Which 2 lens to bring to Ho Chi Minh?

[thw]

BTW, bring your Giottos air blower. It's useful when travelling in dusty places.

 

[jeryltan]

So are you in Ho CHi Minh now? Or in Singapore?

I'm leaving on the 16th, flying SQ.. They had a promo recently, tickets (before tax) are S$98 only Hmm.. I wonder if they have the Nikon 18-200mm there, maybe can go there and buy.. If you're in Ho Chi Minh now, maybe can help me check?

hi,
I'm Vietnamese. I live in Ho Chi Minh city also.
HCMC is very dusty.
Robbery? maybe, i'm not sure.
You may want to check out the lens price there also if you look like and talk like VNese (haha, or else they charge different for foreigner).
When are you going? which airline?

 

[jeryltan]

:thumbsup: Tks for sharing your experience..

i have been there...
and i never used my tele lens
there is much to photograph and capture such as the scenic veiws and vibrant city life

i brought a few lens and landed up only using the 17-40 predominantly.

cheers

(of course if you like close ups, you can use tele.. but i suggest just walking up to make up for the distance... also the whole darn country is super crowded.. its quite hard to use a tele and be jostling with alot of people and MOTOCYCLES.)

 

[jeryltan]

Nice pics :thumbsup: But I don't got any plans to travel middle east

I went to Iran a couple of months ago. (Luckily, I did not run into any terrorists.) I agree with the poster who said you'll be using your 17-85 IS lens 90% of the time and the 10-22 10%. I don't have the 10-22 so I brought the 70-300 IS lens. The latter is useful at the zoo, but for most of the house interior shots, I really hoped I had the 10-22. I found the IS function to be indispensable on many, many occasions. A faster lens may help, but a deeper DOF is far more useful when you're taking architectural shots.

Here are some of the photos from my 2 week trip:
http://thw.smugmug.com/gallery/1154008

 

[jeryltan]

What's a Giottos air blower? I only have a big one (shape like rocket like that ), with the brush at the tip one.. Is that the one?

BTW, bring your Giottos air blower. It's useful when travelling in dusty places.

 

[jeryltan]

Tks..

oh oh .. another things
the ppl there are more shrewed compared to hanoi
they may/will demand your money if you take photos of them

so learn how to SIAM fast.
or be discrete.;p

 

[jsbn]

I see.. But I not shy one leh :bsmilie: Go near2 pple scold also I bochup :bsmilie:

Yes. Go near ppl scold u still thick skin. But mind u, that is a foreign land we're talking abt. :bsmilie: The ppl might not be as receptive to street photography. Even in the so-called 'liberated West', there are still ppl who assumes that Street Photography are simply doing vouyer shots of taking photos of ppl in compromising positions revealing things which are not supposed to see the light of the day.

 

[htthach]

So are you in Ho CHi Minh now? Or in Singapore?

I'm leaving on the 16th, flying SQ.. They had a promo recently, tickets (before tax) are S$98 only Hmm.. I wonder if they have the Nikon 18-200mm there, maybe can go there and buy.. If you're in Ho Chi Minh now, maybe can help me check?

sadly i'm in Singapore now :cry: wanna go home :cry:

 

[jeryltan]

You are absolutely right.. Which is why I bring my 70-300mm when I go US and Canada

Yes. Go near ppl scold u still thick skin. But mind u, that is a foreign land we're talking abt. :bsmilie: The ppl might not be as receptive to street photography. Even in the so-called 'liberated West', there are still ppl who assumes that Street Photography are simply doing vouyer shots of taking photos of ppl in compromising positions revealing things which are not supposed to see the light of the day.

 

[jeryltan]

Oh ok.. Well, I'm sure the environment here is gooder right? And earning big money

sadly i'm in Singapore now :cry: wanna go home :cry:

 

[thw]

What's a Giottos air blower? I only have a big one (shape like rocket like that ), with the brush at the tip one.. Is that the one?

There's no brush at the top. It's shaped like a rocket but has a small hole at the end of the tip. It's meant for blowing dust off the mirror and sensor.

 

[jeryltan]

I think should be same lah.. Mine brush is detachable one..

There's no brush at the top. It's shaped like a rocket but has a small hole at the end of the tip. It's meant for blowing dust off the mirror and sensor.

 

[fWord]

The EF-S 10-22mm and the 17-85mm would be my pick. But as mentioned, you'll probably be using the 17-85mm most of the time...which is good, because you may have to contend with dust issues.

Bring along lots of silica gel in your bag as well because the humidity might be damaging to your equipment. Ensure that the camera and lenses are not left in the bag for a long period of time, and if I were in your shoes I'd probably unpack them for 'airing' when I'm in the motel/ hotel room.

If you want to reduce the changes of getting mugged while doing street photography, and reduce the risk of being detected, one website actually suggests using the old film rangefinder cameras such as the Yashica Electro GSN 35. It's said to be very quiet, and boasts a fast 50mm f/1.7 lens (not changeable). Check here if interested:

http://www.photoethnography.com/ClassicCameras/index-frameset.html?equipmentbody.html~mainFrame

 

[jeryltan]

Wah.. I no $ to invest in another camera liao leh Tks for the tips, I think I should have some silica gel lying around.. Will go look for them..

The EF-S 10-22mm and the 17-85mm would be my pick. But as mentioned, you'll probably be using the 17-85mm most of the time...which is good, because you may have to contend with dust issues.

