jaycoffman Loc: San Diego

I know we've hit these places before but would appreciate any up-to-date insights from all of you about whether I would benefit from any additional equipment for this trip. We'll be spending April in Ecuador and Peru with three very different locations. First we'll spend a week in the Amazon basin rainforest in Peru with boat trips and hiking. Then we'll head up to Machu Picchu for a few days and then to Ecuador and a week or so around the Galapagos Islands in and out of boats and on land. We'll also spend some time in several cities.

I will be taking pictures during the whole trip. My main objective of photography is (1) to bring back pictures to remember the trip and (2) to write a travel story with pictures and words that I'll share with friends who are interested in vicarious travel and my warped sense of humor.

I think I'm OK on what I have but I'd appreciate any input anyone cares to give. I have a Nikon D7100 and will just take my Tamron 16-300 lens. I know the limitations of this lens but need to keep my overall gear light as we are very limited on what we may bring on each of these excursions. With that in mind I'll also bring a small P&S Fuji underwater camera for snorkeling but will leave my travel tripod at home. (I'll of course bring several batteries, chargers and memory cards.) If anyone's been there would I benefit from an additional lens that won't add too much weight or size to what I'm bringing? I suspect a longer lens is too much but could I benefit enough from a shorter prime or different zoom for some of the closer shots? Thanks

MattPhox Loc: Rhode Island

My wife and I were at Machu Picchu at the end of November. Sorry I don't have much in the way of advice. I used an Olympus pl6 that I bought for the trip because of its size. The only lens I had was the 14-42mm that came with the camera and I used my Android to post on FB. I did post a few photos on UHH of our visit.
One piece of advice would be to get some leg exercise before you go. Machu Picchu is on the side of a mountain and has many steep and narrow stone steps.
The place is fabulous to see and photograph. You're going to love it. Have fun!!

jaycoffman Loc: San Diego

Thanks--this is helpful. In fact my legs ache today because we started supplementing our normal exercise with long tough terrain walks on Saturday and I'm feeling it today.

deepdiverv Loc: arizona

On my trip I used my Nikon 18-300mm 99% of the time. This cut down on weight and I could concentrate on taking photos not the load in my camera bag.

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MadMikeOne Loc: So. NJ Shore - a bit west of Atlantic City

Can only help you with the Galapagos leg of your trip. We were there for 2 weeks on a small boat last April into May, and had a great time.
I posted a question here about which of my gear to take. Use the search function at the top of this page to locate it for some great responses.

Long story short, I took the following gear:
Nikon D5200 plus filters
55-300mm kit lens
18-105mm lens
Canon SX50 HS
Sony point and shoot
Panasonic P&S for underwater - we snorkeled pretty much every day
GoPro - again for underwater (borrowed from our son)
Extra batteries and chargers for the 3 cameras
Lowepro backpack - I wore this on most of the land excursions
Monopod - which I never used
Set of close-up filters for the 55-300 (did not use/need these!)
TravelSmith vest (wore it on the land excursions for the extra pockets)
Dry bags for the cameras going with me on the land excursions - these
were a very good idea to protect the cameras during the landings
Several spare memory cards
iPad
We also took a clunky laptop to download the memory cards - it was big, heavy, clunky AND slow.

If I were to take the trip again - and I will be going back with my son!- I would take the same photography gear and would not add any additional items to it other than the Western Digital Passport HD in place of the laptop for backing up the memory cards.

I do not mention a tripod for a reason. Unless you are on a dedicated photography tour, you will NOT have time to set up and use a tripod. There are only so many people allowed on the islands at a time, and the naturalist guides have to keep moving.

We were briefed the day before as to where we were going the next day. Our guide gave us detailed info as to what type of landing would be most likely - wet or dry - what we would be seeing, the type of terrain, etc. Our briefings were detailed and we all asked lots of questions. Thanks to the briefings, I was able to plan what I needed for each excursion and took only what I needed.

For the land excursions, I would take my Sony P&S PLUS either my D5200 OR my Canon SX50 HS bridge camera. The 55-300 was the lens of choice that was on my D5200 for most of the land excursions. I would also pack my 18-105 in my backpack if I chose to take my D5200. My 55-300 lens on my D5200 got a real workout.

The animals and birds were usually very close. I have a Tamron 150-600 and left that home. I never needed it and never had a case where I needed it or wished I had brought it.

