Travel Photography Equipment

So I've received a number of questions about what gear did I use on our trip to Italy.  I had a few priorities, one of which was traveling as light as possible.  This is a bit of a trick when your camera is the Nikon D700.  It's not as big as the full size D3, but the weight is considerable given the metal body and electronics that make it almost the same as the D3 inside (short of the extra batteries).

D700 shown with 24-70mm f/2.8

D3 shown with 85mm f/1.4

I was not about to give up the full frame sensor on the D700 for a lighter camera as I would have these photos to remember Italy by for many years to come.  That means traveling with lighter lenses.  I had the choice of spending some money on zoom lenses (variable focal length, like the 24-70mm) but it would come at a cost and a little bulkiness.  Zoom lenses tend to be longer and chunkier than primes (fixed focal length).  Primes also tend to be cheaper, however you end up buying more of them.  For this trip I considered my subjects: landscapes, portraits, some close-up/detail, no flash allowed/dark shots, and the occasional "other" shot.  Given most of these subjects did not require a long lens, I opted to leave all telephoto lenses home.

My final satchel of lenses was comprised of:

20mm f/2.8

50mm f/1.4

85mm f/1.4

You'll notice with this kit that I am able to handle low light well, take both interior, landscape, and portrait shots with ease.  I can't get that shot from across a river, but I'm on vacation and have feet, so if I really want that shot I can walk over the bridge and enjoy anything else I find on the way.  These lenses really forced me get the shot I wanted instead of being lazy with my composition (like with zooms).  There was only one photo where I wished I had a telephoto, but it would not have been worth carrying it for 2 weeks for that one shot.  Especially pictures of people, I would walk up, talk to them and ask for permission if they weren't street performers (then they get some money).

So I was able to get slightly wider and longer shots than if I had bought the 24-70mm, and generally faster and shallower depth-of-field photos too all while generally being less conspicuous (the primes are all smaller).  Certainly worth the two major drawbacks; overall space/weight and having to change lenses.

I also bought two other items for transporting this gear.  Most important to my travel was the convenience while carrying everything and a lack of bulk while doing so.  This meant purchasing a smaller camera bag for the trip.  After looking all over the Internet I settled on the Crumpler "5 Million Dollar Home".

(Ignore the Canon camera - also mine is black with green interior.)

The other piece of essential equipment is a fantastic neck strap.  The neck strap that comes with the D700 is screaming neck pain.  I was also slightly concerned about security, and many camera straps are very simple neoprene or have clips on the straps for fast and easy removal (scary).  There are also straps out there that have steel cables inside, but none of those looked too comfortable.  So I found the middle ground again from Crumpler called "The Industry Disgrace".

Not my camera, but you get the idea.

This strap was fantastic for the whole trip.  Outstanding even!  It is very comfortable, easy to adjust, easy to wear around the neck with the camera in front or to the side, and it is built rather securely too.  Highly recommended, better than the R-Strap (flopping around on your side all the time), and was great to wear for long hours of photography.