| Author |
Topic |
Menkaure
Amarr
LEM0N
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Posted - 2007.12.04 14:53:00 - [ 1]
Edited by: Menkaure on 04/12/2007 18:23:40
Need some advice on buying some stuff for my upcoming gap year. I'll be spending time in places like India, Thailand and Fiji... not to mention Australia for 12 months. Three things I need advice on: SLR lenses, laptop, and digital cameras.
Now, before anyone says in nuts for taking equipment like that out into the big blue yonder.. the primary thing about what im after is that they have to be CHEAP. I already have an SLR, thatll be insured, but I don't want to insure the rest.
My SLR is the Sony a100, atm I've got a 3.5-5.6/18-70mm lens on it. Fairly good, standard lens that has served me well. I'm after opinions on what my second lens should be. Personally I was thinking 4.5-5.6/11-18mm wide angle, for those landscape shots... but I'm still just an amateur and people here might know better.
Now, I need one of each of the following: Laptop, compact digital camera, and a digital camcorder. They need to be CHEAP(im actually expecting to get mugged, so im prepared for it), as light as possible, and need to be fairly hardy and be able to take being kicked around a bit.
The compact camera I'm thinking with going with an Olympus mju, I've had one before and it took being dropped from heights many times, aswell as being dropped in snow.. but for laptop and camcorder i've got no idea. Any opinions?
Would prefer something like SD card memory, so I can quickly backup and make copies of photos and stuff to send home, although my SLR uses compact flash, so thats an option.
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Suze'Rain
Caldari |
Posted - 2007.12.04 15:02:00 - [ 2]
not quite an SLR (lens is fixed) but I'd heartily reccommend the Fuji S9500 D-SLR.
Takes CF and SD cards, 9mp, 28-300mm lens, and as the lens is fixed, there's no risk of getting **** into the CCD. lens quality is good too. well worth the cost, as it's cheap nowadays. Also has a cable trigger mount, tripod screw, and flash hotshoe fitting and flash synch fittings, so it's well specced.
really worth it, I barely use my pentax LX SLRs nowadays. only area it's not fantastic is in lowlight with changing light (ie, concerts)
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Menkaure
Amarr
LEM0N
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Posted - 2007.12.04 15:25:00 - [ 3]
Edited by: Menkaure on 04/12/2007 18:24:14 Originally by: Suze'Rain
not quite an SLR (lens is fixed) but I'd heartily reccommend the Fuji S9500 D-SLR.
Takes CF and SD cards, 9mp, 28-300mm lens, and as the lens is fixed, there's no risk of getting **** into the CCD. lens quality is good too. well worth the cost, as it's cheap nowadays. Also has a cable trigger mount, tripod screw, and flash hotshoe fitting and flash synch fittings, so it's well specced.
really worth it, I barely use my pentax LX SLRs nowadays. only area it's not fantastic is in lowlight with changing light (ie, concerts)
I had considered a fixed lens "slr" back when I got my a100, but decided against it. While it would mean I'd only have to take one camera with me, its a bit too bulky for me to use as I'd like to use a compact, mores the shame. Besides, I've already got the a100. Don't want it sat gathering dust for the next 1.5 years.  One thing I forgot to ask.... about six months ago I found a review of a (normal looking) backpack, a fairly rigid one that had an SLR space (+two lenses) at the bottom and a concealed compartment for a laptop. Anyone know of it? I forget the name... was fairly expensive, about £150 or something like that. |
CCP Whisper
 |
Posted - 2007.12.04 17:04:00 - [ 4]
My advice would be to ditch the laptop and invest in a few more memory cards. You're travelling to see something of the country, not surf the web. Most places have internet cafés which let you hook up your devices. Either burn stuff to CD/DVD and/or set up online storage before you go and upload your stuff to there. That way you can still share whatever you photograph and film with people back home but don't have the laptop to lug around. Compact cameras...if all you are after is a cheap digital that takes ok pictures as an alternative to the SLR then look for something older in the 4 megapixel range like a Kodak EasyShare or a Canon Powershot. I assume this is a backup for when the SLR is too bulky, obvious or precious. From personal experience I can tell you that 4 megapixels still takes pics that you can make good prints from. |
Neon Genesis
GoonFleet |
Posted - 2007.12.04 17:07:00 - [ 5]
A laptop sounds like a really bad idea. You'll regret the weight and will likely be a very high priority target for muggers.
