Do you take your DSLR on trips with you?
 

I have moved up to a DSLR - Pentax K10D and am loving it! There is a lot to re-learn.
It has been awhile since I travelled with a SLR. We head to France in September.
Do you take your DSLR and all the lenses or do you settle for your point and shoot? or only take one lens?
Have you ever considered packing it in your luggage?
How do you manage all your stuff?
Any tips?

We just bought a Pentax K100 ourselves to take to England and Normandy next May. DH is planning on taking the camera and both lenses. I will be getting a point and shoot Canon in the comming months to take along for me.

The pentax is a nice camera and we have enjoyed playing with it so far.

I went to DSLR last year and took it and two lenses to France, particularly so I could have the telephoto for long range shots. Beautiful pix, that's for sure. But for me, I decided it was just too much to lug and too much trouble. I have since switched back to my P&S for trips. OK, you're right - I'm lazy that way!

Yes, I take my dSLR, but not all the lenses. I find it for general trips, I can manage two lenses but not more. I take a ultra wide-angle 10-22 for my Canon 400D, and an all-purpose 17-55.

I will never put any of my photo stuff in checked baggage. Not even spare batteries or charger, as they may be somewhat hard to find replacement in remote places.

If it's a longer international trip and I decide to check bags, I'll put my camera and lenses in a large backpack designed for cameras. Plus my iPod, extra sets of clothes. That'd be my carryon. I'll put a smaller camera bag in my suitcase (stuffed with other clothings) to be checked for the flights.

For shorter domestic trips that I don't want to check bags, I just put my camera and lenses in that small camera bag, and then a rollerboard for my other belongings.

Because of the high resolution of the dSLR, I don't usually bring my 70-300 telezoom. I can later crop the photo on my home computer after I get home if I want to "zoom in" some detail.

I bought my DSLR (Canon 20D) especially to take travel pictures, so I hope I don't start leaving it at home!

I usually take landscapes, architecture and street scenes, and for those purposes have found that a wide angle lens is the most useful. Since this is a DSLR, that means a minimum focal length of 17mm. Luckily there are a few lenses that fit the bill in a 17-50 or so zoom. The other lens I take is a 50mm 1.8 for low light situations. I'd like to buy a fast wide angle prime but this is a vexed subject in the Canon line up.

I leave my 70 -- 200 zoom at home. It's heavy and large and of limited use for my kind of travel photos. Be different if I wanted to photograph wildlife.

I can carry my gear in a small Lowepro bag -- that's camera, zoom lens, lens shade and 50mm -- together with the "cheat sheet" instructions, a charger and sometimes extra memory.

Been meaning to get a travel tripod but wonder if I'll actually drag it around and use it.

When I fly, it all goes in the carry on luggage.

I think it is worth it even if you only take one lens because you get the benefit of the larger and higher quality sensor, and a presumably faster and sharper lens.

Pausanias - The Canon 10-22 is wonderful. Very sharp, and the ultra wideangle gives you some interesting perspective. I love it for travel.

Sigma and Tokina also has similar offerings. Cheaper, but also pretty good.

I love my DSLR, but it depends on the trip. On a hiking trip, where I'll need to have a backpack anyway, I'll take it. But if I want to travel light, I'll bring a smaller point-and-shoot. When we go to Germany in September, the DSLR will stay home -- I don't want to leave it in the hotel room, and I don't want to lug it around everywhere!

BUT -- I'm a freelance photog, so I need lots of functions and settings on my camera or I won't be happy. I have a Canon PowerShot A630 as my point-and-shoot, because it has most of the functions of a DSLR (except manual focus) but it's much easier to tote around. It has aperture and shutter priority, portrait mode, night mode, flash controls, and even a video camera with audio. I love-love-love it.

I find I take many more pixs when I travel with a good quality compact digital, such as panasonic/leica. DSLR is way to big for me to carry around Paris, I leave it at home.

I also have found that the new x-ray screening of luggage is a great tool for thieves to know exactly where your cameras are located in checked baggage. After I had my new Digital and Video cameras stolen, I decided to carry everything in my wifes purse. Last trip it cost me a one day shopping trip in Athens for new cameras!

rkkwan --

Thanks for the recommendation. I'll check it out next time I'm at B&H.

