A camera-horder’s guide to picking a camera for a trip

Shooting film opens up a world of beautiful and affordable cameras from the past - but once you’ve started a small collection (or a huge one) the moment we dread is when we need to pick a camera setup for a personal trip.

The thought process always starts simple but highlights the compromises we make in every aspect of photography: portable 35mm or epic medium format? Compact slow lenses or carry big heavy fast ones? Will I only carry black and white film or try to mix in a colour roll? If I leave the tripod at home, then I’ll regret it, right? Should I bring a digital camera as backup, or will my phone do the job?

Turns out, I’ve chosen a different set up for almost every vacation, and each time it works out just fine. I’ve hauled around a Hasselblad 500 with an 80mm lens on one trip to Yorkshire, a Leica M2 with a compact 35mm f3.5 around Rome, and I’ve spent a weekend in New York with a Stereo Realist and came home with great shots.

Here are some tips to make the most with what you have:

  1. One lens can imitate three. You can crop into a frame to effectively increase your focal length. You can stitch images together to create a wider shot. A normal lens can be very versatile for this purpose, as well as often being quite compact.

  2. Carrying two cameras can make you feel overwhelmed, and you could lose shots and enjoyment as a result. If you are travelling with family, they will love you more if you have only one camera and one lens.

  3. Leave any ‘just in case’ items at home. Unless you are intentionally out to get some night shots, a tripod will just weigh you down. The light meter can stay at home, too, because you can get a light meter app for you phone that will do the job (or just use sunny 16). Extension tubes and tele-converters never seem to be worth their volume in my bag either. Some exceptions could include red or polarizing filters that can help reduce shutter speed in bright sun, as well as provide some creative possibilities.

  4. No camera is too crazy or too limiting. There is a lot to be said for being creative with something unusual like a Box Brownie or a stereo camera. The problem-solving required to use a restrictive or quirky camera will pay dividends when you get back home to your digital rig.

  5. Lastly, don’t worry about the equipment you didn’t bring. Play to your setup’s strengths. For example, I’ve often carried an Olympus Pen FT for its compactness - the images can turn out grainy because of the small negative size, but doubling the number of shots on the roll meant less fear of wasting film for an experimental shot.

And if you totally made the wrong decision for the trip, there’s usually a camera store with used film equipment in a nearby city. One more for the collection, right?

Canon 30-700mm DO - don't read old reviews

Canon 70-300 DO F4.5-5.6 IS

There are few online reviews of this old, now discontinued, lens. They were favorable but complained of low-contrast images and a high price tag (about $1,150 new). These two factors are no longer relevant - software can increase contrast, and the lens sells for about $500 on the used market. 

Canon's diffractive optics proof of concept

 The Canon 70-300mm DO was originally expensive because it was one of the first tests of 'diffractive optics' in a Canon lens. This used a saw-toothed fresnel lens to magnify an image while keeping the un-zoomed length of the lens to a minimum - at the expense of some contrast and a small maximum aperture (f4.5-5.6). Its closest focus distance is 1.4 metres.

Historically, the lens competed against the better, and larger Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L IS (which is compatible with Canon's extenders. unlike the DO), along with the 50% cheaper, and larger,  EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM. At the original selling price, the DO was a tough sell - only people who valued its short length as a compact travel lens would pony up the cash.

But then the DO lens got older. The price came down. I also think the mediocre reviews (based on the high price tag) contributed to the massive reduction in the used price of the lens. The only other reservation you might have about this lens is the variable f4.5-5.6 aperture, but again, modern cameras and software compensate for this with excellent high-ISO quality that was unheard of when this lens was first released. Another bonus compared to its zoom equivalents - its black rather than “look-at-my-expensive-lens” white.

The best travel lens set for Canon

So when the DO is viewed in today's context - a low priced compact lens - it is a no-brainer for a small travel kit. I pair it with the 40mm pancake lens when taking a digital camera on trips. The 40mm stays on the camera and the DO comes out when the extra reach is needed. If the DO is on the camera, the 40mm can be in a trouser pocket. 

You can see some examples of images taken with this lens (including many of my own) through the Instagram tag #canon70300doisusm.

For those of you on the fence about getting an old 70-300mm DO lens, there has never been a better time to get one.

Canon travel lenses 40mm 70-300mm DO