I don't want to burst any bubbles but I personally think that anything past a camera and the means to use it is too much electronic equipment. Why do you need the camcorder in particular? |
CCP Mindstar
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Posted - 2007.12.04 17:28:00 - [ 6]
If you are looking to travel on the way down to Australia, you could always get a cheap laptop once you get there. Yes, they do actually sell computers in Australia! Also, given that you are in the country for 12 months, having a local shop to go to and/or warranty on it could have its advantages too ;)
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Menkaure
Amarr
LEM0N
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Posted - 2007.12.04 17:45:00 - [ 7]
Yay, dev responses.  The laptop is for mostly use in Australia so it would be possible to get one out there, and it is an option I'm considering. It wouldn't get much use anywhere else, but itd just be useful thing to have especially as a way of backing up data onto spare SD cards and stuff. The SLR kicks out big photos, and I wanted to do video diaries and not lose them. Many memory cards is an option as opposed to a laptop. As for the camcorder/compact, I think I found myself a solution to both (saves me buying one of each!) in the Sanyo VPC-HD2(7MP) or the VPC-CA65(6MP) although I'm very unsure as to Sanyo as a make... always seemed to be kind of second rate, although I've never owned any of their products. Also records to SD cards, which is a rarity in Digital Camcorders, most record to DVD or Hard Drive, now. |
An Anarchyyt
Gallente
GoonWaffe
Goonswarm Federation |
Posted - 2007.12.04 18:19:00 - [ 8]
Edited by: An Anarchyyt on 04/12/2007 18:19:31
If you are really serious about photography, I would suggest a backup film camera. You can get a Canon AE-1 or Olympus OM-1 or Pentax K1000, or the Nikon one for pretty cheap.
On top of that, there are much more resiliant, incase the digital camera breaks, and film is cheap and easy to find. However, if you want a compact camera, I can second the Powershot. Or the Canon G series. Although the Leica compact cameras are nice too.
But aside from that, what I use 95% of the time, a 50mm f/1.4 lens is all you need. You can use it in quite low light, easy to hold, and it is a standard focal length.
Because I am a nut, I usually bring three cameras with me at all times, a digital SLR, a 35mm SLR, and a Medium or Large format camera. But for the SLRs, just the 50mm and a 70-200 f/4 (or f/2.8) go with me, So, you'd be all good with that. |
Menkaure
Amarr
LEM0N
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Posted - 2007.12.04 18:45:00 - [ 9]
Edited by: Menkaure on 04/12/2007 18:46:25Bloody hell! I know that mju's were tough, but theyve evolved it further into an actual tough model, looks brilliant and thats started me leaning back in that direction. The adverts are actually fairly believable given how tough my old Mju was. Film I hadn't considered, but like I said before... another SLR would be too bulky, and I have the a100 already. A film compact on the other hand, maybe. I spent six weeks backpacking in Egypt last year and finding charge points for my old compact, and places to offload the memory was a royal pain in the arse. (one of the reasons I want a laptop this time) 70-200mm was my other option other than the wide angle. |
FireFoxx80
Caldari
Caldari Provisions
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Posted - 2007.12.04 19:39:00 - [ 10]
One thing you haven't really stated... what sort of travel are you going for? Backpacking and hitch-hiking, or way up at staying in 5* hotels each night?That's going to seriously affect your decisions below.
SLR:
11-18mm would work, but don't neglect the top-end. A lens capable of hitting 150-200mm and a cheap tripod will be a big benefit for people shots (especially in places where taking photographs of people is considered taboo).
Have you considered an EOS300D or EOS350D? People are practically giving these away now that the 400D is out, and the lens choices are superb.
Laptop:
What are you using this for? Internet access? Backing up of files? etc.
A semi-decent PDA with wireless access and a SD card slot (such as a Palm Pilot) might work better, and is lighter/more discrete.
If you still need a laptop, then an old Toughbook might work. An old sub-notebook (no internal CD-ROM, floppy drive, etc) would work too. A slow spec on eBay is probably worthwhile, though check the battery life (more on this later).
Digital Camera:
Olympus mju is good for this. Or an old Canon IXUS.
Digital Camcorder:
One that records digitally to tape, or one that records to mini-DVD? The former is much cheaper now that the latter is out, but quality suffers. Is a decent digital camera with movie functionality (above) a good substitute?