Yes I take my DSLr (Pentax Ds - still saving for the K10D) everywhere I go. And I mean everywhere. Well ok not the supermarket but otherwise....
Whilst travelling I choose which lenses will best meet my needs, rather than lug them all. Standard in my bag are a macro lens, a wide angle lens and one of my zooms, either the 28-300 or the 50-500 deopending where I am going and how strong I'm feeling. Also in the bag, two spare SD cards and an image tank, plus batteries, and cleaning gear. The K10D having a rechargable battery makes it less imperative to have a spare but always handy.
The gear goes into a Tamrac camera backpack, that meets onboard baggage regulations, and also has room for a paperback or two plus essential paperwork. It is all insured on a special photographic insurance, which also covers it all should I have to check it for any reason - many insurances do not cover checked items!
I often pack a smaller bag to use once I'm at my destination. My Tripod does get packed in check-in baggage and frequently goes on holiday too.

Hi,

I just got bact from a week in Belgium and a week in London. I took my new Olmpus E-510 with the two lens kit (14-42mm and 40-150mm which are in 35mm equivalents 28-84 and 80-300) and pretty much took it all everywhere I went. I know the E-510 is smaller than other dSLRs, but not sure by how much. Also, the Zuiko lenses are smaller as well as they are for use on digital only.

I bought a Crumpler 5 Million Dollar Home bag which is a shoulder bag. It carried my camera, extra lens, cards, battery and still had enough room for a travel book and small umbrella. I liked the shoulder bag because I could get at my stuff without taking off the bag and could easily hold it in front of me in crowded spaces.

I'm really glad I took it all and didn't find it overly cumbersome. Others may have found it too much hassle and been satisfied with P&S photos. That's a personal choice that only you can decide.

As for packing, carry-on only for my camera and electronics. I would never put my camera in checked baggage.

Seems about equal split on whether to take the DSLR or not...
I think... do I want to lug this around Paris
then
I think... then why did you buy it. Take it.

There seems little point in investing in an SLR and then not taking it when you can make good use of it.

I take a K10D with 16-45 and 50-200 lenses. Because I'm paranoid about cameras getting lost/getting bent/failing I take two on major trips, the second being a Panasonic FZ7. In circumstances where I might not want to change lenses, such as walking in dusty areas or at sea, I take the K10D/16-45 and also the FZ7 for very long shots, not ideal but a reasonable compromise.

I do sometimes take a monopod but rarely use it. However if you do certain types of work a tripod might be important (eg to help get depth of field with flowers).

I would be very unhappy about an SLR mirror in checked baggage.

I'm also paranoid about backing up and make certain that pics are downloaded to several memory sticks/HDs which are then spread around different bags.

The cameras (together with the stuff they need like chargers) are also carried in different bags.

Michael

Should have added that it's worthwhile ensuring you have a polarizing filter with you for landscapes.

Linear polarizers seem to work fine on K10Ds, no need for a circular one.

M

I just bought my first digital SLR, and I mostly want it for travel pictures. That's when I feel like taking pictures the most, so it seems silly not to take the camera. That said, I haven't taken it yet, and I hope I don't feel overly burdened and revert to a point and shoot as I did with my 35 mm SLR years ago.

I plan to take just one lens, so I can keep it in my large purse most of the time.

A tripod is not essential with a K10D of course as it has great shake reduction.
What lenses do you have?
Take it, you won't regret it. Don't pack it in your luggage though - I'd worried about light fingered baggage handlers or heavy handed ones throwing it about.

I got a "prosumer" Panasonic but I don't use the RAW mode or play around with exposure bracketing.

I'm disappointed with the lack of dynamic range in digital. If you take pictures inside a cathedral, you'll know what I mean, not being able to see details on the walls because you don't want to overexpose sunlight coming in through windows or stained glass windows. Otherwise, those little spots of sunlight will overpower the shot.

The other thing I notice is in shots of landscape in sunlight, you get lens flare and faded out shots of greenery.

