[blacknosugar]

LOL. My travel gear from last year!
Basically it's three kits in one.

It's a Zoom, Prime and video kit.

•Pentax K5 - two bodies
•Pentax DA 10-17mm Fisheye f/3.5-4.5
•Pentax DA 12-24mm f/4
•Pentax DA* 16-50mm f/2.8
•Pentax FA* 28-70mm f/2.8
•Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8
•Sigma 50-500mm f/4.5-6.3
•Pentax FA* 24mm f/2.0
•Pentax FA Limited 31mm f/1.8
•Pentax FA Limited 43mm f/1.9
•Pentax FA Limited 77mm f/1.8
•Pentax SMC 85mm Soft f/2.2
•Pentax AF540FGZ - two flashes and various flash cords.
•Cactus V5 - 4 flash modules with remote cords.
•Pentax O-GPS-1
•Pentax Refconverter-A
•Pentax IR remote
•Pentax CS-205 remote
•Tamrac Expedition 6 pack
•Tamrac belt system and bags
•Think Tank Digital Holster 40 V2.0
•Think Tank Hubba Hubba Hiney
•Think Tank Airport Security V2.0
•Zoom H2N audio recorder
•Manfrotto 3021Pro/055Pro/0B13 tripod
•Manfrotto 555B leveling post
•Manfrotto 3001Pro tripod with leveling post
•Manfrotto 484RC2 head
•Manfrotto 128RC video head
•Manfrotto 680 Monopod
•ProMediaGear Katana Gimbal head
•Joby Gorillapod SLR-Zoom flexible tripod
•IndiSystems Custom/prototype 24" slider
•Audio Technica Pro 24-CM microphone
•Walkstool XL

I now have the Sigma 85mm f1.4 and DA*50-135, so I will probably change things up a bit!
This year I also hope to pare this down quite a bit.

Uh... that's not 'travel', that's 'on location'!

[Gray]

I picked up a Nikon AW110 today, nothing like last minute GAS before a holiday

So I'm taking a K-5, Sony RX100 and this new camera for beach/kids. Should be covered for every eventuality.

Hi Twitch
Can I ask you, having used the the RX100 on holiday: can I leave my K-5/18-135WR at home and just take the RX100 as a substitute? (I don't anticipate shooting anything over 100mm).
Ta

[Lowell Goudge]

Travel kist depend on destination and purpose. For business I have gone through a ton of options over the years. The longest running "kit" was a Kodak DX7950 bridge camera 5MP with a 36-360mm (35mm equivalent) F2.8-3.6 lens. I combined this with a .5x wide angle adaptor, and a set of close up lenses. I have gone through a replacement phase and now use a Q with the 02 standard zoom, a Pentax Q/PK adaptor and an M135/3.5 (for birding). Light compact etc

For other travel I take only a fraction of total gear aimed at what I am doing
typically sigma 10-20, tamron 28-75 and sigma 70-200/2.8 plus 2x TC and 2 bodies

Incan add in any primes I wish, or I can go with legacy K lenses or M42 lenses and cover from 8-16mm at the wide end with fisheyes, and go to at least 300 on the long end with either kit.

Wat I take depends on how much time I dedicate to photography as opposed to vacation zooms when photography is in addition, primes when vacation

[mattb123]

I'm going to Australia in about 10 days for a three week trip. Most of the time will be in WA in and around Perth and South from there to Bunbury, and possibly a little North to some parks. Then we will be in Sydney for a few days at the end of the trip, also visiting family and also doing some touristy things.
The main purpose of the trip is to visit my extended family, many of whom have never met my son who is now 10.
But like I said we will also be tourists.

I'm still deciding what to take and wouldn't mind some input.
I think at a minimum I'll bring:

K-5
DA40
DA15
18-135
Black Rapid strap
General use backpack
Crumpler 4 Million Dollar Home shoulder bag
BeFree travel tripod
B+W 10 stop filter
3 K-5 batteries & charger & plug adapter
2 32GB SDHC cards
Olympus Tough TG-2 compact/waterproof camera
Dell Mini 9 laptop & external drive for communication and photo backup. It's really too slow for any real photo processing.

The other items I'm on the fence about are:
DA* 60-250 - love this lens but I think it's too big and heavy for this trip
DA L 55-300 - might be a substitute for the DA* for wildlife
M 100/4 macro - bugs, sea shore life
Vivitar 2x Macro TC (instead of the M100? - the DA40 works well on it)
Rokinon 8mm Fisheye
Tamron 28-75 for people/family shots
Sigma 530 Super flash for people/family shots
K-x body as backup

Thoughts?
Also if any of you Aussies have suggestions for shooting destinations I'd like to hear them.

