[grispie]

So i am travelling to australia westcoast & i'm taking with me:

K3 +FA31
K20+DA15
+ 55-300
+ m85 or da70 or m135?
very small travel tripod

I'm thinking of trying out some long exposure shots:
for the FA31 i have a 0.9nd filter and a polarizer (about 2stops i guess).
Will that do to bring the light down in daylight?

For the DA15, what nd filter would you recommend. 0.3, 0.6,..? Guess I need to stick to 49diameter (stepup rings will start to cause vignetting (noticed that while trying out a 52diam. circ. polarizer...)

anyting else you'd recommend taking? besides sd cards & batteries;-)
thks

[Megapixelmk]

I understand a 0.9 nd filter to be only 3 stops worth and a 0.6 only 2 stops. I wouldn't think that that would be nearly enough in the bright Australian sun. I regularly shoot with a 10 stop filter, and sometimes stack on my 3 or 6 stop filters for extra long exposures.
I guess it depends on how long you want your exposures to be. Get an nd400 filter to cover most needs. Hoya is reliable and not expensive

[Grimmus]

Have a good think about the light weight tripod, it blows hard for a lot of the year on the coast in West Oz....and if long exposures are on the agenda, heavy might be your mate.

Usually get about 30 seconds exposure in daytime sunlight, at f8, ISO100 with a 10 stop ND if that helps your planning.

[grispie]

ok,
i know what to get now. Hoya is indeed quite affordable..
I'll order a 10stop nd in addition for my 3stop that i already have for the fa31 and i'll order a separate 49mm 10stop nd for my DA15...

I know about the tripod, but the way i am travelling really does not allow for a heavier tripod. Guess i'll have to see what comes along :-)
It has a hook to put some weight on though (aka my backpack..)
thnks for the advice !

[tim60]

When are you travelling. If soon it is winter, so the light is not so extremely harsh as in summer. Shadows should be more pleasant now than January. The lighter tripod might work if you use it with the legs in the short setting, like packed, not fully extended.

[grispie]

travelling in less than two weeks ;-)

[tim60]

The light will be a bit less extreme. Especially in summer we get very hard shadows.

[southlander]

Won't have the afternoon seabreeze blowing in the winter so away from stormy periods the winds should be fairly light.

Taken with my Cullman Nanomax 260 travel tripod in July/August a couple of years back at dusk on the coast at Mandurah which is about 100km south of Perth.



This particular evening was reasonable mild on the wind front, the prior day though had 45 knot squalls coming in off the sea.

July and August light is quite nice. Bright enough to bring out colours but not harsh.

[grispie]

Nice picture. Nice light.
Looking at it, I think i will buy extra filters only for my da15 since i will use that lens only for long exposures.
Guess i will be better off buying a 10stop and an additional 3stop..
I noticed the 3stop on my fa31 alone does not even give me a second in sunny daylight over here...:-)

[grispie]

what a country :-)
the light was not too harsh indeed (except at noon..) and very nice. first time i saw that yellowish glow as in the picture above.
the long exposures were a bit of a trial and error thing. sometimes indeed the wind was a bit too much for the tripod. others came out fine, hiding myself a bit from the wind.
Most importantly i learned a lot...

I'll post some of the shots later on..

[gmans]

what a country :-)
the light was not too harsh indeed (except at noon..) and very nice. first time i saw that yellowish glow as in the picture above.
the long exposures were a bit of a trial and error thing. sometimes indeed the wind was a bit too much for the tripod. others came out fine, hiding myself a bit from the wind.
Most importantly i learned a lot...

I'll post some of the shots later on..

Don't wait too long to post, very interested in your take on the west OZ adventure.

[rod_grant]

what a country :-)

Ah, you only went to the west?
You ain't seen the country!

[grispie]

the rest of the country is for next time :-)

[CP140]

We visited Australia (Sydney, Cairns, Yulara) in early 2013... and we're going back next year. We've just booked the Four Day "Ghan" for October 2016.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/cp140/albums/72157632891207551

[southlander]

We visited Australia (Sydney, Cairns, Yulara) in early 2013... and we're going back next year. We've just booked the Four Day "Ghan" for October 2016.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/cp140/albums/72157632891207551

Is the Four Day Ghan the southbound trip from Darwin to Adelaide? If you have a bit of time in Adelaide after the train ride, you're welcome to PM me and share a beer or two. I see you have already discovered the James Squire Chancer.

Looking at your Flickr album, your 2013 trip certainly covered a bit of ground! I'm still to get to the Red Centre myself although I recognise most of the other places.

I might be up your way (more or less) in early October, basing a weekend in or about Seattle during a round the world business trip. Depending on a few things, I hope either to spend the weekend over in Montana or alternately I'll head to Victoria on Vancouver Island. Anything a keen photographer should look for in and about Victoria? If I head out there, I'll likely take the float plane from Lake Union.