I'm not completely convinced that the first problem would be fixed by a DSLR. From discussing the issue on more technically-oriented forums, looks like people use HDR techniques, which involve bracketing exposures and then blending the shots together with software as part of post-processing.

Well two problems with that. First is that you can't really take a good bracketed shots without tripods and those are rarely allowed inside cathedrals or other popular sights. Secondly, I'm not big on post-processing, like playing with histograms and such. I take tons of shots, go through them to pick out the best ones, and index them for easy search later on. That alone is time-consuming and I can't imagine adding digital editing and other processing to it.

But it does seem like lens filters and hoods might improve the situation with lens flare and of course, DSLRs let you use those accessories where most P&S models do not.

It's just whether I would want to carry around heavier, bulkier gear all day for the limited number of situations (if there are more let me know) where a DSLR would clearly yield superior results.

I do take a small tripod and will take night shots often with it. (BTW, I was forced to check my carryon roller because a screener at NCE said it could be used as a weapon, the first time they'd prevented me from carrying it on).

I used to carry an SLR, zoom lens, motor drive and tripod in a pretty heavy camera bag but I go out for much longer excursions than I used to.

Actually, a more interesting upgrade might be either digicams or camcorders which can record and output either 720p or 1080p video. I do take a number of 848x480 videos here and there but obviously, you want higher resolution.

Carrying a DSLR is a major chore, if you're carrying it. If you're USING it, it's fantastic. If you are actively looking for shots all the time, the camera will be part of your way of seeing the place you're in, and the weight and bulk won't affect you. I recommend keeping it in your HAND and not just around your neck.

I hate, hate, hate camera bags, and have never found one I like. I keep my extra lenses (I typically carry two, plus one on the body) in my jacket pockets for quick access. The only thing I need a bag for is if I'm carrying a small tripod, or a collection of other cameras (I often go out with three or four, a Holga, Olympus half-frame, XA, etc.) If I'm carrying a tiny P&S too, it goes in my shirt pocket -- but if the DSLR is glued to my hand, I won't reach for it.

I also recently got a Pentax K100D, which is relegating my monstrous Nikon F film camera to the corner of the room. If you have a Pentax, consider the 10-17mm wide lens. Like the Canon, it's razor sharp and great fun to play with -- and absolutely essential if you're trying to take pictures of close buildings and streetscapes where even the 18mm setting isn't enough. I wouldn't leave the house without it now.

One hint I just read in a camera mag, and tried, and loved, is to tape two rear lens caps together back-to-back, which makes quick changing much easier -- less fiddling. Beware of lint, though; most people worry far too much about gunk on the front of their lens, where it doesn't matter (too far out of focal range) and not enough about the back element (where even the tiniest mark will show in your pics).

scrb - It's specifically because of the limited dynamic range of most digital cameras that you should shoot RAW. The sensors are actually able to capture a bit more dynamic range, but most of the built-in JPEG converter clips the ends of them.

That's one of the main reason why I shoot RAW. You can recapture quite a bit of detail on both ends and then you can play with the curve.

And the other main issue with digital photography is white balance. Again, shooting RAW takes care of that, as you can play with it at home. If you shoot JPEG and the white balance is off too much, it's extremely difficult to get it right.

fnarf - I love your philosophy
" If you're USING it, it's fantastic."
I am going to adopt that!

1)Please tell me more about the 1017 lens and how you use it
2) I have heard about the back-to-back lens cap thing but am not quite sure what the point is

I just counted the photo albums in my overflowing bookcases...44. Have had a Canon digital for the past three years, so everything is on the PC...but we still have prints made so hard albums are used. What do we do with them all? Many times friends are going somewhere we've been and want to discuss ...so we have them over to look at the relevant album...with digital, I can send them the web album, but we'd still rather have a social evening out of it.

The grandchildren (the older ones) are forever wanting to see a particular country they are studying in school or whatever. For wife and I, every now and then we dedicate an hour or so to look over one particluar album for nostalgia's sake. It does bring back fond memories of the particular journey.

Stu T.

But with digital, I carry my Canon in my pocket, what a pleasure not having to drag along film and cameras.

