[aslyfox]

Just something you may want to consider before you make your trip, it may make your return home easier!
Register whatever equipment you are taking before you go!

Registering equipment, computer, camera, laptops, etc. prior to traveling

not sure how this helps the OP who is in Britain, not the US but I will certainly look further into it before I take my photography equipment outside of the US next time

here is a link to a page which determines state by state the location of the appropriate office for each state

Locate a Port of Entry | U.S. Customs and Border Protection

You can register any goods with serial numbers at your local Customs and Border Protection (CBP) port of entry

I hope I can go to the one in Kansas City Missouri which is closer to me than the one in Wichita Kansas

[dave2k]

I love convertibles but I won't rent one when I'm on vacation with my photo equipment even though I have an insurance policy for the gear. I pay a lot to travel to scenery and if I lose my equipment half way through the trip I'm losing some of the benefit of the travel (but not all, any vacation is good). The 24-70 should be great for your trip along with a few other lenses. Renting the 15-30 might be a good idea if you don't mind the size and weight. It's a great lens. It's interesting to hear that the 12-24 is as useful as stated on FF and this lens has pretty high ratings, although most of them are probably not based on FF use. I normally travel with the 15-30, 24-70, 60-250 and the 28-105 for small and light when needed. Your 70-200 would make a good substitute for the 60-250. I have an APS-C 8mm fisheye and I don't think I've ever used it on the K-1 except for testing. I doubt you need anything wider than what you have planned, especially since you combine shots sometimes. Have a great trip!

[C_Jones]

The 24-70 and 80-400 would be good for most landscape (24-70) and getting some wildlife shots (80-400). The only other option that might be desirable in some landscape/cityscape instances would be something like the 15-30 where you are sometimes in locations that require the ultra-wide to capture the subject as a whole.

Have a nice vacation/trip.

[Fcsnt54]

OK guys and gals,

We're taking a trip fo a lifetime down the Pacific coast highway during the last two weeks in March. Booked an open top Mustang, planning to do 3 days in SFO and then gradually make our way to San Diego with a 2-3 day detour into Yosemite.

I'm a Brit and will be shooting with the K1. Lenses I have include:

Samyang 8mm fisheye
Pentax 12-24mm f4.0 (Usable at 17/18-24mm on K1 FF)
Pentax 24-70mm D-FA 2.8
Pentax 77mm Limited
Pentax 100mm Macro
Tamron 80-200mm f2.8
Tokina 80-400mm f4.5-5.6

Current plan is to take the:
Pentax 12-24mm, 24-70mm

Not sure whether to take the:
8mm fisheye or the 70-200mm f2.8 Tamron.

Finally the lens I really want is the Pentax 15-30mm F2.8 but given the cost of the holiday I'm hoping I can manage with the 12-24mm f4.0. Any thoughts on whether it really is worth the £1450 extra cost for the extra 2-3mm at the wide end??? Will I really lose much especially in Yosemite by not having it?? I'm aware that this might be the only time I ever get to go there so I'd really like to make the most of it.

Would a fisheye be very useful?

I do sometimes shoot panoramas quite successfully and merge in Lightroom

Grateful for any advice from those who've shot these areas - golden gate bridge, Marin county, Yosemite, coastal highway etc.

Kind regards,

Jonlg

I live in the area that you are travelling to, and go to yosemite and southern california quite regularly. Hopefully you will have plenty of time with all the spots that you have mentioned saying california in general is a larger place then what most people realize. I think there have been many great suggestions so far. The 24-70 is a must, id also bring the 70-200. I know a good number of people are saying do not bring the fisheye, but there are some situations where you might use it. There are some museums/architecture shots in san francisco that it will be quite usefull, along with maybe some other stops along the way down the coast. In general, yosemite is not a place where a fisheye is all that useful though. The 24-70 should work for most scenes: golden gate bridge, san francisco, yosemite tunnel view, yosemite falls, hearst castle, big sur, etc. the 70-200 will be also quite useful in the same reguards as well.

[SharkyCA]

not sure how this helps the OP who is in Britain, not the US but I will certainly look further into it before I take my photography equipment outside of the US next time

here is a link to a page which determines state by state the location of the appropriate office for each state

Locate a Port of Entry | U.S. Customs and Border Protection

You can register any goods with serial numbers at your local Customs and Border Protection (CBP) port of entry

I hope I can go to the one in Kansas City Missouri which is closer to me than the one in Wichita Kansas

Travelling from Britain to the US he will still have to go through "International Customs" either in Britain or when he lands in the US.Pre registering goods you are travelling with can solve a lot of "QUESTIONS" at the border.
Added: especially when returning home, being able to document the goods were not purchased out of your home country, clearing customs on return is easier.

[aslyfox]

Travelling from Britain to the US he will still have to go through "International Customs" either in Britain or when he lands in the US.Pre registering goods you are travelling with can solve a lot of "QUESTIONS" at the border.

but where can he register the items in Britain

I read the info as requiring the items to be registered here in the US

If I misread it, I agree with you 100 %

_____________________

another thought about possibly renting equipment

would renting the HD Pentax-DA 1.4x AW AF Rear Converter be of interest and useful to the OP?

[jumbleview]

Will not advice regarding lens. But while in San Francisco please do not use short names "Frisco" or "San Fran". But "SF" is OK. And if locals tell you "The City", you should know they have San Francisco in mind. I highly recommend Point Reyes lighthouse. Nice place to see and shoot (but that will take time - at least half of day). If you do not have such a time allow couple hours to visit Berkeley Marina. You can see both bridges from there.

