Travelling DSLR

[Poider]

G'day, I have alluded to this in several posts and now I will dedicate an entire post to it;
I am taking a 22 day coach tour of Britain and Ireland and am taking my Nikon D3100 with
Nikon DX VR AF - S Nikkor 18 - 55mm 1:3.5 - 5.6 G
Nikon DX VR AF - S Nikkor 55 - 300mm 1:4.5 - 5.6 G ED
I would love to hear from people who are or were relatively new to DLSR photography and have travelled with their Cameras;
Eg; were the kit lenses enough? Did you only use one of them?, if so which one?
did you buy your own lens? if so which one?
I plan on taking both kit lenses and using their full range,
If it is at all possible I will raise the money to buy a 18 to 270mm or 28 to 300mm, more for the convenience other than any thing else.
I would value any advice or experiences anyone else had had.
Thank you
Peter

[Sloseph]

my advice would be take all you gear you can, there is nothing worse than getting somewhere and not having the right lense on you because you left it at home, if you have a decent camera bag (which i would hevily recomend getting if your going to be out and about)

[Poider]

I have a camera backpack That fits all my stuff.

[kathiemt]

I took both kit lenses with me when we went away. At that time I didn't have any other lenses (I do now )

I found I used the longer lens most of the time but there were plenty of times I used the shorter one too, especially when I wanted to get closer to things - like in a butterfly house.

I had a backpack (but one that didn't look like a camera bag) but I carried little else as I didn't want to be carrying a tripod or anything else if I could help it.

I had a spare battery, 2 spare cards x 16gig each and a small passport drive for backing up the images via my laptop.

[OsmosisStudios]

I brought 3 lenses with me on a coach tour of Ireland a few years ago: 18-70, 70-300 and 50mm. Never had a problem.

[Poider]

Originally Posted by OsmosisStudios

I brought 3 lenses with me on a coach tour of Ireland a few years ago: 18-70, 70-300 and 50mm. Never had a problem.

I have decided that if I get a bag that is better equipped and easier to access than my back pack I will have no trouble , I am thinking of a belt type or sling type bag where my hands are free for quick lens changes.
Peter

[RichardTaylor]

I have found in Europe that a kit lens is good for 90% of photography.
If any thing I would have wished to have taken an ultra wide zoom for those interiors & tight spots, instead of the 70-300 which saw very little use (I didn't shoot wildlife in Europe).

Check with the tour operator re what you can take into the cabin of the bus. Last bus tour (it was a short one here at home) I took a Think Tank belt pack with two DSLR bodies with lenses attached.

Bus tours can be very intensive and you may not have a lot of time to be changing lenses etc at some locations.

Depending on your style of shooting a superzoom may meet your needs. I use a Tamron 18-250 on those days I have to travel light and do not know what to expect.

Have fun on your vacation.

[Naois]

On my honeymoon I took my Nikon D40x, and the Nikon DX AF-S Nikkor 18-200mm 1:3.5 - 5.6 G ED, which I got after selling my 18-135mm that came with the camera to someone that just had the 55-200mm. I also took an SB-800 flash, but I usually left it in the hotel safe.

I didn't have a camera bag at the time so I just carried it around on my shoulder. I found the lens to work well for me. It's my go-to lens when I don't know what I may run into.

[Poider]

I will settle for the bag, I can not afford to buy a new lens and have a hoiliday.
Peter