Shutterfinger

My Experience With the Nikon V1

Here's the Nikon V1 (left) next to a Canon G9 with lens retracted. As you can see, their body sizes are quite similar. So are their weights. The G9, however, has a lot more buttons, dials, and direct controls. It also has a hot shoe that will work with any standard flash unit, which is something the V1 lacks. On the other hand, the V1 is generally much easier and faster to operate and produces much high quality output.

Being the independent thinker I am, I decided to see for myself how well the much-reviled (and equally much-praised) Nikon V1 with its 10-30mm f/3.5-5.6 kit zoom would perform as a street and travel camera. As you can see from the comparison photo above, the V1 meets many of the most important qualifications for street and travel: It's small (approximately 113 x 76 x 43.5 mm/4.4 x 3 x 1.7 in. body only), lightweight (383 g/13.5 oz with battery and memory card), durable (magnesium alloy body), and unintimidating.

The question on my mind was whether it offered the speed, flexibility, and image quality that are so lacking in compact digicams and camera phones. I was not expecting it to be as capable or to have the same image quality as larger, heavier, more expensive APS-C and full-frame DSLRs. Those of you who do have that expectation should read no further. What follows is a summary of my discoveries, likes and dislikes, and a few tips for overcoming some of the V1's shortcomings.

Speed

The V1 is ready to shoot as soon as you extend the lens from its fully retracted state--or, in the case of the fixed focal lenth 10mm f/2.8, as soon as you press the On button. Unlike compact cameras with electronic zoom mechanisms linked to a rocker switch, you have direct and immediate mechanical control over focal length, with markings on the lens barrel. The image snaps into focus as soon as you press the shutter button halfway down. The 3" diagonal, 921K-dot LCD display is reasonably visible in bright light, however, when you raise the camera to your eye it automatically switches over to the built-in 1440K-dot electronic viewfinder. 

The Nikon V1 really struts its stuff when it comes to continuous focusing speed. If you use its electronic shutter, the V1 is capable of tracking movement in bright light at 10, 30, or 60 frames-per-second. It also has a 44-frame buffer, even for raw images. This is more useful for sports or wildlife photography than street and travel, but it's nice to have on hand nevertheless.

I asked this gentleman's permission to take his picture, which he graciously granted. The speed element here was the Nikon V1's ability to capture fleeting facial expressions and hand gestures such as this one.

No sooner had I raised the camera to my eye than this teenager turned to glance at me. I focused and released the shutter in no more than a half-second. Even though his face is off-center, the focus is spot-on. The first question out of his mouth was, "Are you a tourist?"

Things slow down when you need to do something other than focus, frame, and shoot. The V1 has very few direct controls. This means that when you want to set options such as ISO, white balance, or exposure mode (PASM), you have to do a bit of menu-diving. These generally aren't things you need to set often, so in my experience the inconvenience is minor.

Exposure compensation, which is something I use often, is directly available by pressing and turning the control dial on back of the camera. Unfortunately, you have to press a Set button for your change to register, which once again slows things down a second or two. (There is no exposure bracketing feature, by the way, but since I never use it I never missed it.)

An added speed-bump is the fact that there is no way to turn off image review, even when you're using the electronic viewfinder. This is no consequence to shooters who like to "chimp" every shot. For those of us who want to keep a constant live view of the subject, it's an annoyance that requires tapping the shutter button after each exposure to return to live view.

Image Quality

The V1's 10MP image sensor is approximately 4X as large in area as those in the average compact digicam while half as large as a four-thirds sensor. Should it come as any surprise that the image quality is significantly better than that of compact digicams and falls short of that of APS-C and full-frame, especially at high ISOs? In this regard shooting with the Nikon V1 is no different from shooting with 35mm vs. medium-format film. All things being equal, of course the larger format will offer a noticable edge in resolution and smoothness. It will also require a larger, heavier camera with larger, heavier, lenses--the sort of kit that a sizable percentage of photographers would rather leave at home than carry everywhere.

In bright light and at its base ISO of 100, the Nikon V1 can produce amazingly sharp and smooth images. And no, I didn't boost the color saturation in post. If anything, I lowered it.

