kanuck said:
Yes the Holly Trinity set of enormous weight^^

you got that right! Im thnking about tanking my 28-70mm for a 50mm as I never zoom with that thing... My 14-24mm and 70-200mm stay.

Yes the Holly Trinity set of enormous weight^^

If you are talking about desert conditions.. i would seriously consider taking the tough little coolpix AW100.. and you can have that with almost all the time ! :-) even in the shower ! :-)

Geoff_K said:
A portable HEATED shower. ;- >

I could see that being handy, lol

msmoto said:
One thought I had was to take any other gear you have at the moment, pack it into individual shipping boxes and address them, then if needed you could have someone ship them to you.

Also, you made a statement about your fiancé not being too happy about all this. Not certain why you said this, but maybe you can sit down with someone and discuss the entire trip, goals to be accomplished, and then look at the equipment. So often, a non involved party can help us when we are going off for a long time. Maybe there is something else you are forgetting.

This all relates to playing in the big sandbox across the pond (from the US) as some have called it. My photography has nothing to do with the goals to be accomplished looking at it from a job standpoint, this is just something for me to relax and focus my attention somewhere else.

The fiance not happy about this is more of a stress for me feeling bad about leaving her behind you might say, she understands and is proud of me but still does not want to see me leave. With all this, I more wanted an outside check to make sure I was not forgetting something basic that would have been photography critical you might say. So far it seems I didn't loose my mind totally, lol.

Gear choice might be a bit strange but I understand and agree that it really depends on the person and location your heading to really know what your going to need. Unfortunately I really don't know all the information either so I am flying a bit blind on this trip. Thanks for everyone's input.

Nice to see this pos come back to the front. I'm heading out of town on the 14th to about the 24 or later. So I have decided to take...hmmm lets see....Everything! Less the monopod. LOL!

D4
D7000
10.5 2.8 Fisheye (DX)
24 1.5G
35 1.8G
50 1.4G
85 1.8G
105 2.8G VRII
The Holly Trinity Set (14-24, 24-70, 70-200 2.8)
SB 700
RRS Tripod
GPS Units
Promote Controle System
Extra Batteries for both bodies and flash
ND, CPL and color filters
17" MPB Pro Laptop
Two Backpacks to hold all the gear

And some more goodies...but you get the idea. I hate not having the what it take to get the shot I'm after. :P

Ooh and I get lucky to hook up with Eric up in Napa (which is where I'm heading), I just might get my hands on his 300 2.8 for a bit as well.

I have realized that each individual decision regarding what to take on a trip is actually made on what is to be photographed. And, I do not have any idea what the end goal is, scoobysmak.

One thought I had was to take any other gear you have at the moment, pack it into individual shipping boxes and address them, then if needed you could have someone ship them to you.

Also, you made a statement about your fiancé not being too happy about all this. Not certain why you said this, but maybe you can sit down with someone and discuss the entire trip, goals to be accomplished, and then look at the equipment. So often, a non involved party can help us when we are going off for a long time. Maybe there is something else you are forgetting.

A portable HEATED shower. ;- >

I was looking back at this original post and saw that the memory cards you were bringing were quite small for such a long trip. I realize you will be uploading to drives or a computer, but maybe for sanities sake a couple of 16GB cards might come in handy? Also, a vari ND filter would be a nice addition to anyones list for travel as well. A useful 77mm thin one from Singh Ray would round out anyones "must bring" list.

I do understand the need for a spare camera, my only option would be my D7000 but honestly I hate the controls, it works fine though. I am limited to 100 lbs of total weight of which 42 lbs is already accounted for with the stuff they are makeing me take, I will be gone possibly more than a year so everything is a balance, that extra pair of socks had to be left at home.

I admit the flash stuff seems a bit off but I need to practice with it, its something I have the equipment but lack the skill and have not had the time to really work with it. Since the rest of my life has been put on hold, this hopefully will give me the time to work on my photography. I didn't have room for another camera body but breaking down the flash parts and putting a piece here and there I managed stuff it in. I do have an SB-900 but I couldn't put it where the SB-700 fits.