[magkelly]

DSLR body, 28-105mm lens, 75-300 lens, maybe a fast 50mm (MF) tucked in a pocket. Memory cards, mini blower, lens cloth, batteries, charger. 2 t-shirts, one big enough to double as a nightgown. 2 pairs of socks, 4 pairs of underwear, 2 bras, 2 pairs of leggings, one pair of black tights, a colorful scarf. One black cotton shell top, a black cotton knit skirt, black Chinese flats to use as slippers and as evening shoes. Gallon baggie with medications, very basic makeup, tooth brush etc. On me jeans, black sneakers, a long sleeved t-shirt, a fleece hoodie jacket in black. A pair of junk earrings and a necklace for dress up when I need to.

Might add the laptop depending upon how long I am going to be away, but might not. Might just tuck in an MP3 player and a book tablet instead. But even with the laptop and an extra battery all this fits right into a small under seat carry on bag and a messenger bag that I use as my purse/camera bag. I don't travel with hardly anything. Almost anything I need I can buy there or wash there I don't bring. I always hit a local drug store and pick up small basics. Clothes-wise if I really need anything else there's always thrifts and I can just donate and dump it again when I leave. If it doesn't fit under the seat and all weigh less than 20lbs I don't take it. I could go to Europe for six months and that's still what I'd take pretty much. I hate schlepping across an airport or around a city with anything more than that and honestly I just don't need it anyway. I really don't.

[Mohawk]

After much trial and error I have come up with the following travel kit combos, depending on the trip:

Light: k-30, 12-24, 40, 70, mini-tripod (table top), small messenger bag. No laptop! Post processing done later.

Medium: k-5/k-30, 12-24, 40, 55, 50-135, Af540Z + mini-tripod, 2x cactus V5s, Honl 8in snoot, Trekpod, MS Surface Pro, medium messenger bag

Heavy: As needed, usually requires a roller bag.

All options include WG-3 GPS, CPLs, NDs and remote.

Last trip was with 'light' and my back (and wifey) was much happier. Could subsititute UWA zoom with the 15 but I find 15 just not wide enough in my travels. Found the 18-135 images unacceptable (for me) and hence sold it. With the 'light' kit I could walk around with the 12-24 attached most of the time and have the two primes ready when needed.

As for the 12-24, I find it one heck of a lens for off the hip and unusual angle shooting. And for the obligatory cheesy-family-with-point-of-interest-in-background shot. These are typically done with exposure bracketing (to bring out background detail, which are usually overexposed) as I don't lug a flash for this setup. Makes for an interesting photo journal!

Regards,
M

[twitch]

I'm going to Australia in about 10 days for a three week trip. Most of the time will be in WA in and around Perth and South from there to Bunbury, and possibly a little North to some parks. Then we will be in Sydney for a few days at the end of the trip, also visiting family and also doing some touristy things.
The main purpose of the trip is to visit my extended family, many of whom have never met my son who is now 10.
But like I said we will also be tourists.

I'm still deciding what to take and wouldn't mind some input.
I think at a minimum I'll bring:

K-5
DA40
DA15
18-135
Black Rapid strap
General use backpack
Crumpler 4 Million Dollar Home shoulder bag
BeFree travel tripod
B+W 10 stop filter
3 K-5 batteries & charger & plug adapter
2 32GB SDHC cards
Olympus Tough TG-2 compact/waterproof camera
Dell Mini 9 laptop & external drive for communication and photo backup. It's really too slow for any real photo processing.

Thoughts?
Also if any of you Aussies have suggestions for shooting destinations I'd like to hear them.

How about the O-GPS1 unit? I'd leave the DA40 at home personally.

Enjoy your trip

[mattb123]

How about the O-GPS1 unit? I'd leave the DA40 at home personally.

Enjoy your trip

Thanks!
Well since I don't have one of those I don't think I'll be bringing it!

I was thinking the 40 is so nice and small it would be good to walk around with the Just the 15/40 combo and the Crumpler shoulder bag or Black Rapid strap and one lens in my pocket.
Also my 10 stop filter is 49mm so if I want to shoot with that I need my DA15, DA40, A50, or M100. I wasn't planning on bringing the manual glass.

[redrockcoulee]

My kit depends on two things, one if I think I will see wildlife and two if my wife is coming with me. If she is with me there is no sense in me packing her macro lens or the Sigma 10-20. By myself without wildife expectations the K-r, perhaps the MZ7 or 5n, Sigma 10-20, 28 M2.8,35 2.4 Da 50 F1.7 and now the new to me DA70 2.4. I might add the 70-210F and all this fits into a Pentax sling bag. My larger kit sits in a Lowe Pro Sling Bag 302 and adds a Sigma 70-200 2.8 2XTC flash and maybe 17-28FE. I now have a Sirui tripod as well.

If travelling by car add a Hasselblad with 3 or 4 lenses and maybe a large format kit, and a 055 tripod, a 5&7 pinhole camera plus a and plus and more stuff I do not need

[redrockcoulee]

In response to a dream travel kit now that I have the DA70 I would like to get a DA15. Then for travelling light it will be the K-r and a Lowe Pro belt bag I bought for using a Fuji X100 that I borrowed when I went to Cuba. One lens on the camera and two lenses in the bag. It is a tight fit but it is big enough for any two of the 17-28 FE, FA70,F50 1.7 DA35 or M28. So the kit would be camera 15/35/70.

