Toronto Photography Meetup Group

Hi,

I am planning to take a trip to China (14 days) in April. I have a 5D, 7D, and XSi. Have 15-85 , 24-70L, 70-300 IS, and 100-400L

I don't want to carry too much. Mainly landscape photos.

What should I bring. Just the 7D/15-85?

Thanks in advance,
Wilson

EVERYTHING.

Realistically, 5D with 24-70L and 70-300 IS

or

7D with kit and 70-300.

100-400L doesn't seem sensible for travelling......

Replace the 70-300 with an 18-200.

Given your lineup, why do you have the 70-300?

70-300 and the Xsi is for my wife (zoo trips)

7D + 24-70L. That's all you need.

I'd take the 24-70 for sure and the 70-300. The 100-400 might be overkill unless you plan on shooting some wildlife there (zoo?) or parks? If not, leave it home. The 7D sounds good but the drawback is that at 1.6x crop, that 24-70 doesn't sounds very wide anymore. With some of the landscapes, esp if you're doing the Great Wall, Forbidden City, terracotta warriors, Yangshuo mountain etc, you'd want WIDE and the 5D FF will be a great combo. There are times when you may want to do some isolation shots or need the reach of the 70-300. It only weighs a faction of a 24-70. Take it with you.

Why don't you let the wife shoot with the 5D and you shoot with the 7D and leave the XSI home. Take the 15-85, 24-70 and 70-300 with you. Out of those three, only the 24-70 is the heaviest and you can keep that on your body as a walk-around lens. Your wife can take the 15-85 and you split the 70-300 when needed. It doesn't make any sense carry two cropped sensor bodies when you have a perfectly good FF camera body.

Take it from me. If this is a once in a lifetime trip and you won't be doing all the sights anytime soon, it's better to have the lenses handy than to kick yourself when you find that you left a lens at home that you wish you'd taken.

Not sure what your comfort or tolerance level is for lugging gear but I think the final decision is yours. Do you sacrifice some comfort to have the tools you'll need to get some amazing shots or is photography secondary to your comfort? How serious are you for the photography for this trip?

If space is an issue that's one thing. If it's the weight then it puzzles me that 2 camera bodies with a lens mounted on each and a 70-300 lens split amongst 2 people is too much weight.

Mentioned already: 7D, 15-85 and 70-300

The 15-85 is a great walkaround lens, and it's much lighter than the 24-70L. It probably has the best implementation of IS, which makes it a very viable indoor lens, since you don't have any wide-fast primes.

I don't think the 24-70 is wide enough on the 7D if he wants to do landscapes.

I'd bring the 7D 15-85 and 70-300.

I went to China for 3 weeks this past September. Where in China are you headed?

I went to Beijing, Xian, Shanghai, Suzhou, Hangzhou, Huangshan, Guilin, Hong Kong, Macau & Kaiping. I brough an a900, 20/2.8, 58/1.2 & 200/2.8, a tripod, flash & colorspace hyperdrive. Everywhere seemed very safe. I wish I brought a extra heavy-duty ballhead.

I found the 20mm perfect for landscapes, 58mm perfect for low light, landscapes & portraits. I did not really use the 200/2.8 that often and kinda slow aperature at night. There were only a few times I wished I had a 24-70 zoom.

Thanks for the replies.

Wfe does not want to carry a camera.

I think at this time, I plan to bring the 7D 15-85 IS and the 70-300 as suggested by a few people.

Other option is to also bring the 5D. Maybe even purchase a used 16-35L

Thanks,
Wilson

I'd bring the 5D as well. There will be situations where you'll wish your lens was wider.

Ahhhh! That explains it all then. lol

x2. i just came back from vacation and just had a midrange. no need for telephotos and multiple cameras in my opinion. i remember walking by a guy who had a white L lens on one body and a midrange L on the other, and thinking how much overkill that was haha. one body and lens is heavy enough as it is, especially if you have to walk around with a backpack and all.

I was in Vegas one time and all I took was my 1D and a 24-70 and 16-35 and I was kicking myself for not taking the 70-200. Guess it all depends on what you're going for.

When I travel I take as much as I can. When I go out the hotel each morning I only carry what I anticipate I'll need for that day's shooting.
Bring everything you can - unless you're backpacking and carrying everything all the time.

I need to travel light. I had a neck injury last March.

This is a 14 day trip tour (6+ cities) in April.

Thanks for all the replies.

Wilson

15-85 with 7D is enough for travel photos, just adjust your vision

7D + 15-85 and seriously consider using an R-strap or hang the camera off your shoulder instead of around your neck.

The only time I ever have my camera strap around my neck is when I'm leaning over a railing/wall/cliff.

Travel light 7d +15-85 should do everything you want and with that combination you might be able to get away with a gorilla pod as a tripod for a few long exposures indoor or night shots. This advice is based on this being a trip that is more then just a photo safari. So what if you miss that shot of the ???? because you didn't have the right lens.

Enjoy the trip, focus on now not how you are going to record event, this without the extra weight and the worry of having all that gear.