Euro Trip

[beefy242]

so im taking this trip to europe in May... basically its a tour for 2.5 weeks for 5 grand that includes hotel and airfare. Im gonna have at least a grand in my checking so Ill have decent spending money and im trying to get stocked up on supplies real good. Oh and its for Digital Photography, good to know I at least get a credit or two out of it....

But here's my current equipment:
-Digital Rebel XT
-Sigma 35-200mm zoom lens
-stock crap lens
-macro lens in the mail
-2gb cf card
-just bought an Extreme II 4 gb cf card

plans:
-prime lens ($100, F1.8) (were doing a lot of museum tours)
-some sort of camera backpack
-higher capacity battery and use the stock one for backup

anything else i should look into? i know for sure that im gonna bring along my laptop so I dont have to be real stingy on my picture taking, I expect a few thousand or more. I think that having the one-strap camera bag for easy access is better than a backpack that fits my laptop as well.

thanks ahead of time for the suggestions. and no, i cant afford to bring you along with me.... im so lucky...

[Shinigami052]

your gear looks good. Only thing i'd suggest is more memory cards. The worst thing is to be shooting and you run out of space. I also hope you're shooting in RAW.

[ArchangelX]

Umm...insurance in case you lose all of that stuff? :wtf:

[xurusaibobx]

internet connection? so u can post them up!! lol jk

gear looks good!

more memory maybe a few battery packs

[beefy242]

im thinkin before i go im going to grab another 4 gig card, so thatll be 10 gigs. Im so stoked... and I have no idea how many pictures im going to take. thanks for the support... ill try and find the best ones after I get back, then from there try and post only my best ones. man I cant wait...

[Shinigami052]

I'm actually w/ mike on this one too. insurance would be really nice for your stuff. Especially going into a foreign country.

[japaneezy]

insurance sound like a good idea. sorry, i just bought out the last 2 of compusa's 4gb sandisk flash cards. $50 each w00t!. other than that i'd say the only other think you need is a decent speedlight.

[japaneezy]

The 580EX, 550EX, 420EX, MR-14EX, ST-E2 and MT-24EX are all canon speedlights which should be compatible with your camera for wireless mode. You're gonna want an off camera wireless speedlight, trust me, learn to master it and it will make a world of difference in your macros and portraits to name a few.

[corytomo]

Museums are a perfect place to bounce the flash also, that would make the lighting come out sooo much better.

Also, make sure you have converters for the power outlets. Can't recharge the batteries otherwise!

I've used over 12GB of space on a long trip... and thats shooting in 5megapixel JPGs. RAW would be soo much worse.

[ChroniC588]

I am a paranoid person:

> Cash - 1k is not enough for 2.5 weeks. There are ALWAYS unexpected expenses. Whenever you budget for a trip, take twice as much cash as you think you need, or better yet more than that!

For even if all your accomodations, transportation, fees, etc are covered....the 1k u mentioned comes out to barely $57/day (7 days x 2.5 = 18 days). And with the Euro trading against the dollar that aint much in Euros (about 34 Euros/day).

I think a single lunch in London cost about $20-25...and that was a cheap meal.

I would seriously budget on the safe side $100-150 per diem or 2-3k for this trip.

And plus, dude...how often will you be visiting Europe? This is not an everyday, every year thing (unless ur rich lidat)....so go for it...take a boatload of moolah to truly enjoy it and spend the next year paying it all off...

> Create a Travel Docket (Those plastic trapper keeper styles are perfect) and keep the following in there:

> Paperwork/ID/credit cards, etc. - Make sure you have two sets. So in the rare event you lose one set...you got a backup. One set is with you in your pockets, second set with ur luggage. Make photocopies of everything anyway (as a third set). This will give you the acct# and phone numbers in the event something bad happens and you need to call. I prefer making photocopies than writing stuff down...I'm lazy das why. Keep the third set in the Travel docket.

> Catalog and list everything you will be carrying (have two copies of this list of course). This will allow you to quickly inventory your gear at anytime, especially during check out from a hotel so you dont forget stuff (like a charger, batteries, underwear, toothbrush, etc).

