Depending on what kind of vacation I am at, I too find myself using zoom lenses a lot. Most of my vacation pictures are snaps, no need for sophisticated primes or fast zooms for snaps. So why bother carrying around at the heavy fast primes, when I'm only using them for, let us say, 5% of my photographs?
It's kind of similar to have an extra lighter somewhere within reach (I am a smoker). I know I can manage without, but it simply makes me feel comfortable. Its the same with the fast primes. Knowing they are within reach for lowlight photographing and other purposes makes me relax. For me this is worth the extra weight. What I don't have is a good light weight tripod. Anybody who has some good recommendations on a good (and not too expensive) supplement to my rather heavy and large Velbon CF630 + Manfrotto 486RC? Tim Mostly harmless (just plain Norwegian) Never underestimate the power of stupidity in large crowds (Very freely after Arthur C. Clarke, or some other clever guy) > -----Original Message----- > From: David Oswald [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: 2. oktober 2005 06:57 > To: [email protected] > Subject: Back from vacation: Lessons learned > > I just got back from two weeks of vacation in Hong Kong and Philippines. > I brought with me the following camera equipment: > > Pentax *ist-DS > SMC Pentax-DA 16-45mm f/4 AL > SMC Pentax-FA 28-105mm f/3.2-4.5 (IF)AL > SMC Pentax-FA 50mm f/1.4 > SMC Pentax-FA 135mm f/2.8 (IF) > AF330FTZ > 2.5 gigs of SD cards. > 110V quick charger > Two sets of NiMH batteries (one in the flash, one in the camera). > Waist / shoulder bag large enough for all of the above, yet small enough > to carry everywhere. > > Things I discovered: > > Lenses: I've renewed my appreciation for the 16-45 lens. Around my > home town it doesn't get as much use for some reason, but on vacation, > especially travelling with my wife's family, it's just so convenient, > and a great working focal length range. Image quality leaves nothing to > be desired. And its build quality is solid. Since I don't have a lot > of time to devote to each shot when I'm on vacation with a group, the > convenience of this zoom lens really shines. Its wide angle capability > is also really useful. I liked the lens before this trip; I love it now. > > The primes, while good for low light use and extremely sharp, are just a > little too much hastle to use on an on-the-go type of vacation. At the > beach I was reluctant to change lenses a lot, and when with the rest of > my wife's family I just didn't want to slow down enough to mess around > with these lenses. This is a complete 180 from how I am around my home > town. Near home, I take the time to get the most out of these nice > lenses. It really surprised me to find how little I used them on > vacation though. > > The 28-105 continues to be a great companion to the 16-45. What can I > say... I loved this lens on my ZX-5n, and still like using it on the > *ist-DS. Again, the convenience of a zoom on vacation outweighed the > performance gains of the primes. Maybe I just got lazy huh? > > Flash: The AF330FTZ has got to go. It's obnoxious to have to dive into > the camera's menu again and again until I get the right level of flash > for the picture. In general, it overexposes my shots, but individual > results are so varied that I can't just set it and forget it. I'm going > to have to get an AF360FGZ and step into the 21st century. It was a > complete disappointment when I tried to use it to punch up the > foreground in a near-dusk shot. I had to fiddle several times to get it > right. On my ZX-5n, it just worked, every time. The *ist-DS is too > sensitiveto overexposure, I suppose. Whatever the reason, I think I need > a flash more dedicated to the *ist-DS's needs. > > Batteries: I should have carried one additional set of NiMH's, or at > least a multi-voltage charger so that I could charge in my hotel room in > the Philippines. I never missed a shot due to depleated batteries, but > at one point I did find myself running my charger across the street to > an Internet cafe where the attendant allowed me to plug it into one of > his 110V power supplies. I tipped him. I should have carried a > multinational charger. > > At my rate of shooting, I was able to get about three to four days out > of a charge. To accomplish this I had to keep the LCD viewing to a > minimum. > > Bag: The Tamrac bag finally gave out. It came unstitched along one > seam, and one of its die-cast buckles shattered. ...strange, the same > thing happened to me on another Tamrac bag a couple months ago. Anyway, > I'll have to start looking for a replacement. > > Dave >