I think I've covered the most important things. Please feel free to PM me with any questions.

Enjoy your trip!
"Mike"

JohnFrim Loc: Somewhere in the Great White North.

My wife, 2 sons and I did the Machu Picchu and Galapagos trip back in 2005, so a few things have changed since then (technology, not so much the sites and sights!!!). We all had digital cameras, so my challenge was downloading images when the cards got full.

In those days cards were VERY expensive and the affordable ones would only hold about 250 images (JPEG), so having enough cards along was NOT an option for my budget. I bought an Epson P-2000 with 40 GB hard drive for downloading. It cost me $700 back then, but the equivalent storage space in cards would have been more than 2X that cost. Today, large capacity cards (even bigger than that Epson drive) are not as expensive and you can probably store several thousand JPEGs on a card. If you shoot RAW you may still have a storage/download challenge. Altitude and jarring were a concern for the Epson and still are today for any laptop with a mechanical drive, but it all worked out.

Once I solved the image storage capacity issue, the next was batteries. We did the hike over the mountains, so I was without recharge capability for 4 days. I had spare batteries for each camera, but only the one battery for the Epson. I used it sparingly to store images, with little viewing on the screen. I managed to get by and we came home with collectively about 5000 images. If you do the hike, be sure you can go 4 days without power for all of your electronics.

I noticed one of the posts referring to dry vs wet landings on the Galapagos tour. My camera at the time was a Pentax Optio 555 which I kept in a small snug-fitting LowePro case. I routinely put the camera into a thin plastic bag before putting it into the case, but after many successful wet landings I got lazy and didn't use the bag. And you guessed it -- one of my wet landings was "wet". As I stepped out of the zodiac a small wave lifted the boat and I went for a tumble. I actually did 2 stumbles to my knees but managed to keep the camera high in one hand. Of course, I did a 3rd stumble and my hand went under -- briefly. The case was a snug fit, it had been zippered almost shut, and I was quick, so very little water actually got in and no harm done. I relate the story just to tell you to always be on guard for the unexpected, especially the wet landings. A small plastic bag is no burden, but great insurance.

We had a great trip, and so will you. We have done a lot of travelling (over 80 countries) and as my wife says, the only bad trip is one that ends in a fatality. Even the not-so-good experiences (theft; minor injuries) become great stories.

Enjoy yourselves.

jaycoffman Loc: San Diego

Nice shots and thanks for the support for my idea of not having too much equipment.

jaycoffman Loc: San Diego

Mike, Thanks, this is very helpful and just what I was hoping for. I think you said it all pretty well but I'll PM you if I think of something else.

jaycoffman Loc: San Diego

John, Thanks this is great feedback--just what I was hoping for. Of course some of your issues are not as important now but many of the concepts are. You are the second one to mention "wet" landings and I will be sure to bring dry bags. Fortunately I have a good supply from diving and motorcycle touring so should be OK. Again, talking about these trips and sharing experience is half the fun--as is coming home alive.

MadMikeOne Loc: So. NJ Shore - a bit west of Atlantic City

You are very welcome.
I thought of one thing I forgot to mention. VERY important if going to Quito (we were ther for 2 days prior to flight to Baltra to board boat) - be careful of your personal possessions when out and about. Do not take your "good" camera with you. Leave it locked in the safe at your hotel. I only took my P&S when we were out in Quito. There is a lot of theft there and tourists' cameras are a prime/easy target. Remain aware of your surroundings at all times when in Quito. One of our group had someone attempt to steal her backpack. I never wore my backpack while there. My camera was zipped into an inside pocket when out looking at the sights.

The islands themselves were NO problem. Not too easy for a marine iquana or frigate bird to sell a camera or other gear they stole!

JohnFrim Loc: Somewhere in the Great White North.

Yeah, my wallet with credit cards, drivers licence, health card, etc, etc are somewhere in Bogota, Columbia. Damn pickpockets. I could tell you a long story of how it happened... but my wife says I was just plain careless and stupid. OK.

The police were somewhat helpful, but I got the greatest support from the Canadian Consulate. The Counsellor came to the office (a weekend day), opened the doors, and got me onto a phone with External Affairs back in Ottawa, Canada. The lady in Ottawa made calls to all of my credit cards, banks, etc to put a hold on everything. She did all the calling, connected me in as a third party, and waited on the line until I was ready for the next call. She was on the phone with me for nearly 2 hours. The credit card company said my card had already been swiped within 30 minutes.

