lahuasteca

Las Pozas de Xilitla, San Luis Potosi, MX.  Nikon FE2, 24 mm AI lens, August 2003

"Rocio," - Misty Dawn, Rio Sabinas, Rancho Cielito, Tamps., MX, Dec. 2008.  Nikon D70s, 18-70 lens.

Blackwater Falls, WV, Nikon FE2, 35 mm f 2.0 AI lens, Nov. 2010.  I've been going through backup hard drives and found this scan.  I definitely enjoyed the FE2 and film - slowed me down and able to concentrate on compositions.

Thunderstorm, South Padre Island, TX, 6/27/2016 - Nikon D700, 35 mm f 2.0 AI lens

Thunderstorm over mangrove wetlands, South Padre Island, TX, 10/5/2023 - Nikon D7500/16-85

Surf and thunderstorms, South Padre Island, TX, 10/5/2023 - Nikon D7500/16-85

Hello Ikka,

Thank you for the very detailed response.  My type of photography is back country backpacking and some street shots - mainly in Latin America.  I'm thinking the Zf with 26 or 28 mm and 40 mm primes plus maybe a Voigtlander designed for the Z cameras.  The Voigtlander is chipped.  There would be no need for the adapter with these lenses.

So I read this entire string.  Do I really want a Zf.  Background, 78 yrs. old - current cameras (except the D7500), like me, very long in the tooth - FM3a, D60, D700, and D7500.  With the exception of the D7500 - the get out of my way and let me shoot - usually aperture priority, auto ISO, and AF single or AFA (not the FE2.  My question is - am I going to have to do a lot of menu configuration with the Zf - autofocus settings, metering, pixel shifts, etc.?  Thank you.

On 11/19/2023 at 8:22 AM, mike_halliwell said:

The most 'toy-like', ie small and not worth stealing setup, would be a Nikon J5 with the 10-100mm.

An iPhone, unless it's like a 7 or lower must be a robber magnet! Stealing it out of your hands whilst unlocked is a nightmare waiting to happen.

I live on the U.S.-Mexico border and travel a lot in Central America.  A new I-phone attracts attention - more so than a high end mirrorless camera.  Easy to swipe and easy to unload.  Street photography with a new i-phone - not recommended.  In a national park or secured area, no problem.  FWIW when I travel to Central America, I try to keep the weight down - 1 camera, 1 lens - maybe an ancient D60 or a newer D7500 with a 16-85 lens.  A 40 lb. backpack with 2 bodies/lenses -becomes very cumbersome very fast.

Sea breeze thunderstorms, South Padre Island, Texas, 10/10/2023.  Nikon D7500/16-85 lens

Brazos Santiago Pass, South Padre Island, TX, 6/6/2023.  Nikon D60/16-85

Cumulonimbus cloud, Jaime Zapata boat ramp, Port Isabel, TX, looking south towards Rio Grande and Mexico, June 6, 2023 - Nikon D60/16-85

"Chulas Fronteras," - The Rio Grande at Roma, TX - Miguel Aleman, Tamps.  Nikon D700/24-120 - March 11, 2023

On 11/25/2022 at 8:16 PM, chrismitchell said:

Mayan people want you to ask for permission before you take their photo.  Semana Santa, the week before Easter might be a very interesting time to go to Guatemala.  You won't be able to get a room in Antigua.  I think the capital has more interesting parades than Antigua.

One evening after a heavy rain I was taking photos of the reflection of the presidential palace in pools of water in the cobel stones.  8pm ish.  A scruffy drug attic looked like he was getting ready to steal my camera.  A plain clothes police man jumped out of the bushes and beat him up.  

I'll have local guides with me - Santa Maria de Jesus near Antigua, and Todos Santos Cuchumatan in Huehuetenango.  I always travel with locals that speak the dialects.  

On 11/22/2022 at 12:02 PM, PaulDardeau said:

Thanks for your input David. After a lot of thinking, I had decided to use digital only for the trip. I will have Canon T2i with 18-135 lens as primary, and then Canon PowerShot G9 and Pixel 6a phone for secondary.

I still absolutely love film photography and will likely get a F3HP in near future.

Hi Paul,

I'm a little late for this thread, and you're already traveling, but here are my thoughts - I've had a similar experience.  For years I posted "what to take" for a planned trip for "La Ruta Maya" in the Peten and adjacent highlands of Guatemala.  I need good quality prints so IQ was a consideration.  In the past my favorite travel camera was a Nikon FE2 with two prime lenses (35 and 85).  Light and good quality.  As much as I wanted to take this again, film for international travel is just not practical - too many scanners and unpredictable security.  I also have a Nikon D700 and associated high quality zoom lenses.  Big, bulky and very noticeable.  Mirrorless? - bodies and new lenses easily tops $2,000.

I just bought a Nikon D7500 from KEH - $750 in like new condition.  I'll pair it with either a Nikon 16085 or 18-200 (which I already have), plus a 35 mm prime.  This was the best compromise amongst weight, IQ, and under $1,000 I could find.  Would a new Nikon Z5 mirrorless with a 24-200 lens give better IQ - probably, but then we're looking at over $2,000 plus learning curve.  My thoughts - others may have different opinions.