> Take half as much clothes as your expecting...people always overestimate their clothes and try to take their whole wardrobe. Whatever your planning on taking, take out half and leave em at home. The lighter you travel, the happier you will be in the long run.:D

> Know the location of every US Embassy in all the countries you will be visiting. At least have their numbers (print it out in google). Put this in the travel docket.

> Also if ur going to be visiting various sites. Try to plan ahead now to see in what order and how much you realistically can visit, so as to maximize your enjoyment of each place. So create a travel itinerary (make it realistic, dont try too see every single thing...you wont be able too...and if you did you'll hate it because you will only stay for a short time in the actual place and spend most of ur time wasted commuting between places).

> And above all us...know where you are traveling, the people you will be traveling with and be smart, alert and dont show off expensive stuff (watches, jewelry, etc).

[beefy242]

I am a paranoid person:

> Cash - 1k is not enough for 2.5 weeks. There are ALWAYS unexpected expenses. Whenever you budget for a trip, take twice as much cash as you think you need, or better yet more than that!

For even if all your accomodations, transportation, fees, etc are covered....the 1k u mentioned comes out to barely $57/day (7 days x 2.5 = 18 days). And with the Euro trading against the dollar that aint much in Euros (about 34 Euros/day).

I think a single lunch in London cost about $20-25...and that was a cheap meal.

I would seriously budget on the safe side $100-150 per diem or 2-3k for this trip.

And plus, dude...how often will you be visiting Europe? This is not an everyday, every year thing (unless ur rich lidat)....so go for it...take a boatload of moolah to truly enjoy it and spend the next year paying it all off...

> Create a Travel Docket (Those plastic trapper keeper styles are perfect) and keep the following in there:

> Paperwork/ID/credit cards, etc. - Make sure you have two sets. So in the rare event you lose one set...you got a backup. One set is with you in your pockets, second set with ur luggage. Make photocopies of everything anyway (as a third set). This will give you the acct# and phone numbers in the event something bad happens and you need to call. I prefer making photocopies than writing stuff down...I'm lazy das why. Keep the third set in the Travel docket.

> Catalog and list everything you will be carrying (have two copies of this list of course). This will allow you to quickly inventory your gear at anytime, especially during check out from a hotel so you dont forget stuff (like a charger, batteries, underwear, toothbrush, etc).

> Take half as much clothes as your expecting...people always overestimate their clothes and try to take their whole wardrobe. Whatever your planning on taking, take out half and leave em at home. The lighter you travel, the happier you will be in the long run.:D

> Know the location of every US Embassy in all the countries you will be visiting. At least have their numbers (print it out in google). Put this in the travel docket.

> Also if ur going to be visiting various sites. Try to plan ahead now to see in what order and how much you realistically can visit, so as to maximize your enjoyment of each place. So create a travel itinerary (make it realistic, dont try too see every single thing...you wont be able too...and if you did you'll hate it because you will only stay for a short time in the actual place and spend most of ur time wasted commuting between places).

> And above all us...know where you are traveling, the people you will be traveling with and be smart, alert and dont show off expensive stuff (watches, jewelry, etc).


here is the site:
study abroad
(http://www2.hawaii.edu/~bsg/studyabroad/)

and no, im not going to england. not worth the extra grand just to see NATO HQ. and yes, this is with a tour, if it does in fact go through (on monday they'll tell us if there are enough people and deposits to go forth with this). Im saying that I will have at LEAST one grand ready for the trip. Knowing me I will spend more. Most of what im concerned about is taking good pictures. I will look into insurance, but im still making only like $1.25 over minimum wage. Im going to try to drastically reduce my spending and go forth with actually not buying crap I don't need... sigh. at least im goin to have a blast.

and no, I will probably not be going back anytime soon. my parents both have a job, and I am white, but I aint loaded.

and i will take your advice and actually pack conservatively. We will all be given a card with all of the hotel's numbers and addresses on them. Medical is included with the trip. I will pack lightly and make copies of everything.