When you look at the Nikon V1 for what it is--a compact yet capable camera--then its technical image quality is quite impressive and more than sufficient for street and travel photography. (Artistic image quality is your responsibility.) It well exceeds anything you'd need for screen resolution on the web. Based on personal experience, it's also good enough for excellent 11x14 prints, even with slightly cropped images shot at ISO 800.

Unobstrusiveness

I find that I'm lot more comfortable pointing a small, nondescript looking camera at people on the street than a large DSLR with a lens the size of a soda can. So are my subjects, at least those who notice me at all. The all-black Nikon V1 simply doesn't attract much attention. The same might not be true of the all-white version, yet even that would be more likely to convey that you're a style-conscious amateur rather than a pro.

Better yet, the V1 offers a choice of two shutters. The mechanical shutter operates with a whisper-quiet "snick." The electronic shutter is dead silent. So are the focus and zoom mechanisms in the lenses. I found it almost eerie how easy it was to photograph someone from only inches away without attracting even so much as a glance. 

Battery Power

Travel photography requires the ability to shoot off and on for hours at a time, as you move from one place to the next. Street photography requires the camera to be on for long periods, ready to snap a picture at a moment's notice. Both can be a heavier than normal drain on battery power.

Fortunately, the V1 uses the same high-capacity 1900mAh EN-EL15 battery Nikon designed for its D7000 DSLR. This battery charges quickly, can easily last through a full day of shooting, and is readily available if you should decide to pack a spare. Don't take this for granted. Many cameras are powered by batteries so weak and hard to find that they become an Achilles heel.

 

 

 

Drawbacks and Remedies

All cameras have limitations and design flaws. The Nikon V1 is no exception. In addition to the ones I've already mentioned, one of the most annoying is the mode dial on the back of the camera. It doesn't cycle you through the standard PASM exposure modes you might expect. You have to menu-dive for that. Instead, the modes are Motion Snapshot, Smart Photo, Still Image, and Movie. Suffice it to say that the mode I used most often was Still Image. The problem is that although the detents on the mode dial seem stiff enough, in practice it's quite easy to accidentally move the dial. I solved this problem by taping the mode dial in place with a piece of black gaffer's tape. This shouldn't be necessary, but at least it's quick, cheap, and effective.

The gaffer's tape solution also came in handy for taping down the small removable plastic cover for the accessory port. Travel photography in particular involves a lot of camera handling, jostling, moving around, and distractions. Anything that can fall off of your camera will, and will probably never be seen again.

The one thing you can't tape over is the slow lens speed typical of kit zooms. You're at f/5.6 before you know it. Even though the zooms have vibration-reduction, you'll still be shooting at speeds below 1/30 and/or high ISOs in low light. This system begs for one or two fast primes with a maximum aperture of at least f/1.8.

Finally, keep in mind that like many digital cameras, the Nikon V1 takes a few seconds to awake once it's gone to sleep. That may not sound like much, but it can often mean the difference between catching or losing a once-in-a-lifetime shot. My solution was to increase the default time-before-sleep from 30 seconds to 5 minutes. This reduced the constant need to re-awaken the camera with only a minor increase in battery drain. You can increase the time-before-sleep even more if you like, just make sure to have a spare battery on hand if you do.

Would I Buy One?

Given the amount of money I have budgeted (less than $1000 for camera plus one or two lenses), the V1 is a strong contender, especially now that Nikon has temporarily knocked $100 off the price here in the U.S. If the price ($800 with 10-30mm kit zoom) still seems high for a camera of this size and specification, keep in mind that the Nikon V1 has a built-in hi-res optical viewfinder. That said, so does the Panasonic Lumix G3, for roughly $200 less, but with considerably less ability to maintain focus on fast moving objects.

If I had more money on hand I'd probably opt for the Olympus E-M5, assuming I was also willing to wait for dealers to have them in stock. I might even consider the Sony NEX-7 if it weren't for the lenses being so large. You'll know what I decided when you see the pictures I upload from my upcoming trip to China. Until then, I hope you enjoy the photos I've taken so far. Feel free to visit my Zenfolio gallery for more examples. If there are any Nikon V1 owners out there who have something constructive to add, please send comments.

 

Traveling Light

In case you're wondering, this 35mm f/2D Nikkor weighs only 7.6 oz (220 grams) with rear cap.