Gene

Guatemala.  Thus the d7500 and a zoom - no $3,000 Z kit with lenses  Might even just go with the ore existing D60 if things look sketchy.  Definitely no iPhone 14 as those things get very noticed today.

 

 

Squall line, South Padre Island, TX, 10/17/2022, Nikon D700/24-120

2 hours ago, Gary Naka said:

Don't know what lens you are taking but I would look at the following:

18-140 (this is what I have)
18-200
18-300
18-400  (this one is kinda long and heavy, so may not work for a GP lens)

35/1.8  (for indoor LOW light situations.  I would prefer a 24/1.8, but that is only available in the more expensive FX lens.)

As for the 10-20, that depends on if you think you have a need for an ultra wide.
Remember that you can stitch multiple images together to get the coverage of an ultra wide.

Hi!  I already have the 18-200 and 35 mm DX.  Probably that's what I'll take.  I also have a lot of AFD primes 24 and 85 - not the latest and greatest but small compact and I'd be using the central area.  Probably the 24 mm for walkaround street.  FWIW, in the "old days" my favorite set up was an FE2 with a 35 m, 58 mm and 85 mm primes - and I still consider it to be the best lightweight travel kit - but film travel is no longer practical and very expensive.  I know there are set ups for better IQ, but all involve greater bulk and expense.  I'm going for the balance of light travel and IQ.

1 hour ago, Matthew Currie said:

Must the second be a prime?  My wife and I travel with, respectively a D7100 and a 7200, and have found that a pair of zooms works best for traveling if you have the room.   I have a 16-80 and an FX 70-300P.  She has an 18-140 and the same 70-300.  They work nicely together, and are just within the limits for packing in backpacks to go under an airplane seat.  For overall convenience, if you don't need the wider angle, the 18-140 makes a better all purpose zoom that gets pretty decently close on a DX with some cropping room on top.  If you're backpacking that alone would work pretty well.  If you don't need more reach, then a fast prime in the normal range might be nice around the campfire and such.  A 35/1.8 could serve well.  In the past when possible I've packed an old, very robust and virtually unbreakable FX 35/2.8.  At home I prefer the 35/2.8 PC, but it's heavier and not as expendable. But I'm afraid the D7500 will not meter manual lenses as the D7100 does.  At other times, I've taken a 50/1.4D, which is very nice for getting people in poor light, and nice and compact.  If I had one all purpose zoom, I'd probably go with whatever chipped 35 or 50 you already have.

But if you're trying not to have to buy new lenses, it sort of depends on what you already have.  One thing you might want to do, when the D7500 comes, is try various crops of what you might expect to run into on the trip, to see how much you can get away with  The more you can crop, the less reach you need to carry, but what you find acceptable can vary depending on how finicky you are, and where you are sending your photos.

edit to add:  with cropping, I found at least on my old D3200 that ISO is very important here.  This is less important on newer and better models, but I found that the higher ISO noise on that one attacked the sharpness of edges.  At low ISO you could chop lots off and still get a decent image, but at higher ISO,  what spoiled it was the ragged edges.

I might look at 10-20 zoom - that and 18-200 - all 72 mm filter.  Wide angle and telephoto covered.

1 hour ago, mike_halliwell said:

Tripod?

Yes.  Mefoto road trip carbon fiber.  One of the reasons going for d7500 instead of Z50 was wired remote for tripod use.

Hi,

I've posted years of 'what to take" questions for backpack/overland to Latin America.  Finally I just ordered a D7500 LN- from KEH for $750 including tax and shipping.  YMMV but for me it was the most logical/economical decision.  I've got to go light - 1 zoom/1 prime.  I didn't want to go the Z-route with new lenses and a learning curve (I'm 77 - getting a little long in the tooth).  My current cameras are D60 and D700 (a little bulky and heavy for travel), have a lot of DX zooms and FX primes so don't have to buy any new lenses.  I really stressed over this and read just about every review/post, but in the end, the price was right.  FWIW, the D7500 new body only seems to be out of stock everywhere.  Thanks for all the comments and suggestions on my previous posts.

"Seascape," South Padre Island, TX, 8/31/2022, Nikon D60/16-85

I'm finding the di-GPS out of stock at Amazon. I did find this in stock in Amazon - Micnova . I may give this a try - it looks like hotshoe mounted and 10 pin power connected.

So what is the simplest solution for GEOTAGing images for a Nikon DSLR? - just purchase a used D5300? I've read this thread and 1,000 others and can't find a rec. that isn't buggy. FWIW my current bodies are D60 and D700 and there's no way I'm going to geotag these. I actually tried to buy a D7500 recently but body only is out of stock everywhere. Just how complicated is setting up i-phone and Photoshop (I prefer ACR to LIghtroom)? Seems like Nikon was on to something with the D5300 then abandoned it.

"La Laguna Madre," South Padre Island, TX, 8/11/2022 - Nikon D60/18-70 lens