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Last edited by jumbleview; 03-06-2018 at 07:23 PM.

[SpecialK]

I would contact the CHP (California Highway Patrol) a few days ahead to make sure the coastal road Highway 1 is open. Occasional landslides happen, and there are only a few detours possible. With that out of the way, I would recommend bringing the couple widest lenses you have, and a 70-200 or thereabouts.

These are all on APS-C, so you have to do the math for comparison.

Palace of Fine Arts, The Presidio, San Francisco. 18mm.


Coit tower. 23mm.


Skyline from Coit tower. 70mm.


Alcatraz from Coit tower. 200mm.


From Ft Baker. 40mm.


Pigeon Pt rocks. 24mm


Pigeon Pt lighthouse. 12mm


Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Beach. 24mm.


70 mm.


San Simeon (Hearst castle). 70mm.


Hearst castle. FE 10-17 at 10mm.


FE 10-17 at 17mm.


FE 10-17 at 10mm.


150mm.


Shell Beach. 70mm.


10-17 FE at 17mm.


Getty Center.
50mm.

80mm.


FE 10-17 at 17mm.


12mm.


Getty Villa (Pacific Palisades).
FE 10-17 at 10mm.

15mm.

15mm.


1300 block of Carroll Av near Dodger stadium is a historic landmark lined with Victorian houses. Here is the Michael Jackson "Thriller" house, and the house from TV's Charmed. 17mm TS.




Griffith observatory.
210mm.

15mm.

21mm.

40mm.


Disney concert hall. 17mm (on FF).


Pershing square LA, 12mm.


LA County Museum of Art (LACMA). Next door is La Brea tar pits, and Petersen auto museum.
30mm.

15mm.




Pt Loma (San Diego).
70mm.

FE 10-17 at 13mm.

FE 10-17 at 17mm.

FE 10-17 at 15mm.


Coronado (San Diego).
12mm.

12mm.

24mm.


San Diego maritime museum. 31mm.


USS Midway (San Diego).
24mm.

FE 10-17 at 17mm.


Greatest Generation, San Diego.
29mm.

FE 10-17 at 17mm.

12mm.

24mm.

[Kozlok]

Maybe get good at stitching panoramas and not carry the 15-30?

[Outis]

FWIW, I'm in the middle of a similar trip. So far, I'd estimate my lens usage to be about 60% 20-40mm Limtied, 25% 77mm Limited, and the rest divided between the 15mm Limited and the 8mm Samyang fisheye. The 55-300 comes out occasionally for wildlife. In the past I've used the 15mm Limited way more, but I seem to be on a telephoto kick at the moment.

[MichaelaPDX]

You have plenty of camera gear recommendations so allow me to give you a tip on some fantastic barbecue. The Gorilla BBQ on Hwy 1 just south of San Francisco offers some fantastic BBQ. You order out of an old caboose on the side of the highway in Pacifica. You'll love it for the food and the unique setting.

Also Ansel Adams' house where he had his darkroom is off of Hwy 1 just south of Carmel. It's a private residence still in the Adams family so you can't visit but I did enjoy driving by just for the connection to his photography.

[Sandy Hancock]

Just get the damn 15-30. You know you want to

Seriously, the 24-70 is a no-brainer, and if you can justify the size and weight so is the 70-200; the Tamron is relatively small and light.

But I'm sure you'll occasionally want something wider. If it were me, a lens described as "usable" would not cut it for such a momentous trip - I'd rather stitch the short end of the DFA24-70.

Am I correct in assuming the Samyang fisheye is a crop lens too? Selling it and the DA12-24 might soften the financial blow of the DFA15-30. The other alternative might be a second hand FA20 or FA20-35, but they are hard to find and still not cheap. The IQ from both is very good, especially the prime, and they are very compact.

Oh yeah. Make sure you pack a good tripod. And get out of bed early.

[Fcsnt54]

San fran is acceptable, locals will also use the city to describe it as well. San francsisco bay area traffic is somethig that has its moments and i would adjust around those times if driving during the week. General times are between 5-9 am and 230-730 pm local time in san francisco. If wanting to see the golden gate bridge i would recommend to see it during sunset to get more of the bright golden red color, can especially nice as they start turning on the lights. Also sausalito is a nice place to visit for food, thats if you drive north across the golden gate from san francisco.

You can get a great skyline shot of san francisco from treasure island and get a picture of its other iconic bridge, the bay bridge.

[lsimpkins]

I would contact the CHP (California Highway Patrol) a few days ahead to make sure the coastal road Highway 1 is open. Occasional landslides happen, and there are only a few detours possible. With that out of the way, I would recommend bringing the couple widest lenses you have, and a 70-200 or thereabouts.

The Caltrans website should be helpful in planning your route down the PCH - sections at this point closed for landslide removal. Current Conditions

[SteveinSLC]

Doesn't the 12-24 vignette on FF? Which sort of defeats the purpose of having a wide angle for landscapes.
This probably involves more transactions than you want, but I'd be tempted to sell the 12-24 and 24-70 and get a 15-30 and 28-105. That combo works great for me for travelling and photography in the Western US. The quality of the 28-105 is great and it's significantly smaller and lighter than the 24-70.