CAMERA GEAR FOR TRAVEL
SPAIN
My Journey to Spain is about to kick off. I’m really looking forward to all the photography opportunities that await. I must admit that I own tons of camera gear – 4 DSLR bodies and numerous lenses, a variety of other smaller cameras, and who knows how many other related items. So it is always a challenge to decide what camera equipment to take on my various trips. In this regard my trip to Spain is no exception. Once again I had to decide what would be my camera gear for travel.
A number of factors influence what photo gear I’ll put in my travel kit such as the destination, the season of the year, the modes of transportation I will be using, the subjects I will be shooting, what I anticipate will be the final use or outlet for the images, and of course any limitations on weight and bags. While it is always nice to have exactly the right piece of equipment for a shot, it is also very nice not to be lugging tons of equipment around the world. The more I have traveled the more I have learned to be very selective regarding what actually travels with me. Over the miles I have developed my travel photography mantra, “to travel light is to travel right.”
I have attempted to follow this “travel light” concept in my preparations for Spain. To a degree, I was successful. Here is my final list of camera gear for travel to Spain.
Nikon D800 – My primary camera, a very capable and reliable DSLR. Lenses will include my Nikon 18mm-200mm DX. Yes, I know it’s a bit odd to use a DX lens on a nice full frame camera like the D800. But the 18mm-200mm is really a fine, light weight, walk about lens for travel. The D800 has a full frame 36 megapixel sensor so even with the DX crop factor it still produces good high resolution images. I’ll also be taking my “fish-eye” lens for special effect shots and also a 50mm f 1.4 lens for low light situations or circumstances where I want the camera to be a bit less bulky and intrusive.
Lumix DMC-Z550 – A small, pocket sized camera by Panasonic, this is my go to backup when I want to travel very light and not draw lots of attention to my photography activities. It also shoots very nice video. It has tremendous reach with it’s zoom telephoto. I love the small size and it packs a lot in a small package – and it includes an optical view finder.
GoPro – My GoPro again is great because of it’s very small size. It’s wonderful for action videos. I’ll take several different mounts including my “selfie stick” and a suction mount for use on cars, train windows, etc. It can be controlled via the iPhone app which allows it to be mounted and then operated remotely.
iPhones – Yes, that is a plural as in “iPhones”. I’ll be using my iPhone 6 and my iPhone 6s for a variety of tasks on the trip. They are loaded up with details and copies of documents regarding reservations, confirmations, tickets, information about what to see at destinations, etc. The iPhone also has excellent photo capabilities and I use them frequently. They are especially great in allowing quick editing and upload to social media such as Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter.
iPad – I always travel with my iPad. For my purposes it can almost always do all I need and I can leave my laptop at home. It does have a camera as well of course. I should quickly add that I never use the iPad camera. Personally I think it is really odd to be shooting images, even vacation snaps, on an iPad. It is my camera of last resort. If you see me shooting with my iPad it means that all my other gear with was either lost or stolen.
Extra Gear –
Velbron Max i 343E Tripod & Joby Ball Head. This is my nice, light weight (1.9 lbs) travel tripod. I use a small Joby Ball Head X with it. This is a fairly stable combination but is certainly challenged by my D800 and the 18-200 lens. It works but you have to be careful. It of course works fine for any of my smaller equipment.
Joby Gorilla Pod. This small and highly flexible tripod works well for the Lumix and GoPro. Used with an adjustable clamp it also works great with my iPhones.
GoPro Gear. GoPro offers an amazing and somewhat bewildering number of gadgets and attachments for their tiny cameras. I’ll be taking several including cases, mounts for tripods, and the suction cup bracket for mounting on a car dashboard, etc.
In addition to the above, I’ll also be taking lots and lots of digital memory cards. Empty now, I imagine they will all be quite full when I return from Spain
Take the Right Camera Gear ……………. And Enjoy The Journey!
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