Going, via car, to KC MO. Should I take a camera with me?

[AlwaysOnAuto]

Exciting times!
I get to go on a road trip all by myself!
I'm almost beside myself with giddiness at the thought of being out on the open road.

[zen]

Duhhhh, how about three or four?

Whenever I do road-trips, my handy-dandy 5d3 with 70-200 f4 rides on the passenger seat next to me, and 1-2 others and appropriate lenses in the back. It always seems there's something new to shoot every 5-10 minutes, and by noon, I'm usually exhausted from getting into and out of the car so often. All of which serves to make it a generally slow, but fun, trip.

Good luck on the trip and have fun.

Zen

[DanK]

I would. The nice thing about traveling by car is that you can easily carry a bunch of gear without having to worry about weight, security lines, etc.

When I travel short distances by car, I just fill a photo backpack. If I am going for a substantial length of time, I pack a Pelican case, throwing odds and ends that don't fit (e.g., lens hoods) into the backpack.

[Ken MT]

Only if you know you aren't going to see anything different.��

[IzzieK]

I'd take a snacks bag ... you know the usual, M&Ms, Skittles, peanuts, look for a fried chicken stop, waste my money smelling the nice chicken only to let it go cold, I don't want it anymore A whole pack of CDs to keep me awake instead of listening to political commentaries...photobag? -- it can stay on the passenger seat until I can stop by a roadside to safely take pictures. What the heck! Bring your kitchen sink, it will not matter...

[Black Pearl]

No

[Manfred M]

Definitely agree with Robin. Taking a camera is just about the worst thing you can do. It will slow you down and delay you from getting to your final destination. At the end of the trip, you will be able to whine about all the wonderful shots you missed...

[RBSinTo]

Alan,
I don't understand why you would even ask such a question, on a photo site no less.
Leave your anvil at home, 'cause its too heavy.
Ditto your inflatable Zodiac boat. It's too big.
But a camera???? Sure.
Go crazy and take it along. You never know. You even might take a picture somewhere along the way.
Robert

[Mike Buckley]

You won't need a camera. That's because everything is up to date in Kansas City, which means you'll be able to buy postcards.

[RBSinTo]

You won't need a camera. That's because everything is up to date in Kansas City, which means you'll be able to buy postcards.

Mike,
Thanks for the tip. I've heard they sell those postcard thingys in lots of places, so I'm gonna get rid of my camera stuff and use the $12.00 I get for it to buy post cards instead.
Wow! Great idea.
Anybody want some old Nikons?
Robert

[AlwaysOnAuto]

I actually meant to ask 'Which camera should I take?'.

So far I'm up to 5 plus 7 lenses for the big ones.

[Manfred M]

I actually meant to ask 'Which camera should I take?'.

So far I'm up to 5 plus 7 lenses for the big ones.

I usually limit myself to three lenses (unless there is something I know I need a specialty lens for) plus a backup body. My core kit include the f/2.8 24-70mm and the f/2.8 70-200mm lenses and I will pick one more. If I take the Panasonic GX 7 as my backup, I will have the 14-140mm lens on it.

[AlwaysOnAuto]

I've got lenses I've wanted to try out in other than beach scene settings, that's why so many Manfred. Otherwise I'd just take 3. I'm taking my Nex-7 just to hold a lens pretty much, and to act as a back up for the A7ii and D7000.
So far I'm thinking I'll be shooting with my Canon 35 f2.8 LTM, the Nikkor 1.4 LTM and a telephoto 80-200 f4 Nikkor. My D7k will use the 18-200 that never comes off that camera it seems. I'll also take my Micro-Nikkor just in case I see something I want a really closeup view of.
I plan on setting up my tripod in the passenger seat and using my SD1000's to take 2-3 minute video's every hour on the hour, or something along those lines, to patch together a video of the trip too.

[Mike Buckley]

The question you intended to ask is not nearly as much fun as the question you mistakenly asked.

[rpcrowe]

Zen's remark "my handy-dandy 5d3 with 70-200 f4 rides on the passenger seat next to me" made me think about my strategy.

I usually carry a camera within easy reaching distance. I will have the longest focal length lens I have with me attached to the camera, the ISO set at 400 and the camera in programmed exposure mode. This is especially true when traveling along the back roads where photo opportunities can appear and disappear suddenly.

My rationale for that setup is that when I need an absolutely quick shot, the camera will be ready and I will usually need the longest focal length possible. Like for this image of the wild burro near the Colorado River along the California-Arizona border at 200mm.



When I need a shorter lens for a shot, I will usually have more time to set up. ISO 400 gives very good results with a 7D camera yet has enough leeway to shoot subjects in the deep shade if necessary. The Programmed Auto setting will just about guarantee a correct exposure at a reasonable shutter speed and f/stop combination.

However, when driving along Interstate Highways, the photo opportunities do not appear so fast. I will never (for safety reasons) pull over to the side of an Interstate to click a picture. Luckily, there are frequent scenic rest stops along some Interstates...

While the Interstate Highway System is a wonderful way to travel from point A to point B, I saw much more interesting scenery when I traveled cross country before the advent of the Interstate System...

[AlwaysOnAuto]

I need to ween myself from the interstates, that's for sure. I just love that we can cover such vast distances in a single day. I always wonder what it must have been like for the settlers, traveling by wagon train.

[xpatUSA]

I need to ween myself from the interstates, that's for sure. I just love that we can cover such vast distances in a single day. I always wonder what it must have been like for the settlers, traveling by wagon train.

My wife prefers the widest straightest roads to anywhere. I-10 is her favorite. A bit like the airlines 'hub' thing, e.g. to fly American Airlines from Houston to San Antonio, first we go to Dallas.

She gets irritable when I take the scenic Farm-to-Market FM roads ('B' roads) . .

[rpcrowe]

Whether I travel my Interstate or local roads depends on whether I am traveling for speed or pleasure...

For speed, the Interstate wins. For pure pleasure the back roads are fun to travel!

However, the type of vehicle I am driving also has a great influence on what roads I take. I far prefer Interstates when I am driving my motorhome...

In my little Subaru Forester, the backroads are a lot more photogenic if I plan my trips carefully.

[Manfred M]

I'm also one of those people who would rather get to my final destination as quickly as possible. My wife, on the other hand, prefers exploring the world by goat path (but only if I'm behind the wheel), so you can guess what trips are like when we go somewhere new...

I figure she should have learned her lesson when I let her navigate the last time we were in Iceland and had rented a 4x4 so that we could get off the Ring Road. I think we did close to 30 river crossings (Vad = a place you can ford a river, in Iceland). She hasn't lived that one down, some six years later....

[IzzieK]

Whether I travel my Interstate or local roads depends on whether I am traveling for speed or pleasure...

For speed, the Interstate wins. For pure pleasure the back roads are fun to travel!

However, the type of vehicle I am driving also has a great influence on what roads I take. I far prefer Interstates when I am driving my motorhome...

In my little Subaru Forester, the backroads are a lot more photogenic if I plan my trips carefully.

Take the MDB -- it will be more fun, besides friends and rellies will never forget you, you got bluetooth...!!!