macro lens is pretty sweet, btw. just got it on friday.

oh and for my pack... I have no type of camera bag except for an old camcorder bag from the 80s (even being a sony) it wont be even sufficient enough to just carry my camera in it. I was looking at the LowePro that has only one strap, it looks real cool and is real easy to just whip out (my camera) on the fly and even has the little microfiber cleaning cloth built in and right there... it seems as if it would be insufficient because i couldnt carry around a tripod on it AND I couldn't have my laptop with me as well. any suggestions or should I just tough it out and go with this 1? saw it for $70 at the NEX, cheapest ive seen.

thanks again guys.

[ChroniC588]

hot dayum! that looks like one sweet trip...ha ha that almost looks like the route Euro Trip really did take...with the exception of Berlin and Bratislava.

Please...:onyerknees: pics of the hot European wimmin...onegai shimasu! :onyerknees:

[beefy242]

hot dayum! that looks like one sweet trip...ha ha that almost looks like the route Euro Trip really did take...with the exception of Berlin and Bratislava.

Please...:onyerknees: pics of the hot European wimmin...onegai shimasu! :onyerknees:

i'm praying it goes through... im gonna c if i can find a GTR or a real S15... and how close them foreign ladies will let me get close to them. how did they lure in the guys in Hostel?

[imagesbyk2]

What kinds of pictures do you plan on taking on your trip? Usually people take pictures of themselves (friends, family, etc) and landscape / scenic shots, which is in the focal range of 12 - 50mm. I would highly recommend you sell the sigma lens in favor of a wide lens such as a 10-22, 12-24, etc. That and your kit lens would be a fantastic combo. I wouldn't bring a flash if I were you. Its another thing you will have to worry about and your camera already has a built in flash.

IMHO, even better than having a wide and medium zoom would be 3 prime lenses. When I went to China last August, I took a 15mm, 35mm and 85mm lens with my XTi.

The pictures are posted here http://www.hawaiitalks.net/showthread.php?t=14979

[beefy242]

What kinds of pictures do you plan on taking on your trip? Usually people take pictures of themselves (friends, family, etc) and landscape / scenic shots, which is in the focal range of 12 - 50mm. I would highly recommend you sell the sigma lens in favor of a wide lens such as a 10-22, 12-24, etc. That and your kit lens would be a fantastic combo. I wouldn't bring a flash if I were you. Its another thing you will have to worry about and your camera already has a built in flash.

IMHO, even better than having a wide and medium zoom would be 3 prime lenses. When I went to China last August, I took a 15mm, 35mm and 85mm lens with my XTi.

The pictures are posted here http://www.hawaiitalks.net/showthread.php?t=14979

thats actually a typo... its an 18-200mm lens. I would like to have a great wide angle lens, but it could be a while before I end up getting one. Ive already bought 2 lenses this year.... plus as I stated before I am not making much money, im trying to save up at least 2 grand if not more for just spending money and I only have like 1200 in my checking. might tap into savings, im still debating. but 18mm has been wide enough for me so far.

[imagesbyk2]

Sell your 18-200 for a wide angle. You will get much better images with dedicated lenses for wide, medium and telephoto. So start with your wide for your trip. then you can build your collection up. You'll thank me in the long run.

[dnf]

get a gorilla slr zoom tripod ($50), phottix cleon wireless remote($40ebay). k2 is right, no need for flash. you can do a longer exposure and just stay still for a sec or 2 which is real easy with the wireless remote if you want night stuff w/o flash and just available lighting. plastic bags just in case you get unexpectedly rained on. of course you got your outlet adapters and if needed voltage converters.

watch out, a few museums we went to did not allow flash photography. mostly the ones with the pics or real old statues.

money. bring about 200 cash and exchange to local currency when you arrive at airport for immediate use(taxi, tip, etc). do NOT rely on checking account cards to withdraw money because it is not always going to work, even when you triple check with the local banks here and they say it will work. also, use atms ONLY at real banks that are open at that time so when the atm machine eats your card for no reason, you can have them open it up and get it back and actually take money out.
travellers checks are good to have but of course need a bank to be open AND sometimes they restrict the hours that they accept them.

