A few thoughts about travelling with the 100D and 4 lenses.

[Alfisti]

Just got back fron near 3 weeks in Malta and Croatia, I thought i'd share a few things.

The Experience:

- I am happy at the recent "micro" announcements made by Oly, every pound and SqCM saved is much appreciated. With a full line up of pancakes you'd think pentax would offer a smaller/lighter body. I'd dead set kill for an APS e410 with a say 16 - 85 kick arse lens.

- Europeans don't give a rats arse about the camera. No funny looks, no winces, they just ignore it.

- I lack the testes to shoot really strong candids

- Most of the shooting was done in tight cities


The Camera:

- Again i'd kill for a smaller/lighter APS body. AA batteries are bastard too.

- The 100D was it's usual self, did the job solid enough but the read/write times for RAW and even the time it takes to review the images are just laughable and really do impact the ability to feel unencumbered by the camera.

- AF surprisingly was a non-issue 99.99% of the time.


The Bag:

Tamrac Express 7 in the khaki colour is just bloody brilliant. It looks the part too so you never feel like a camera nerd, small enough to be out of the way but big enough to carry gear and inhalers/wallet etc etc ... just agreat travel bag.


The Lenses:

- Started with the plan to walk about with the 12-24, 77 and the 50-200 ... this changed in the first 2 minutes. The 18-250 is "good enough" to cover the 50-200.

- A really great say 16-100 would be bloody fantastic but the distortion at the wide end needs to be controlled.


12-24

- Optically fantastic, sharp at f/4 even. Smaller than you'd think but the massive hood means it catches everything in your bag.

- A god-send inside churches and the like but way too wide to "walk around with".

- MUCH tougher to land a decent image than I expected, if you don't NAIL the vertical/horizonal and fore/aft of the image it's a freaking disaster. I got it right once, just once in 3 friggin weeks. Jesus.

- Hood is very easy/fast to put on.


18-250:

- Was used more than I intended. The 12-24 was far too wide too often so I found that I used the 18-250 more than I expected. The 50-200 was not used once! The 18-250 is at it's best from 25-130mm and this just happens to be where i use it most for Euro cities.

- The 150-250mm range was rarely used

- The hood is a disaster. It's an utter BITCH to put on normally yet it falls off in a heartbeat. Then to top it off it's just an absolute JOKE to put on the hood backwards for storage. It just REFUSES to bite unless you nail the spot, I just HATED using the lens with fervent passion but I had no choice.

The full 18-250 gripe sheet ........

- Lens hood a bitch to put on
- A double bitch to put on backwards
- Hood falls off easily
- Hood is visible in many 18mm images at the top right corner
- Severe distortion at wide angle
- Distortion continues well past 30mm
- Zoom creep
- Handles bright roll off areas poorly (overexpose at your peril)

The good .....

- Sharper than it has a right to be
- From 25 to 130mm it's a very solid performer, better than the kit lens anyway and almost as god as the 50-200
- Useful focal length if a little more than it needs to be


77 ltd

- Was used regularly, especially at night. It's so unobtrusive that it is a joy to use, i just hate the bulk of the zooms after using the 77.

- Optics are awesome except pfing wid eopen

- AF is joke for a $700 lens, absolute joke.

Anywho, here's the first image

Taken on the main street of Zagreb.

[Lance B]

Great report, Alfisti.

On my trip to Europe 2 years ago, I alternated between my DA16-45 f4 and my FA*28-70 f2.8 and used both these lenses for 90% of my shots. I used the DS14 about 5% of the time and the FA135 f2.8 for about the othe 5%..

I can see why the DA18-250 would be used so much. :-)

[Jonson PL]

Maybe you brought too many lenses, if you wanted to go extreme light-weight.
The Samsung upcoming small system is gonna be interesting though, with still big sensor.

[Alfisti]

Originally Posted by Lance B

Great report, Alfisti.

On my trip to Europe 2 years ago, I alternated between my DA16-45 f4 and my FA*28-70 f2.8 and used both these lenses for 90% of my shots. I used the DS14 about 5% of the time and the FA135 f2.8 for about the othe 5%..