Other:
Two things:
Batteries - buy the best you can, buy a spare. Hell, even buy one of these AA Battery/SolarCell > Power adapters if you need. You might not get regular access to electricity, and having a spare battery will help.
Memory cards, Tape, Media, etc. - Again, buy spares. FedEx/UPS these home (do not rely upon local mail!).
Finally, are you sure that you need all this stuff? Have a serious consideration about it. A decent compact camera might be as good as an SLR; a decent PDA might be better than a laptop; both of thes are discrete.
I visited East Africa for 3 weeks on my honeymoon, and I have to say that carrying around a camcorder, compact camera, and SLR, was overkill. I looked like inspector gadget. Decide on what you need to take (not want), and then compromise. Getting mugged, loosing £1000 of stuff, and having to carry an extra 5kg is not going to be fun after a few weeks.
Out of interest, what's your route? |
ISD Santiago Cortes
Caldari
ISD Interstellar Correspondents
|
Posted - 2007.12.04 22:04:00 - [ 11]
Flight socks! |
Locus Bey
Gallente
OCA2
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Posted - 2007.12.04 22:12:00 - [ 12]
If your travelling Asia take as little as possible. I remember the first time I went travelling I took a huge backpack and all the gear. Ditched it all in the first week. Take a couple of smaller bags for when you go off on your day to a week trips, the other for a few warmer clothes if you go trekking etc. You can always leave the 2nd bag at a hotel for storage while you travel around. |
Hooch Flux
Caldari |
Posted - 2007.12.04 22:22:00 - [ 13]
A towel, Salted peanuts and a Goldfish like thing in your ear! Oh yeah, and a Book! (Sorry all the good advice above!) |
Menkaure
Amarr
LEM0N
|
Posted - 2007.12.04 22:24:00 - [ 14]
Originally by: FireFoxx80
Out of interest, what's your route?
Provisionally, a heavily modified version of this, I debated with myself for a long time about whether I should just get on a plane and go, or use a company. This company seems to offer a large array of cool things, and might take alot of the hassle away by organising my flights. 8 weeks volunteering in India and Thailand each aren't exactly things that're easy to organise alone. Heavily modified... I think (still planning currently) that I'm going to make my way across from London to Moscow in a whistletop tour of Europe, then do the trans-siberian railway, then the trans-manchurian line to Beijing, then head to Hong Kong, and Japan/Tokyo, before heading to India and Thailand. Hit Indonesia after that, then 12 months in Aus before Fiji, USA, Canada, Iceland, then finally back to the UK. All of it in a Guristas T-Shirt. Thats the plan atm, at least. I've got a wedding to go to next August so my parents have agreed to pay flights back for a 2 week to 1 month "holiday" in the UK to break up my trip. Everything is dependant on visa's and various other things (including if I run out of money). As for your advice.. SLR's already bought, I took a Sony A100 (for the 3rd time this thread) about 6 months ago. I did consider the EOS's, but the Sony appealed for reasons I won't go into here. Laptops for backing up of files mostly, and Eve access when Im bored in Australia, maybe putting video diaries together so i can upload to Youtube, whatever I can come up with. Now... PDA... thats an excellent idea! I'll have a look into them now, see if anything meets my needs. Camcorder.... thats why I like the above Sanyos, they record direct to SD card. That could come in *very* handy. Originally by: Locus Bey
If your travelling Asia take as little as possible. I remember the first time I went travelling I took a huge backpack and all the gear. Ditched it all in the first week. Take a couple of smaller bags for when you go off on your day to a week trips, the other for a few warmer clothes if you go trekking etc. You can always leave the 2nd bag at a hotel for storage while you travel around.
This I've learned aswell... I've done alot of travelling before, spent 6 weeks working for a charity in Egypt, conservation stuff trekking through the desert and living with a Bedouin tribe. As useful as crap seems when you're packing, at 42 degrees everything seems pointless. |
An Anarchyyt
Gallente
GoonWaffe
Goonswarm Federation |
Posted - 2007.12.04 23:40:00 - [ 15]
I don't really think another SLR would be too bulky, an AE-1 is not a big camera. The big problem is, you can buy a film compact for like $5, but same issue with the digital compact, both of them aren't gonna stand up to much punishment. But then again, I am assuming that this really isn't a photo based trip. But honestly, a 50mm will cover you in 99% of situations, many of the most famous photographers only used ones, even when covering things like WW2, so I wouldn't even bother with a second lens for much more than a backup. |
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