When I was in college, my parents moved back to the UK for work. Before I
went over to visit, I bought an SLR and a 28-80 Zoom. I later added a
70-200 Zoom. Both of them were the slow non SMC Pentax/Takumar zooms, and
they covered most of my needs. I didn't know much about photography when I
purchased the equipment, and would have gotten better lenses if I had known
better (or could afford them). There were occasions that I wish I had a
longer lens, and ended up getting a 2x teleconverter.
Here is what I would recommend:
SLR with zoom lens(es) covering 28-200.
Flash (unless a good one is built in to the SLR).
Fast 50mm (or 35mm) lens for museum and low light situations. Most museums
don't allow flash photography.
Other:
Tripod for night shots - most European cities have fountains and statues
that are lit at night. Plus most of the major monuments are lit.
2x teleconverter for those far away daylight shots.
2nd Body (fast film in one and slow film in the other). If you don't want
to hassle with 2 bodies be prepared to waste film or bring a tool to fish
out the leader to re-use film. You will find yourself going from the sunny
outside to the dark inside of many sights.
In your specific situation, I would do the following:
Get the lightest, smallest tripod that fits your needs and pack it in one of
the suitcases. Only take it out if you KNOW you will need it.
For day-to-day use, I would probably get the largest-range zoom lens that
met my price/quality needs.
In the smallest bag that would fit the stuff I would carry:
Body with zoom lens attached.
Fast prime lens.
2x teleconverter.
Flash.
Film.
If possible, I would get a bag that didn't look like a camera bag and was
difficult to open (or locked). The bags that both snap and zipper would be
hard to get in to without you noticing. The subways can get crowded during
peak travel times and thieves will take advantage of this.
The advantages of going SLR vs. Point and Shoot are:
Better exposure control for nighttime and low-light shots.
Faster prime lens for dark indoor shots.
You can use a more powerful external flash when you need to.
Quality (if you have a good lens).
Also, I would probably look in to insurance for the equipment. There are
camera shops where you can replace lost/stolen/broken equipment, but it can
be expensive if you don't have time to shop around.
-----Original Message-----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[mail
to:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On Behalf Of zxcv ar2
Sent: Monday, May 28, 2001 9:27 AM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Minimum equipment to travel to UK
Greetings! What minimum equipments will you take to travel to UK and France
for one month with your wife & children? Pictures will be taken for
recording the vacation i.e. wife & children in front of Eifel Tower. Will
you take a good P&S like Olympus Stylus Epic or a Pentax with 35mm f2.0
lens or more lenses? [Whatever you choose, you have to carry the equipment
through the subways or metros, trains, buses along with luggages of yours ,
your wife and children. Example - You are going to Paris from London & back
via chunnel train. You have to get your luggage from your hotel to railway
stations, then to hotel at Paris railway station.]
I may do this next year. With thanks.
_________________________________________________________________
Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com
-
This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe,
go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to
visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
-
This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe,
go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to
visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
