# Travel gear thoughts...



## MikeT (Oct 15, 2014)

After a hiatus of 30+ years, I am gearing up to enjoy photography as a hobby in retirement. One concern is finding a good combination of gear for travel photography. I have the 6D and the 70D bodies, and was thinking about using both for travel, with a 16-35 L F4 and a 70-300 non-L. Seems to me that this combo of 2 bodies and 2 lenses would be relatively light-weight, and provide an effective range of 16mm - 480mm (OK, with a small gap between 56mm and 70mm), yet I have never seen anyone make this type of suggestion... What am I missing? 

Should anyone care to make other suggestions for travel, fyi I have the 24-105 L, 50mm 1.8, 85mm 1.8, 70-200 2.8 L II, and the aforesaid 70-300 non-L... Travel shots would be landscapes, cathedral interiors, and people.

Thanks for any feedback,

Mike


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## Paul W. H (Oct 15, 2014)

Mike

Sorry this does not answer your question directly but there are outside factors that you need to think about, travelling by airplane usually means weight restrictions and you would have to balance camera kit versus clothes etc. but, travelling in your own car from start to finish there are no restrictions so you can take what you like. When my travel involves car only I normally take most of my kit with me especially to places that I have never visited before.


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## EchoLocation (Oct 15, 2014)

it all depends on how/where you're traveling. if you're in a car in america, i'd say just bring everything. if you're backpacking in europe i would say to bring what you are comfortable carrying. personally, I might leave the long zoom unless I was doing birding and bring a fast prime. these days i'm using my a7 with a manual focus voigtlander 35mm and i have the eos m with the 11-22 and 35mm lenses for my wife.


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## KimH (Oct 15, 2014)

Hi Mike,

for what it's worth here's my "travel" bag.

The new 16-35 F4 (that one is clearly a keeper!) - it was the 17-40
The Kit lens 24-105 on my 5DIII
and the 70-300 in the compact L-Version 

i have some some great photos with the 70-300 and it performs much better than some forums would suggest.

They all fit in my Tamrac EVOLUTION/Messenger 4 shoulderbag, there's enough space to squeeze a 270-II fill in flash on top of the UWA


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## expatinasia (Oct 15, 2014)

I would recommend taking just one body to help keep your weight down.

If I was making the trip, and had the same gear as you, I would take the 16-35 f/4 and the 70-200 f/2.8 ii with just one body.

I would probably also take along an extender (small and light, so easy to travel with) to give you that little extra reach when needed.


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## Hillsilly (Oct 15, 2014)

I did something similar for a long time - 17-40mm, 50mm and 70-200. This combination worked well for me. Your 16-35 is probably a better lens than my 17-40. And taking a 70-300 instead of a 70-200 gives you a bit more reach and probably weighs a bit less. 

The only suggestion I'd make is to consider adding a small, wider aperture lens. They come in useful at night time and when shooting indoors.

But otherwise, the 16-35 and 70-300 combo is fine. Plus you've got to re-start somewhere.

Once you've done a few trips, you'll learn what you like to photograph and will be in a much better position to decide if different lenses are more suited to you. Perhaps you'll get into wildlife photography in exotic places and need some longer lenses. Perhaps you'll take more portraits of the locals and want a wider aperture lens. 

FWIW, My travel kit continually evolves. What I take depends on where I'm going and what I'll be photographing. My current "Light" kit for when photography isn't going to be a major part of the trip is just taking a 40mm and a 135mm. But then I'm heading off to Melbourne for a couple of weeks next week and I do intend to take a lot of photos. I'll probably take a 14mm, 23mm (ok...and X100), 35mm and a 50-230mm and a couple of flashes. But these are all Fuji lenses are all fairly light and compact and easy to carry.


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## tomscott (Oct 15, 2014)

Check out my thread… 

http://www.canonrumors.com/forum/index.php?topic=22621.0

Im traveling for 5 months across south and north america and this is my kit after a huge amount of consideration, very similar to yours. (but i would rather take the 5DMKIII than a 70D and 6D)







Top right 14,000mah rav power battery, 1tb Hyperdrive, iPad Mini 128gb, 70-300mm L, 5DMKIII 24-105mm and 16-35mm. 

I was originally going to kick out my Canon gear for the Sony A7 but after handling it and the lack of lenses I decided no. I am also going into the amazon for a wildlife shoot so the 70-300mm was the minimum I wanted to take. So I really wanted to shave some weight somewhere else.

I was going to take my 11" macbook air but with the charger and an external hard drive it weighed 2kg. The iPad mini retina is a 128gb only weights 333g and will edit a full 5DMKIII raw file with photoshop express with really good results. The hyperdrive is also iPad compatible and you can connect it via wifi for media and file sharing.

The whole above kit is 4kg. Weight is a big concern for me as I have to carry everything I need for the whole 5 month trip.

My strategy is to carry 4x32gb CF cards, 1 32gb and 2 16gb SD cards. I will write small raw or large jpeg to the SD and RAW to the CF. I will back up all my CF to the hyperdrive for redundancy and keep them in separate bags, then copy all the contents of the SD to the iPad via Lightning to SD reader, for viewing and a little editing on the go.

I plan on writing a blog and editing the odd image to add to it and put on social media. Also the iPad will be used for image review. I was sceptical that the iPad could do all the above but it works very very well really impressed with it.

Might get the new version of lightroom for the iPad as it now allows you to import your images from the camera role.

I also have my iPhone which I am going to use for GPS tracking with the app Geotagphoto, I also have bought the pro cube recharge dock from Hahnel, It recharges two Canon batteries and has a 2.1A USB charger on the back.
http://www.hahnel.ie/index.cfm?page=li-ionchargers&id=145&pId=145






I have lots of other little gadgets check out my thread for more info. Hope this helps.

Tom


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## bholliman (Oct 15, 2014)

Some really excellent advice here. I agree with those commenting about taking everything if traveling by car and limiting your weight for air travel. My air travel kit changes depending on where I'm going and unique aspects of the trip. I only have one DSLR (6D), which I almost always take on significant trips and my EOS-M comes along as a backup and light/portable option. I typically take 2-3 lenses for air travel trips.

Given your equipment list, I think the 16-35 f/4 and 70-300L would make a terrific combo. 



Hillsilly said:


> The only suggestion I'd make is to consider adding a small, wider aperture lens. They come in useful at night time and when shooting indoors.



+1 Personally, I always like to include at least one wide aperture lens for shallow depth of field or low light shots. Either your 50 1.8 or 85 1.8 would suffice. About the only thing you give up with just the 16-35 f/4 + 70-300L combo is wide aperture.


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## Hjalmarg1 (Oct 15, 2014)

MikeT said:


> After a hiatus of 30+ years, I am gearing up to enjoy photography as a hobby in retirement. One concern is finding a good combination of gear for travel photography. I have the 6D and the 70D bodies, and was thinking about using both for travel, with a 16-35 L F4 and a 70-300 non-L. Seems to me that this combo of 2 bodies and 2 lenses would be relatively light-weight, and provide an effective range of 16mm - 480mm (OK, with a small gap between 56mm and 70mm), yet I have never seen anyone make this type of suggestion... What am I missing?
> 
> Should anyone care to make other suggestions for travel, fyi I have the 24-105 L, 50mm 1.8, 85mm 1.8, 70-200 2.8 L II, and the aforesaid 70-300 non-L... Travel shots would be landscapes, cathedral interiors, and people.
> 
> ...


Mike, your lens combination for travel sound very logical for travel purposes. I'd just leave the 70D behind and add the 50mm f1.8 that weight almost nothing and it's very helpful for street photography at night.
I normally travel with the 16-35mm f4L IS as well and it has never let me down.Because I only have one telephoto zoom (70-200 2.8 is heavy for long walks), I tend to leave it behind and use the 100mm 2.8L IS instead for saving weight.


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## MikeT (Oct 16, 2014)

Thanks, guys, for the feedback... The wide aperture lens was an obvious oversight on my part. And yes, I was primarily thinking of a trip to Europe next year. I carry everything with me in the US. I'm hoping that Canon will release the 100-400mm L II before I go, as I am a zoom junkie, and my wife has limited patience with 'time-outs' to capture the best shot.


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## Sporgon (Oct 16, 2014)

If you are used to having the IQ from the 70-200/2.8II I'm really surprised that you still have the 70-300 non-L. I've had the misfortune to try a couple of these, and although they were surprisingly good at 70 -100mm focal length, the rest was just dire, apart from the sort of spot meter size centre when stopped down to about f16.

