Cuba Photo Questions From Jeanne Sturgis
Dan,
So sorry I missed your call on the Cuba camera equipment, and I understand you are now in Costa Rica. I will put my questions in this email and if you have time to respond, that is fine, if not, call me when you get back home.
1. As I mention I now have the Panasonic GH3 that I am bringing. The lenses that I have that I plan to bring are (1) 14mm-42mm (3.5-5.6); (2) 45mm-175mm (4.0-5.6) and (3) 25mm Prime (1.4). I know I won’t have a low an aperture on my zoom lens as the newer more expensive ones, but hopefully these will do. I also have the 100mm-300mm lens, but it sounds like you are NOT bringing this one???
2. I have a tri-pod, wired remote shutter button, extra batteries and charger also.
3. I do not have an external flash and wonder if this will be a significant detriment? I really don’t know much about using the flash on this camera (even the built in one) so is it something I need to round up before the trip? If yes, which one do you recommend?
4. We already discussed filters so I am not buying any polarizing or ND filters.I took a short photography class at the local college last fall so I think I have got the basics down-looking forward to learning lots more with you on this trip. Since I only have one GH3 body, I am bringing my old trusty Panasonic LUMIX camera with me too as a backup.
The only other question I have is that I have not yet invested in an iPad, as I have just been downloading my memory cards into my MacBook Pro and backing that up. Is having an iPad traveling really important?
Hope Costa Rica is great-at least you are getting a running jump on the warm weather. I am seeing it is in the 80’s in Havana, so looking forward to that!
Best Regards,
Jeanne
Daniel J. CoxOn Mar. 7th, 2014
You won’t regret it. The Lumix 35-100 F/2.8 is a fabulous lens. See you in Cuba!!
Daniel J. CoxOn Mar. 7th, 2014
Jeanne,
Your lens selection sounds adequate. I am brining my Lumix 100-300 but as you mention it’s not a “low aperture” lens. I think you wanted to say fast aperture or wide aperture. A fast aperture is anything faster than lets say, F/2.8. The two lenses you’re bringing that will be the most effective in terms of reach/telephoto are the 100-300 & the 45-175. I especially like the 45-175 but it is a fairly slow with a F/4-F/5.6 opening. The one lens I wished you were bringing is the 35-100mm F/2.8. However, since you’re not, I’ll give you all the knowledge you can handle to get the most you possibly can out of the 45-175mm. We’ll just have to get yo set up to shoot at higher ISO’s.
No problem with not having an external flash. I have a couple that we can work with.
No problem regarding your lack of an iPad. I currently use just my MacPro for downloading and archiving our mages on a trip. I will say that the iPad is an option for folks who aren’t shooting lots and lots of images AND are shooting only JPEGs. Nor sure if you’ve moved over to RAW but we can discuss the Pros and Cons when you arrive. You’re fine with you laptop.
Daniel J. Cox
Daniel J. CoxOn Mar. 7th, 2014
Jeanne Sturgis just sent me an update:
Thanks Dan! I decided to go for broke and just ordered the 35-100mm lens so I will have it for the trip. It’s pricey!! Figured I need all the help I can get! ;o)
Jeanne