[Clarkey]

I agree Lowell, just depends to what FL you are wired.
I did several trips with a 21mm, 40mm, and a 50-200. But the 21mm was on the camera a lot of the time during the day, and I could have gone wider.

I supplemented earlier in the summer on a trip to Eastern Canada with the 55-300 instead of the 50-200, and the 15mm. The 55-300mm got used once. But I wasn't looking for wildlife shots. I used the 15mm a lot.

Back a few years, when shooting film, I took the 28-200mm and a 50 everywhere. I found that to be useful everywhere except inside buildings. So, thinking about it now, I would either take a 18-135, or a 17-70mm with me together with a wideish faster prime if I had only two lenses to take.

So we are back to the OP, current kit. The only advantage of the pentax gear is that you can shoot Jpg and have automatic CA and distortion correction.

Personally, the first time I travelled around the world I carried only a 35mm FL fixed lens point and shoot and used Kodak gold 200 film. And I got some shots that I still look at (I do have a good scanner ). Point being (IMHO), don't get too gear happy, and spend more on getting to places that have photographic value. And have a blast doing so. My 0.02c. Cheers.

[hcc]

Nice photo. Were you using a tripod?
Thanks,
Kent

Kent
No. I was hand-holding the K-7 and following the bore. It lasted about 20 s and the front advanced fairly rapidly. I was standing on rocks and mud (ie slippery footings).

As the process is very dynamic, I needed a fast shutter speed, hence a large aperture in the low light conditions. the Voigtlander Nokton did extremely well, and I am most please with the outcome.

[imaspy]

Hi everyone. I've necro'd this thread because my trip is now a mere 19 days away!! And since the start of this thread, I've ended up with some more gear (did somebody mention "LBA"!?).

So with that in mind, I would again like to ask your opinions

Available Lenses:
DA 12 - 24
DA35
FA50
Sigma 18-125
Tammy 70-300

Now, obviously I won't be taking the Tamron (would never ever need that much reach for a trip like this).

I love my DA 12-24 so that is a must have.
The Sigma, although relatively slow, does have quite a useful range on it.... but I might still be looking for excuses to get the Pentax 50-135 :P
And that leaves the two primes. Although the bag I have could easily accommodate both, I get the feeling I should only take one... even though I could still justify both :-/

So, with this new lineup, opinions?

Accessories are all good, a filter or two, lens pens, memory cards, and the like. I am tempted to use lithiums for the whole trip, simply because theyre light, readily available, and that I seem to get ~600 shots out of a set, which would mean I don't have the bulk of a charger (or the inconvenience of having to charge batteries anyway??). Thoughts?

It's all going into this Domke bag in olive - which I love - I should do a review on that bag! But point being, there is plenty of space for extra stuff in there.

Any suggestions/advice appreciated

[Lowell Goudge]

you've done well

I think the basic kit should be focused around the 12-24 and the 18-135.

that is all you "need" to cover touring through cities etc.

A little speed would be nice, and this is where you have a tough choice. I would consider the DA35/ although slower than the FA50 the focal length is more useful in my opinion.

The other option, but it is spending more money close to the trip, would to go extreme and get a fisheye I have the samyang 8mm fisheye, and you can do some very interesting shots with it,

On my next trip, to europe, I will again go with the sigma 10-20 and tamron 28-75 as the core of the arrangement. I always take 2 bodies, (K10 and K7) because i like having the spare, I have it, and i personally like the results of the tamron on my K10 over the Kz and similarly I like the results from the sigma on the K7 over the K10. Not sure it is just me, or there is something to this, but....

What I have not yet considered is any other lenses at this point, but I have the 3 current samyang lenses, 8mm fisheye, 14mmF2.8 and 85F1.4. I might take the 14 and 85mm on this trip as well, mostly for speed. If I take the 85 I will also take the 1.7x AF TC to give the option for medium telephoto, or take a 135 just to have.

but that's it 2 bodies, 4 lenses max, no flash.

I will, as always, take my GPS, because even though I am going somewhere I have already been numerous times, I like to know where I am, aand it is easy to post process and geotag the shots.