Thanks for the comments, I just figured it would be better to say what I got now instead of what I forgot later, lol...things like memory cards or the cord to the battery charger, ect.

Re spare camera the D700 is pretty reliable
but if you do get a spare, why not anther D700 quite a few bargains at the moment
taking 2 flashes makes sense to me; I would also add an SB 910
if the tripod needs a plate, take a spare
I would be tempted to take a spare battery charger and sensor cleaning kit
As you are not taking a macro lens, may be a close up lens or extension rings
I would take 3 TT5's and forget the TT1 but that's just me

but you will have a much better idea of what you need than us

For certain having a backup camera which will accept all the lenses. I like your choice, but would take along the D7000 as well, something to shoot with if the D700 malfunctions. I do not understand all the flash equipment. Shoot available light like in the old days....or at least some of us remember shooting ISO 400 at night.

That is my thought today.....

* Backup camera : its usually a good idea to carry a tough P&S like the coolpix AW100, just in case your camera breaks down. Most people seem to take a second camera as well.

* why 2 flash ? one should be more than enough... cant think of a good reason to use a flash anyway. - unless you have some specific need.

* some people take a lot of memory cards and periodically send a copy back to themselves(or a friend). Just in case all the gear gets lost( or trampled by an elephant or fall into a ravine), you still have some photos that have been mailed home.

Well this thread has not been too popluar lately, since I was the last one to respond to it.

I am now about to leave the country and figure I would post my gear list so everyone can tell me what I forgot, since I it seems I am not with it lately. Too much other stuff on my mind, like my fiance that is not happy about all this. Either way here it goes:

1. D700
2. 16-35mm F4 VR
3. 50mm 1.4D
4. 70-200mm 2.8 VR2
5. TC-E 1.7
6. Two battery packs and a charger
7. 6 memory cards various from 4 to 16 GB
8. Lens cleaner
9. Filters: ND grads, ND, Polarizer, Haze, ect
10. Cable release
11. Portable tripod
12. Tablet PC with lightroom 4
13. Pocketwizard one AC3, one TT1, and two TT5's
14. SB-700
15. SB-400
16. Gray card

I figured I forgot something but can't think of it at the moment, life has just been way too busy. This actually might be a break for me in some ways, I haven't taken but maybe 100 pictures since July. Maybe I can contribute to the PAD during my trip but I won't know if I have internet until after I get there.

I did look at the flipside 400 but its a bit too big for what i want to carry, i can currently fit all the gear in a slngshot 202 but im looking to carry the 100-300 mounted

For air travel I have a Thinktank Airport International v2 (Hand luggage)
For general about town, a Lowepro Flipside 400 backpack (I chopped off the waist strap thingies)
For heavyweight about town and short travel, a Lowepro Flipside 500 backpack
For photography onsite and customer visits, a Kata KT 'Video Pro' (I have several), with trolley if it's a heavy load.
Plus long bags for lights, tripods and whatnot.

Very happy with all my bags.

SkintBrit said:
Yes, I remember your story well R8R. I think if they asked me to check it I'd rather miss the flight.

It would be cheaper to just get on the next plane.

R8R said:
Before you ever do, read this:

http://nikonrumors.com/forum/topic.php?id=5646

The 1510 is an AWESOME case, but when traveling it turned out to be all my eggs in one basket.

Now I travel with a well padded bag in a hard-sided carry-on suitcase. If they make me try to gate check it, I pull the camera bag out first.

Yes, I remember your story well R8R. I think if they asked me to check it I'd rather miss the flight.

SkintBrit said:
My Pelican 1510. It is supposed to be airline "carry on" approved, but I don't think I would have the strength to lift it in to the overhead compartment!

Before you ever do, read this:

http://nikonrumors.com/forum/topic.php?id=5646

The 1510 is an AWESOME case, but when traveling it turned out to be all my eggs in one basket.

Now I travel with a well padded bag in a hard-sided carry-on suitcase. If they make me try to gate check it, I pull the camera bag out first.

mk2pop said:
i'm looking at the flipside 300 at the moment as i cant carry my sigma 100-300 f4 mounted to a body .....,
Whos got a shot of there's loaded with 2 bodies, 1 mounted with a 70-200

I think you might need the flipside 400, I have the flipside 400AW which has the waterproof cover. It will hold a D800 with 70-200 attached and a D700 body with a prime attached plus a midrange or ultra wide angle zoom and a SB 900

Ah ha, now I know why you are "skint"...but, the Pelican cases are almost indestructible. I had two attached as saddle bags to the sides of my DL1000 Suzuki the last cross-country tour I did in 2008. But, heavy as you have said, when filled with all the goodies.

I am having good results with my new Lowepro Flipside Sport 15L AW. It holds the D4, 70-200mm f/2.8 VRII with the lens hood taped on. I always tape my lens hoods in place so as to avoid dislodging the hood in rough shooting conditions...like anywhere there is a crowd....

My Pelican 1510. It is supposed to be airline "carry on" approved, but I don't think I would have the strength to lift it in to the overhead compartment!

Picture taken with my iPhone, so no comments on that please :-)

Case contains (along the top):
D3s with 70-200 2.8 & Gripped D700 with 24 1.4

Along the bottom is:
50 1.4
105 micro 2.8
14-24 2.8
24-70 2.8
85 1.4

I have both a lowepro nova 160aw and a lowepro slingshot 202aw,
The sling sees more use these days as i can carry 2 bodies, lenses and flashes in it , but im looking at the flipside 300 at the moment as i cant carry my sigma 100-300 f4 mounted to a body and it can be a huge pain when i need to keep fitting and removing it every time i use it,
Whos got a shot of theres loaded with 2 bodies, 1 mounted with a 70-200 (same size as 100-300) ?

I have but don't use a sling

the fast back is more comfortable and more accessible

SO after stepping up to the D3 I realized the Lowepro Omni wasn't deep enough for a pro/gripped body. Not without laying it down and having it take a huge footprint (an the dividers just wouldn't work)

So I looked around for another copy of a bag I once had for a short time - a Tenba Metro II. Found a Metro II P859 on eBay for $50.

Stock pic:

Holds a TON of gear and is extremely flexible. Literally and practically. There are two "box" type padded dividers inside (a la Domke) One has a single divider wall with some smaller velcro dividers (room for 2 pro bodies) and the other one has four lens compartments.

The outside walls and bottom of the bag also have padding. You can remove the dividers and the whole bag stands up on it's own. (good for big pieces of gear like vid cameras)

Or, you can unzip four somewhat hidden zippers just inside the top of the bag and remove all the extra padding, including a plastic protective board in the back, and the thick padding piece on the bottom. This makes for a very flexible, hip hugging bag. (again, like a Domke...). The padded insert boxes are padded on all sides including the bottoms, so everything stays nice and protected even after removing the bulky outer wall padding. Sweet.

There is a hidden two-piece rain cover, one from the top/back of the bag that only covers and attaches to the top flap so you can still work out of the bag, and one from the bottom/back that wraps the entire bag completely.

There are a ton of discreet pockets, a removable top grab handle, removable padded strap, a top access zipper (so you don't need to unlock the whole flap), and pen/note holder pockets all over the thing.

I think it's just about the perfect bag.

It has swallowed (with room to spare):
D3
F100
80-200mm AF-S, hood reversed
28-70mm AF-S, hood reversed
50mm f/1.4G
SB-700
SB-800
Pocketwizard Mini, AC3 and 2 Flex's
Double charger and extra battery for the D3
20 AA batteries
AA battery charger
Lumiquest softbox
Gels
Bogen super clamp, ball head and camera mount
Rocketblower
5 sharpies
Snoot
Gaff tape

And there is still a bit of room to work in it.

I have a slingshot 350 (which has space for a laptop). However, I do not use it anymore, it is just a bit too big to be practical (at least it is for me). I think the 100 or 200 versions are nice though, as the idea of the slingbag is handy.