lens for travel

[nightwolf75]

I am wondering do I REALLY need a $400+ tripod?

I only have the D70 and the kit lens and they weigh ard 1kg.

surely a lighter (cheaper?) tripod is better for my trip. Is the $400+ tripod more stable for the <2kg load (D70 + kit lens) ?

I am not professional photographer.... just an amateur. A cheap tripod is MUCH MUCH better than handheld but how much more stable is the expensive tripod compared to the cheaper ones.

So my shopping list

1) tripod
2) extra battery
3) portable harddisk
4) flash ? do I need the SB600 for travel or is it just dead weight.

erm... not really.

cheap tripod is cheap becos of the built quality. sure. ur d70+kit lens dun weigh dat much now. but, are u going to be stuck using this setup forever? the moment u start adding a flash, long lens etc.. u might find ur tripod buckling under the weight.

and yes, it does buckle. esp for those cheap aluminium tripod with thin hollow legs.

u might not need to get a gee-whiz $400+ dollar tripod. but, go to CP or TCW and ask for a decently priced sturdy tripod dat will last u a long while. there are sturdy but light-weight tripods on sale dat goes for ard $200+. u might not need to get a ballhead now. u might wanna go and source for a decent pan-tilt head.

btw - fyi. i just went to CP today with another CS. saw a carbon-fibre tripod from slik dat was going for $2800+... without head. :faint: $400, honestly speaking, are considered low-to-mid range tripods. :sweat:

 

[ParkertR]

if you want u can try the Slik Sprint Pro. It'll hold your setup. its cheap too.

 

[wind30]

$2800! ya lar, same thing with Hifi. you can spend LOTS of money on anything. A stereo setup that cost 20k sound the same as one that cost 2k to me

When things goes high end, the value drops dramatically, 90% increase in price for 10% increase in performance.

 

[swhyge]

This tripod debate again!

In terms of photographic trip, I am a starting beginner novice!
In terms of overseas travelling, I am more seasoned than most seasoned

Dun ruin your fine overseas trip with your tripod burden
AND Similarly
Dun ruin your once-in-a-life time moment without a tripod.

You pick your choice.

BUT if you are a beginner (like me), your 'skills' is more than a tripod; the tripod is not going to get the picture you saw others get.

A primary school pupil asking a professor for help in this homework may come out more blur than that from a 'N' level student!

 

[user111]

the kit lens is nice enough but u may like a wider lens like 12-24 zoom

 

[wind30]

will probably buy a cheap tripod to try first to see if I know how to use b4 lugging it overseas

 

[frenchbean]

Get a Manfrotto 724B tripod... relatively light tripod with the height and support for not too heavy lenses... works good enuff with my Sigma 70-300 lens (not a very heavy lens though, but heavier than the kit lens)... i got it for about 100USD, not too sure about the price back in Singapore...

 

[JH_KLU]

how about the tamron AF28-300mm f3.5-6.3 IF-XR ? base on what i read from the magazine(advertisement) it is good for travelling, considering the fact that dont need to change lens.

Does anybody know how much it cost? if it a good lens?

looks small and not heavy at all

my $0.02

 

[ortega]

just get one mini table top tripods for the shots that need more stability. Slik mini pro range.

For that kind of budget buy your wife a P&S that she prefers.
Have a good trip and come back with good memories.

 

[meepokman]

how about the tamron AF28-300mm f3.5-6.3 IF-XR ? base on what i read from the magazine(advertisement) it is good for travelling, considering the fact that dont need to change lens.

Does anybody know how much it cost? if it a good lens?

looks small and not heavy at all

my $0.02

Hi JH-KLU,

personally, I have never used that lense before. But I always have reservations using thise super large range lens. 28-300? yeah... number wise, its perfect for anything -> sports, portrait etc. But when they try to squeeze in such a large range onto a lense, they would have to compromise quality. The pcitures that come out may not be as good if you had used 2 seperate lens (e.g. 28-70 + 70-200).

 

[rayshade]

gosh ... he maybe be confused with all the suggestions if he is not familiar with using a new DSLR... Not to dispose the validity of the posts mentioned. Travelling light without excessive baggage is important esp for leisure. I hate carrying the tripod unless its for a job. Esp. when the wife acceptance factor is concern. Keep it simple. The camera is a tool to document the journey and should not be the focus of the tour. Worst feeling of having overwhelming gear over the shoulders by the time u reach a nice venue u r no longer composed to take a pic nor to be taken. If u r really into scenic sunsets and low keylight using the tripod is most inevitable.

Infact if u r entirely new to DSLR get to know the D70 first then evaluate what u really need. My 2cents :think:

 

[jOhO]

joho, great mind think alike :bsmilie:

this combi is after numerous trials, errors & lotsof sweat!

I used to lug a F5 + F90X + 28-70 f2.8 + 80-200 f2.8 + 300 f4 + 50 f1.8 + hundreds of films & batteries up a mountain. That climb almost killed me.... damn..the bag was HEAVY!

Now I stick to this combo... no point carrying to many dead weight. Or else you would be panting instead of shooting. This combo works the best for me nia :thumbsup:

but then again... everyone different shooting style

eh hello relac leh.. the most i do is go to sixth floor becos the lift dun go to 7th floor, so walk one floor up the stairs to the bride's house at 6am in the morning!! :sweatsm:

 

[novello76]

Hi Wind30

I am a newbie too, and the last time I went Turkey, I brought 4 lens with me..
kit lens (useful in day time), 28-200 (good only for cruise, or in other situations where you can't move to get the range), 50 f1.8 and a Sigma 20 1.8. I found the sigma 20 f1.8 very useful inside old monuments and museums where tripod is not allowed, and where the 50mm is not wide enough. It was the no 1 lens that I used inside these monuments. Quite useful for night scene too if you have no tripod. I would also recommend travelling light so that you can enjoy the trip. The last time, because of fear of losing the possibility of capturing potential photos, I brought the above equipment plus a tripod. All I can say, is I went back hotel everynight with very sore shoulders (hardly enjoyable esp if you also need to do some shopping), and once when I had to run away from agressive touts, it was a very tiring experience too...

 

[wind30]

hi novello76

thanks for the comments. you are using a D70 right? any problems with the sigma 20mm with D70? There is only one model of sigma 20mm f1.8 right?

looks like an interesting lens to get. Just went for my first shooting outing and I found myself shooting at the wide angle range of my kit lens very often.

 

[novello76]

No issues with the 20 1.8 lens on d70. Other than for landscapes (check out marcwang's gallery on some real nice landscape shots with his D100 and 20mm lens)Theres some previous forum topic which shows some shots as well.

It works very well imo for wedding table shots as well. Just helped my friend yesterday, and the space was very tight that only the kit lens or something as wide could handle the situation. But I don't like the kit lens for its indoor shots with flash, so the 20mm lens came in very handy.

Try to get it second hand for 400 plus or so, and try it out for yourself. Only only drawback of the lens is that its big, relatively heavy, and uses the expensive 82mm filters..

 

[rhythm_traveller]

So my wife can carry the D70, I can still hold the tripod and my wife

Haha :bsmilie:
Bring a bag lah, very impt to keep both hands free for honeymoon ;p


For my honeymoon, i just bring the kit lens, 70-300 (the $88 one) and the cheapo tripod ($25??) that comes free with the d70. In my opinion thats tripod is light and great for landscapes and self portraits.

 

[jamestan]

wah the tripod so expensive. I am thinking of like $100 ones. not good? any cheap and good and light tripods?

I am using a $39.90 tripod from Carrefour. On it: D100, and the longest lens was the 80-200 f/2.8. Brought that to China, and gave it away cos my friend there wanted one. Imagine if the tripod costs more!!! Came back bought exactly he same one! Point is, its "disposable".

For me, no need the thousand-dollar ones. That's good to have if you happen to fall into the category of "super-rich".

 

[mpenza]

you don't need an expensive tripod to use with your D70+kit lens. If you want very good portability, consider the Slik Sprint Pro GM (~$85) + a better ballhead (Manfrotto series would do). I used it with my 300D+200/2.8 and it worked fine. But you need to take a bit more care because the tripod is light (less than 1kg) and could topple if knocked onto.

 

[wind30]

I am thinking of getting either the

sprint pro or the manfrotto 190DB

with a manfrotto 141 QR pan/tilt head as I will be using it for my video cam. Should I buy a ball head for my D70 and seperate pan/tilt head for my video cam?

 

[busybobby]

has anyone tried those benro tripod selling at TCW... it seems sturdy and affordable...

any comments??