A recent photo enthusiast magazine, which I won't mention by name, recently published its travel photography issue. Amidst its photos of exotic locales, it featured an article on recommended equipment for travel photography. Their list included items such as a Canon EOS 5d Mark II full-frame DSLR, a 24-70mm f/2.8 zoom, and a 70-200mm f/2.8 IS zoom. All three are excellent pieces of equipment. Assuming a reasonable level of skill on your part and a great travel location, you should be able to get excellent photos with this kit, all day, every day.

There are just two problems with this recommendation. First, assuming you could afford such a collection of top-drawer pro equipment to begin with, you'd be committing to taking it all with you on a trip far from home, where you run the risk that unless you carry it with you at all times, it could be stolen from your hotel room, the trunk (boot) of your car, the train you're travelling on, the restaurant you're eating at, etc. In some countries you also run the risk of having your equipment stolen even if it's on your person. Thieves may not know the exact value of your gear, but they will generally assume that big equals expensive. More often than not, they will be right.

The second issue, closely related to the first, is weight. Your interest in security and photography means you'll be carrying your equipment with you practically everywhere you go. That 10 lb. (5 kg) shoulder bag that seemed so manageable when you packed it at home quickly becomes a torturous ball and chain when you have to lug it around at high altitudes, high temperatures, and high humidity. You may soon find yourself begging for some enterprising thief to relieve you of your burdon, or at least share the load.

All of the above factors are compounded if you have travel companions who are non-photographers. They won't understand why you brought so much equipment in the first place, why you're always stopping to take pictures of someone other than them, and why you always look so miserable and distracted.

In short, it's one thing to travel with a lot of heavy and expensive equipment if you're a pro who's either getting paid to lug it or paying someone else to do it. It's quite another when you are the beast of burden.

So what is the perfect travel camera? It all depends on what you consider "perfect" and how much you're willing to compromise. The three factors I consider essential include:

1. Small
   Size is, of course, relative, but the closer your camera and lens combo comes to being something you can carry in a pocket or purse, the better. Small cameras and lenses have the added benefit of looking less intimidating and/or valuable to others.
2. Lightweight
   This too is relative. My limit is a kit that weighs no more than 2.5 lbs (approximately 1kg) including shoulder bag and strap. If I can get away with less weight, so much the better.
3. Fast lens
   I have yet to travel anywhere where the ability to shoot in low light without flash or a tripod hasn't been valuable. VR/IS/SR also help a lot, especially if combined with lens speed. If I have to choose between one or the other though, I'll go with lens speed because it helps keep shutter speeds higher and allows more control over depth-of-field. Unfortunately, fast lenses tend to be large and heavy. I never said this was easy.

Non-essential but nevertheless valuable is a zoom lens. I almost never use zooms when I'm practicing street photography because I find them bulky, slow, and unnecessary. When it comes to travel photography, however, a single wide-to-tele zoom reduces the amount of equipment I have to carry and keep track of. A zoom also reduces or eliminates the need to switch lenses, which in turn reduces how often the sensor is exposed to dust.

Total all of these factors up and you come up with a fairly short list of cameras, most of which are mirrorless and many of which are surprisingly pricey for what they are. I've already settled on one or two I think would be ideal for me. What about you? I'm particularly interested in hearing from any of you who have "been there, done that" and know from experience which camera/lens combos can get the job done with maximum enjoyment and minimum pain.

Mark Your Calendars

On August 24-25 of this year Rocky Nook, the publisher of such excellent books as Bruce Burnbaum's "The Art of Photography" and George Barr's "Why Photographs Work," will be hosting photoact2012, a photography art, craft, and technology conference with workshops in sunny Santa Barbara, California.

Among the speakers and educators will be Bruce Burnbaum, Dan Burkholder, Uwe Steinmuller, Ken Rockwell, and yes, me. Those of you who've never heard of any of these gentlemen (alas, there are no ladies among the speakers) might want to Google or Bing their names, if only to see what you could be missing. My workshop will be on street photography, which seems to be experiencing a renaissance these days. Please click the link I provided (here's another one) for more information.

The prices are reasonable. The speakers, location, and weather will be excellent. Mark your calendars accordingly. Better yet, be there. I'd love to meet you in person.

It Pays to Be Prepared

This was the expression on my wife's face when she saw me enter with a camera on my shoulder. We were seated next to the front window, which was to my right. There was enough light for me to get a reasonably sharp, daylight-balanced exposure at 1/50 second and f/2.8 at ISO 400.