The Pentax sensor has a factor of 1.5, so the 10-17mm lens has an effective focal length of 15-25.5mm (equivalent to a 35mm SLR). That's pretty darn wide. One thing about long lenses, as rkkwan mentions, is that you can always crop IN on a photo, but you can't crop OUT, so having that extra wide angle lets you get pictures that are just impossible with a longer lens.

There is fisheye distortion, of course, but it's not that bad, and once you get the hang of it, you can exaggerate or minimize it if you want. But it allows you to get pictures of large things that are close -- like buildings. With a 31mm or 35mm equivalent, as on most point-and-shoots, or even the 27mm equivalent that's the low end of all the major brands' kit lens, you'll lose some of that. You'll have to find a way to back up, or lose the shot.

Another nice thing about a DSLR is high ISO. My Pentax shoots adequately at ISO 3200, which means I can practically shoot in the dark. None of my lenses are particularly fast, so I lose a stop or two there, but I've got a fast f/1.4 lens on order (the Pentax will accept any Pentax lens ever made) which will broaden my light range even further. My last vacations have all been limited to ISO 400 -- this is three stops faster! Yes, there's noise, but it's very manageable -- especially when the alternative is "no photo".

The lens cap thing just makes it easier to swap out quickly. Hold one lens in your hand, twist the one on the camera off with the other, twist it onto the cap, twist the other side off, twist onto the camera. It's one fewer thing to have to hold in your hand at the same time. I have large hands, but still; and I change lenses a lot, in places where setting things down isn't an option.

I did see a difference with RAW. But the resulting .tiff image files were so much bigger that I didn't think it was worth it to use up more space in the SD card and on my computer hard drive.

But I did recently pick up a 2GB SD card and also a 500 GB NAS so maybe I'll try playing with it more.

The thing is, I often get good results by shooting 2 or 3 shots of the same frame when I anticipate difficult lighting. My Panasonic automatically shoots the later ones at slightly different exposures and I can pick out the one I like the best later and discard the others. Probably won't be able to shoot as many redundant shots if I shoot RAW but we'll see.

Thanks for the suggestion.

I'm following this discussion with interest as I'm considering buying my first DSLR.

I've been hesitating because I'm afraid I just won't want to carry it everywhere and then what's the point in having it? Also, it's hard for me to "justify" the cost.

Anyone here have a Nikon DSLR?

I have a Nikon D200 and my wife has the D80. Both are wonderful bodies and the D80 is probably the best as far as price-feature-weight ratio you can find right now
.
I love my D200 though and using it is second nature to me. Taking travel photos is a major part of our holiday enjoyment so we do make a couple of sacrifices in carrying heavier weight with us. For us, it's worth it. For others it might not be.

We end up taking both bodies, a Nikon 18-200 VR lens, a 12-24 Tokina lens, a 18-50 lens and a 70-300 VR lens. It runs about 15 pounds with the adapters, plugs and memory cards and fits in a Tamrac Expedition backpack. That seems to cover every type of shot we routinely encounter as well as keeping the weight down to a manageable level. I don't bother with a tripod at all since it's too bulky

We carry it on everywhere since you don't want the luggage monkeys losing it for you. One of us carries the backpack, the other carries the laptop in a separate carry-on with the rest of our carry-on items.

We carry a small Panasonic P&S as well for those 'We we're here shots'.

http://tysonfultz.smugmug.com/ has some of our recent trips on it

If you are planning to buy any camera, even if from the internet, go to a camera store and try it out before you decide. I was set to buy the D80 and found it too small for my hands. This also disqualified the new Olympus which is a fantastic camera, but even smaller.
Of course, now I have the Pentax K10D I am glad that happened <<smile>>.

I have a Canon xTi. The first time I traveled with the camera, I used the stock lens (18-50, I think) and brought my old 75-300 from my film slr. That was pretty bulky and heavy, but I did enjoy the zoom capability. I later purchased a new 17-85 IS lens, which is all I take with me on a plane trip. It's a good compromise for me of weight and flexibility, and since I am not a super knowledgeable photographer, I'm happy. I also bring along a p&s Canon digital elph that tucks in my pocket.

