will be seeing some amazing shots in a few months time.

[Kombisaurus]

Ok... So after some careful consideration, some following of Matthew's New York thread, some experimentation, and a drunken Saturday night out with a couple of my best mates wishing me a good trip...
I've made a few decisions on my kit.

1. The 15mm f/2.8 Fisheye is definately getting packed and the 17-40mm f/4L is definately staying at home.
I did some experiments, and with 3 simple clicks of the mouse in Lightroom I can convert a fisheye shot to produce the same view as a 17mm rectilinear lens. Sure it reduces the 21mp image down to 10mp, but 10mp is still plenty (and IQ is better in the corners). Not only that but I can go considerably wider than 17mm if I want, I have a number of options regarding the choice of fisheye or rectilinear, the prime has noticably better IQ than the zoom, The 15mm is a more compact and lighter lens, and at f/2.8 it is also a stop faster than the f/4 lens.

2. The 430EX speelite is staying at home.
This is tough because I just know there will be a few times when I really wish I had a strobe with me. But from past experience these times are very few and far between and I hate carrying a strobe around all day only to find I never use it. So invariably if I take it with me it will spend all its time being left behind in a hotel room or whatever, and I'll still curse when that rare opportunity comes up when I need it only to find I left it behind.

3. The Sigma 50mm f/1.4 is staying at home, and I'm taking an EF 35 f/1.4 and EF 85 f/1.8 with me instead.
It was a tough choice to leave the 50mm at home, but having 35mm and 85mm primes (along with my 15mm and 135mm) really provide a better spread. The clincher here was the fantastic AF on both the Canon 35L and 85mm lenses compared to the ho-hum AF on the Sigma 50mm. The Sigma tends to be sluggish and hunt, and I don't want to be missing shots due to this.

So the new list is:
* Panasonic GF1 + Panasonic 20mm f/1.7 prime + Canon FD 50mm f/1.4 prime (adapted) + Panasonic 14-140mm zoom + Canon EF adapter + Gorillapod SLR
* Canon 5D MkII + Canon 24-105mm f/4L zoom + Sigma 15mm f/2.8 fisheye + Canon 35mm f/1.4L + Canon 85mm f/1.8 + Canon 135mm f/2 L

That kit weighs in at 5kg and still gives me 3 spare compartments in the camera gear section of my backpack. Considering I'll only be taking half the kit out at a time when I'm out shooting, I don't think it's excessive.

As a side note, I went out with some mates on Saturday night and took the GF1 with me with just the 20mm f/1.7 and 50mm f/1.4 as a sort of trial ... I was very happy with the results and extremely happy with the focal lengths. Admittedly the photos got a bit blurry as the night wore on, but this was an accurate reflection of the progressive dulling of our senses after we left each pub.


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[Toad]

Reduced: one lens and one flash
Added: 2 lenses

Glad we were able to help streamline your rig...

Just kidding - sounds like you will have everything you need. Enjoy your trip.

[matthew]

As a side note, I went out with some mates on Saturday night and took the GF1 with me with just the 20mm f/1.7 and 50mm f/1.4 as a sort of trial ... I was very happy with the results and extremely happy with the focal lengths. Admittedly the photos got a bit blurry as the night wore on, but this was an accurate reflection of the progressive dulling of our senses after we left each pub.

Funny you should mention that - you only have two lenses with IS.

I completely endorse the 35/85 combination, even though that's one that I'm rethinking. I wonder though if you've just made the 24-105 redundant, but I'm sure there will be days when you want the primes, and others when you'll want the zoom. It sounds like a fantastic trip, and you'll be well-stocked for it.

And speedlights are just a nuisance - all those AA batteries and the extra charger. That's just too much like work.

You said 'in a couple of weeks' twelve days ago - your departure must be profoundly imminent. Exciting times, eh?

[Kombisaurus]

Rob, you got it! It's not so much about getting me to take less gear. It's about preventing me from taking more!

Matthew, that's interesting you mention the 2 lenses with IS. To be honest I hadn't even noticed that. But they also happen to be the only zoom lenses I'm taking and are also the only "slow" lenses in my kit. All the other lenses I'm taking will perform well in low-light without IS, so I'm not really fussed about it.
It's also interesting you said "That's just too much like work" regarding the strobes and the AA's and charger. That sums it up nicely. I'm on vacation, I don't want anything to be a chore. As much as I love taking photos along the way, the experiences and memories take priority over the photos. Whenever I travel there are times I put my camera down and knowingly miss great shots because I want to forget about photos and just experience the moment. I don't regret doing this one bit.

And as for the leaving date.. well it's this Sunday night! I've got too many things yet to do to be excited at the moment... but when I flick through my passport and see exotic-looking Visa stickers waiting to be stamped it begins to sink in.

[matthew]

It sounds like you have your priorities in the right place. I'm hoping that you have internet access - and the time and inclination to use it - for updates as you circle the globe. Or at least, do a great big loop around most of the globe. Do you have anything that you're be using as a travelogue? ('travel-blog'?)

You're twelve hours ahead of me, time-zone wise, so you'll be leaving about a day before I am. I'm sure time is tight for both of us, so I'll wish you well now. Have a great trip, enjoy your time, stay safe, and may everything you do be a positive experience - if only in retrospect.

[Wedding Shooter]

Have a great trip Adrian - glad you decided on the 35 1.4 (personal favourite of mine).

[Toad]

The gear-head chatter is going to be pretty quiet around here for the next while, I expect...

So where's Zig?