Gearing Up

So, I'm on my way to New York City in about 12 hours. I always pack last minute, be it for clothes, necessities, and/or photo gear. While packing clothes and sundries is almost a brainless matter, photo gear is a one whole different animal.

What do I bring? I WANT to bring it all! I can't. Won't fit. Too Heavy. Will I need this? This would be fun to have. So many decisions and sacrifices to make. Here's an account as I go through these choices.

(For those of you that don't know, I run a small eBay store. This presents a wide array of photography equipment at my disposal, aside from what I own. While I technically own these, I treat them as my eBay store's property. I think of the store as a separate entity.)

First and foremost, the camera. This is an easy one - it will be my Canon 5D (Mark I). Aside from the 30D that I use for my eBay photos, there is no other choice.

Now for the lenses. Starting with the easy one - for low light, I'm taking my Canon EF 50mm f/1.4. The other lenses that came into consideration were: Canon EF 35mm f/2, Canon EF 85mm f/1.8, and a Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 Mk II from the store. 35 is too wide, and 85 is too long. The 50/1.8 came into consideration for five seconds, only because it was smaller and lighter than the 50/1.4, but not by much.

An automatic selection would be my favorite lens - Canon TS-E 24mm f/3.5L. I'd love to be able to go on an elevated area and create a time lapse video.

The toughest decision to make was for my walk-around lens. Usually, I use my Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L for this. But it is heavy and bulky. The alternatives available from the store are:
• Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L - Lighter, longer reach but its not a f/2.8. Hmmm.
• Tamron SP 28-75mm f/2.8 - Lighter, pretty darn sharp. The problem is that it has a 67mm filter ring and I don't own any 67mm filters.
• Tokina AT-X Pro SV 28-70mm f/2.8 - This is almost as big and heavy as the Canon 24-70mm. That alone puts it out of contention already.
Hmm .. I think I'll go back to this later.

For an ultra wide lens, I only have the Canon 17-40mm f/4L. The only other alternative would be my Canon EF 15mm f/2.8 Fisheye. This is a no contest. For functionality, its the 17-40mm, hands down. Although, I can still take the Fisheye if there's space.

Ever since I bought my Canon 5D, my most used lens has been my Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L. For work and other local events, this is a staple in my bag. But for this trip, I'm on the fence with it. Same reasons as the 24-70mm, its pretty heavy and bulky. I think I'll decide on this together with the mid-range lens last.

Then there's the flash. I have a really good friend over there who is a fellow strobist enthusiast. So if I needed it, I'll have access to some Alien Bees B800s, Alien Bees Cybersyncs, and more Speedlights. For my own, I'll stick to the lighter and smaller one on this. Its the Canon 430EX (Mk I) over my Canon 550EX.

Other necessities in the bag and are getting packed - batteries, compact flash cards, business cards, printed copy of Photographer's Rights, filters, Canon Off-Camera Shoe Cord 2, and Canon TC-80N3 Timer Remote Controller. Since this is the bag that I'm carrying on the plane with me, the front pocket /sleeve of the bag contains my 15" MacBook Pro. Top pouch will carry earphones, iPhone charger and cord, and MacBook Pro charger. Side pocket will carry my small video camera, the Sony MHS-PM1 Webbie HD.

Now for the tough decision, the mid-range lens. Considering this bag will be on my back for the better part of eight days. I've decided to take the 24-105mm. I lose the 2.8, but if ever I need it, I'll just slap on the 50/1.4.

This doesn't leave me any space for the 70-200mm f/2.8L. I can live without it, but I'd rather not. So, I decided to borrow a Canon EF 80-200mm f/4-5.6 from the store. This lens is also called the Pocket Rocket. It looks like a 28-80mm kit lens from Canon film camera bodies. I'm probably not going to need it, but for its size and weight, it doesn't bother me. The 70-200/2.8L will bother me though if I carried it around and not use it much.

Going with the Pocket Rocket, leaves me with a bit of space, so I've also taken my Canon EF Extender 1.4x Mk II and the Fisheye.



For in-flight entertainment, I bought VisionMongers by David duChemin. Thank you for interest. I should be having entries soon for my review of the book and a look back into my trip.