I carry my digital SLR in a small camera case that has waist and shoulder straps and can fit the memory cards, charger, small notebook and pen. That tucks into a regular backpack (bookbag size) that I carry on the plane. I often bring my laptop, which is old and very heavy, so the pack can be kind of weighty, but I do like to have both hands free to deal with luggage, tickets, etc. Sometimes I put the laptop and camera in a rolling computer case, but then I am rolling that and my (small) suitcase.

I'm in the same mindset of "why buy it and not use it?". The coolest things I ever see, and wan to photograph, are when I travel.

In my "barely fits" Tamron top-loading bag, I took the new Nikon D200 body this past trip, which replaced my D70, as well as a 17-35mm (my workhorse) and a 70-300mm lens as usual. This last trip, I also took a 50mm F/1.4 lens because it's new, small and takes such great portrait shots. Not much difference in weight.

I always debate taking that big telephoto lens, but then it pays off once in a while. This is some shots from Morocco, my only trip so far with the D200. The Sahara sand dune shots were with the telephoto lens.
http://www.trekearth.com/members/Cli...frica/Morocco/

Sometimes, if we're staying in an actual hotel, I leave the gear in a safe and bring a pocket sized camera out. Or I leave some of the lenses.

But I'm always glad afterwards that I took the dSLR. It's self-promoting I know, but I'm pretty excited that I recently was one of the winners of a photo contest and the shot from Romania (the theme was just "Europe") will be published in Lonely Planet Europe next year (sorry Fodors!). So very glad I had the camera then.

Clifton - What lovely photos! Thank you so much for sharing them.

clifton...wow, what great photos..especially Erg Chebbi and Er rachida...makes me want to go back with a digital after taking so many with my old Minolta when we were there last. Great shots....bravo!

Stu T.

my curiosity got the better of me as i tried to decipher what the initals DSLR meant. DS is Dear Son, but DSLR???!!

i decided it might be "dear son in law´s relatives" but opened the thread to check it out.

LOL

SLR = Single Lens Reflect. It's the type of camera that when you look into the viewfinder, you see an the image that has actually gone through the main lens of the camera, reflect up by a mirror, and then their reflect (by a mirror) or refract (by a prism) to your eyes.

That's in contrast to most point-and-shoot cameras where the viewfinder is a separate hole through the body with a relatively simple lens.

A SLR is what most people refer to as the "big camera", with interchangeable lens.

The "d" is digital. A digital sensor replaces the film.

So, a dSLR is a digital single lens reflect camera.

It's Digital Single Lens Reflex. :)

I have a Rebel XT and I take it everywhere (even the grocery store as there are Burrowing Owls living behind the building).

I would NEVER pack it in my luggage - it would kill me not to have it.

What I found works for me is the Lowepro Road Runner beltpack. I can fit my camera w/28-75mm lens attached plus the 18-55mm and 75-300mm lenses, and 3 extender tubes all in the main compartment. In the front pocket, I can fit my 120gb portable storage device, holder with 3 - 2gb cards and 5 smaller cards, cleaning kit, extra battery and battery charger. The beltpack is small enough to be considered my "personal item" with most airlines. I also wear my photog vest on the plane as it gives me more storage. Depending on the sights I'm seeing, I may wear it out and about during the trip.

I do bring my tripod to use for scenics and sunset shots, but I check it. It's not an expensive one, so it's not a big risk to me. I also check a mini-tripod.

If I had to reduce, I would definitely skip the tripod. I would skip the 18-55mm lens if I was going somewhere with extensive wildlife (my first photo love). In a cosmopolitan destination, I'd skip the 75-300mm lens. If I could only take one, it'd be the 28-75mm lens. However, I would rather give up other "conveniences" than reduce my camera gear.

Next month I'm headed to Ontario for 3 weeks and will be bringing all that PLUS a couple reflectors and plamps (for flower shots) and my filters, and my Canon G6 prosumer camera with an underwater casing for some of the wetter activities in Niagara Falls. I'll have all that and an extra battery and charger for it in my carry on also.

On the trip out, I'll put my beltpack in the 17" wheeled carry on with the other stuff and space left over. On the way home, I'll carry the beltpack separately and use the extra space for trinkets.