The 70-300L, on the other hand is a really good lens, quite stunning in fact, pretty much as good as the 70-200/4 IS, just losing two thirds stop at 200, but gaining another 100 in reach.


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## Helios68 (Oct 17, 2014)

Hi,

If I had the same equipment as you, I would take the following gear with me,
+6D body -> Better overall IQ, using two bodies on travel is not a big advantage.
+16-35mm f/4 -> Really good for landscapes, interior, street...
+50mm f/1.8 -> Performs well for portrait, street, low light conditions and is really light
+70-200m or 70-300mm, depending of space/weight you can afford.
+A mini tripod kit like Manfrotto's for low light interior. It does not cost much money nor weight and could really prevent you from increasing ISO and/or exposure time. It can carry up to 2kg.

I usually travel by plane with a light kit because weight is really a problem:
+700D/T5i
+10-22mm + pol. filter
+50mm f/1.8 -> equivalent to 80mm
+Mini Tripod kit
With this gear I did not experience a bad situation.


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## Hillsilly (Oct 18, 2014)

tomscott said:


> I also have bought the pro cube recharge dock from Hahnel, It recharges two Canon batteries and has a 2.1A USB charger on the back.


That's one good looking charger! I travel with a handful of chargers - camera charger(s), AA/AAA/18650 charger, phone charger, laptop charger, GPS charger. And then you have all the associated cables. I'm sure there are better ways to do things. If you ever get your blog up, I'd be keen to hear how you managed with everything. There aren't that many sites or blogs that deal with the mechanics of travel photography - memory cards, storage, backups, editing on the road etc. Yet these seem to be regular topics for discussion on this site.


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## Rocky (Oct 18, 2014)

MikeT said:


> Thanks, guys, for the feedback... The wide aperture lens was an obvious oversight on my part. And yes, I was primarily thinking of a trip to Europe next year. I carry everything with me in the US. I'm hoping that Canon will release the 100-400mm L II before I go, as I am a zoom junkie, and my wife has limited patience with 'time-outs' to capture the best shot.


If you are aiming at interior of Cathedrals, a 24mm 2.8 IS (pair with 6D )will be great especially iy you are the " shoot and run" type. I looked at your list, You do not have any IS lens and all lenses are f 4 or slower. A fast wide lens sounds good but they may have more distortion and may not enough depth of field.


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## MikeT (Oct 18, 2014)

Sporgon said:


> If you are used to having the IQ from the 70-200/2.8II I'm really surprised that you still have the 70-300 non-L. I've had the misfortune to try a couple of these, and although they were surprisingly good at 70 -100mm focal length, the rest was just dire, apart from the sort of spot meter size centre when stopped down to about f16.



I must have a really good copy of the 70-300 non-L... I actually purchased the L version, and found that it had slightly better color, and focused faster than the non-L. However, the sharpness of the non-L was greater than that of the L version, so I returned the L and purchased the 70-200L IS II. Love that lens! I kept the 70-300 non-L as a possible travel lens due to its lighter weight and greater reach, but will replace it with the new 100-400L if Canon ever brings it out..


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## MikeT (Oct 18, 2014)

Rocky said:


> If you are aiming at interior of Cathedrals, a 24mm 2.8 IS (pair with 6D )will be great especially iy you are the " shoot and run" type. I looked at your list, You do not have any IS lens and all lenses are f 4 or slower. A fast wide lens sounds good but they may have more distortion and may not enough depth of field.



The 24mm 2.8 IS is one I am considering (hence this post for others' thoughts), but I find that I am leaning toward the 16-35mm F4L IS because it will provide a wider option and most of the photos I imagine with my wide angle will be stationary. I've used shortcuts for the lenses I have, but several are IS - the 24-105L IS, 70-200L II F2.8 IS and the 70-300 IS non-L. I greatly prefer IS lenses. Thinking of getting another low light lens, and am torn between the 100mm F2.8 L IS macro and the 135mm L F2. Leaning toward the 135, but sure wish it had IS!


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## Mr_Canuck (Oct 20, 2014)

The less you have to carry, the happier you'll be. Don't overlap your lens ranges at all. The 16-35 and a 70-300 or whatever is a very complete range. Only you know what you want to shoot. Carrying a 50/1.8 or 1.4 might be a nice option to have. I wouldn't take a 24-105 between these other too zooms though. No way. And I don't think at 70-200/2.8 will be fun to have to carry.

What about just a 24-105? And a 40/2.8 stm? or 50?


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## LovePhotography (Oct 20, 2014)

I like a lot of the above solutions. Much good advice.
I would also leave room for several bottles of high quality Vitamin C and the nicely compact equipment at www.silverpuppy.com.
This is not a satirical suggestion.
Pax.


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## Zv (Oct 20, 2014)

What gear I take depends on where I'm travelling to and for how long. For a short trip I try to just take a one lens and body kit like the 24-105L with my 5D2. For longer plans I'll throw in a wide angle too. 

The EOS M with 11-22 is giving me really kick ass results these days, so much so that I'm leaving the 17-40L at home most of the time. The little EF M 22mm F/2 takes care of any low light stuff. I'm even thinking about taking ONLY my EOS M next trip and see how things go. I've had it with carrying heavy gear all day long. The M is so refreshing in that respect! Great for walking about a lot and snapping quick shots. 

Travel and photography are a frustrating combo for me. I want to enjoy my holiday but I also want great pics during the good light hours. My girlfriend has other plans though! It can be quite stressful! Better to just enjoy the moment I say than worry about gear and lighting. 

If you want the best possible pictures - travel alone. All the time in the world to get the shot you want!


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## s2kdriver80 (Oct 20, 2014)

FWIW, my carry-on international air travel gear has consisted of 2 5D3s, 3 lenses (16-35mm f/2.8L II, 24-105mm, 70-200mm f/4L IS), and 2 430EX IIs inside a Crumpler 7 MDH on multiple occasions and was always considered a personal item. My normal carry-on is a regular backpack with my laptop, electronics, and other stuff I can't afford to risk checking in.


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## tomscott (Oct 20, 2014)

Hillsilly said:


> tomscott said:
> 
> 
> > I also have bought the pro cube recharge dock from Hahnel, It recharges two Canon batteries and has a 2.1A USB charger on the back.
> ...



Yes your not wrong took me a long time to find the right products for my needs and test solutions that aren't your normal photographic practice! Will certainly link it when I finally write it! lol


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## adhocphotographer (Oct 20, 2014)

my 2p worth!

For travel i am more of a fan of small is all / light is right!

I cut down my kit to my 5D mk III and the 24-105! This is my general travel kit... covers most of what i would shoot on holiday/vacation. I will always add the 40mm STM, as well, it is so small, it is pointless not to! 

If i think i need wider (city streets and landscapes), then i add the 17-40L too (small and light). 

If the trip involves an event (wedding etc...), i would add the 24L and 70-200L, and take out the 24-105! 

If i am going for wildlife, it is no longer a travel kit in my opinion! 

Another consideration is how i am travelling. If i am going by car, then i am more inclined to add extra gear, but if it is flying, and lots of shifter around, then i go for smaller rather than larger! 

In short, every trip requires different kit for me...  but if i want to go light, it is the 5D kit + 40mm.

All that being said, i often take things i don't use, and crave things i didn't bring! Sad truth! 

Enjoy retirement, the re-introduction to the hobby and your travels!


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## Ew (Oct 20, 2014)

Zv said:


> I'm even thinking about taking ONLY my EOS M next trip



Been there, done that. Will NOT do this again. Japan in June/July: I had the 22, and th3 nice small zoom, as well as samyang 14/2.8 and nikkor 50mm 1.4.
All great.. wonderful night shots.. but for general street shooting, I missed way too many opportunities.
As a second body, sure, but never again as the sole option. During the last few days I was so frustrated that I kept thinking of going to yodobasi and picking up a kiss/rebel to hold me over.


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## tron (Oct 20, 2014)

Usually I travel light: 2 5DMkIIIs, 24-70 2.8 II, 16-35 f/4S IS, 70-200 f/2.8L IS II, 300 f/4L, 500 f/4L IS II, 17TS-E, EF1.4XIII, EF2XIII, 14mm 2.8L II, 2 tripods and a flash. 

OK I am joking! ;D ;D ;D

I would take one 5DMkIII, 16-35 f/4 IS, 24-70 2.8 II and 70-200 f/4L IS

You see? Now the above setup seems light!!! ;D

If I had to reduce the setup more I would remove the 70-200 f/4L IS and I maybe I would replace the 24-70 with the 24-105 L (not 100% sure though...)

Finally, if I had to take one lens it would be a dilemma between 24-70 2.8 L II and 24-105 f/4L IS...


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## LovePhotography (Oct 20, 2014)

Zv said:


> If you want the best possible pictures - travel alone. All the time in the world to get the shot you want!



Amen.


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## Rocky (Oct 20, 2014)

Ew said:


> Zv said:
> 
> 
> > I'm even thinking about taking ONLY my EOS M next trip
> ...


Please explain in detail about "missed the general street shooting". Is it due to shutter lag of the M or the long zoom is too slow, or other reasons. I am thinking about taking the M with 22 and 18-55 and a 90mm Elmer for a long trip. I used to take two crop DSLR bodies and 3 lenses for long trip. But they are getting too heavy for me. Thanks for the advice in advance.


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## Zv (Oct 21, 2014)

Ew said:


> Zv said:
> 
> 
> > I'm even thinking about taking ONLY my EOS M next trip
> ...



Street photography can be done with manual only lenses. The limitation isn't the camera ....


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## Zv (Oct 21, 2014)

Rocky said:


> Ew said:
> 
> 
> > Zv said:
> ...



With AF set to the * button you can get back button focus which helps. The M isn't going to win any awards for fast action but if you know it's limitations you can work around them. The touch shutter can also work quite well for sneaky street shots. There is a considerable amount of shutter lag though and if someone is walking towards you or across your path you might miss that shot. 

If you really want the speed get the M2. It's dropped in price over here in Japan. Last I saw was ¥48,000 (under $500) body only. I'm sure there are some grey market deals going somewhere.


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## wyldeguy (Oct 21, 2014)

I would totally recommend the 16-35 f4L IS. I've heard reviews putting as sharper than the 17-40 f4L and i love that lens. Wide to wide/normal zooms are probably the best lenses to bring traveling because you don't necessarily know the environment you'll be shooting in. If I ever go anywhere the 17-40 will be on my camera 95% of the time. Unless it's and air show and then it'll be my 150-600 lol.


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## NWPhil (Oct 21, 2014)

I am going on vacation soon - which will consist of 2 one-week of backpacking trips plus some day tours, and pretty much struggling with same issue.
It's vacation but want to take pictures, and I know the locations are stuning. However, I will be carrying over 35 pounds of gear and food, so anything above a P&S is really a luxury...and additional back pain :'(

I decided to carry my G1XmkII covering the 24-105 range for everyday/time use and bring the 5DmkII with the 16-40mm f4 for the landscapes shots. Been debating with getting the 70-300mmL or carry a WWA prime along with another fast prime (maybe macro) instead of the 16-35. I considered the sigma 12-24 too, but got turned dow due to not allowing for a CPL mounting.
Too many choices and combos, but the 16-35 ended as the best compromise among other WA zooms or primes, and the P&S will allow me to be snap-happy while hiking.

If this was a photo shooting trip, then would be a whole different story. 
Keep it simple - I am trying hard, but it's a fight 8)

In your case, I would bring just the 16-35 along with the 70-300mm.
The 50mm 1.4 would be a bit too much, but at this point why not a pocktable P&S to cover the gap in between the two lenses, or when you want/need to go extra light?

I am still debating with getting the 70-300L or not, but that's another 2.5/3 pounds...


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## tron (Oct 22, 2014)

Getting just 16-35 and 70-300 will only result of changing lenses frustratingly often.


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## fon-foto (Oct 23, 2014)

Hi All, first post - but this thread is dear to my heart as I love both photography and travel.

Just to throw an even lighter weight travel combo out there, which I use whenever I'm hiking in my own country (UK); 
100D, EF-S 10-18mm, EF 40mm, EF 100mm L 2.8, Manfrotto travel tripod. Essentially I find only the tripod and 100mm weigh 'anything' at all.


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## tomscott (Oct 23, 2014)

IQ of the 100D isn't up to standard for me… that 18mp sensor is awful. Otherwise it would be a good alternative.

Spoilt with FF.


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## e17paul (Oct 26, 2014)

The 16-35mm will give the equivalent of 29-56mm when used on the 70D. Together with the 70-300mm on full frame this covers most of the ground from 29-300mm. That' sounds like a pretty reasonable travel set up without even changing lenses. 

Swapping lenses would cover ultra wide and ultra telephoto. That's a range of 16-480mm for a weight of under 4kg. That sounds like an excellent balance for travel, unless concerned about bokeh at the shorter focal lengths.


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