My only defence for the theft is that I am not a professional thief, so I can only prepare myself against ways and means that I can imagine. The pros do it as a living, so they are VERY GOOD at it.

Good luck, be as careful as you can, and then some.

n64uw

We traveled both Peru and Ecuador seeing the same places. Purchase a high end point and shoot camera(s) with back up batteries and you will be happy. Weight and dryness are important as you climb in and out of boats and zodiacs. The Scared Valley is fantastic. My wife and I used Canon 3500 ELPHs with shots that compare with my Canon 5D iii and 70D.

Do not eat anything NOT prepared in a restaurant!!! Drink the bottled water. And, toilet paper does not go down the toilet but into the trash can...

MadMikeOne Loc: So. NJ Shore - a bit west of Atlantic City

That's a bummer! I get the part about you not being a professional thief. I'm not one. either. It's always a good idea to go onto the travel forums that cover the areas you plan to visit. There is usually vey good info on them alerting people to what to watch out for and how to avoid scams and minimize the chance of a thief being successful. If you make yourself a tough target, the thief will move onto an easier target.

As a matter of course, when I travel I keep only 1 credit card and a very small amount of cash - only what I will need for thatday - in a small change purse sort of pouch ZIPPED into an inside pocket somewhere. Passport, major amount of cash, driver license, any NEEDED health insurance cards are in a money belt around my waist. That belt is not accessed anywhere except in a locked room. Sounds like overkill or an excess of caution, but we have been all over and have never had a loss.

As to my camera gear - it stays with me OR it is locked away in the safe in my room. Also, we make sure that when we are on some form of transportation (train, plane, bus) and all of our luggage cannot be with us, we split up the photo back-ups and keep them on our persons. For example, my husband will carry 1 back-up drive and I will carry the other. We try to back-up daily and are usually successful. I have even been known to remove my memory cards from my cameras and put them in my money belt. Of course, I make note of which one is for which camera. I am more afraid of losing the photos than I am of losing the cameras. My husband thinks I'm nuts, but that's his problem!

Protecting yourself and your gear and other belongings when travelling can be challenging, but it can and should be done.

JohnFrim Loc: Somewhere in the Great White North.

I was taken in by the "bird poop on my shoulder" scam, but it took them two tries (persistent bastards!!!). I will relate the story for the benefit of the readers on UHH.

I had used my wallet to buy something and put it back into the zippered pouch on my waist. Clearly someone noticed. As we walked down the street someone must have squirted "bird poop" onto my shoulder, and a "concerned" passerby pointed it out to me. As she did so, she ran one hand down my back and probably went for the pouch with the other hand. I knew exactly what was happening, so I flung my arms out, spun around in a circle to clear everyone away from me, and yelled "Stay away. Nobody touch me." My wife then helped me clean the crap off my shoulder.

I suspect they were not successful at getting the wallet but maybe they got the pouch zipper open with this effort. I don't know why I didn't check; probably because I felt nothing on my front when she ran her hand down my back. About 10 minutes later a woman pushing a baby stroller approached me from the front close to my left side, but another lady -- who looked a bit familiar -- again bumped me from the front right and ran her hand down the back of my right leg quite firmly, telling me I still had crap on my pants (I didn't). I suspect at that moment my wallet was pinched and tossed into the baby stroller. I did not notice anything wrong for several minutes. They were sure persistent, and they succeeded. We found out later that the card was swiped not for purchase but for a validity check at a women's hair salon about 30 minutes after the incident.

Luckily I lost no money, but my credit record had a hold placed on it for 7 years, meaning I could not borrow money without extra ID checking and validation. And, of course, there was all the bother of having to replace important documents. And even luckier, I suppose, is the fact that I think this was just a money grab and not an identity theft. They really did have enough stuff to create and alter-me.

MattPhox Loc: Rhode Island

That's if the toilet has toilet paper. My wife and I encountered many public facilities that did not have toilet paper in the stalls. We got in the habit of bringing some with us from the hotel before the days adventure.

And the trick of squirting you with something then fleecing you was also something that we encountered in Buenos Aires. So be prepared in any city that you visit in SA.