[imaspy]

A little speed would be nice, and this is where you have a tough choice. I would consider the DA35/ although slower than the FA50 the focal length is more useful in my opinion.

yeah good point, the 35 might be more useful than the 50..... and more fun for interesting closer / macro shots :P

just not sure how much i'd miss the speed of the 50..... hmmmm........

[abacus07]

yeah good point, the 35 might be more useful than the 50..... and more fun for interesting closer / macro shots :P

just not sure how much i'd miss the speed of the 50..... hmmmm........

With the iso capabilities of the K-x the speed of the 50 is less important. Especially if you can set up a small gorillapod or similar. The 50 is important if you want to take some outstanding portraits. And the 35 is great as a general use prime although I think you'll have the 12-24 on the camera most of the time. But if you like macro then the 35 is important.

I don't know what kind of trip you're going on, if you'll have time to change lenses or if you like to take portrait/macro/street shots. All 4 are great choices if they fit your style. My advice is to take what you enjoy using and have a great trip.

[kwetiaw]

i've used 18-250mm when travelling, street shooting. very handy, minimum lens changing activities, hence minimizing the dust from getting into the mirror and sensor.

[cats_five]

My advice is to stick with what you are used to using - your trip is nearly here, you don't have much time to learn about new kit.

Do take plenty of SD cards - they are not expensive - and remember that you can buy batteries in Germany! However AFAIK they are fussy about how you dispose of the old ones. If the Lithium energizer types give a good life in your camera that's what I'd use, rather than fiddling with the charger and an adapter.

Also remember that in the middle of the day the light will be distinctly unflattering by a large, but will you be able to get out early and late when it's more interesting? Also travelling with other people limits photography for me - and I found it tedious years ago accompanying a friend who was keener than me.

Finally, what bit of Germany are you going to? I have visited a friend who lives south of Darmstadt a few times, and in the end gave up taking pictures of quaint medieval walled towns as they started all looking the same! However lots of places have information plaques and I take photos of those as annotation. My favourite shot from Germany and the best by a long stretch:

[Frogfish]

Both of the zooms are musts and if you just plan to take 'tourist' shots then that's all you need. However if you are going to be in low light (and the Kx is NOT 'all you need')or want to be rather more artistic with low DoF shots of Parisian and Italian ladies, then the 50 is a must have. However the 30 is a great lens too.

I dont see the issue at all, the two primes take up less space than your wife's/GF's/BF's hairspray ! Take all 4 or you will regret it.

[cats_five]

Parisian and Italian women in Germany?

[Frogfish]

Parisian and Italian women in Germany?

Naturlich !

[bymy141]

Hi all

i'm heading off to europe next year (mainly germany). here is what i have so far:

- pentax k-x
- DA 35mm F2.8 ltd, and a Sig 18-125 F/3.8 - 5.6
- some lenspens and other small misc cleaning stuff
- cards, and 2 sets of rechargeables.
- i'm guessing that the da15 would be the next logical inclusion?
- i'm also considering a really slim notebook as well
- what kind of bag to take it all around? i've got a lowepro that is just camera + small accessories pouch

There has been a lot of good responses here already.
I travel a lot, living in Europe that includes Germany and German cities & landscapes.

I'd bring the 2 lenses: the Sig for general walking around, the 35mm f2.8 for indoor low light scenes.

What you need to understand about Europe is:

1) Inside cities you'll have limited distances towards buildings and objects. A very wide angle lens is very good to have. I'd go for a Sigma 10-20mm or a Pentax 12-24mm. It will realy help, also inside churches etc. The Pentax 10-17mm is a fish eye lens, not suited for architecture. You will use 10mm much more than 135mm.

2) Often light is low. Specially in old buildings & churches. Flash is often forbidden and/or not appreciated. A f2.8 lens is good to have. You could consider a Sigma 17-50mm f2.8 or the DA* 16-50mm. My "Europe walk around lens" is the DA*16-50mm....

3) You need to travel light. Visiting cities and landscapes means you'll be on your feet most of the days. Besides a good bag for your equipment, take comfortable & good shoes, and a small umbrella.

