First holiday away with my SLR
 

Hi All

New to this forum.

I am about to go on holiday to Thailand in 3 weeks, and am taking my SLR with me.

I currently have a Alpha 350 + standard lense, sigma 10-20 lense, gorilla pod and remote release.

Can anyone give some ideas on what else would be good to purchase before I go, I am thinking filters at this present time

Many thanks

Hello, firstly, welcome to WPF, glad you found us. I'd say forget the filters, especially as you seem to be just getting started with an SLR. A couple of things you will need are lots of spare memory cards, and a spare battery.

Oh, and lens, singular, doesn't have an 'e' on the end. Sorry, pet hate of mine.

Thanks for the info

I was thinking of a spare battery. I already have 2 4gb memory cards so I think that should be ok.

With regards to filters would you suggest a polarizer and a ND filter??

No. Unless you know what you're doing with them, you're wasting your money. Buy stuff because you NEED it, not just because someone else has suggested it.

Take just what you need, but that is not as simple as it sounds! You have to carry all this junk around in 30C temperature and high humidity, so the question is "what can I leave at home?" What you take depends to a large extent on what sort of images you want. If you want to photograph people take a short portraiture lens and a wide-angle zoom for environmental portraits - you will also need a good flash-gun for handling the harsh shadows. If you want to photograph architecture or landscapes you will ideally take something suitable for those subjects plus a good tripod, remote release etc. If you want to photograph everything you have to compromise, and your images are likely to be a bit of a compromise as a result.

You should know exactly why you need each item in your bag before you walk out of the door. So go though your equipment and ask yourself how you might manage without each item. If you can't manage without it, take it with you! If you can, dump it!

Most important of all, remember that photography does not have too much to do with cameras and lenses! It is what you point the camera at that is important. Wonderful images can be obtained with very simple equipment. Your starting point is therefore the end result! What do you want to end up with? If you are not sure, that may be the first issue to resolve.

Oh, and the filters? Dump them!

FOrget about trying to buy more gear, and enjoy the holiday. Take 2 spare batteries fully charged, plus charger and a converter for your socket and you will be fine. Also a few memory cards. As for filters - UV is the only filter i'd use. Perhaps a CPL if you have one, if not, do not worry too much.

Important rule - HAVE FUN!

One tip I would give is remember to change the time on your camera when you arrive.

Any photographs back from your holidays yet?