What would u spend ur money on?

[zamanakhan]

I am going to spain in march and i am taking and i decided to buy some extra gear to take with me.

I am currently taking with me, a d7000+ 80-200 2.8, 35.18 and 10-20. I also have an awesome polirizer, i am also taking an sb600.

I have a 190xproB and a ball head but i wont be taking that with me, heavy and huge.

I am trying to shoot for a budget of $700 so i have a few options:

1. buy a used 17-55 2.8 around $800 max ( i found one so far, but this is my limit)

2. a new 10 stop nd filter, and a variable tiffen filter along with 2x 16gb cards (i currently have 2x 8gb's and a few 2gb's), a manfrotto 394, a 2nd battery (only have one)

3. nikon 50 1.4G? or nikon 1.4d with something from above

any other recommendations are welcome, i'd ideally only like to spend only about 400-500

 

[kundalini]

Budget for a minder. It is well worth the money to hook up with a local. Go to the places that the ordinary tourist misses.

For Spain, Barcelona is tops on my list, but Madrid and Seville are definitely worth a visit on the mainland. For the islands... Majorca and Minorca are worth a visit, but so is Tenerife and the Canary Islands. The TGV is a great option to travel fast and far between destinations. If things haven't changed too much, get your Eurorail passes before you leave the states.

Gear-wise, you don't need more than you have. There is some mid-range exclusion, but with some imagination, you should be able to work it out.

Good luck and have fun. My favorite destination has always been Espania.

 

[Sw1tchFX]

Nikon FA, 35mm f/2 and however much Ektar 100 and Portra 400 the rest can buy. Leave everything else at home

 

[bhop]

I like Sw1tchFX's reply, and I agree with kundalini. You seem to have everything covered already. What's wrong with what you already have? For me, that'd be too much junk to haul around.. last time I went to NC to visit my family for 12 days I took my M6, 50mm, and 28mm, and a few rolls of film. That was it and I got plenty of awesome pics.

 

[fsquare]

I would without a doubt buy a lighter tripod that you can travel with. Take a look at the Giottos Vitruvian. I would never travel without a tripod because i love shooting landscapes.

 

[Iluxa007]

Eh, I’d save up for a FF

 

[molested_cow]

I say bigger memory cards or just bring a small laptop(if you have) with you to store the images. Doesn't matter how good your gears are, if you don't have enough memory storage, you are done.

I can easily kill 8gb on one trip.

 

[zamanakhan]

thanks for the suggestions.

I do actually like to travel lighter, i remember going to Montreal and Quebec a year ago and all i took with me was a 18-55 35 1.8 and 105 macro. I no longer have the 18-55 but i shot probably exclusively with that lens at 18mm. the 35 at night, even that barely. i had my tripod with me but i regretted bringing it along, it was ridiculously heavy. I had too much gear then and dont really want to go overboard. I'll be in spain this time for a week tho and will be by a beach. I do want to do some long exposures, thus the filters.

i am staying in Seville, and going to Madrid on the 3rd day, also to Morocco as the ferry is close to my hotel.

 

[greybeard]

New Tamron 17-50 2.8?

 

[Derrel]

Nikon FA, 35mm f/2 and however much Ektar 100 and Portra 400 the rest can buy. Leave everything else at home

Yes...that way the airport X-ray machines can ruin all your film for you! The Nikon FA he speaks of would be a nice conversation piece that would attract nostalgia geeks to you.

 

[molested_cow]

Airport X-ray machines won't do harm to ISO400 negatives, but the custom officers won't be able to identify the suspicious rolls as something called "films". I've had that happen to me at Singapore.

 

[MReid]

17-55 Tamron
and a couple cards and a spare battery. Together with your 80-200 and your 10-20. That should cover you.
You will probably use the 17-55 90 percent of the time.

If you took only the 17-55 and a backup 50 you would probably really be just fine.

Unless you are a serious professional I wouldn't mess with any filters or a tripod.

Have fun!

 

[Sw1tchFX]

Nikon FA, 35mm f/2 and however much Ektar 100 and Portra 400 the rest can buy. Leave everything else at home

Yes...that way the airport X-ray machines can ruin all your film for you! The Nikon FA he speaks of would be a nice conversation piece that would attract nostalgia geeks to you.

oh c'mon Derrel, you and I both know that this is why god invented lead bags. You remember those?

 

[RRRoger]

I would get a 2nd battery and some more memory cards, unless you are taking a LapTop with large HardDrive.
I would also get a Manfrotto 732CY CarbonFibre TriPod. I often take mine on hikes.

I would also book at least two days in each spot with the option to extend or cut short your stay.

We went to Europe several years ago and spent most all our time getting on and off trains and looking for our hotels.