On Fri, 13 Dec 2002 14:05, Roger Wesson <roger@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>Andrew Dacey wrote:
>> Okay, I've kept this under wraps for long enough. Next April I will be
>> travelling to China for 22 days. I'm travelling with a group so the
>> itinerary is fixed.
>I'm sure you're taking far too much kit - I spent six weeks there over
>the summer, and I survived, photographically, with an OM-1 (I took an
>OM-1n as well but didn't use it at all), 28/2.8, 50/1.8 and 135/3.5.
>But if you're happy carrying it all...
Except for the back-up body, that was exactly the same kit I took
when I went on a China tour several years ago. I also had a T20
flash, but no tripod. Everything survived, no mishaps with any
equipment except I ran out of battery for the flash while inside
a cave. I've done other trips with the 28-48 and 35-105 zooms,
but I prefer the primes more. There are times that I wished I had
a longer lens, and times I wish I had a wider lens. But overall,
the tradeoff was between the frequency of usage and the amount of
gear to carry.
A few suggestions: I'd agree with others that the amount of
equipment seems excessive. Since Andrew has done other trips, why
not evaluate how often you use each piece of equipment and decide
if you really need it? Leave the ones you don't use behind.
The places you are traveling to seemed to be famous for their
landscapes (Beijing/Great Wall, WuDang mountain, Lijiang, Li-River,
and Mt. Huangshan). There will be the temples of course, but by
and large, it will be a lot of landscape opportunities. I'd favor
the wide angles more than the long lenses. But having said that,
do you really need all those wides (21/24/28/35)? Also think
about your filters, I don't know what the weather will be like in
April, but many of those places are also famous for the mist/haze/
fog.
>I expect you'll be looking inside one or two temples while you're there,
>and so I recommend either a tripod or a flash for interior shots. I had
>neither, and consequently have no interior shots!
Depending on the type of tour group, I find traveling with a guided
tour group tends to really limit the amount of time you have to
set-up and take a careful shot. In other words, you will not have
time to set up a tripod shot even when inside a temple or a cave.
If your tour is like any typical guided tour, then 990f the shots
must be done hand-held because the tour operates on a fixed schedule
and they cannot wait for one straggler to take pictures. During my
tour of China, I had to do a lot of running to catch up to the rest
of the group that has moved on.
Good luck, enjoy the tour. And share your pictures with us when you
come back.
-Dan
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