preparing for patagonia

So ive got the camera body the wide angle and zoom the ND kit the batteries the cards, but what about the tripod. Ive got a bulky manfrotto 190 with a ball head lens weighing in at an easy 3 kg and a new manfrotto 290 monopod. To i take both? Or one or the other. So confused. I know I will regret it if I don't take everything, but then my wife will curse me cause I am lugging around everything. aghhhhhhh

Monopod only your only taking light kit.....
if you had a sigma 100-300 f4 or 50-500mm i would take the tripod..

If you think you will make good use of the tripod then I suppose its got to go. However have you tried using your tripod as a monopod? Easily done when needed. May mean you can leave the mono at home

interesting point. unfortunately the reason for not taking the tripod is the weight

Whilst the tripod would be a heavy bit of kit to drag around - without it you are bound to find situation when you would have welcomed the support.

May be worth considering something like a gorillapod SLR Zoom with the ball head on it. Small, cheap and very light and in my experience - very useful!

Carl

In that case take a beanbag

Are you likely to shoot nighttime skies, moonlit landscapes, landscapes after sunset or before sunrise? Or use a 10 stop ND grad to blur moving water, clouds or vegetation? Or do you want to squeeze every last pixel of sharpness out of your lenses for that A2 enlargement you know you'll need? If so, that Manfrotto 190 will suddenly become indispensible, 'cos you can't do that with a monopod! If no, then leave it or go for one of the lighter options.
Good luck, seems like an awesome place to visit, look forward to seeing the images!

Paul

I find a tripod invaluable for travel and it only weighs 1.5kg. Without it I'd have far fewer night shots and far fewer shots of my wife and I together. The tripod is the third member of our family when travelling.