Luminous Landscape Forum
Equipment & Techniques => Cameras, Lenses and Shooting gear => Topic started by: shadowblade on May 13, 2017, 02:41:13 pm
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Just lost all my cameras, some key lenses and a bit of blood in a robbery in Buenos Aires two hours ago. Stitched up my own leg - the question is, how to replace my gear.
I was previously running a hybrid setup, with a Sony A7r2 and A7r, and also lost a Canon TS-E 17, TS-E 24 Ii, Sigma 35/1.4, Canon 70-200 2.8L II, Metabones adapter, Gitzo 1241T tripod and Arca-Swiss C1 Cube (and a ratty-looking backpack which doesn't even look like a camera bag).
Thing is, a fair bit of that is simply because I didn't see the point in replacing perfectly-good Canon lenses with their Sony counterparts just to shoot landscapes. Clearly, any replacements will be different (although there is no substitute for the tilt-shifts). Still have a RRS TVC-34L in my main pack, but I will also need a new hiking tripod and Cube.
But I really don't want to buy another A7r2, since Sony may have an A9r within a year, and who knows what Canon will do with the 5Ds2 image-quality wise? So I don't even know which system to buy - Canon or Sony.
Any thoughts? Which system would you buy, and why?
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Just lost all my cameras, some key lenses and a bit of blood in a robbery in Buenos Aires two hours ago. Stitched up my own leg - the question is, how to replace my gear.
I was previously running a hybrid setup, with a Sony A7r2 and A7r, and also lost a Canon TS-E 17, TS-E 24 Ii, Sigma 35/1.4, Canon 70-200 2.8L II, Metabones adapter, Gitzo 1241T tripod and Arca-Swiss C1 Cube (and a ratty-looking backpack which doesn't even look like a camera bag).
Thing is, a fair bit of that is simply because I didn't see the point in replacing perfectly-good Canon lenses with their Sony counterparts just to shoot landscapes. Clearly, any replacements will be different (although there is no substitute for the tilt-shifts). Still have a RRS TVC-34L in my main pack, but I will also need a new hiking tripod and Cube.
But I really don't want to buy another A7r2, since Sony may have an A9r within a year, and who knows what Canon will do with the 5Ds2 image-quality wise? So I don't even know which system to buy - Canon or Sony.
Any thoughts? Which system would you buy, and why?
Are you patient? Are you a risk-taker?
If the answer to both those questions is yes, then maybe the GFX. You will probably want to repurchase the 17 T/S, and for sure you'll want the 23mm when it's available, and you'll probably want to use the 32-64 for now. Some of the native lenses might be too heavy for hiking though.
Just a thought from left field.
Stitched yourself up? You are one hardy soul.
Jim
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Are you patient? Are you a risk-taker?
If the answer to both those questions is yes, then maybe the GFX. You will probably want to repurchase the 17 T/S, and for sure you'll want the 23mm when it's available, and you'll probably want to use the 32-64 for now. Some of the native lenses might be too heavy for hiking though.
Just a thought from left field.
Stitched yourself up? You are one hardy soul.
Jim
Not sure about that. I often find myself needing the long lenses that MF lacks (for mountain peaks, etc.) and 44mm sensor width is barely larger than 36mm (I don't care about the height, since most of my shots are wide-format panoramas).
Fixing injuries and dealing with trauma is a major part of my day job. I've also had to operate on myself in Ethiopia before, so this was comparatively easy.
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Not sure about that. I often find myself needing the long lenses that MF lacks (for mountain peaks, etc.) and 44mm sensor width is barely larger than 36mm (I don't care about the height, since most of my shots are wide-format panoramas).
Doesn't sound like a good fit for you then. I like 4:5 and 1:1 images, so it's a big improvement for me. BTW, the Leica-R 180/2.8 'rit, 180/3.4 Apo-Telyt, and 280/4 Apo-Telyt all work well on the GFX at 4:5 or squarer. The Zeiss 135/2 Apo and Leica-M 135/3.4 Apo-Telyt do too.
If you use really long lenses, make sure that you've got some kind of stabilization for focusing, even if you're going to put the camera on a tripod. I find it very difficult to get precise focusing north of 300mm without IBIS or OSS (I turn it off before I make the exposure). For that reason, I'm not going to use the GFX for anything over 280 mm.
Jim
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Bernard Languillier does a lot of stitching images backpacking in Japan.
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Never had any problems nailing focus at long focal lengths. After all, if the birders can track birds, focusing a landscape isn't particularly challenging.
At 420mm:
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Also, what's currently the cheapest place to buy cameras and lenses, including shipping to Australia? It's no longer DigitalRev, and it's certainly not anywhere in Australia itself...
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Did you look at B&H ?
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Did you look at B&H ?
Yes. I take them as the baseline. But, surely, there must be some Hong Kong seller doing it for less, unless something's changed since I last bought lenses.
The Australian dollar's dropped by a third, which already increases prices a lot compared with last time.
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Hong Kong was going to be my second suggestion. What about used in Australia or New Zealand ? Or talk with Meing Thein in K.L Malaysia ? He is mainly MF. Japan has a good used market, but i don't know about the exchange rate.
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You won't get C1 Cubes, Canon TS-E lenses and Sony GM lenses used.
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Sorry to hear about these news.
If I were to start from scratch today I would personnally still go Nikon, even prior to the D820 annoucement. The main reason being their recent lenses that are just outstanding in terms of look and technical excellence, best AF on moving subjects and best in class low ISO (D810) and high ISO (D5) image quality.
Cheers,
Bernard
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For New Zealand here are two search engines:
https://pricespy.co.nz/
https://www.priceme.co.nz/
Here are three places I'd recommend for second hand:
https://www.photo.co.nz/
http://www.aucklandcamera.co.nz/
http://www.wps.net.nz/
Our last serious discounter has just been bought out. I tend to buy a lot now from B&H. I'm willing to pay up to 20% more to buy from a NZ retail shop, but B&H sometimes undercut prices here by more than that, even including shipping and GST.
David
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Sorry to hear about these news.
If I were to start from scratch today I would personnally still go Nikon, even prior to the D820 annoucement. The main reason being their recent lenses that are just outstanding in terms of look and technical excellence, best AF on moving subjects and best in class low ISO (D810) and high ISO (D5) image quality.
Cheers,
Bernard
I'd second that. I'm a fan of Fuji's X-T2 for travelling: I can get all my gear in my carry-on and not be overweight.
But the D810 will give you pretty good files if you don't mind the bulk.
David
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Which system would you buy, and why?
stun grenade...
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I can't consider Nikon an option. Any serious lens investment has to be for the future, and I can't see where Nikon is going in terms of high-resolution, high DR bodies. Canon and Sony? Definitely. And, unlike Canon lenses, I can't even use Nikon lenses effectively on a Sony body if Nikon falls behind in the sensor stakes.
Also, the 24mm tilt-shift is decidedly sub-par, and it's probably my most-used lens.
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Any idea who are the cheapest Hong Kong retailers at the moment? DigitalRev used to be my go-to place, but they've gone expensive since their blog/video business took off.
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The main reason being their recent lenses that are just outstanding in terms of look and technical excellence, best AF on moving subjects and best in class low ISO (D810) and high ISO (D5) image quality.
Cheers,
Bernard
it does not look like OP needs AF on moving subjects or low light / high gain / few MP raws ... nikon lenses can be used on Sony dSLMs and best in class low ISO is just a tiny bit ( http://photonstophotos.net/Charts/PDR.htm#Nikon%20D810,Sony%20ILCE-7RM2 )
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Also, what's currently the cheapest place to buy cameras and lenses, including shipping to Australia? It's no longer DigitalRev, and it's certainly not anywhere in Australia itself...
ebay = take a risk with grey one = http://www.ebay.com/itm/272464729168
and for Canon lenses on Sony dSLM = there is a good discount on Simga MC-11 adapter now = https://www.adorama.com/sgmc11c.html = $149... you can get one for each EF lens you need @ that price
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Hi,
Sorry to hear about the robbery, but nice to hear that you concern is gear.
I am shooting a similar setup to yours. If you need the T&S lenses there is no such gear from Sony. The G-Master lenses may be great, but I think that the Canon lenses are better priced. So, I would stay with Canon lenses. With Canon lenses you have the choice to use them on Canon bodies or Sony bodies.
Jim Kasson suggested that Fuji GFX may be an interesting alternative.
Personally, I am not very interested in Nikon. But I know to little about that system.
Best regards
Erik
Just lost all my cameras, some key lenses and a bit of blood in a robbery in Buenos Aires two hours ago. Stitched up my own leg - the question is, how to replace my gear.
I was previously running a hybrid setup, with a Sony A7r2 and A7r, and also lost a Canon TS-E 17, TS-E 24 Ii, Sigma 35/1.4, Canon 70-200 2.8L II, Metabones adapter, Gitzo 1241T tripod and Arca-Swiss C1 Cube (and a ratty-looking backpack which doesn't even look like a camera bag).
Thing is, a fair bit of that is simply because I didn't see the point in replacing perfectly-good Canon lenses with their Sony counterparts just to shoot landscapes. Clearly, any replacements will be different (although there is no substitute for the tilt-shifts). Still have a RRS TVC-34L in my main pack, but I will also need a new hiking tripod and Cube.
But I really don't want to buy another A7r2, since Sony may have an A9r within a year, and who knows what Canon will do with the 5Ds2 image-quality wise? So I don't even know which system to buy - Canon or Sony.
Any thoughts? Which system would you buy, and why?
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ebay = take a risk with grey one = http://www.ebay.com/itm/272464729168
and for Canon lenses on Sony dSLM = there is a good discount on Simga MC-11 adapter now = https://www.adorama.com/sgmc11c.html = $149... you can get one for each EF lens you need @ that price
Would need to ship it to a US-based friend to bring to me, though, to avoid paying GST plus extra processing fees on arrival in Australia. For an online purchase with electronic receipts that include the name of the buyer, that could have future implications with travel insurance (how to claim it when I 'didn't' buy it).
To be honest, I'm very reluctant to buy the A7r2 again, since it's nearing the end of its life cycle and almost certain to be replaced by something better within 12 months. I won't have a chance to use the camera until I go on another trip, and no reason to go on another trip until I've replaced the camera gear to take photos while I'm there. By then it'll be next year, provided I haven't killed myself through overwork doing extra shifts to cover the losses (can't spend regular income just to make good on camera and travel losses).
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Hi,
Sorry to hear about the robbery, but nice to hear that you concern is gear.
I am shooting a similar setup to yours. If you need the T&S lenses there is no such gear from Sony. The G-Master lenses may be great, but I think that the Canon lenses are better priced. So, I would stay with Canon lenses. With Canon lenses you have the choice to use them on Canon bodies or Sony bodies.
Jim Kasson suggested that Fuji GFX may be an interesting alternative.
Personally, I am not very interested in Nikon. But I know to little about that system.
Best regards
Erik
There's also no penalty in using TS-E lenses on Sony - it's not like they had AF or automatic lens correction to begin with.
I really need Canon to announce the 5Ds2, and Sony the A7r3 or A9r, in order to make the decision. Would prefer to use native lenses on either system, to at least have decent AF. I wouldn't consider the 5Ds at all. But, looking at what Canon has done since then with the 80D, 1Dx2 and 5D4 sensors, I'd imagine the 5Ds2's sensor and ISO capability will be up to scratch. But who knows what Sony will bring out in their next high-resolution sensor?
Now is a really bad time to be choosing a high-resolution system - the models out there are all several years old and the next generation from both Sony and Canon are almost certain to have a huge leap in capability from the previous versions (Canon in DR, Sony in AF and both in MP) but with no indication as to which will be better.
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Minimum viable replacements:
Arca-Swiss C1 Cube with flip-lock plate
Canon TS-E 17L
Canon TS-E 24L
RRS quick-release plate for 70-200
PLUS
Either:
Canon 5Ds2
Canon 24-70 f/2.8L II
Canon 70-200 f/2.8L II
OR:
Sony A9r
Sony 24-70 f/2.8 GM
Sony 70-200 f/2.8 GM
Second bodies, hiking tripods, etc. can be bought later, and I still have a few spare Metabones Mark III adapters from when Sony were including them for free with their cameras.
Apart from the as-yet nonexistent camera bodies, any idea where the cheapest place in the world to buy them would be? Is Hong Kong still the Mecca of cheap camera gear, or is DigitalRev not the only place that's turned expensive?
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Glad to hear that your biggest concern is the camera gear.
I'm curious... where were you in BA when this happened?
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Glad to hear that your biggest concern is the camera gear.
I'm curious... where were you in BA when this happened?
In Retiro, in broad daylight on a busy street, a block from my hotel.
I had literally just landed the previous night, got out of bed and went out for breakfast In other words, around 30 seconds into my trip (not counting sleeping).
Had travel in Peru and Bolivia planned. Now I have to go home (no point hiking for 3 weeks without my cameras) and won't be able to recoup the losses for at least a year. Travel insurance is near-worthless - not just for camera gear, but also for non-medical trip cancellation.
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If your expectation is that a A9R will come within 1 year timeframe, I would get a used A7RII. IMO, nothing beats the quality of the current and future MF lenses for the E mount, from Zeiss, and now also from Tokina.
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Had travel in Peru and Bolivia planned. Now I have to go home (no point hiking for 3 weeks without my cameras) and won't be able to recoup the losses for at least a year. Travel insurance is near-worthless - not just for camera gear, but also for non-medical trip cancellation.
Very sorry to hear about the robbery & glad to hear that you survived it.
Re cancelling the rest of your trip: Why? You're in South America anyway: Even if you haven't got your camera with you you'd still be experiencing Peru & Bolivia & possibly noticing stuff that you wouldn't have if you'd been looking through a viewfinder / rear LCD.
You could even pick up a cheap DSLR & a decent cheap prime ( Canon EFS 24 crop frame type thing ) & concentrate on some smaller scale more intimate images than you normally would.
This might feed into your future serious photography. Take a notebook ( a paper one ). It's all 'Visual Research'.
Good luck with your gear buying decisions, I can imagine what a headache that must be.
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I'm not spending three weeks hiking through difficult terrain to not come back with any decent (aesthetic as well as technical, so sharp lenses and high-resolution sensors are a must) photos. I hike to get photos, not for the sake of hiking.
I'd rather spend the three weeks working and coming up with some extra money to go some of the way towards replacing the gear.
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If your expectation is that a A9R will come within 1 year timeframe, I would get a used A7RII. IMO, nothing beats the quality of the current and future MF lenses for the E mount, from Zeiss, and now also from Tokina.
Thing is, I don't need a camera until my next trip. I rarely shoot anything at home. And the next trip won't come until I replace my gear, since photography is pretty much the only reason I travel. And that may not be for another year, if not longer.
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I'm not spending three weeks hiking through difficult terrain to not come back with any decent (aesthetic as well as technical, so sharp lenses and high-resolution sensors are a must) photos. I hike to get photos, not for the sake of hiking.
I'd rather spend the three weeks working and coming up with some extra money to go some of the way towards replacing the gear.
Fair enough. Good luck with getting your camera system together & with your next photo trip.
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Now is a really bad time to be choosing a high-resolution system - the models out there are all several years old and the next generation from both Sony and Canon are almost certain to have a huge leap in capability from the previous versions (Canon in DR, Sony in AF and both in MP) but with no indication as to which will be better.
I'm very sorry to hear this... I was to suggest to buy a second hand body but I see you are not interested...
I'm talking memory here... but I think Canon 5Ds II is not expected this year (for the rumors I read)... only 6D II. I think we will see whatever Sony and Nikon had to offer in high resolution first. But then again... they are just rumors...
http://dgpfotografia.com
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Sorry to hear this story.
Maybe someone local who belongs to the forum could lend you his backup?
Edmund
I'm very sorry to hear this... I was to suggest to buy a second hand body but I see you are not interested...
I'm talking memory here... but I think Canon 5Ds II is not expected this year (for the rumors I read)... only 6D II. I think we will see whatever Sony and Nikon had to offer in high resolution first. But then again... they are just rumors...
http://dgpfotografia.com
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Yes. I take them as the baseline. But, surely, there must be some Hong Kong seller doing it for less, unless something's changed since I last bought lenses.
The Australian dollar's dropped by a third, which already increases prices a lot compared with last time.
My experience as an Australian having just come back from Hong Kong is that there was nothing cheap that was genuine. A seemingly big camera shop in Nathan Road was selling fakes at half the price of the Canon distributor across the road. B & H was actually cheaper on the genuine. There is some good stuff on eBay from the US but you have to factor in the Global Shipping Program which adds to it massively. Unfortunately the fakes are very good sometimes.
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I've already ordered a new C1 Cube, since I need that regardless of what system I buy. Will probably do the same with the tilt-shifts once I get home and work enough extra hours to pay for them (could buy the whole lot right now if I wanted to, but I'm not going to use savings or usual income to replace camera gear - only whatever extra I can dig up). Also looking at selling my entire studio lighting set and a car.
Thing is, I don't know what 24-70/70-200/100-400 to get. It all depends on what the A9r/A7r3 and 5Ds2 look like - either Canon or Sony look to be good options in the next cycle of bodies. Don't want to get an A7r2 so late in the cycle, since it's value will halve as soon as the next one comes out and I'm unlikely to shoot a single frame with it before that happens.
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I presume you didn't have photography equipment insurance?
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In Retiro, in broad daylight on a busy street, a block from my hotel
Wow that's scary. Plenty of photographers there during the day (it's not safe at night from what I've been told) although it is not a good area to be walking around with conspicuous camera gear in a poor neighborhood like that. Sorry for you and sad for BA that this happened.
Have you checked your home owner's insurance. My son had a camera stolen out of a rental car in Argentina and Allstate wrote him a check for full replacement value. You will need a copy of the police report, which hopefully you filed.
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Thing is, I don't know what 24-70/70-200/100-400 to get. It all depends on what the A9r/A7r3 and 5Ds2 look like - either Canon or Sony look to be good options in the next cycle of bodies.
Sure you don't need advice on what lenses to buy but, to state the obvious, if you go Sony you'll be committed to Sony, go Canon and you'll have the option to switch between bodies in the next and future generations to come.
Also I'm not sure if Sony construction quality is up to the Canon L standard. A quick review of LensRental's teardowns should convince you.
Sorry to hear of your misfortune, can but admire your 'sang froid' ...
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Edit:
New Canon lenses seem to have suffered a ~35% increase in price (at keast here in the UK). As alternatives - Sigma have announced , but not yet released, a 24-70 f2.8 Art series zoom and have you considered the Canon 200 f/2.8 ?
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I've already ordered a new C1 Cube...
Really? With all due respect, in a resource constrained environment this would be the last item I would buy. Pretty much any ball head costing 1/5th can do a great job.
And yes, I own a Cube also and know what it does.
I think I understand the urge to start to rebuild, but I am not sure you are choosing the right priorities.
Cheers,
Bernard
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I've already ordered a new C1 Cube, since I need that regardless of what system I buy. Will probably do the same with the tilt-shifts once I get home and work enough extra hours to pay for them (could buy the whole lot right now if I wanted to, but I'm not going to use savings or usual income to replace camera gear - only whatever extra I can dig up). Also looking at selling my entire studio lighting set and a car.
Thing is, I don't know what 24-70/70-200/100-400 to get. It all depends on what the A9r/A7r3 and 5Ds2 look like - either Canon or Sony look to be good options in the next cycle of bodies. Don't want to get an A7r2 so late in the cycle, since it's value will halve as soon as the next one comes out and I'm unlikely to shoot a single frame with it before that happens.
If you have 1 year to ponder/decide, then definitely I would go for a used A7RII at that time. they should be reasonably priced by then.
As for travelling zoom lenses, I would go with f4 ones.
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Sorry to hear of your bad experience.
I'm a bit of a minimalist when it comes to equipment, as I'm a hiker (and mostly former backpacker). In addition to weight, I find too much gear just gets in the way. At the moment my favorite is the Sony a7r line with the Kolarivision Ultra Thin sensor cover. This becomes a modern, state of the art platform for Leica M mount wide glass. When hiking or traveling, I try to stay "under the radar" with respect to expensive photo equipment.
Stay safe.
Paul
www.PaulRoark.com
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Insurance has proved worthless. I bought my gear mostly when the Australian dollar was 50% higher than it is now, and mostly on discount. The Australian dollar purchase price of the gear was very low. Factor in depreciation and the amount they will pay is minimal - nowhere near the current replacement cost in AUD.
Furthermore, the required receipts are mostly torn or faded to illegibility due to time.
Re: continuing with makeshift equipment. I have no interest in hiking or camping for its own sake - I do it to get to landscape photography locations, with all the necesaary gear for the best possible image. That's why I came home. At the moment, there's probably a mule driver and horse owner in Peru wondering where I am.
Re: Argentina - this wasn't a camera bag. It was an old rucksack hacked apart, with a zip installed in the back for access to a laser-cut closed cell foam block holding the camera gear.
Re: buying the Cube first. I bought the Cube first because it's the one thing I can get that will be the same regardless of what system I go with. I'll need to replace it at some point anyway. And I can't travel again until I have my full kit back (or, at least, the parts of the kit necessary for that particular destination) so it doesn't particularly matter what order I buy it in.
Re: used A7r2 - if the A9 and 5Ds2 come out with 70MP, good AF and DR, there's no way I'm going with a 42MP A7r2.
Re: f/4 zooms - none of them have the performance of the top-tier f/2.8 zooms, except at the 11-24 and 200-400 extremes, where they are the top tier. They are built for size and weight, not ultimate sharpness. The situation would be different if they made some f/4 zooms with no optical compromises.
Re: Canon vs Sony - a lot of this will hinge on how the A9 does with Canon lenses with regards to AF speed (faster than on a Canon body?) and the availability of eye focus/eye tracking using adapted lenses. Although automatic CA and distortion correction is another big plus in using native lenses.
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Insurance has proved worthless. I bought my gear mostly when the Australian dollar was 50% higher than it is now, and mostly on discount. The Australian dollar purchase price of the gear was very low. Factor in depreciation and the amount they will pay is minimal - nowhere near the current replacement cost in AUD.
Well if you purchase worthless insurance, you get worthless results in the end. My insurance covers complete replacement cost of equivalent equipment. So today...my equipment would be replaced with the latest equivalent equipment available for purchase.
You need to purchase replacement cost insurance....
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Well if you purchase worthless insurance, you get worthless results in the end. My insurance covers complete replacement cost of equivalent equipment. So today...my equipment would be replaced with the latest equivalent equipment available for purchase.
You need to purchase replacement cost insurance....
I would have to agree that the first new equipment choice would have to start with some real insurance that actually works, and replaces the full value short of maybe some deductible.
In the last few years I bought a life long friend a new Canon 300f2.8 IS II and a Profoto B1 set to help him with his professional work. Despite his assurance he would insure it, I freaked out when it came to light he did not. This is a guy who has been ripped off at least twice in his life of equipment he needs to make a living with and he can not afford to replace it. I am not sure what it would take for this message to sink in for him. If you can not afford to replace it you can not afford NOT to have insurance.
I do greatly feel for the loss not only of equipment but the whole trip. It is sad that some areas of the world are basically no fly zones that I will not even contemplate visiting given the much higher odds of violent theft. Not much fun trying to photograph while while constantly at high risk.
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Well if you purchase worthless insurance, you get worthless results in the end. My insurance covers complete replacement cost of equivalent equipment. So today...my equipment would be replaced with the latest equivalent equipment available for purchase.
You need to purchase replacement cost insurance....
Wisdom.
As an insurance adjuster/investigator since 1988, I can truthfully say, "You get what you pay for."
Homeowner's (and even renter's) insurance is something that every serious photographer, with a heavy gear investment, should have in place.
ACV = Actual Cash Value = Replacement Cost less depreciation.
RCV = Replacement Cost Value = The cost to Replace the Item in new condition.
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In Australia, I got my insurance for camera gear through PPIB (Professional Photographer's Insurance Broker), even though I'm not a pro (but my gear costs the same).
www.photoinsurance.com.au
www.wscbrokers.com.au
I had contact with Jacqui Thomson, the Brokerage Manager, and found their cover, pricing, and guidance to be very good. She literally said in one email:
"Our recommendation is that you insure for the current replacement cost but if you are trying to keep your premium down just be aware that whatever sum insured you elect for each item is the maximum we can pay for it in the event of a claim.
This goes for new items, if you purchased something on sale then we suggest you insure it for the recommended retail price."
I can also update the cover if I want to (say, for example, because the AUD goes lower and I'm worried replacement costs might go up - all I need to do is show what the current replacement cost is).
It sucks hugely that you're not going to get as much cover as you need in terms of pay out :( But if it helps, I'd recommend these brokers for future coverage for anyone in Australia.