My wife and I had agreed to meet for dinner at an Indian restaurant in Manayunk, a neighborhood in Philadelphia that features a wealth of small shops, bars, and eating establishments. As I often do, I had a camera slung over my shoulder. This amused her, as you can see from the photo above. Her impression was that there wasn't much to photograph in the restaurant other than the food and her, and that once we finished dinner we would head home to relieve the babysitter and put the kids to bed.

Ah, but we had come in separate cars--she from an office in the city and me from my office at home. So instead of going directly home after dinner I dawdled a bit. Strike that. I was "testing the low light capabilities of the Nikon D7000's image sensor." I was also testing my hand-holding abilities. IS/OIS/VR/SR, etc. are all wonderful things. So is being able to hold a camera still without them.

By the time dinner ended it was twilight. The sun had just set. The remaining light from the sky cast a soft glow over everything. Because I was using a 35mm f/2.0 lens I had the option of using a fast aperture to raise my shutter speed into the range of hand-holdability without having to drastically raise the ISO. As tempting as it is to use high ISOs in low light, I generally do so only as a last resort because low key subjects are the first to show image noise and don't respond as well to shadow curve adjustments. The best example of this is the photo below, located only a few dozen yards away from where my car was parked.

The bridge above was backlit by the western sky, where the sun had just set behind the trees. The bridge is silhouetted because if I increased the exposure the clouds and sky would have clipped. If I had shot this as a JPEG I would probably have deleted it later. There would be no way to rescue the lost shadow detail. A cameraphone would have been out of the question. Fortunately, I shot RAW with a Nikon D7000, so I could do what I did below.

Pretty amazing, eh? Because I braced myself on a nearby post I was able to shoot at 1/25 second and f/5.0 at ISO 200, which meant the shadows were clean enough that I could boost them in post without having to worry about them getting glittery on me.

By the way, the water you see in the photos is from the Manayank canal, which runs parallel to the Schuylkill (SKOO-kuhl) River, and was the first canal dug in the U.S. The railroad tracks are for a suburban commuter train, which makes Manayunk easily accessible. Should you decide to visit, take a tip from me: Be prepared. Bring your camera.

Think Like a Travel Photographer

I just got back from a four day visit with relatives on Martha's Vineyard, a small island off the coast of Massachusetts. It's a popular spot for summer vacationers and retirees who are looking for a place to relax and reconnect with friends and family. The architectural style of the homes there is quaint without being kitschy and displays of affluence are restrained. Many of the houses there date back to the late 1800s and even the newer ones mimic their New England cottage style.

As if that weren't enough to whet a photographer's appetite, the Vineyard is surrounded by ocean, with plenty of accompanying beaches, boats, dunes, marshes, ponds, and woods. It's easy to get postcard shots here--sharp, colorful images of the landmarks and scenes that tourists typically marvel at. The challenge is to come up with images that evoke the mood, lighting, and atmosphere of the place. That's the approach travel and landscape photographers take and that I tried to mimic during my brief stay. For those of you who'd like to do the same, here are a few basic tips.

1. Get up early.

The light will be great. Traffic and crowds will be non-existent. During summer months the temperatures will also be more comfortable in the morning than at mid-day.

2. Hang around for the "golden hour."

This is the hour before sunset. The low angle is similar to that of sunrise but the light itself often has a flattering warm glow.

3. Take advantage of low winds.

One of the best times to photograph bodies of water is when the wind speed is low. This mimimizes ripples and makes the surface look like one large mirror. If the mirror reflects  something beautiful or dramatic, so much the better.

4. Isolate

This is where a telephoto lens comes in handy. It allows you to get closer to spots you otherwise might not be able to reach and lets you crop out all but the essential elements of your composition. That said, you can practice isolation even if you're shooting with a wide-angle lens.

5. Limit your color palette.

This is similar to isolation, except in this case you're limiting the number of colors. The colors can either be complementary or contrasting, and the fewer the better. You also have the option of shooting in black and white or converting to monochrome.

6. Capture human activity.

This is one of the hardest yet most gratifying things to do: to capture the warmth of the sunshine, the salt in the air, the aroma of fresh seafood, the joy of children playing on a beach, the rough texture of clapboard-covered houses. If you're in a large city, try to capture its sophistication, edginess, pace, or whatever else make the strongest impression on you.

These are simply the first six things that came easily to mind. If there's anything you think I've overlooked, feel free to add to the list. In the meantime, here's a small selection of photos from my visit. I hope you like looking at them as much as I enjoyed shooting them.

 

 

 

 

Ecuador Portfolio Uploaded (Finally)

Believe it or not, I toned the color saturation in this photo down a bit. I didn't want it to look as if I had gotten too happy with the saturation slider. I also know from experience that an image that looks like this on the screen will print darker and a bit more saturated.

I finally uploaded the best of my Ecuador photos to Zenfolio, my online gallery of choice (at least for the time being). If you're interested in seeing them, just click this link. Feel free to leave comments on the photos you like most. If there any that you think suck, please break it to me gently.

By the way, I defy anyone to tell without looking at the captions which photos were shot with a Pentax and which were shot with a Canon. I didn't do anything to even them out other than to make sure that neither camera was set to "vivid" or any other over-the-top processing setting. It just goes to show you that the visual differences between various camera brands aren't quite as distinctive as some would have you believe.

Lessons Learned in Ecuador

These high school students and their parents were waiting to register for the new school year. The line and the wait were long. It's only because every person was so caught up in their own immediate interests that no one noticed me taking this picture.

Well, I'm back from my two-week long trip to Quito, Ecuador, including various small towns in the general vicinity. Now it's time to look back and reflect on lessons learned: which plans worked out well and which didn't; which things I would do all over again and which I would never want to do again if you paid me. I am presenting three of them in no particular order and solely for your edification. As always, feel free to apply whatever you find useful and disregard the rest.

1. Carry minimal equipment

My original plan was to bring on a Pentax K-7, 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 DA, and three 4GB SD cards. Then I had second thoughts and decided I would get better results in low light if I replaced the zoom with a trio of three primes: the 21mm f/3.2, 35mm f/2.8 macro, and 70mm f/2.4. Together they barely take up more space than the zoom and offer up to two stops more light gathering ability.

So far so good. Then I decided that since I also had a Canon EOS 7D for a writing project I'm doing, why not take that along too? With a Canon 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS zoom attached the 7D was a lot larger and heavier the Pentax K-7, but both would fit in my camera bag. Since I didn't plan to shoot with both cameras in the bag at the same time, weight wouldn't be an issue.

Except that it was. It was an issue during the 8-hour layover in Houston. It was an issue during the 3-hour flight delay in Quito. It was an issue even when I was carrying only one camera and a lens or two. Trust me, however heavy something seems when you first put it on your shoulder I guarantee it will feel a lot heavier after a mile or two of walking up and down hills at a 10,000-foot elevation.

Aside from that, when you're in a foreign country that has a high poverty rate and a high crime rate to match, walking around with lots of expensive photographic equipment is a Bad Idea. A tripod and an external flash unit would have been even worse. At least I had the good sense to leave both at home. If only I had thought to bring a high-quality, pocket-sized digicam.

I had only one shot at the correct exposure and framing so instead of relying purely on automation or theory I relied on what I knew would be the correct exposure. I can make the highlights and shadows lighter or darker to suit my preference but both have detail.

2. Trust what you see, not what you've been told.

I have learned the hard way that when it comes to producing usable photographs, it's better to be an empiricist than a theorist. For example, current digital exposure theory holds that it's best to "expose to the right"--that is, to maximize but not exceed the exposure range the sensor has available. The problem in practice is that it's often hard to know whether you've exposed just enough or so much that the highlights are unrecoverable. Other times, as with featureless gray skies, there's no real detail worth recovering anyway, so why worry?

Here's another example: In theory a reflected light meter such as the one in your camera should underexpose a white wall (or some equally large and bright surface) and render it closer to an 18% gray. In practice, some cameras with sophisticated matrix metering systems will "know" they are looking at a white wall and will automatically adjust to render it as such. If you then manually add additional exposure you will actually overexpose rather than correct the exposure. By the time you notice this you may an image with blown highlights, whereas if it had been a stop too dark you could have lightened it in Photoshop, Lightroom, or whatever post-processing software you prefer.