P.S. I love my PSD. Last year I took about 5,000 photos over 3 weeks and had room to spare. I didn't have to cull photos in the field - which is good because some of the photos I thought were lousy on the small camera screen ended up being pretty nice on the computer screen.

toedtoes, which psd do you have? I did a bit of research in the fall, but opted to just bring more memory cards.

I bought a 60gb Sanho PD70X two years ago from CompactDrive in Singapore (online). I love it. Last year, I upgraded the harddrive to a 120gb and had some trouble formatting it. I was able to send it in to Hyperdrive which had just started selling it under their name, HD80, and they switched out the casing for me.

I liked it because I could use regular AA batteries in an emergency. Normally I use the rechargeable batteries, but I've had a couple times when my card filled up and I had forgotten to charge the batteries. I just tossed in the AA's from my flash unit and saved the card.

Other than that, it's a real simple device. No screen. Accepts most all card types without an adapter and is smaller than a paperback novel.

Thanks toedtoes. Yes, the R is for Reflex.

I don't use a portable storage device. After reading the reviews of all, I still have reservations about their reliability. Since memory cards prices keep coming down, I just buy more when I need them.

So far, I've spent about $200 on two 8GB cards and one 4GB. Good for about 2,000 pictures in RAW for my XTi. I usually shoot no more than 100/day when traveling, so that's good for 3 weeks.

I will never carry a tripod for traveling. They need to be pretty large and heavy to support a dSLR and a heavy tele. That's what they're most needed for. Carry something light and it's close to useless. Now, I just pay more to get the IS lenses. For example, Canon 70-300/4-5.6IS is very sharp, fairly light, and quite affordable.

Rkkwan - I was actually posting that at the same time you posted, so I wasn't correcting your verbage. I didn't even notice it until just now. :)

If I had an expensive tripod, I wouldn't bring it, but the XT is smaller and lighter than most of the dSLRs and the tripod holds it and any of the lenses nicely. I wouldn't use it on anything as heavy as the 24-70mm L lens - but my lenses are all half the weight.

I've had very good luck with my PSD. From the forums I checked out when looking, I think most problems with PSDs have occurred because folks didn't pay attention to the instruction books.

If they had been this affordable two years ago, I probably would have gone with more memory cards instead of the PSD. Now that I have it, I wouldn't trade it. When I go somewhere with my nieces, they are able to load their photos into it also and not worry about their memory space.

Robjame-
I do plan on going to a store to actually hold one before I buy.
The Nikon D40X appeals to me specifically because it is so small and lightweight. I guess I should look at the olympus too, but I really love my Nikons.
I'm used to having a tiny point and shoot and I know the bigger the camera, the less likely I am to carry it.
I'm considering the DSLR because I'm no longer satisfied with the results I'm getting from the P&S in less-than-optimal situations.

Clifton-Great photos! How did you get the portrait shot of the Berber woman?

Thanks y'all. Glad you liked them.

Stu, the Minolta shots - are those the one's you emailed to me this past Spring? Those were great. Digital is nice, but still... film is, well it's a pain in the butt frankly, but it's got character. My problem there is that I have no darkroom (or skills) and never could get results I didn't want to change with a commercial developer. Not their fault of course, just the nature of giving the last step over to someone else. I like being able to control the process to the end, but I'm an engineer and we're kind of control freaks. That'd be an understatement. Anyway, digital is great for that.

Kristina, I guess I just sort of "asked". Well, mimed. She didn't speak English, French or Arabic... just Berber. It was a Tuesday tribal village livestock market up in the middle Atlas mountains. Great place to buy a used handmade Moroccan rug for $20. On my wall now after the donkey smell aired out. Saw a live sheep being strapped down on it's side on top of a neon green Fiat Uno petit taxi on the way into the market. Anyway, I digress as usual, but just meaning that it was a pretty non-tourist sort of deal. So with my usual embarrassing miming ploy, I did the raise the camera halfway up with a "so, what do ya think?" look on my face. She sized me up for a few unnerving seconds, shrugged and let me take the shot. Then, and only then, with an outstretched hand, spoke the only word the two of us both shared. "Dirham". Berber woman are tough, man and they understand the principles of revenue enhancement.