Gear for 1st time traveler?

[CTdslr]

Hi all!

I am traveling overseas (South East Asia) with my XSi for the 1st time and am trying to figure out what equipment I should get.


Current Gear:
- Canon 450D (XSi)
- 50mm MkI f/1.8
- Kit lens 17-55
- 75-300mm III
- SB-50DX Nikon Flash
- Lowepro Nova 180 AW
- SLIK 512QF Tripod (I don't think I'm going to bring this abroad)
- Canon Battery
- Opteka Battery
- Two 4gb class 6 SD card
- One 2gb class 6 SD card
- Two Vivitar UV filters
- Lens cleaning cloth & brush

Gear I want to get:
- Monopod
- Joystick head (Maybe this one?)
- Lens hoods
- Battery Grip (Maybe)
- 1 or 2 extra batteries
- Two 4/8gb class 8/10 SD cards

I would love to invest in a good monopod and an attachment head that would allow me to take landscape photos with ease. (I would use it for theatre photography as well.)

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! I leave the US in Mid January.

For those of you who have been to Malaysia or Singapore, are there any good photography stores that you'd recommend?

Thank you!!

[Loupey]

I've been to Asia twice in the last two years and I can tell you that the last thing you want to do is get bogged down with too much equipment.

What exactly are you wanting to photograph? People? Street scenes? Landscapes? Architecture? Tourist locales?

I did a little of all those and I ended using primarily my 24-105mm zoom (for >95% of the shots). I'm not saying get the 24-105mm but it did make the multitude of plane, train, bus, and taxi transfers much easier. No tripod/monopods, no long telephotos, no laptop, no grips, etc. A fast prime like your 50mm f/1.8 is good. I would recommend a hyperdrive to off-load image files without a laptop.

Keep in mind that my recommendation is based on an emphasis on portability and candid shooting. We averaged 12k to 15k footsteps per day (measured with a pedometer) and it would have been very difficult in countries where "personal space" does not exist - like on subways, stores, streets, etc.

[Themage]

Sunscreen, Bug spray, water, food, batteries, memory card, flash light, maps you have tons of gear. Are you on an assignment or just travel?

[CTdslr]

It's just travel. I lived in S.E.A for 10 years, and I'm going back to visit family after a 12 year hiatus. I'd love to take portraits and landscapes. I might bring all my lenses along.

[mjs1973]

Loupey pretty much nailed what I was thinking. When going on a long trip that is not a dedicated photography trip, I would try to keep things as simple and light as possible. Sometimes I will simply take a P&S because I know I'm not going to want to carry a bag full of gear around all day long. If I'm going on a photography trip, that's different. I take everything with me and then parse out what I want to take into the field with me on that day, and lock the rest in the car or hotel.

[CTdslr]

I was thinking of just taking my 50mm prime and maybe my 75-300mm.

[straightarm]

why a Nikon flash with a Canon camera?

surely you lose all the automation and dedication.

I think you need a wide angle lens,so take the kit 17-55mm lens

why a tripod and a monopod? take just one, the tripod will be better than just a monopod. look at a small travel tripod

memory cards are cheap,so stock up on those

a battery grip is probably overkill, just take spare batteries.

Polarising filters can be useful, and the effect cannot be created in photoshop afterwards

Things like cleaning cloth and brushes should be with you all the time.

Are you going to a wet climate,if soconsider some kind of waterproof cover, even if it's just an op-tech semi disosable one.