Nikon travel the world kit

[jlancasterd]

My long haul touring kit used to be a D8XX (currently the 850) with a 24-120 f4, but since I got the much lighter Z6 last November I would go with that and the 24-70S f4, plus my recently-acquired 14-30S f4 if it's a trip where I'm likely to want to do interiors.

 

[Jack]

My long haul touring kit used to be a D8XX (currently the 850) with a 24-120 f4, but since I got the much lighter Z6 last November I would go with that and the 24-70S f4, plus my recently-acquired 14-30S f4 if it's a trip where I'm likely to want to do interiors.

Arguably my worst lens, the 24-120 is just so darn versatile, I keep it -- it's also now my only zoom... I *might* just go with my D810 and that, and then add in the Samyang 14 or Nikkor 20G for interiors...

 

[routlaw]

For me either the Z7 (which I own) or Z6 given its a bit faster. Lenses, 24-70 F4, 14-30, 35 1.8, and FTZ with the 70-200 F4. RRS lightweight CF tripod, with BH-40 bullhead. Packs, well I've never found the perfect pack but its not for lack of trying. By now I've owned and used a couple of dozen of the damn things and never felt I had a soul mate with any of them.

 

[JohnBrew]

Ain’t it the truth.

 

[rayyan]

Just been back from a trip...not across the world but 5 different but similar countries...along the old Silk Road.

Uzbekistan
Tajikistan
Turkmenistan
Krygistan
Kazakhstan

A Nikon Df, The 50/1.8g plus the 85/1.8g.
2 batteries plus charger.
6 x 32 GB SD cards.
Artisan sling bag.

iPhone.

Was it good? Faultless.
Could it have been better? Maybe.

Good enough for me.

I shall be posting images later, after I give them an initial sorting.

 

[Jan Brittenson]

Without doubt it's for me now the Z7, 14-30S, 24-70/4S, Leica Tele-Elmar-M 135/4. I'm also waiting to receive a 300PF from B&H I suspect will end up in there. And if I carry the FTZ I might also toss the 16mm Fisheye in checked luggage to have on hand. Still looking for a decent XQD card wallet... that thing is a bit big for just two spare cards since half of it is taken up by 3 SDs. Maybe add an SB-400 with a salmon gel if I want a little midday fill.

Packed up to go. Normally the body plus lens will be in my hand on in the top compartment for easy access, but I might stow it in the bottom for carry-on. The tripod usually goes in checked luggage and doesn't go everywhere with me, unless I plan to use it. That Kata DR466i and Velbon Carmagne 530 tripod has already been around the world with me many times, with Mamiya 7, Leica M, and Nikon DSLRs.

 

[Thorkil]

Z7 went along to Italy with 14-30/4S, 24-70/4S and FX70-200/4.
But I regret (while travelling by car) that I didn't bring the 35/1.8S and the 50/1.8S, while I'm in a mood for the time being, for like returning to sort of "simple doing",
where the primes can almost be a relief (by just bringing one at a time) and a sort of healthy limitation, that perhaps some times let you shift from availability to grabbing out from a fewer possibilities, and that perhaps are more likely to set the mind free, and push creativity further (..?)

 

[Jack]

I agree Thorkil. I have travelled with primes and zooms, and in the end, I probably lean toward a zoom simply for versatility. Then realistically, a good 24/28/35-70/85/120 plus a single super-wide prime cover pretty much all my needs

 

[Jorgen Udvang]

I agree Thorkil. I have travelled with primes and zooms, and in the end, I probably lean toward a zoom simply for versatility. Then realistically, a good 24/28/35-70/85/120 plus a single super-wide prime cover pretty much all my needs

In the real world, you are right. The Tamron 35-150mm f/2.8-4 and the Nikkor 20mm f/1.8 would turn my D800 into an acceptably lightweight travel kit. The question is what to do with all that other "stuff" that I own :ROTFL:

 

[KeithL]

I've never been a lover of zoom lenses, even the fairly compact Nikon Z zooms are just too big for my liking. And it's not primarily because I don't want to carry them, they are just so indiscrete and frighten the natives.

I'm slowly building a small Nikon Z system. My needs are modest and the system will be built around fast, compact and lightweight native primes.

So far I have two Nikon Z7 bodies, the Z 50 f/1.8 S and Z 35 f/1.8 S lenses. I will be getting the Z 85 f/1.8 lens when released. I'm in two minds over my wide lens choice, but despite my dislike of zooms I will probably opt for the very compact and lightweight Z 14-30 f/4 S for the flexibility it offers: I have no need for a fast wide.

What I take with me when travelling is largely dependent on the destination and project, usually three lens and two bodies. What I take with me once at the destination usually consists of one camera with attached lens in-hand and one camera with attached lens in a small bag.

The choice of which lenses to take when I'm wandering again depends on what I'm expecting to shoot. As an example, on the open ghats of Varanasi I would typically choose a short telephoto for portraits, changing to a 35 lens for the narrow and busy lanes. In Greece I'd typically choose a 35 or 50 as the in-hand walk around camera and a wide on the second body in the bag for ruined interiors - returning to the car to collect the tripod.

Really, it's all needs based.

 

[Jack]

A sidebar note on travel the world lens choices. As I look at images from superwides in that 14-15 range --zoom or prime-- that contain people, it becomes apparent very quickly how much an ultrawide rectilinear lens distorts the human head, or any other spherical object for that matter. What I find interesting, is a similar focal fisheye does NOT do that, and leaves a human head looking like a human head... This is giving me pause as to which I should carry -- much easier to "correct" a fisheye to rectilinear than it is to morph a rectilinear into a fisheye... Of course the other option is stitching with my do-all zoom at one of its wider settings...

 

[KeithL]

A sidebar note on travel the world lens choices. As I look at images from superwides in that 14-15 range --zoom or prime-- that contain people, it becomes apparent very quickly how much an ultrawide rectilinear lens distorts the human head, or any other spherical object for that matter. What I find interesting, is a similar focal fisheye does NOT do that, and leaves a human head looking like a human head... This is giving me pause as to which I should carry -- much easier to "correct" a fisheye to rectilinear than it is to morph a rectilinear into a fisheye... Of course the other option is stitching with my do-all zoom at one of its wider settings...

Personally I'd avoid using super-wides for images that contain people and instead look for other possibilities using longer lenses within those situations.

 

[Jorgen Udvang]

A sidebar note on travel the world lens choices. As I look at images from superwides in that 14-15 range --zoom or prime-- that contain people, it becomes apparent very quickly how much an ultrawide rectilinear lens distorts the human head, or any other spherical object for that matter. What I find interesting, is a similar focal fisheye does NOT do that, and leaves a human head looking like a human head... This is giving me pause as to which I should carry -- much easier to "correct" a fisheye to rectilinear than it is to morph a rectilinear into a fisheye... Of course the other option is stitching with my do-all zoom at one of its wider settings...

Interesting that you mention this. I carry both, and prefer the fisheye for subjects like large groups of people. I've spent too much time with the PS Warp tool trying to get human heads back to normal in images taken with a rectilinear ultra WA lens.

I currently use the very complex (17 elements in 15 groups) Zuiko 8mm f/1.8 for MFT for this, but it would be interesting to try out the newish Nikkor 8-15mm fisheye zoom.

It doesn't always work well though. If faces appear too close to the corners, they will still be distorted, as can be seen in this photo (the woman at the bottom left corner):

But for large groups it works amazingly well. This one has had no post processing other than cropping top and bottom (horizon centered when taking the photo):

Many fishey lenses also focus very closely, making them perfect for dramatic macro effects.