I can see why the DA18-250 would be used so much. :-)

Yeah the poor 50-200 sat in my suitcase for 3 weeks It's a better lens but not "better enough" to justify carrying it.

The 12-24 indoors was just fab, I mean without it i miss a lot of "wow".

[Alfisti]

Taking and carrying are two different things

I usually carried just 2 lenses based on what I needed for that day. i.e if visiting a church I carry the 12-24, if not i carry the 77ltd.

Originally Posted by Jonson PL

Maybe you brought too many lenses, if you wanted to go extreme light-weight.
The Samsung upcoming small system is gonna be interesting though, with still big sensor.

[rfortson]

Is your 18-250 hood damaged? I never have any problems with mine, but my 50-135 hood was very slightly damaged in transit and as a result, it doesn't securely "click" on, so it's prone to fall off.

The only thing I miss about my Tamron 18-250 hood is the little tab/cut out that Pentax uses so I can use a CP. I bought one for my 18-250 but never could use it because I couldn't get my fingers around the hood to adjust the CP. I don't like to go without a hood, so I ditched the CP.

Nice report. Your comments about lugging stuff around is the reason I travel with just the 18-250. Even though it has some limitations, I'm still the limiting factor in my camera system.

[Alfisti]

Originally Posted by rfortson

Nice report. Your comments about lugging stuff around is the reason I travel with just the 18-250. Even though it has some limitations, I'm still the limiting factor in my camera system.

TBH the bag wa sso good that carting it about was not a big hassle but changing lenses mid walk is awkward.

I needed the 12-24 and the 77 was just fun at night, such a joy to use.

Here is another, this one from Dubrovnik, 12-24 Q 24mm.

[k100d]

hey dave, was looking forward to seeing your results.
slightly disappointed you didn't go the all prime route but so far the pics look good.

- Again i'd kill for a smaller/lighter APS body. AA batteries are bastard too.

- The 100D was it's usual self, did the job solid enough but the read/write times for RAW and even the time it takes to review the images are just laughable and really do impact the ability to feel unencumbered by the camera.

- AF surprisingly was a non-issue 99.99% of the time.

K100D isn't small enough? it doesn't get much smaller without being uncomfortable. AA batteries are awesome, i don't have to worry about charger failures. but i agree the RW times are brutal, the worst is that i can't do anything else w/ the camera while it's writing. i hope the K20D is faster. on my trip i found AF for leisure photography is not an issue.

re 12-24
interested in seeing what photos you took with the 12-24 @12mm. can you show some examples of these disasters? i was looking into UWA rangefinder lenses and it seems getting the right level is key

re 18-250
seems like the reputation this lens for IQ is deserved. too bad pentax don't have anything like Canon's 28-105mm f4

77 ltd

- Was used regularly, especially at night. It's so unobtrusive that it is a joy to use, i just hate the bulk of the zooms after using the 77.

- Optics are awesome except pfing wid eopen

- AF is joke for a $700 lens, absolute joke.

Anywho, here's the first image

Taken on the main street of Zagreb.

i found PF wasn't toooo bad if you don't check for it at 100%. the FA77 is great walkaround lens if you want to isolate a particular detail. AF isn't THAT bad if you're not constantly going from MFD to Infinity. however, it does seem a bit slow to lock on in low light

[Slick]

I've been working in Europe for almost 3 months now and brought the K10D and 5 lenses. I brought the FA50, DA40, 18-250, Kiron 105 Macro, and Sigma 70-300. I carry everything in a Tamarac Pro 12 bag which I really like as a travel bag.

I never used the 70-300 so that was a waste.

The 18-250 is a great walk around lens. Other than macros this , I used this lens probably 90% of the time. I usually had the 18-250 on the camera and the DA40 in my pocket in case I needed it for low light situations like inside cathedrals. My only complaint is the long end. It's not horrible by any means, I just wanted better.

I should pick up something wider and fast too but I haven't yet.

My next trip I'll have the 18-250, 40, maybe the 50, the Kiron macro, and a Sigma 100-300 f4 I just ordered.