yes, backups of your info/cars/passport etc are good to have.

while at the airport, look for the "I"nformation desks and get free local maps and stuff.

for the plane ride, bring a pair of thick socks to slip over your regular socks. that way, you can remove your shoes on the plane and not get your real socks dirty. this makes it very comfortable. just don't get lazy and wear it into the lavatory please.

b

[beefy242]

get a gorilla slr zoom tripod ($50), phottix cleon wireless remote($40ebay). k2 is right, no need for flash. you can do a longer exposure and just stay still for a sec or 2 which is real easy with the wireless remote if you want night stuff w/o flash and just available lighting. plastic bags just in case you get unexpectedly rained on. of course you got your outlet adapters and if needed voltage converters.

watch out, a few museums we went to did not allow flash photography. mostly the ones with the pics or real old statues.

money. bring about 200 cash and exchange to local currency when you arrive at airport for immediate use(taxi, tip, etc). do NOT rely on checking account cards to withdraw money because it is not always going to work, even when you triple check with the local banks here and they say it will work. also, use atms ONLY at real banks that are open at that time so when the atm machine eats your card for no reason, you can have them open it up and get it back and actually take money out.
travellers checks are good to have but of course need a bank to be open AND sometimes they restrict the hours that they accept them.

yes, backups of your info/cars/passport etc are good to have.

while at the airport, look for the "I"nformation desks and get free local maps and stuff.

for the plane ride, bring a pair of thick socks to slip over your regular socks. that way, you can remove your shoes on the plane and not get your real socks dirty. this makes it very comfortable. just don't get lazy and wear it into the lavatory please.

b

ok so we're all going on the same plane, which means that im pretty much set in terms of getting off of the plane. Im w/ BOH, ill just tell them before I leave that i'm going to europe for a good 2.5 weeks right before I go. The tripod i have now is sufficient enough. the pack im gonna get, a LowePro Fastpack 350, has a review that has a guy stating that I could tuck one of the legs of a tripod into the zipper for the laptop compartment. I think this would be good since im basically just gonna leave my laptop in the room or in my suitcase. Working on the passport. Im going to look into getting 2 separate lenses so that I can have a wide angle. might be hard cause im in extreme saving mode...

[dnf]

ok so we're all going on the same plane, which means that im pretty much set in terms of getting off of the plane. Im w/ BOH, ill just tell them before I leave that i'm going to europe for a good 2.5 weeks right before I go. The tripod i have now is sufficient enough. the pack im gonna get, a LowePro Fastpack 350, has a review that has a guy stating that I could tuck one of the legs of a tripod into the zipper for the laptop compartment. I think this would be good since im basically just gonna leave my laptop in the room or in my suitcase. Working on the passport. Im going to look into getting 2 separate lenses so that I can have a wide angle. might be hard cause im in extreme saving mode...

yeah, it wasn't about getting off the same plane, but rather after you get off the plane @ your destination and then exchange for some local currency so you don't catch a hotel bus and not be able to tip in their currency, etc.

yeah, in the 5 international trips we did these past 2 years to japan, korea, greece, europe(france, italy, UK, switz), and dubai. we learned about the deal with local banks saying their atm cards will work in other countries and then having them eaten by atm's and being rejected despite things like it having the same logos on the atm as the card. yes, our cards(credit card and atm) were called in before the trip letting them know where we were going to be and for the duration. happened in a greece and japan.

we picked up 3 different crumpler bags to try and the 7 mil(photo only) was the best for us. but they also make cam+laptop bags that don't look like cam bags too. the quality is good but the velcro is LOUD.

maybe "the sinking barge" model(yes, that is the name of the bag model) in the photog section. they show it w/ a mac lap and cam gear.
or maybe the brazillion dollar home model but it will be big and might weigh more than K2 if you fill it up.
http://www.crumplerbags.com/

b

ps: yo k2. where can we see the pics from the Louis V party teresa and I were at? web or print? any of us?

