This is a followup of equipment notes after my three months of backpackiing in Latin America (mostly Chile). Bodies ===== F5: Two gripes - too heavy to carry, and too expensive. Note that I did not say too heavy to shoot with, just a pain to lug around. I firmly believe that the weight of the F5, especially with the Tokina 20-35/2.8 at 20mm, allows me to shoot adequately sharp pics at 1/10 sec. Too expensve in a sense that I often was afraid to pull out the camera of my bag, out of fear of getting robbed. It never happened, but I spent too much of my time worrying about it. But the rewards with the F5 came when shooting pelicans diving in the sunset on the Costarican west coast, and when shooting James flamingos on the Bolivian Altiplano lakes at 4,400 meters altitude. And in the ghost town of Humberstone outside Iquique, when taking pictures of interiors with bright sunlight outside, in knowing that the exposure of the high-contrast scene will be correct. And in knowing that the camera would take the beating that comes with traveling for three months, and keep on ticking for another 20 years. Batteries were AA lithiums - the MN-30 would have been useless, NiMH loses its charge in a few weeks. N60: See separate message "F5 vs N60". Obviously this was not the backup body I should have chosen. I have an old EM that would have been a better choice. Lenses ==== 35-105D: I never used it once. Not bright enough, not wide enough. So much of a compromise that I would have missed shots. This has nothing to do with optical of mechanical quality, just a personal preference and shooting style. Tokina 20-35/2.8D: Used it for perhaps 70% of my SLR shots. This range is sooo useful when traveling. I mostly shot at f/8 or f/11 with ISO 100 film, sometimes with polarizer. Sometimes at f/2.8 indoors. This lens is so well built. It has a slight problem with flare from sun, compared to primes. The Nikon is supposedly better in that respect, but costs a lot more. Sculptured hood is great. No vignetting with Nikon A2 filter, or with Hoya thin Super MC circ polarizer. With both filters slight vignetting wide open at 20mm, completely gone at f/11 or at 23mm. The Hoya SMC pola is great, multicoated on the rear and uncoated on the front makes it easy to clean and keeps reflections down. A Nikon large-format lens cap for 77mm-size lenses snaps on the outside of the filter. This lens comes with an excellent soft case that protects the lens and reversed hood well. 85/1.4D: I'm in love with this lens. wide open or stopped down, it creates beautiful images out of everyday subjects. The difference price over an 85/1.8D is a bit large, but if you like the 1.8D then you will love the 1.4D. I used this lens for perhaps 20% of my SLR shots. The hood for the 85/1.4D is enormous, and difficult to pack. I left the hood on when storing the lens - a little dust got on the front filter but no fingerprints or marks. Hood took a little of a beating, but that is what it is for. 180/2.8D: This lens saw little use, and every time I used it I wished I had a 300/4 with 1.4x TC. With a 420mm lens I could have had fantastic shots of the flamingos at Salar de Atacama, and i could have reached other subject that were now too far away or too small. I found a good soft case for the 180 - a North Face water flask case, thickly padded. I lost the 72mm cap and could not find a new one, but the case protected the front filter well. Filters ==== I used Nikon A2 all the time, sometimes with a good-quality clean polarizer on top. I have no worries stacking two filters except for reflections - these photos will not be blown up bigger than 8x10". The warming filter just makes things look the way I see them, especially on high altitude - on the Bolivian Altiplano at 4,200 to 5,000 m an A2 is not nearly enough, but better than nothing; at that altitude daylight is very blue even on sunny days. I also carried with me a Nikon B2, a nikon L37c, a Singh-Ray intensifier, a cokin P173 (all 77mm), and Hitech ND grads (rectangular). I used the ND grads a couple of times. Also A2 and polarizer in 72mm (for the 180) and 52mm (for the 35-105D). Tripod ==== My Gitzo 226 was good, but did not see that much use. Still, I was glad I brought it, for the few occasions when tripod was a must. Ballhead was Linhof's smallest Profi I, with a Kirk QR mount for Arca-Swiss style plates. The F5 had a matched RRS plate, the N60 had a generic Kirk plate. Tripod legs covered with pipe-inslulation foam - recommended. All in all, the tripod was too heavy to carry around. Other stuff ======= Hurricane rubber blower - used A LOT. Microfiber cloth. Level fitting flash shoe. Ricoh GR1 P/S - excellent lens, looks cheap and unobtrusive. Add a small Ultrapod pocket tripod, and you can take excellent indoor candid shots. This might be all I will bring on my next travel. GaraGear padded stuff bags, one big enough for the F5 with lens mounted. Please email me privately with any questions - I will post Nikon-related replies on this forum. Best regards from Santiago, Ake Vinberg [EMAIL PROTECTED]
