Travelling Tips pls..

[mrbunglez]

Hi everyone!

I'll be going on a month-long trip of a few countries and was wondering what additional stuff i'll need to take reasonably nice photos.

This is what i have so far:
Canon G3
Slik Sprint GM tripod
(soon to get) lensmate adapter + UV filter
1x256 Ridata CF

i'm definitely getting one extra OEM battery for the camera.

I'm actually considering getting another 256mb CF or getting a 30GB xdrive... wat do ppl think? i think cost wise, the xdrive more worth it ($370).. but then its much bulkier plus must carry aruond the power cable. does anyone know whether the data in the HDD will be gone if the battery totally runs flat? and is it wise to carry a HDD drive around in a bag while travelling? will data be lost if the HDD is prone to knoclks and bumps?

what kinda filters should i consider gettin? mainly for building, scenery and some ppl shots la..

i've tot of the 420EX... but then... quite ex and then quite bulky to carry around also la...

and ohyah, i'll need anotehr bag too.. dammit..

hmmm... thatz all i can think of for now la... budget for everythign is around $500 la... dowan to spend excessively.. heehhe.

 

[Ian]

For a month long trip based on the options you've listed I'd suggest you go for the x-drive as a storage device.

HDD's don't loose data when no power is applied, they are the same hard disks used in laptops and notebooks.

I'd suggest you carry the x-drive wrapped in bubble plastic to give it more shockproofing

With filters I'd suggest the following as a good starting point:

UV or Skylight. Cuts down on UV induced haze and serves as a genreal lens protector.

Circular Polarizer. Used to enhance the blueness of the sky, cut down reflections from water/snow and other reflective surfaces. Also used for eliminating 'window sheen' when shooting through glass windows.

Optional filters:

Cross Screen (4pt star). Most people have seen this filter in use on TV if nowhere else. It produces a 4 vained diffaction spike from light and reflection sources. Used to add a bit of life to water and nighttime shots.

Neutral Density (ND). Highly useful for photographing waterfalls and other fast moving water sources (eg: waves breaking on rocks). The filter blocks all wavelengths of light evenly and thus slows the shutter speed down for a given aperture. This allows the water to blur. Also used for reducing the amount of light so you can open the lens up (bigger/wider aperture) to allow a shallower Depth of Field.

 

[mrbunglez]

thanks for the help Ian i'm seriously considering the xdrive ii, but my only concern is taht after this trip, it won't be of much use when i'm back home. cuz i hardly take more than 256 photos for each shooting outing.. hee.. sigh.. to spend or not to spend...

the filters sound interesting... hehhe..

wat about the external flash? is it totally necessary? i mean i've been gettin on by well without one la.. maybe i'll just look around for a 2nd hand 380EX..

 

[Ian]

Originally posted by mrbunglez
thanks for the help Ian i'm seriously considering the xdrive ii, but my only concern is taht after this trip, it won't be of much use when i'm back home. cuz i hardly take more than 256 photos for each shooting outing.. hee.. sigh.. to spend or not to spend...

the filters sound interesting... hehhe..

wat about the external flash? is it totally necessary? i mean i've been gettin on by well without one la.. maybe i'll just look around for a 2nd hand 380EX..

Whether the x-drive is useless or not on your return really isn't a major point as you'll be away for a month and may well find yourself shooting more than you think. When you get back you can always sell the x-drive and even if you lost $100 bucks on it you'd be miles in front compared to being limited to 2 x 256mb cards. Remember an x-drive is a lot cheaper than wishing you had the storage capacity and not having it.

As for external flash, that's largely up to you. It depends on what you anticipate it may be used for on the trip. Since I don't know where your going I can't advise further.

On a different note I'd be packing a lightweight tripod, especially if heading to Europe or a major cities.

 

[jeff chen]

Agree with Ian that the X-drive is certainly better than any memory card.

The only setback with the X-drive is u have to be careful in handling as it is vulnerable to shocks and drops. Pse put it in yr handcarry bag onboard the plane and everywhere.

I don't know what X-drive u have in mind, but I have one that can double up as a external hardrive, so I can use it as a PC accessory. It wld not be the case of what to do after a long trip...

 

[mrbunglez]

i'm thinkin of gettin the x's drive ii, being promoted by Eastgear in one of the other threads.. its like $370 for the set with a 30GB HDD. Is that the one u're using?

 

[jeff chen]

Nope, mine is Super Digibin, by leadingspec. This one is a little soph as it has an electronic display showing the amt of memory left etc.

 

[mrbunglez]

How much and where did you buy the digibin from? do they provide any support or service in singapore?

thanks jeff!

