Wow, I forgot about this thread for a few days, and I come back to responses, hehe.
Appears there's some curiosity about my trip, so some details: Right now my trip is going to be ~2 weeks in China in early April -- along the Great Wall -- and 2 or 3 months after that touring various places.
I'll be travelling pretty light; I'll have
this pack -- yeah, it looks like an expensive pack, so that worries me a little too. Stuffed in it will be the normal semi-roughing-it essentials, along with a notepad+pen, Eee PC, and K10d. Might take my UltraPod as well, but I don't think it'll deal with that body+lens combination very well.
I'm only taking the 16-50 with me. I considered bringing the Sigma 10-20 and Tamron 90mm macro as well, but so far I think I'd rather concentrate on the journey rather than photography this time -- it's a soul-seeking kind of trip
Hannican:
That's great to hear, thanks. I keep hearing things to the same effect, but I'm kind of a paranoid traveler and need to be reminded often
There's no set plan yet, but the list of "wants" so far are: China, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Japan. That list will have to get trimmed down... just have to figure out which ones. Mongolia's a maybe as well. If I get really crazy, I may even give in and pop over to India for another month or two.
Kranrev and Torphoto:
The camera bag I have is a small LowePro AW -- just big enough to hold the K10D with 16-50 attached, and some extras -- SD cards, extra battery, and lenspen. I'm going to take my Canon P&S as well, so some days I'll probably have to just wrap the K10D in dirty clothes and stuff it in my pack or find somewhere secure to keep it.
When I do go out with the K10D, it'll be on a neckstrap around my neck, or strapped to my hand. When I'm chugging along a road or trail on foot, it will probably be hanging around my neck or stuffed in the pack.
rfortson:
Thanks. I'm pretty geeky, so it's tough for me not to get caught up in the numbers and constant scrutiny of my purchases. I guess the justification is, if I know my gear is good, then I have eliminated all of those variables of error. So, the poor results I get can only be blamed on me.
Or the corollary; if I can convince myself there's something wrong with my gear, then the poor results aren't my fault
The fair argument is that we deserve an "as promised" product for our hard-earned cash, but I do get carried away sometimes. Either way, I'm happy with the copy I have.