4) Public transportation is very good / cheap / well organized in most places, but pick pockets are all around. Take a bag that you can keep close, not too large, not something that attracts too much attention. Have a look at bags that are not specifically made for camera's. I use a Scubapro scuba regulator shoulder bag... It can hold: my camera, 1 extra lens, extra battery, extra card, water bottle, umbrella, thin jacket, Garmin Dakota GPS, apple + cookies.

5) Take a small computer. I use a Sony 11.1" older machine with an external small USB drive for storage backup. It runs a copy of Adobe's Lightroom 3.4. Netbooks (IMHO) do not have enough display resolution. Wifi is nice for comms to folks at home. We usually keep a web-album up-to-date to show family what we did etc.

I hope you have a good trip. Weather is northern Europe has been very bad and cold this summer. Southern part of Germany, France and the Mediterranean countries will be ok for the coming weeks.

- Bert

A few examples from Germany:

[imaspy]

Thanks cats_five, I agree, it'll be much easier to opt for lithiums instead of lugging around a charger (and waiting for batteries to charge!). Definitely doing that.

Bert, cheers for the reply. Is this one of those funny times in a forum where somebody has read the first post only and replied, ignoring the progress of the issue? Either way, I'm just going to make as few comments about your post:

1) Inside cities you'll have limited distances towards buildings and objects. A very wide angle lens is very good to have. I'd go for a Sigma 10-20mm or a Pentax 12-24mm. It will realy help, also inside churches etc. The Pentax 10-17mm is a fish eye lens, not suited for architecture. You will use 10mm much more than 135mm.

As listed in this thread, I became the proud (and very happy) owner of a DA12-24 since I made the first post

2) Often light is low. Specially in old buildings & churches. Flash is often forbidden and/or not appreciated. A f2.8 lens is good to have. You could consider a Sigma 17-50mm f2.8 or the DA* 16-50mm. My "Europe walk around lens" is the DA*16-50mm....

Also, I've since become the owner of an FA50, which, although a little long for all-encompassing interior shots, is still a nice fast lens and small enough to justify throwing in the bag!

3) You need to travel light. Visiting cities and landscapes means you'll be on your feet most of the days. Besides a good bag for your equipment, take comfortable & good shoes, and a small umbrella.

Ah, good plan with the "small umbrella" part. Hadn't thought of that one!

4) Public transportation is very good / cheap / well organized in most places, but pick pockets are all around. Take a bag that you can keep close, not too large, not something that attracts too much attention. Have a look at bags that are not specifically made for camera's. I use a Scubapro scuba regulator shoulder bag... It can hold: my camera, 1 extra lens, extra battery, extra card, water bottle, umbrella, thin jacket, Garmin Dakota GPS, apple + cookies.

Again, in this thread I have mentioned how I ended up with a Domke F-803 satchel bag, which to me just screamed "I'm not a camera bag. There is nothing of massive value in here. Clearly you should prey on someone else", whilst still being the perfect size for the amount of stuff I'd like to comfortably carry each day.

5) Take a small computer. I use a Sony 11.1" older machine with an external small USB drive for storage backup. It runs a copy of Adobe's Lightroom 3.4. Netbooks (IMHO) do not have enough display resolution. Wifi is nice for comms to folks at home. We usually keep a web-album up-to-date to show family what we did etc.

Ah - here's something I don't think I mentioned yet. I will be taking an 11" laptop also (with 8-10hr battery life) to dump my SD cards on to, do some basic post and email to friends and family on the go. Nice big HD.

I hope you have a good trip. Weather is northern Europe has been very bad and cold this summer. Southern part of Germany, France and the Mediterranean countries will be ok for the coming weeks.

Thank you very much mate. I'm really looking forward to it, and to getting an arthritic right index finger by the end!

The images you posted were fantastic,

[Frogfish]

Bymy141 - some gorgeous shots there but what is going on in #3 with those converging lines ?! What lens did you uses there and at what fl ?

[bymy141]

Bymy141 - some gorgeous shots there but what is going on in #3 with those converging lines ?! What lens did you uses there and at what fl ?

It is the Berlin bell tower (you could Google it), inside, photo taken straight up.
I used my ever lasting DA*16-50mm at 16mm.
The tower is made of 4 pilars, square, with the bell room located on top.
You can just walk in, no fences.

Bert