The Tamarac Pro 12 isn't a great walk around bag as it's pretty big. I did use it on my last vacation to Italy and it got heavy pretty quick with everything in it. I'd like to find some kind of a collapsible bag I can throw in my suitcase to use as a walk around bag. Something to carry the camera, a couple lenses and a few odds and ends. I have a vest I bought but never use it.

[Alfisti]

I will reply to the above posts when i get to work, in the meantime, here is another.

Traditional Maltese fishing boat in the village of Marsaxlokk (Mar-sha-shlock).

18-250mm, 250mm @ f/9

[Alfisti]

Originally Posted by k100d

slightly disappointed you didn't go the all prime route but so far the pics look good.

K100D isn't small enough? it doesn't get much smaller without being uncomfortable. AA batteries are awesome, i don't have to worry about charger failures. but i agree the RW times are brutal, the worst is that i can't do anything else w/ the camera while it's writing. i hope the K20D is faster. on my trip i found AF for leisure photography is not an issue.

re 12-24
interested in seeing what photos you took with the 12-24 @12mm. can you show some examples of these disasters? i was looking into UWA rangefinder lenses and it seems getting the right level is key

re 18-250
seems like the reputation this lens for IQ is deserved. too bad pentax don't have anything like Canon's 28-105mm f4

i found PF wasn't toooo bad if you don't check for it at 100%. the FA77 is great walkaround lens if you want to isolate a particular detail. AF isn't THAT bad if you're not constantly going from MFD to Infinity. however, it does seem a bit slow to lock on in low light

I would have used primes but this is a vacation first and opportunity for photos second. I tried to make the camera as invisible as possible, i.e not have the wife waiting while I change lenses.

Yeah K100D too big, something like the e420 would be ideal but maybe with a little larger grip.

AA's are heavy, slow to change and just a right pain in the neck. My P+S uses LIon and I charged it once the whole dang trip, the battery is so easy to work with.

The 18-250 does it's job but it does seem to produce "glary" images that need to have their mid tones blocked up a little. i.e. in levels I pull the middle slider to the right all the time.

A 24-105 is really an APS 16-85 so yeah, something like Nikon's version would be ideal. I still feel I need the 12-24 though because the lenses that start at 17mm have severe distortion at 17mm whereas the 12-24 is in it's sweet spot.

The PF of the 77 is so easy to fix, I paid $10 for the Steven's plug in and it's just freaking awesome. It's a $700 lens though so it needs to be marked hard IMHO. I just loved using it though, i felt free and liberated.

I'll post some 12mm images tonight, I just suck at it, mind you I am convinced that my camera has a twisted sensor.

[Alfisti]

Man you can carry some stuff. The 100D, spare batteries, 18-250 and 12-24 were too much for my liking. The 77 instead of the 12-24 was better obviously but if i was on my own i'd onsider the 100D, 77, 43 and 21ltd's with the 12-24 if I was venturing indoors.

That kit weighs bugger all.

Originally Posted by Slick

My next trip I'll have the 18-250, 40, maybe the 50, the Kiron macro, and a Sigma 100-300 f4 I just ordered.

The Tamarac Pro 12 isn't a great walk around bag as it's pretty big. I did use it on my last vacation to Italy and it got heavy pretty quick with everything in it. I'd like to find some kind of a collapsible bag I can throw in my suitcase to use as a walk around bag. Something to carry the camera, a couple lenses and a few odds and ends. I have a vest I bought but never use it.

[ftpaddict]

Originally Posted by Alfisti

Europeans don't give a rats arse about the camera. No funny looks, no winces, they just ignore it.

You talk as if we were a race of unwashed dirt-chewers.

[Alfisti]

Originally Posted by ftpaddict

You talk as if we were a race of unwashed dirt-chewers.

Nah you're just sensible, over here you get odd looks in public places with a "big" camera.

Mind you your road habits are atrocious, both drivers and pedestrians

[ftpaddict]

Originally Posted by Alfisti

Mind you your road habits are atrocious, both drivers and pedestrians

I beg your pardon!? I've only gotten one speeding ticket so far. And it was out of town in a completely barren place.

And I only jaywalk when the roads are empty.


PS: You haven't been to Romania, have you?