 

[jeff chen]

I bought them from this shop in Funan called Memory World. It was abt S$500 for 20G HDD. Not sure if they are still selling it though. They have a service center at the shop itself, anything wrong, can bring the set back.

Wld u be looking at a 2nd hand set by any chance?

 

[mrbunglez]

i'm kinda lookin at the xdrive ii which is goin for 370 for a 30gb set. but of coz if i get a good deal i'll be sure to consider it.. hee

sigh.. so much money to spend to take picz for my trip.. hahha...

 

[chriszzz]

If you are using a lens adaptor, you will most certainly need an external flash as the adaptor will block the internal flash. There are many people selling used 380ex for $150-$180, which is pretty cheap compared to a brand new 420ex and it works just as well.

I recommend you leave your XDrive in the hotel room safe in case your camera bag gets stolen and you lose every single photo. Just bring along enough memory to last one whole day whenever you leave your hotel room.

 

[mrbunglez]

wah... then must carry flash somemore.. heavy heavy. hehhee..

watz the diff btw 380EX and 420EX? will the diff be substantial? wat things do i have to look out for when i buy a 2nd hand flash? hehe. thanks for the help

 

[xplorer2]

Hi MrBunglez,

I think the choice of flash depends on what type of shots that you will be trying to capture. You mention mostly scenery, building, architecture and some people. In most instances, you may not need the external flash and save some additional weight.

You are already bringing a tripod and that will work great for low light travelscape pics (sunrise, sunsets etc). For general people shots and fill-ins, the built in G3 flash does a decent job. Unless you are going for group shots or need further reach than the built in flash.

For filters, the G3 already has a built in ND filter so you can use that. You may want to play around with the G3's modes - some of them mimic that of a conventional filter - albeit digital style. This may save you some costs into getting additional filters.

Finally, you may want to consider the wide angle attachment for your G3 instead and that will allow you to have wider angle shots down to 24mm which I find useful for travel photography.

Just my 2 cents and Happy Snaps.

 

[mrbunglez]

thanks xplorer2!

yah i figgered that the tripod should be great for those low light scenery shots.. hehee... so shouldn't need a flash for that... thanks for the confirmation...

i've considered the wide angle too! argh! the original canon ones are too expensive.. but i'm getttin a lensmate 52mm adaptor, are there any wide-angle lenses made for that? and roughly how much is reasonable to pay for it?

 

[vince123123]

alternatively u can rent from Eastgear his Nixvue. that might be the best for ur situation since you are intending only to use this thing once.


*wink Eastgear*

Originally posted by mrbunglez
i'm thinkin of gettin the x's drive ii, being promoted by Eastgear in one of the other threads.. its like $370 for the set with a 30GB HDD. Is that the one u're using?

 

[jeff chen]

Yes, maybe u shld consider renting, but u must make sure u are able to return it in one piece...

 

[tualan]

I would buy the 256mb card to keep weigh and obstrusiveness down. I'll bring a video cable with me, play pictures over the TV at night and junk the non-keepers. Hard disk storage is neat but definitely not hardier than memory cards. Plus spare batteries just in case I am unable to find time to charge overnight.

Enjoy your trip.

Lijiang beauty

 

[Kevin]

Originally posted by mrbunglez
i've considered the wide angle too! argh! the original canon ones are too expensive.. but i'm getttin a lensmate 52mm adaptor, are there any wide-angle lenses made for that? and roughly how much is reasonable to pay for it?

I think there is 52mm WC e.g. Vitagon (not sure the spelling) probably range from 50 to 120. If not, buy a step up ring to what ever mm size. I can lend you a 52-55mm stepup ring. For Original is more ex but quality is important. If you get a cheap WC that give you distorted picture, you probably better off without it.

Agree with Chrizzz that should leave the XDII in hotel safe. My main concern is all HDD can't take more than 3G shock(I presume, well, 5 years ago my engineer friend work in Seagate told me that no HDD can withstand 2G shock when power down). It is better to store in CF while out in the field but transfer to XDII when you back in hotel.

If you do buy a XDII and don't know what to do with it after the trip, I give you one solution. Sell to me, at S$100 less like Ian said! Provided it is still in one piece and you always leave it in the hotel, hehehe.

 

[mrbunglez]

just collected my xdrive ii today!! hhehe.. couldn't resist... its quietly charging now.. will partition later. .hehe.. now have to conserve funds for the rest of the goods... sigh.. thanks tualan for the advice. hehe.. i couldn't help myself!

still waiting for my lens adaptor and then goin to get the lenses... is the Vitacon WC good?

and of course i'll definitely keep the HDD in the hotel! hahha.. where got crazy enuf to drag it around with me.. hayoh.. i tink 256mb is enuf for a day la...