travel tips required

[sheldonc]

We are off on a once in a lifetime family trip to Africa visiting Victoria Falls, safari etc

I want to make full use of my Nikon D90 but at the same time don't want it to become a total burden for my family

So I have a few questions

1.) Should I take some sort of lightweight tripod? We are restricted to 12 kilos / person baggage!
2.) Do I just take loads of memory cards or should I take a reader / hard drive as well? My gut feeling is to copy from card on to reader but still keep the card unused again until I get home
3.) I currently have 18-105mm & 70-300mm lenses but have been considering getting myself a prime lens - probably 35mm f1.8. Not really sure whether it's a worthwhile investment for this trip
4.) 90% of the time I shoot in RAW - is this viable when i'm guessing I could be taking a couple of hundred shots a day

Thanks in advance for your replies and any other tips

[dcclark]

For maximum convenience, lightness, and ease of use, I recommend:

- At MOST, a monkey pod (there are ones that will do a decent job with a SLR). I wouldn't waste 2 or 3 of your kilos on a full tripod setup.
- LOTS of cards, and just keep swapping them out. Why bring your external hard drive? You'll still only have one copy (because you'd be reusing the cards in this case), and cards are lighter than a drive and reader.
- I'd only bring a few lenses that cover a wide range. The 70-300 plus a nice 35mm prime would be great, but I personally would want an ultrawide for some of the cool landscapes you'll find.
- This relates to the cards above. Shooting raw only means you'll need more (and bigger) cards. See any one of the MANY raw vs. jpeg threads on here for more advice, but in the interests of convenience and lightness, I'd shoot jpeg. This is my personal choice, though.

[sheldonc]

thanks for the advice

I think I might get a monkey pod as it looks like a pretty versatile bit of kit

I didn't know whether to take a hard drive and not reuse the cards so I have 2 copies just in case - I think during the day when light etc is good I'll go JPEG & just limit my RAW shots for shots that I think I might not get the WB right

Now you've got me tempted to get a wide angle lens - I'm thinking maybe I should hire one - what would you define as ultrawide?

Thanks

[dcclark]

Not sure what equipment you have, but if it's Nikon DX or Canon 1.6 crop, I'd say to get one of the 10mm lenses -- for example, the Sigma 10-20, or Nikon or Canon's 10-24. These are REALLY wide. Of course, I'm an ultrawide junkie, and I love the effect --if you prefer portraits or macros or such, it may not be the best choice.

[Omar]

I'm a believer in getting a second copy of an image as soon as possible. Instead of a external drive, if you have access to a computer at any time, you could get away with a couple (several) 16gb usb thumb drives. Still leave the files on the original cards, but keep the backups somewhere else.

Oh, and make sure only one card with pictures is anywhere near your camera or bag. You don't want to lose more than one card's worth of pictures if the camera or bag get separated from you.

[beatles2]

I have no tips for you, but to say I'm gelous . Man you're going to come back with some great shots.

[sheldonc]

Originally Posted by Omar

I'm a believer in getting a second copy of an image as soon as possible. Instead of a external drive, if you have access to a computer at any time, you could get away with a couple (several) 16gb usb thumb drives. Still leave the files on the original cards, but keep the backups somewhere else.

That would be the ideal but I don't think access to a computer is a viable possibility - I bought a whole load of 4GB cards - and I will either use 1 a day or maybe split them between mornings & afternoons

[eleuthardt]

From my experience, you won't use half of what you take and you will wish you had brought something you left home.

My big recommendations, bring the lenses you can use to cover the most range without overlap. You can never have too much media, and spare batteries are a must.

I have carried my tripod and rarely use it. There are so many options for a makeshift support (rocks, cars, railings, etc)

And on top of it all, HAVE FUN and try something new. Even if you think it won;t turn out take the shot anyway... you will be amazed at some of the things that are just right about the shot.

[Marxwyn]

hm... I'm in the same position. going for a week/10 days trip as well (in 3 months time)
Currently have a Velbon ball-head tripod, but it is not compact and bit heavy too. So not sure if to bring or leave it.

I remember reading somewhere here on dps forum that there's complication bringing tripod on board of flight? So have to be check in baggage? (that is if I decide to bring this tripod)

thus I'm looking for alternative

[eleuthardt]

Originally Posted by Marxwyn

hm... I'm in the same position. going for a week/10 days trip as well (in 3 months time)
Currently have a Velbon ball-head tripod, but it is not compact and bit heavy too. So not sure if to bring or leave it.

I remember reading somewhere here on dps forum that there's complication bringing tripod on board of flight? So have to be check in baggage? (that is if I decide to bring this tripod)

thus I'm looking for alternative

I have never had a problem carrying a tripod and a pair of light stands as carry on, but I have only tried it here in the states. When I flew international (Rome) I left alot at home.