Going to China, Japan, Korea-What to Bring

[bill_deegan2]

<p>Igor-Thank you for sharing your experiences. I have kids etc, so I shoot all kinds of stuff. Will have a laptop and WD 500GB backup. Yes, I think the small primes are the way to go. Thanks for your time.</p>

[pc_sh]

<p>Don't leave the tripod at home. Especially if you visit large cities in these 3 countries, what's often most impressive are the lights at night. You'll kick yourself if you don't have a tripod.</p>

[brooks_lester]

<p>Are you travelling with another person(s)? Is the trip oriented towards photography, or is it a family vacation or business trip?<br>

Unless you're going strictly for photographic enjoyment, I'd take the D90, 18-70, and the 35DX, and a back up/alternate camera like the Panasonic LX-3. I wish you had an ultra wide zoom like a 12-24mm or equivalent, but you can shoot a pano for stitching with the 18-70 or 35DX. Sticks (tripod) would be great, as long as you have room for them.<br>

 

<p>I always travel with a laptop, regardless of photography - I want web access for email and internet surfing, no matter where I go. Dump your images into the laptop at the end of every day. Try to maintain two copies of each image, either by filling up a memory card and the computer's drive, or buy a secondary storage device. Keep the two storage devices (card and computer, or card and portable drive, etc.) in two separate places, so that if one is lost or stolen, you'll still have the other device and its images. If you're truly paranoid, burn DVD's of your existing images every few days and mail them home. </p>

I don't know how much traveling and shooting you've done, but I find that there's a fine line between enjoying the vacation by taking justifiable, worthwhile pictures and ruining the trip and potentially memorable moments by taking too many pictures. Sometimes you need to enjoy the moment, rather than photographing it.

 

 

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[mike dixon]

<p>I've lived in South Korea for several years, and I've visited Japan several times. A 50mm lens (on full frame) is the longest lens I use, a 28mm is what I use most often, and a 20mm is sometimes useful. Sidewalks (when there are sidewalks) are typically very crowded. I often shoot at night, but never with a tripod. There's so much light in the bigger cities, you seldom see more than a few of the brightest stars, even on a clear night.</p>

<p>You might have a car to deliver you to your hotel, but when you're out shooting, you'll have to lug all that gear up and down the hills (neither Japan nor Korea are flat) and up and down lots of stairs, and you'll often need to negotiate very-crowded, and sometimes very-narrow, streets and alleys. In other words, travel light.</p>

[RaymondC]

<p>I was in Japan last year, it is so busy, you cannot use a tripod except at a clear vantage point. So I think primes are essential. </p>

<p>I carried a D70, 18-70mm DX and a Sigma 10-20mm. I wished I had a 50mm. <br /> If it was me I won't carry a backup body nor a flash, a tripod if you really into low light photog if you can get a clear vantage point. </p>

<p>The slow aperture zooms are just too slow handheld - say at Shibuya over at the train station bridge taking pix of the busy rush hour pedestrian crossing or inside the subway station photog the peak hour of the Yamanotoe liine (circular line over Tokyo CBD). A fast prime could also capture city lights with the sunset for eg. Sunrise not that great in city due to garage doors for the shops (in Asia), sunset better, unless you are away from the city.</p>

[bill_deegan2]

<p>Brooks-Thanks for your tips. Business trip with some "play" time. Will have laptop for business and WD 500GB HD for back-up. Did not think of burning DVD's good point. I plan on enjoying this trip and not get bogged down with all the equipment. In reality, my D90 & 50mm maybe all I need. Thanks for your response.<br>

Mike-Thanks for sharing your experiences. I agree with the travel light crowd. Thanks for responding.<br>

Ray-Yes, those little primesare the ticket. Did you use your 18-70 much? I'm on the fence on taking it or leaving it. Thanks again.</p>

 

[RaymondC]

<p>Bill,</p>

<p>My first trip to Japan, I got my dSLR the D70 (!) in Sapporo and I just took my 50mm f/1.8 and my 85mm f/1.8 with me, no cameras was taken there.</p>

<p>50mm is too long. It is a good lens for isolation. Lonely Planet has a good shot of that, morning peak hour traffic of the Yamanotoe Line at Shinjuku Station, haha. A 50mm is good at isolation of hte people just lining up to the train and still capturing the train sign there .... on the platform.</p>

<p>18-70mm would have to be my most used lens or anywhere in the world for that matter. I have downgraded it from a 18-200mm VR lens b/c of that. The 18-70mm is also smaller. The Sigma 10-20mm would be a lens that I don't use much. For me sure you can capture more stuff in it, its very wide but you less impact, unless like that exaggerated look. For me it loses a sense of being there. I find it is a lens for cityscapes or landscapes from a well thought out vantage point but it is not a tourist lens.</p>

<p>From my last trip, I think a good setup for me is a 18-70mm (must have) and also a 35/1.8 and 50/1.8. The 85/1.8 not needed. The tele zoom, again not needed unless you are outside the main cities ... Ultra wide lens, I say similar to the tele photo. 35mm f/1.8 becomes a walk about grab shot lens in low light.</p>

<p>I didn't take primes in my 2009 trip, in the station platform, with ISO 1600 with maybe a f/4 lens you struggle to get a shutter speed of 1/60.</p>

<p>From my 2004 trip of Japan, the first lens I bought was a Nikon 18-35mm when I got home, haha. I was dissapointed with just the 50mm, you cannot get any shots of the skyline cos it is just too long and yes I was in my 20s back then and walked back maybe 30mins and still cannot get it. I was in Central Tokyo (station) near the Imperial Palace and wanted a shot of the city with my 50mm on a cropped body.</p>

[bill_deegan2]

<p>Ray-Thanks for sharing. Did you use flash at all, whether on board or speedlite?</p>

[RaymondC]

<p>I didn't use much flash. A fast lens is v useful indoors and it lights up naturally. </p>

<p>I don't do much portraits, maybe just a few shots. I mainly do cityscapes and landscapes incl building and temples etc.. Many places had glass windows so flash didn't work. Like inside castles and temples.</p>

[RaymondC]

<p>Onboard flash. My SB800 was too large. Seldom user too.</p>