Let me be clear: I'm not saying that everything you've ever been told is wrong; what I'm saying is that one of the benefits of shooting digitally is that you get instant feedback on exposure, focus and framing. Take advantage of it.

3. Always check your settings.

One of the most wonderful things about today's DSLRs is that you have so many different settings available for autofocus, exposure mode, ISO, light balance, focus points, and on and on. It's also one of the worst things about today's DSLRs. A setting that's perfect for one situation may be completely inappropriate for the next one you're in. And don't think that shooting raw will save you; not if you're shooting with the camera set to ISO 1600 when it should have been set to ISO 100; or with image stabilization off when it should have been on or vice-versa; or with AF set to one-shot when it should have been continuous.

Fortunately for me, the K-7 and 7D both have a rear panel display option that shows a summary of every major setting, along with direct, menu-driven access via the rear control dial/buttons. I use this feature religiously. If your camera has a similar feature you may wish to do the same.

That's it for now. It's late, I've been preparing photos for my Ecuador photo gallery, and I need rest. But that shouldn't stop you from posting a few "lessons learned" of your own. What revelations have you learned from previous travel photo expeditions that you think are worth sharing with the rest of us?

Want a challenge? Try photographing in Quito, Ecuador.

This is straight out of the camera, with no tweaking in Photoshop or Lightroom. It's also the closet I've gotten so far to what it feels like to be in this particular section of Quito.

Before I left for a two week visit to Quito, Ecuador I thought I had a pretty good idea of the challenges of photographing there. I had done my homework. I knew it would be necessary to avoid ostentatious displays of equipment or money. I knew I would have to avoid high-poverty, high-crime neighborhoods. I knew I'd be with my family most days and would therefore have few opportunities to photograph at length and at my leisure. 

So far this has all proven to be true. The Canon EOS 7D plus Canon 15-85mm zoom I brought is almost absurdly large. It might as well be gold-plated for all the attention it attracts. The Pentax K-7 and the three DA lenses I brought (21mm, 35mm and 70mm) are significantly smaller and lighter, yet even this kit can be hard to manage. Switching lenses on the run is a drag. Carrying only one or two lenses is definitely the way to go.

There are a lot of other things I discovered only after arriving. For example, Quito is in the Andes mountains, 2850 meters (approximately 10,000 feet) above sea level. The air is thin. Many of the streets are hilly. Until you acclimate, mild exertion can leave you gasping for breath.

And then there's the weather: It can change from warm and sunny to cool and cloudy in a matter of minutes. This can wreak havoc with exposures and compositions. Bold shadows and textured highlights can dissolve into flat open shade in seconds. Oh, and did I mention the constant flow of traffic and people, or the sidewalks that are like miniature obstacle courses? 

I'm not mentioning all these things to put down Quito or Ecuador. It's a wonderful country and most of the people I've met are very kind and helpful. Once you're outside the tourist areas you get an impression of genuine Ecuadorian ethnic culture rather than a South American version of Disneyland, Starbucks, Pizza Hut and Burger King.

The reason I mention these challenges is to accurately describe a situation that demands maximum concentration, mastery of camera functions, and quick reflexes, both from you and your camera of choice. For those who prefer to photograph at a measured pace this could be hell. Time and the need to avoid attracting to much attention would not be on your side. For those who have a hunter's instincts and can capture an image in the blink of an eye, it's the ultimate challenge. I'm not there yet, my friends, but I'm trying, and that's at least half the fun. 

Final Preparations

You might not believe it, but all this...

It's here at last: I'm leaving on Sunday for two week trip to Ecuador. This will be my first time there, so needless to say I'm excited about the prospect of taking photographs in such an exotic (to me) locale. On the other hand, I'll be traveling with my wife and kids and won't be on paid assignment, so I have no illusions about being able to shoot as much as I want, any time I want. I also won't be carrying an unlimited amount of equipment, nor would I want to. The truth is, I do my best, most focused work when I have to work within specific limits.

That said, I'm probably only going to visit Ecuador once in my lifetime, so I want to make the best of the opportunity. I want to bring enough equipment but not too much; high-quality equipment, but not so high-quality that it weighs a ton, costs thousands of dollars, and makes me nervous about using it in public.

...fits into this 12 x 7 x 7-inch bag, with room to spare.