[imagesbyk2]

Hey! I wasn't able to put the pictures online since it was a private event. If I was just there for event coverage, Id be more than happy to send you some of the pictures. But since it was for LV, I dont want to get in trouble with them. Sorry!

[dnf]

Hey! I wasn't able to put the pictures online since it was a private event. If I was just there for event coverage, Id be more than happy to send you some of the pictures. But since it was for LV, I dont want to get in trouble with them. Sorry!

no problemo.

teresa is using the 40d now and i am using a d300. figured since we didn't invest in major glass yet, it would be good to try both brands and see which we prefer.

travel wise we want to go somewhere again in a few months after tax time, so we were thinking HK, china, singapore, etc. but not japan or korea since we just went there recently. where would you recommend for a 12 day+2travel time trip non-tour style? we hate tours being stuck on a bus and stuff, so most of our europe/japan/korea trips were 90% done using rail/subway since we like our freedom and travel extremely light. oh yeah, gotta be a "safe" place.

thanks b

[imagesbyk2]

ahh man. Im looking to get a 40d (or maybe a used 30d if I can find one). I'll make the choice easy for you. Both brands do an excellent job. Honolulu has a local Canon repair center. Nikon users need to ship their equipment to the mainland for servicing. I guess that's not a huge deal if youre a casual shooter, but I get most of my equipment serviced once a year. well anyway, just thought I would point that out if that helps in the decision process.

China will be really crowded because of the upcoming olympics games, but that could also be a good thing if you want to check it out. HK is always nice and whats really cool is that most of the locals speak English since it was ruled by Britain until recently. No advice on Singapore...

The next places on my list are Thailand and Vietnam.

hey wait a minute. I think you should go Nikon and sell the 40D to me. Seriously. =)

[spider_monkey52]

ahh man. Im looking to get a 40d (or maybe a used 30d if I can find one). I'll make the choice easy for you. Both brands do an excellent job. Honolulu has a local Canon repair center. Nikon users need to ship their equipment to the mainland for servicing. I guess that's not a huge deal if youre a casual shooter, but I get most of my equipment serviced once a year. well anyway, just thought I would point that out if that helps in the decision process.

China will be really crowded because of the upcoming olympics games, but that could also be a good thing if you want to check it out. HK is always nice and whats really cool is that most of the locals speak English since it was ruled by Britain until recently. No advice on Singapore...

The next places on my list are Thailand and Vietnam.

hey wait a minute. I think you should go Nikon and sell the 40D to me. Seriously. =)
i have a friend in singapore, she says it's a nice place. just remember not to bring chewing gum and especially don't spit it on the ground. you'll be able to get by there though seeing as a whole lot of people speak good english there.

[dnf]

haha. teresa was reading a photomag and saw the "classification" of the 40d and d300 and said i took the better one.

I really like different things from both cameras though. it seems that i like the nikon for the camera characteristics like amazing screen and the dial rotation direction moving with the exposure meter instead of inversely. i cannot stand the lens mount direction though of the nikon. i always turn it the wrong way. the screen's various uses helped me not mess up some shots since i could focus with the zoom(live mode) and also review pics with high resolution.

lens wise the canon seems less noisy(sound) and smoother. it also seems like the choices for lenses are more of what i would like with canon rather than the nikon.

oh well. if you want to try one of them(cameras) out for a weekend let me know. we'll trade for you checking our lenses to make sure they are okay.

yeah. HK for a 5 day trip might be doable. China would need more days for sure.

hmm.. gum and singapore. i only need gum for the plane takeoffs and landing. but thanks for the reminder.

b


hey wait a minute. I think you should go Nikon and sell the 40D to me. Seriously. =)

[imagesbyk2]

I ended up buying a new 40D a couple of days ago w/ grip. It should be here any day. *crosses fingers*. Ive never really mounted and unmounted a Nikon camera / lens, but Ive seen fellow photographers swap lenses on 2 cameras. Its not so easy on Canon. Maybe its the placement of the lens release... idk.