 Lowepro Nova 5
This bag Dimensions are 8.5H x 14W x 6D
As I started to write about the best travel lens it occurred to
me that there was more than just lenses
Travel photography involves capturing
images of a particular landscape or even people from different countries. A photographer who is dedicated to this type of
photography captures various traditions and customs of a place.
As always when away from home weight is a huge consideration. Here's the kit
that I take.
Camera Bag - My personal preference is if I am traveling with
my DSLR camera and several
lenses,
filters,
flash, etc then I want something that is reasonably
sizable like the Lowepro Nova 5. I personally do not like backpacks, but they might be an option for
you, although they harder to gain access for quick lens changes. There are also sling
bags which are more accessible but not as good for your back. I have two
shoulder bags (a roomy Lowepro shown at the right and a smaller one that holds a DSLR and one or two lenses, plus a few
filters). Depending upon the trip, I use one or both of the two bags.Bbe sure to pick a bag that
fits everything in and that is comfortable. Also consider how weather proof the
bag is as well as how much it looks like a camera bag (which makes it a target
for thieves). I almost always take both bags - one to transport my gear with on
travel days (which becomes hand luggage on a plane) and the second one which I
use daily for taking what I need for the day (smaller and lighter). There is no
such thing as the perfect bag or combination (I have searched!) - if you know
of such a bag, please let me know.
Camera and Lens Cleaning - I generally take
some basic cleaning items including a lens cloth, a cloth
for wiping down the outside of the camera and a bulb blower.
I clean the outside of my camera and it’s lenses and filters
while on the traveling, but. I don’t clean my own image
sensor (I leave the sensor cleaning to Professional
technician for that part of my camera).
Flash - an
external flash unit is
practically a necessity while travelling although they are
one more thing added to the weight of your kit (and you’ll
also need more batteries for the flash. The results from using a
dedicated flash that can swivel, bounce and with manual
controls are worth the extra weight over the built in
on-camera flash.
Because of the added weight, I generally keep it in the
transport bag unless it’s nighttime or if I know ahead of
time that I’ll going to need it.
Memory Cards - The days of having to haul
truckloads of film around are gone. But taking careful
consideration to the way images are stored while traveling
rates some careful thought. Memory cards are made in a large
variety of capacities in most cases all the way from small
cards (my first camera came with a 16MB card) through
gigantic cards with gigabytes of memory. It is tempting just
to Best Prices for the largest size available but there are risks to
this approach. What if the card becomes damaged, what if
it’s stolen, what if you lose it? Literally hundreds of
photos could be lost unless there is a backup plan. The
options for avoiding such a loss are numerous. I know of
people who do everything from sending images home via email
(I can't even to begin to imagine the bandwidth) to backing
up photos on their iPods, to using multiple memory cards so
if they lose one they’ll still have some photos from their
trip. Whatever your strategy is, you’ll need to pack the
gear decided upon.
Teleconverter
1.5X teleconverters are more useful and often have less distortion
than 2X teleconverters. With a 1.5X teleconverter, you lose a stop of light. So a
my 18-200mm lens becomes the equivalent of a 27mm-300mm equivalent
lens. This gives me an extra 100mm with only the added weight of 3.9
ounces.
Tripod - I usually do not travel with a
tripod or monopod
since I got the 18-200 stabilized lens (although have a
couple of times when I was traveling by car and not
flying). Instead if shooting in
low light
with a flash I like to find
available support, use my
camera bag or find other stationary objects along the way to support the weight
of my camera. Some use the mini tripods that are all the rage these days, but
they are better with smaller point and shoot cameras than larger and
heavier DSLRs.
Compact Point & Shoot Camera. Although I am a DSLR user,
I like to pack a
compact point and shoot camera as well. This is for those nights when
I go into town and don’t want to haul all my gear around with
me but want to record the night. The
Canon g12 - fits in my pocket
and weighs just over 4 ounces Extra Batteries
- depending upon how many shots you take in per day I find
that most digital
cameras these days do not to run out of
battery power in a days worth of shooting. However it is
important to have extra batteries for those long days and
days when you forgot to recharge your batteries the night
before. Some point and shoot cameras will take AA (or
different standard size) batteries but you should investin
in a couple of sets of rechargeable batteries and a fast
charger. You’ll end up saving money over the long run with
them and the rechargeable ones deliver more power through
the battery charge life.
• Battery Charger - when you have
rechargeable batteries, remember to have a way to recharge
them.
• Power Source - if you’re traveling out
of the country do some research on what the power sources
they have and on what type of adapter plugs you’ll need.
Travel stores will be able to help you up with the right
adapters.
List of all-in-one travel lenses
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