Bring along lots of silica gel in your bag as well because the humidity might be damaging to your equipment. Ensure that the camera and lenses are not left in the bag for a long period of time, and if I were in your shoes I'd probably unpack them for 'airing' when I'm in the motel/ hotel room.

If you want to reduce the changes of getting mugged while doing street photography, and reduce the risk of being detected, one website actually suggests using the old film rangefinder cameras such as the Yashica Electro GSN 35. It's said to be very quiet, and boasts a fast 50mm f/1.7 lens (not changeable). Check here if interested:

http://www.photoethnography.com/ClassicCameras/index-frameset.html?equipmentbody.html~mainFrame

 

[jeryltan]

Seems like 17-85mm is adefinite mustbring.. As for 10-22mm and 70-300mm, very close fight

 

[0kb]

10-22 gives you 11mm wider while 70-300 gives you 344mm more tele - on a 1.6x crop body.
Not wide enuf can stitch 2 pics into one.
344mm more tele, gives you the reach you otherwise may not - many lost opportunities.

 

[jeryltan]

Hmm.. Good point.. I wonder.. Is it possible to stitch 4 photos in a square, ie.

XX
XX

Or is it only restricted to XXXX ?

10-22 gives you 11mm wider while 70-300 gives you 344mm more tele - on a 1.6x crop body.
Not wide enuf can stitch 2 pics into one.
344mm more tele, gives you the reach you otherwise may not - many lost opportunities.

 

[fWord]

Hmm.. Good point.. I wonder.. Is it possible to stitch 4 photos in a square, ie.

XX
XX

Or is it only restricted to XXXX ?

Check out this program:

http://www.cs.ubc.ca/~mbrown/autostitch/autostitch.html

Anyway, it'd be hard to recommend precisely what lenses you should bring on a trip. Although we can cite the likely useful options, no-one will really know until the need arises. In most cases, Murphy's Law would dictate that you'll find you need something only when you can no longer get hold of it.

Another thing you might wish to do is to read up travel books and websites on the areas you wish to visit to get an idea of what might be most interesting, and make your decisions from there. From my mental picture of Ho Chin Minh, I doubt if you'll use a telezoom very much. Once you're at the location, grab the brochures and postcards to see what are the most famous/ popular monuments. Use a map and decide if you should visit these areas at dawn or when the sun sets to achieve the best lighting, based on where the sun rises and sets. Or take a compass with you to the location itself and try to visualize it.

For example, if you arrive at a monument/ location and find it backlit by the setting sun, turning everything into a silhoutte, catch a few shots of that. Then make a mental note to return at sunrise to catch the location frontlit in golden warmth. Most books I've read seem to agree that mid-afternoon is not the best time to take photos (except perhaps vividly coloured architecture). Use the afternoon to explore and use the golden hours at sunrise or sunset for photography. That said, always keep yourself armed with your camera for possible candids and once-in-a-lifetime shots. And don't forget to enjoy yourself too!

Oh, just one more thing: some CSers can vouch for the usefulness of plastic bags and ziplock bags. Carry a large trash bag with you and use it to wrap your camera or camera bag if you're caught in a freak storm. Get ziplock bags that are big enough to individually wrap your camera and lenses. Put the little bags of silica gel in together with them and seal them tight when you are on the move and not using them.

Hope you'll have a good time...I admit that all this is not being spoken from experience, but just from what I've read. Someone with real-life experience might have more practical advise to offer.

 

[jeryltan]

Tks for the tips :thumbsup:

Check out this program:

http://www.cs.ubc.ca/~mbrown/autostitch/autostitch.html

Anyway, it'd be hard to recommend precisely what lenses you should bring on a trip. Although we can cite the likely useful options, no-one will really know until the need arises. In most cases, Murphy's Law would dictate that you'll find you need something only when you can no longer get hold of it.

Another thing you might wish to do is to read up travel books and websites on the areas you wish to visit to get an idea of what might be most interesting, and make your decisions from there. From my mental picture of Ho Chin Minh, I doubt if you'll use a telezoom very much. Once you're at the location, grab the brochures and postcards to see what are the most famous/ popular monuments. Use a map and decide if you should visit these areas at dawn or when the sun sets to achieve the best lighting, based on where the sun rises and sets. Or take a compass with you to the location itself and try to visualize it.

For example, if you arrive at a monument/ location and find it backlit by the setting sun, turning everything into a silhoutte, catch a few shots of that. Then make a mental note to return at sunrise to catch the location frontlit in golden warmth. Most books I've read seem to agree that mid-afternoon is not the best time to take photos (except perhaps vividly coloured architecture). Use the afternoon to explore and use the golden hours at sunrise or sunset for photography. That said, always keep yourself armed with your camera for possible candids and once-in-a-lifetime shots. And don't forget to enjoy yourself too!

Oh, just one more thing: some CSers can vouch for the usefulness of plastic bags and ziplock bags. Carry a large trash bag with you and use it to wrap your camera or camera bag if you're caught in a freak storm. Get ziplock bags that are big enough to individually wrap your camera and lenses. Put the little bags of silica gel in together with them and seal them tight when you are on the move and not using them.

Hope you'll have a good time...I admit that all this is not being spoken from experience, but just from what I've read. Someone with real-life experience might have more practical advise to offer.

 

[jeryltan]

Seems like tough choice between 10-22mm and 70-300mm :think: