Vacation Equipment Quandry

[chris77]

I would be very grateful for any advice on the following question: How much equipment should I bring on a sixteen night vacation to Hawaii? I am a serious amateur photographer, but only as a hobby and not by trade. I will be traveling to Hawaii with my lovely wife and am very excited about the multitude of great photo opportunities. I was thinking of bringing my Canon 5D and also Canon 1D Mark II N, with three lenses (16-35mm zoom, 24-70mm zoom, and 100-400mm zoom), which I think would cover landscape shots, portrait shots, and close nature shots). Other than a tripod and the typical accessories (polarizing filter, extra memory and batteries, etc.), I was not planning on bringing anything else. My questions are:

1. Is it overkill to bring my two bodies? I like the idea of not having to change lenses too often, but don't want to carry too much if not necessary.

2. Am I bringing the right lenses? I also have the 70-200mm zoom, and 35mm and 135mm primes, which I was not planning on bringing with me.

3. I plan to pack all my equipment in an extra large Tamrac shoulder bag, so I will not have a smaller bag to carry my camera when walking around. My thought is that I can just carry my camera on a strap around my neck and keep a plastic bag with me to cover it in case it starts to rain or to shield from dust, etc. Would anyone advise against this or have a better suggestion?

Thank you in advance for all your advice - it would be extremely helpful to get your thoughts. Chris

[boku]

I would be very grateful for any advice on the following question: How much equipment should I bring on a sixteen night vacation to Hawaii? I am a serious amateur photographer, but only as a hobby and not by trade. I will be traveling to Hawaii with my lovely wife and am very excited about the multitude of great photo opportunities. I was thinking of bringing my Canon 5D and also Canon 1D Mark II N, with three lenses (16-35mm zoom, 24-70mm zoom, and 100-400mm zoom), which I think would cover landscape shots, portrait shots, and close nature shots). Other than a tripod and the typical accessories (polarizing filter, extra memory and batteries, etc.), I was not planning on bringing anything else. My questions are:

1. Is it overkill to bring my two bodies? I like the idea of not having to change lenses too often, but don't want to carry too much if not necessary.

2. Am I bringing the right lenses? I also have the 70-200mm zoom, and 35mm and 135mm primes, which I was not planning on bringing with me.

3. I plan to pack all my equipment in an extra large Tamrac shoulder bag, so I will not have a smaller bag to carry my camera when walking around. My thought is that I can just carry my camera on a strap around my neck and keep a plastic bag with me to cover it in case it starts to rain or to shield from dust, etc. Would anyone advise against this or have a better suggestion?

Thank you in advance for all your advice - it would be extremely helpful to get your thoughts. Chris
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=92627\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Chris - you are thoroughly equipped there! For me, I would travel light as possible. I would just go with one body, the 5D, the 16-35, the 24-70, and another lens you don't "yet" own. The little 70-300 DO IS is a traveller's jewel. All of this would fit into a small LowePro Mini Trekker with room to spare.

Fear not: Change lenses as needed and carry a Visible Dust Arctic Butterfly for occasional touch-ups.

I would also stock up on CF cards and bring a backup device like an Epson P-5000. (I'm talking enough memory cards so they never have to be erased to make room.) For me that would mean about ( to (10) 4GB cards.

Make sure your tripod is up to the task - rigid, packable, carry-able.

Less fussing around, great results, and a better experience for you lovely wife.

[stever]

if you've got room, i think your selection is excellent

i think the 100-400 is a must for Hawaii, you may catch the beginning of whale season on Maui (you don't say where you're going) and there will be lots of surf and kite-board action - the 'N crop is well suited to the 100-400 and you won't mind the extra speed over the 5D

i love the 70-300DO as a travel lens (with candid capability), but it suffers in comparison to the 100-400 at the long end - the situations you'll need a long lens for in Hawaii require a long lens of the highest quality you're willing to carry

my backup of choice is a laptop, with the p-5000 as a backup, but Hawaii is not India or Africa, you can get things fixed, buy memory cards, card readers, etc.

have a great time

[stever]

p.s. don't forget the flash for dancers at night and fill-flash occasions

i usually take a smaller bag(s) like a lowepro top-loader on a belt + pouch or lens cases for occasions that you don't need the whole kit

[RonBoyd]

The plastic bag is very good idea this time of year. The rain can be pretty intense in some places.

Hawaii has many wonderful trails for hiking. (A Google search on Hawaii +Hike will list a large number of suggestions.) Some of these trails are quite strenuos, however, -- meaning you won't want to load yourself down -- but, in any event, well worth the effort... photographically speaking. I found that a good monopod/walking stick was my most valuable piece of equipment when I was there last month. (A tripod is nice but think about the weight and awkwardness before you take off into the "jungle." The sides of those mountains are quite steep... up and down.)

Have fun,
Ron