Getting Gear Packed For Travel
Before taking an extended seven-week trip traveling around Europe I struggled with what camera gear I wanted to travel with. The dilemma of choosing between the flexibility of zoom lenses vs the weight of the smaller prime lenses was overwhelming. The one thing I knew was that on this trip I wanted to travel light.
Ultimately, I went with three prime lenses. The Fuji 16mm f/1.4, 35mm f/1.4, and the 56mm f/1.2. I also decided to bring only one Fuji X-T2 camera body. Being a cautious person at the last minute I dropped the Fuji X100S in my bag as a back-up/walk around camera.
Photographing The Sunset In Split With The Fujifilm X-T2
A couple of things helped me make my final decision. The big one was weight. A few years back I went on a nine-week trip with my Canon 5D Mark II and less than two weeks into the trip I was ready to send back my Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 lens. Weighing a little under three pounds, it was just too big and heavy to carry around all day.
Do to the cost of shipping the lens back home I decided not to send it but I never ended up using it on the trip. Nope, not once! All the photos I took were with the Canon EF 17-40mm, Canon EF 24-70mm and my lightweight Fuji X100S 23mm fixed lens camera.
The other reason I chose prime lenses was I wanted to challenge myself. Shooting with prime lenses makes you think about your shot differently and slow down. Your composition changes when you’re working with a fixed focal length. That being said working with only prime lenses can be a bit problematic. Opportunities present themselves and you just don’t have time or space to get into your pack and make a lens change. Sometimes it’s the environment. For instance, while photographing the waterfalls at Plitvice Lakes National Park I really wanted a tighter shot but the spray from the falls was constant and the risk of getting water inside my camera while changing lenses was extremely likely, so not worth the gamble.
Waterfalls at Plitvice Lakes National Park Croatia
CONCLUSION
Not having the flexibility of zoom lenses on this trip at times was a bit challenging and I’m sure I missed a few shots along the way. Nevertheless, I’m pleased with the shots I returned home with. I did, however, find myself wishing that I had brought another camera body with me.
Fujifilm Travel Gear
Camera gear I used while traveling
Cameras: Fujifilm X-T2 | Fujifilm X100S
Lenses: Fujinon XF16mm f/1.4 R WR | Fujinon XF35mm f/1.4 R | Fujinon XF56mm f/1.2 R
Flash: Fujifilm EF-X500
How often did you use your 56mm compared to the other 16 and 35mm lenses?
Good question. I had to go back and look at the data, here are the results. I used the 16mm 56.42%, 35mm 22.11%, and the 56mm 21.47% of the time. The results don’t surprise me, I have found that the 16mm lens is the perfect lens for both street photography and landscapes so it’s on my XT2 a lot of the time.
I just returned from Italy and the two lenses I had with me where the Fuji XF10-24 f/4 & XF16-55mm f/2.8. I was curious as to what focal length I used most while traveling. For a majority of the images, the focal length hovered around 16mm (14mm-18mm). Coming in a close second was 24mm. I hope I answered your question, thanks for taking the time to check out my site.
Arno