jimtabasz

Hi --

Great idea to cut down on the number and weight of your camera items!

The ruins at Tulum are great, especially along the water's edge. If you can manage it, try to get to the inland ruins at Coba, off of Hwy 109. Its about 45 in to an hour inland from Tulum, and quite a bit larger archeological zone there.
The pyramid at Coba is about 10 stories high and, unlike Tulum, you can climb it. View from the top is worth it, not to mention the dramatic selfie to be had looking back down!

Also recommend the La Buena Vida restaurant in Playa Akumal, just north of Tulum for great eats and lovely beachside downtime. If you like wood-fire cooking, try Parkwood just east and south of Tulum along the Carribean.

Buen viaje, and take good photos!

asiafish Loc: Bakersfield, CA

Leica M with a 35mm or 50mm lens is enough. I bring both, leave the behind by day and the 35 behind at night.

Ricker Loc: Salt Lake City, Utah

A blogger mentioned using a Nikon P900 with 85x zoom. Another blogger mentioned using a Canon SX 60 with a 65x zoom. Both cameras take excellent photos and are light and very, very easy to use. A camera with a superior Zeiss lens is a Sony RX 10 lll but it's three times the cost of the Nikon or the Canon. It is lightweight and less "user-friendly" and has excellent zooming capability and outstanding video. Any of the three cameras will be capable of taking terrific images of the ruins at Tulum and they're all pretty rain and dust resistant. I recommend using a very wide camera strap, even with one of the three lightweight cameras I mentioned. If you can find a three inch wide cloth strap that will really save your neck. Enjoy yourself at Tulum and have a great trip with good weather. Ricker

speters Loc: Grangeville/Idaho

It's all a matter of how you protect your gear! The more you take, the more protection you need!!

wj cody Loc: springfield illinois

i think you are correct. both lenses are more than enough for great shots at those ruins. i do no remember using the 90mm on the contax, during that trip. it was the 50mm and sometimes the 35mm, but not the 28mm.

Just Fred Loc: Darwin's Waiting Room

Let's just say I decide to add the CoolPix P900 to my collection (my other cameras are Nikons, so I'm not sure I want to mix technologies). Would the camera itself suffice? In other words, can I use my 32GB SD cards, flash, etc? I don't want to have to add a full collection of add-ons if I go that route (the lens is fixed, is it not?).

ORpilot Loc: Prineville, Or

I do not think that you will be disappointed with the P900. I has impressive specs. I am not a Nikon person, But it is an impressive camera and very well suited for any king of travel when packing lightly. I am a Sony fan mostly because of the Zeiss lenses yet I carry a Canon SX50HX for travel. The P900 nor the sony HX series was not on the market when I got the Canon. It is small and light which is nice since I am 63yr old and no longer scamper around the mountains like a Billy goat. If I was going to buy one today my personal preference would be the Sony HX300, it has 20.4MP, Zeiss Sonnar 50x zoom and fantastic image stabilization. ($500) or for $100 less and the sony lens the HX44V. Check the NIKON and The Sony out.... You won't be disappointed with either. Like I previously mentioned, these are sealed cameras, the lenses are great and in some cases better than interchangeable lenses because the whole system is designed around the lens. Nothing is a compromise since it is one unit. Rather than a bunch of pieces that are able to work together. Second... for travel, they are light and "all-in-one" My SX50HX easily fits under a rain jacket or parka. The down side.... Some photographers think that it isn't cool to be seen with a non-interchangeable lens camera an 30lb of gear. But I have yet to lose a lens, or get physically tired lugging my 1.4lb camera. My water bottle weighs more. Happy shooting

ORpilot Loc: Prineville, Or

I forgot ...Yes you can use any of your old SD cards,. Just remember to format them in the camera before use. That would go for any new cards that you buy. I would also get a spare or two batteries for the camera and an aftermarket charger that can also use a cigarette lighter or USB to charge your battery. The camera will come with an AC charger but bore than once I have used the cigarette lighter to charge up a battery while I am out shooting. You will not need anything more other than lens cloth and maybe one of those small 4inch tripods for selfies, or night shots.

Just Fred Loc: Darwin's Waiting Room

Thanks to everyone! I took many people's advice and purchased a Nikon CoolPix P900 from Adorama today. They have some refurbished and certified by Nikon, so I took that route. No shipping and handling charges, no taxes to pay, so $480 and in three days it will be mine. I chatted with one of Adorama's online specialists about the specs. For me, the pros: viewfinder as well as screen, nice zoom, can use my 32GB SD cards. The one con was that it doesn't shoot RAW (NEF); JPEG only. I had to consider for a moment, but then I figured one copy to a hard disk and then I can make copies from the originals if I want to edit. Shouldn't cause enough data loss to make a difference. Heck, for the price, even if I use it only for this trip, it will be worth it!

ORpilot, I wish I'd received your posts before I bought it, since I would have checked out the Sony HX300 (heck, maybe I'll do that after I return!).

Again, thanks everyone. This is why UHH is such a great place!

minniev Loc: MIssissippi

I don't have your gear (I use m4/3 gear, so mine is a bit smaller) but just returned from a similar trip to photograph Mayan ruins and local culture/critters. I took a high quality 12-40 zoom, a 50 prime, and a lightweight kit mid zoom (40-150) but seldom used the latter. I had it all in a small well-padded Tamrac photography backpack as my carry-on, and checked a small suitcase with my clothes, charger, also a walking stick with a tripod screw. This little bit of kit (which for my gear weighed about 2 lbs total) served me very well, and I didn't feel like I missed a thing. I didn't take the laptop, and didn't have time to fool with it anyway, just took good care of the cards.

ORpilot Loc: Prineville, Or

I'm sure you will be quite happy with the Nikon vs the Sony. By the way. When I bought my Canon, the big price difference of a factory Referbished one also sealed the deal for me. I 'm guessing you will be using the P900 a lot more than you thought you would. Happy Shooting.

dandi Loc: near Seattle, WA

I learnt from experience to travel with minimum gear. The more gear you take the more you think about using it all. Take one lens 18-140, it will take care of most of your needs, maybe also 35mm for night or/and indoor shots.
I used to carry camera with color film, camera with slide film, camera with B&W film-I wanted to take each shot with each camera-I never enjoyed it. Since digital I took two trips to Europe with only 35mm 1.8DX on DX body, I never thought about gear, with one focal lenght I learnt to see the shot before taking it, I was always ready to take a shot, I was not tired on a trip-I enjoyed it. Just my experience.

a6k Loc: Detroit & Sanibel

Tulum is perhaps the smallest Mayan site but the distances are small so a wide angle is a must. That part of Mexico is teeming with birds and little critters so you may also want a long lens. There is a large area there called the Biosphere which is some sort of nature preserve. If you have time, get over to Chichen Itza which is possible on a day trip from the "Mayan Riviera". Tulum is also the only one, I think, that is on the shore.

If I were doing it again I'd take my a6000 with a normal or wide lens, even the kit lens AND the RX10 m3. There is an overlap there but the IQ on the mirrorless stuff is simply better. If only 1, then RX10 m3.

Have fun!

Just Fred Loc: Darwin's Waiting Room

My Coolpix P900 arrived today. I must say, the initial impression is quite good! I charged the battery and slapped in a fresh 32GB SanDisk Extreme 32GB SD card, and am getting to know it. I'm always surprised at the number of dials, buttons, switches and built-in capabilities of today's cameras. The P900 works with my WMU (iPhone remote) -- even better than does my D7100, I think.

I'm going house hunting this afternoon and will take it with me. My first trial shots before the big trip next week!