There are times you just do not want to be burdened with gear and other times when photography is the main reason for visiting a locality. The purpose of the trip oft times defines the amount of kit. Ten days ago I bought a Lowe Pro bag in almost mint condition that is perfect for a more compact Hasselblad kit so now I can choose with even that gear if I want a more minimum or all of my stuff for a trip.

On longer trips we take a Wolverine harddrive to backing up our images as well as batteries cards charger adapters and all the other stuff one needs.

[EarlVonTapia]

Going on a trip soon. I think I've solidified my travel kit. Here's what I got:

K-30
DA 15
DA 35 2.4
DA 18-250

Q
01 Prime
03 Fisheye

Batteries, tripod, filters, etc.

Things that did not make the cut:

Sigma 10-20 - It's just too chunky. I suspect there will be times when I will miss the 10mm, but I also feel that those times will be far outweighed by the times I curse having to lug it around.
Tamron 17-50 - In theory I could have just taken this lens and the DA 15 and been happy, but I opted for the DA 35 2.4 as my "normal" walkaround as it's lighter and more discrete.
DA* 50-135 - Too big.
DA 70 Ltd - I hardly use this as is. Best not to have to worry about it.
AF 540 FGZ - Only used for product shots.

The 18-250 almost didn't make the cut, but I felt that there would be times I curse myself for not having a telephoto, and it's really the only telephoto I have.

[cleffa]

This topic is always interesting, since I've just joined the Pentax DSLR family I have been contemplating this for quite some time .
I have the Q as well and I often argue if it's even necessary to bring a DSLR for travelling since the Q is so small and light but produces beautiful IQ, not pixel-peeping good as a K-5 or K-30 but excellent given the size. Of course this would have to depend on where you are going and who you are going with. I do not have the 02 zoom, only the 01 and 06 telephoto, so I am missing the wider focal lengths when it comes to the Q.

Here's what I came up with for my upcoming trip:
Camera bag:
Pentax K-5
Sigma 20/1.8 (primary, mounted most of the time)

Side pouch:
Pentax Q
01 prime (primary, mounted most of the time)
06 telephoto (for occasional telephoto shoots)

I have chosen the Sigma over the kit zoom 18-55 WR because it's faster and has shorter focus distance. Down side is it's bigger, heavier, not as versatile, and not WR. But it's just a short trip doing sight seeing and visiting museums and stuff so don't think the WR matters much.

I am actually arguing in my mind whether I should also bring a 50mm prime for the DSLR (my M 50/1.7). It's small and gives great IQ and out of focus rendering for portraiture. But it's a close focal length to the 06's 15mm range so I am not sure if I am over extending myself by bringing too many gears. Anyone think a fifty is pretty much a must for travelling unless you are on a business trip or something?

[mattb123]

Anyone think a fifty is pretty much a must for travelling unless you are on a business trip or something?

I prefer the DA 40. It's a little wider and a lot smaller. This probably depends on how you like to shoot too. I find 50 is often a little long for a sight seeing lens but that is also highly dependent on which sights.

[lesmore49]

Depends on the trip. I take a lot of day trips out to the countryside around my city...looking for landscapes and wildlife.

I take:

Bodies:

K-5, K10D, K-m.

Lenses:

Sigma 150-500, Pentax 55-300, Pentax 12-24, 10-17, 50 Macro.

Tripod- Leitz Tiltall

Monopod- Giotto.

I drive in my car and have all the equipment...set up, laying in open LowePro bags...but bags are seat belted it.

Fortunately I have a big Buick 6 passenger sedan...so have lot's of seat area for camera equipment.

[skunktail]

Ok, I'll bite,

Here's a list to give Lauren a run for her money.
Every year I go on a 2-3 week photography road trip, usually in January.
There's no gear restrictions and lets face it, I get excitable and like to keep my options open.
so here's the short list for my upcoming trip, subject to GAS induced improvements:

K5iis
K-01
SONY RX100

DA 18-135 WR
DA 12-24
TAMRON 17-50 f2.8
TAMRON 70-200 f2.8
FA 31 Limited
FA 77 Limited
F 50 f1.7
TAMRON 500mm mirror lens
TAMRON 90mm macro
ARAX 35mm tilt-shift

2x teleconverter
13 & 21 mm extension tubes
Mecablitz 52 AF-1 flash
Cheap Hotshoe mounted shotgun mic
Cable remote for K5
Cokin P filters:
1, 2 & 3 stop soft grads
1, 2 & 3 stop hard grads
2, 3, 5 & 10 stop solid ND's
Neutral polariser
Blue-gold polariser
77mm thin polariser
58mm polariser
3 spare batteries
Charger and cables
total of 72GB of memory cards
cleaning kit
Carbon fibre tripod with 3-way head
Aluminium travel tripod with mini ball head
F-stop Loka backpack (medium and large ICU's)

Ideally, I would like to add a 300mm prime and a 15 limited to this when I get some more money.
the worst part is, I usually use most of this stuff.