What gear to take on a vacay

RubyGloom · Aug 16, 2011

My fiance and I are going on vacation to the west coast of BC. My sister lives in the fraser valley so will be visiting for a week or so. I am just wondering what gear I should bring? I was planning on renting since my list of equiptment isnt very long, any suggestions on what to rent and what of my own I should bring??

Thanks!

KmH · Aug 16, 2011

What do you currently have?

Pentax, Olympus, Fuji, Nikon, Sigma, Sony, or Canon?

Skill/knowledge level?

It usually takes a few days to figure out how to effectively use unfamiliar, rented gear.

Ginu · Aug 16, 2011

Oh the great coast of BC...
Lots to take pictures of, however keep in mind often its cloudy and light might not be in your favor. I suggest to bring a tripod and or a monopod depending on what youre after.

What do you currently have in terms of camera and lens?

EmMcCon · Aug 16, 2011

My last vacation was hiking so I took a mono pod because it fit better in my bag how relevant that is to you i don't know. Have fun

Big Mike · Aug 16, 2011

What will you be shooting?

People, animals, wildlife, still life, landscapes, models, cars?

PhotoWrangler · Aug 16, 2011

...as little as possible.

bigtwinky · Aug 16, 2011

Keeping in mind what you will shoot has a big impact on what I bring. Also, if you are actually staying with your sister and have a safe place to store gear, bring more instead of lens and leave it at her place.

If you are planning on doing some more landscapy stuff, then a wide angle is usually a good idea.
Shooting wildlife? You need a longer telephoto.
Night shooting? tripod

Which lens depends on which camera you shoot with. If you have a crop camera and want a wide angle, you should be looking in the 12-18mm range. If you have a full frame, a 20-30mm would be nice. But I would think if you are asking the question, you haven't invested in a full frame just yet.

RubyGloom · Aug 16, 2011

KmH said:
What do you currently have?

Pentax, Olympus, Fuji, Nikon, Sigma, Sony, or Canon?

Skill/knowledge level?

It usually takes a few days to figure out how to effectively use unfamiliar, rented gear.

Sorry, I thought my gear showed up at the bottom of my post lol! I have a Canon 50D and a T2i with a 18-55mm & 28-135mm with a polarize filter, I have a 580EX flash and a velbon tripod and a monopod. I have good knowledge of my cameras and the lenses I have (i dont ever really use my 18-55 anymore). My skill level I would say good, I have been doing photography as a hobby for about 3 years. I have a read a bunch of photo books. taken a few courses at the local school and did some work as an assistant with a local photographer to learn. I would probably rent the equiptment a few days ahead of time ot make my self familiar with it.

RubyGloom · Aug 16, 2011

Thanks all for the reply, I appologize I totally should have given more info.

I would imagine I will be shooting a lot of landscape as its so beautiful there. I would do some portraits as well (family shots, pictures of my nieces etc). If I happened to see wild life I would love to take photos but I am not sure if I will be seeing a lot where she lives. I could possibly on the drive down I am leaving from calgary so I dont know if there is a lot of wild life on the drive this time of year (only done the drive once at night on a grey hound I usually fly). We are planning on spending lots of time at the beach and visiting with family.

RubyGloom · Aug 16, 2011

bigtwinky said:
Keeping in mind what you will shoot has a big impact on what I bring. Also, if you are actually staying with your sister and have a safe place to store gear, bring more instead of lens and leave it at her place.

If you are planning on doing some more landscapy stuff, then a wide angle is usually a good idea.
Shooting wildlife? You need a longer telephoto.
Night shooting? tripod

Which lens depends on which camera you shoot with. If you have a crop camera and want a wide angle, you should be looking in the 12-18mm range. If you have a full frame, a 20-30mm would be nice. But I would think if you are asking the question, you haven't invested in a full frame just yet.

No I dont have full frame at the moment (planning to buy one soon though!!). So for a wide angle then would I be best to go for the canon 10-22, Tokina DX 10‐17mm or Sigma 12[FONT=Calibri,Calibri][FONT=Calibri,Calibri]‐[/FONT][/FONT]24mm ? Those are what is available at The Camera Store here.

bigtwinky · Aug 16, 2011

On a crop body, for a rental, look at the Canon 10-22. I have the lens and LOVE it for city shots and landscapes.
For portraits, your 28-135 might do. But really, I'd invest in a Canon 50mm f/1.8. And by invest, I mean $120. Every photographer should have this lens in their bag. Great for portraits!!

RubyGloom · Aug 16, 2011

bigtwinky said:
On a crop body, for a rental, look at the Canon 10-22. I have the lens and LOVE it for city shots and landscapes.
For portraits, your 28-135 might do. But really, I'd invest in a Canon 50mm f/1.8. And by invest, I mean $120. Every photographer should have this lens in their bag. Great for portraits!!

Awesome thanks for the advice! I have always wanted to try the lens I love wide angle shots. I am hoping to find a good place to do a shot of the Vancouver skyline provided I dont get totally lost in the big city! I have herd that the 50mm is great and super cheap too. I may buy it and rent the wide angle as to renting a wide angle and a telephoto. I have never used a prime before, do you find that being stuck at one focal length a disadvatage? I know one can move closer and farther from the subject, I think I would just need to get use to it but I adapt to change easy lol.

g-fi · Aug 16, 2011

RubyGloom said:
I have never used a prime before, do you find that being stuck at one focal length a disadvatage? I know one can move closer and farther from the subject, I think I would just need to get use to it but I adapt to change easy lol.

I think the hardest part is training your hand not to go up and reach for the zoom lol. The first few times you try to adjust the lens are the most frustrating, but if you stick with it then you do get a good feel for how close/far you need to be to get the composition you want. I still have those moments when I start to back up without looking behind me, probably the most dangerous part of zooming with your feet, but enough views of the wedding photog in the fountain video has mostly cured me of that.

The trade off is definitely WORTH it in my opinion. I have serious prime lens love

RubyGloom · Aug 16, 2011

g-fi said:
RubyGloom said:

I have never used a prime before, do you find that being stuck at one focal length a disadvatage? I know one can move closer and farther from the subject, I think I would just need to get use to it but I adapt to change easy lol.

Click to expand...

I think the hardest part is training your hand not to go up and reach for the zoom lol. The first few times you try to adjust the lens are the most frustrating, but if you stick with it then you do get a good feel for how close/far you need to be to get the composition you want. I still have those moments when I start to back up without looking behind me, probably the most dangerous part of zooming with your feet, but enough views of the wedding photog in the fountain video has mostly cured me of that.

The trade off is definitely WORTH it in my opinion. I have serious prime lens love

Thanks I will def pick one up! and thanks for the tips will for sure look behind me before backing up! lol

brandibell · Aug 16, 2011

bigtwinky said:
On a crop body, for a rental, look at the Canon 10-22. I have the lens and LOVE it for city shots and landscapes.
For portraits, your 28-135 might do. But really, I'd invest in a Canon 50mm f/1.8. And by invest, I mean $120. Every photographer should have this lens in their bag. Great for portraits!!

Agreed