What I'm taking is what you see in the accompanying photos. The Canon kit, which is on loan, consists of an EOS 7D with a Canon 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS zoom. The Pentax kit consists of a Pentax K-7 and Pentax 21mm f/3.2, 35mm f/2.8, and 70mm f/3.4 DA lenses. Both kits will include the necessary battery chargers and memory cards.

My bag, a Domke F-6, could also accommodate a Pentax 55-300mm zoom, which would be handy for isolating subjects from cluttered backgrounds. Or it might be a better idea to substitute a portable flash unit to use for supplementary lighting. Instead of carrying rechargeable batteries, which would require yet another charger, I'd use alkalines.

Either way, the bag will total 11 pounds or less. That's fine for carrying the equipment from home to Ecuador and back. During my photo excursions I'll lighten the load by carrying one camera system and leaving the other at the home I'm visiting. My goal is to travel light, have fun, and be open to new experiences. If I can come back with a few memorable images, so much the better. Internet access will be limited, but I should still be able to post once or twice a week, so stay tuned.

I Found My Travel Lens

Here's a side-by-side comparison of the Pentax 35mm f/2.8 DA Macro with the 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AL II. Despite the difference in size they weigh almost exactly the same. Does that mean the prime is relatively heavy or the zoom is relatively light?

In less than six weeks I will be flying to Quito, Ecuador to spend two weeks taking Spanish lessons in the morning, writing in the afternoon, and taking pictures as time allows. I'll be traveling with my wife and three kids, so there's no point in my approaching the photography as a professional assignment. A 15-pound camera bag crammed with cameras, fast zooms, a portable flash and a tripod are out. At the other extreme, I want my photos to have reasonably low noise even in low light. That eliminates the vast majority of compact point-and-shoot digicams. The trick is to find the right compromise; something reasonably small and lightweight, yet capable of producing pro-quality images.

Since my compact DSLR choice these days is the Pentax K-7, one might think that I would simply carry my trio of small yet high-quality Pentax DA primes: the 21mm f/3.2, 35mm f/2.8 Macro, and 55mm f/1.4 SDM. It's not a bad idea. In practice, however, I find this trio is often than ideal for travel. The first reason is that it requires carrying more individual pieces of equipment. I realize that this  allows me the option of carrying only one prime at a time but it also increases the risk that the focal length I choose will be too wide or too long for a particular subject.

Carrying all three isn't that onerous a task. My only concern in this case--again, based on experience--is that frequent lens changes provide more opportunities for dust to collect on the viewing screen. I don't plan to bring cleaning supplies with me. Fortunately, the K-7's sensor cleaning system is so effective I haven't noticed a spec of dust on any of my actual images. 

And then a week ago, as I was casually reviewing test reports of various Pentax lenses, I noticed that the Pentax 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AL II kit lens was receiving near-universal praise for its optical and mechanical qualities. For example, it has a metal lens mount and there's very little of the lens barrel wobble you find in some kit zooms. Although its plastic barrel makes it feel lighter in the hand than my 35mm f/2.8, which has an aluminum barrel, they weigh almost exactly the same. The 35mm f/2.8 focuses a lot closer, but I'm not much of a macro shooter anyway. I'm not much of a telephoto shooter either, which is why my 55-300mm f.3.5-5.8 will stay at home.

One could argue that this shot isn't quite as sharp as it would be if I had used one of my Pentax DA primes, but the results ain't too shabby for a $115.00 lens that weighs just under 8 ounces (220g) without hood.

Optically, even the 18-55mm's worst performance is more than acceptable and its best performance is well above average, even at maximum aperture. That's a good thing because its maximum aperture of the 18-55mm averages at least a stop slower than my equivalent primes. I'd hate to have to stop down even more to get acceptable resolution across the frame. Fortunately, I won't.

"But what about low light?", you ask. Good question. For that I'll bring the 55mm f/1.4. Its amazingly sharp and contrasty from f/2.8 - 11. The wider apertures turn it into a bokeh machine that's sharp at the center yet smooth and creamy in the background and at the edges.

So that's my plan. It's not etched in stone though. If I'm overlooking something or if someone has been to Ecuador and has suggestions for a better outfit--one that doesn't involve me spending $5000 for a completely new camera and set of lenses--I'm all ears. Does anyone have any "If I knew then what I know now" stories?