All Forum Comments
Comment by johnieutah posted on 4 weeks in New Zealand at 13/12/2016 - 11:09
Guys. An update. First week here on the north island has been good, obviously the earthquake has been quite devastating and we've altered our route on the south island due to road closures. The north island was fun enough, although the drive along the eastern cape was marred by one day of really awful weather.
Only been on the south island one day and the scenery really is stunning (the 50-135 is getting one hell of a work out).
Driving is slow going, by my reckoning with photo and toilet stops etc... we're going about 50-60kms an hour max. One long drive tomorrow over Arthurs pass to Tekapo and after that it should be less kms per day.
Also the sun is brutal here... Managed to get badly burnt despite it not being hot. Bloody lack of ozone 😞.
May try and post some pics if I get some proper down time.
Cheers!
Only been on the south island one day and the scenery really is stunning (the 50-135 is getting one hell of a work out).
Driving is slow going, by my reckoning with photo and toilet stops etc... we're going about 50-60kms an hour max. One long drive tomorrow over Arthurs pass to Tekapo and after that it should be less kms per day.
Also the sun is brutal here... Managed to get badly burnt despite it not being hot. Bloody lack of ozone 😞.
May try and post some pics if I get some proper down time.
Cheers!
Comment by johnieutah posted on 4 weeks in New Zealand at 19/11/2016 - 03:05
Thanks very much for all the recommendations.
We've slowly been putting everything together, and my only worry is that we are doing too much driving.
I think for the north island we have about 1200kms (in 5 days), and for the south a good 2600kms (in 16 days). We've had to book up a train back up through the centre of the north island and the ferries (both ways), and with this everything sort of fell in to place. I know 200-250kms a day average driving doesn't sound like much, but I imagine the roads aren't fast going, and with stops for photos etc... I wonder if this leaves time to actually do stuff.
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As for the photographic side of things, I thought long and hard about getting a new lens (for landscapes) but I wasn't sure which one as I was struggling to justify a new lens purchase that wouldn't be FF compatible... so the 50-135mm, 40 Ltd and kit lens will have to do for this trip.
We've slowly been putting everything together, and my only worry is that we are doing too much driving.
I think for the north island we have about 1200kms (in 5 days), and for the south a good 2600kms (in 16 days). We've had to book up a train back up through the centre of the north island and the ferries (both ways), and with this everything sort of fell in to place. I know 200-250kms a day average driving doesn't sound like much, but I imagine the roads aren't fast going, and with stops for photos etc... I wonder if this leaves time to actually do stuff.
-----
As for the photographic side of things, I thought long and hard about getting a new lens (for landscapes) but I wasn't sure which one as I was struggling to justify a new lens purchase that wouldn't be FF compatible... so the 50-135mm, 40 Ltd and kit lens will have to do for this trip.
Comment by johnieutah posted on 4 weeks in New Zealand at 04/11/2016 - 19:35
richandfleur wrote:
For the north, we've got a week... starting the first few days in Auckland (to recover from jetlag), and then heading out along the east cape down through to Wellington. I think we'll have about 3/4 days to do this drive, so if anyone can recommend interesting towns to stay in that would be great. We're not interested in Hobbitland in the middle so that will be skipped johnieutah wrote:
Guys, I'm off to New Zealand in a few weeks (for a month).
Good choice. Guys, I'm off to New Zealand in a few weeks (for a month).
johnieutah wrote:
Who's been and what can you recommend?
What sort of itinerary have you put together so far?Who's been and what can you recommend?
For the south we'll have 15 days. Definitely want to visit the Franz Josef glacier, and one of the "sounds". Other than that, I guess we're pretty open, as long as we do a round and end up in Picton where we need to drop the car off. Any hikes in and around the lakes would be great (e.g. Tepako, Hawea, Wanaka).
Got the return ferry booked and then a nice train ride back up to Auckland.
Really looking forward to it and giving the 50-135 another good work out.
Comment by johnieutah posted on 4 weeks in New Zealand at 19/10/2016 - 20:28
petrochemist wrote:
I only had 2 weeks and part of that was working - so I couldn't cover as anywhere near as much as I wanted too. The drive south took about a week of that, but it may have been lengthened by my taking diversions & stopping for Photos...
Fiordland national park is a must. If you spend 2 weeks there it wouldn't be wasted, especially if you can include an overnight cruise on one of the sounds. I only managed Milford sound & a short cruise on Doubtful sound (started from Te Anau & ferried out by boat & coach), both of which were stunning. I think Milford sound remains my favorite spot in the whole world!
The volcanic spot of Rotorua is supposed to be another must see, though I didn't have time The smaller volcanic spot I visited instead wasn't nearly as impressive - it had been unusually dry when I visited so there was much less steam than usual, so it lost much of it's drama.
On the route down I found parts of the route between Taupo & New Plymouth (North Island) particularly worth finding - IIRC may favorite spots where along the 'lost highway' (part of route 43?) The ferry into Picton & the Franz Josef Glacier where other spots that stick in the mind...
I'm certain NZ has loads of other options that I missed!
Definitely looking at either Milford or Doubtful Sound... edging towards Doubtful purely because we've heard it's a lot less touristy although harder to access. Is it worth putting the effort in to see both?I only had 2 weeks and part of that was working - so I couldn't cover as anywhere near as much as I wanted too. The drive south took about a week of that, but it may have been lengthened by my taking diversions & stopping for Photos...
Fiordland national park is a must. If you spend 2 weeks there it wouldn't be wasted, especially if you can include an overnight cruise on one of the sounds. I only managed Milford sound & a short cruise on Doubtful sound (started from Te Anau & ferried out by boat & coach), both of which were stunning. I think Milford sound remains my favorite spot in the whole world!
The volcanic spot of Rotorua is supposed to be another must see, though I didn't have time The smaller volcanic spot I visited instead wasn't nearly as impressive - it had been unusually dry when I visited so there was much less steam than usual, so it lost much of it's drama.
On the route down I found parts of the route between Taupo & New Plymouth (North Island) particularly worth finding - IIRC may favorite spots where along the 'lost highway' (part of route 43?) The ferry into Picton & the Franz Josef Glacier where other spots that stick in the mind...
I'm certain NZ has loads of other options that I missed!
Thanks for the tips.
Comment by johnieutah posted on 4 weeks in New Zealand at 19/10/2016 - 20:11
Stuey wrote:
There used to be a series called 'Worlds Greatest Motorcycle Rides' it covered New Zealand - I don't ride but watched it hoping one day to drive similar routes.
If you can track it down on tinterweb it may provide some inspiration
Edit: I located it on YouTube - the New Zealand episodes appear to be there😀
This the one you're on about? There used to be a series called 'Worlds Greatest Motorcycle Rides' it covered New Zealand - I don't ride but watched it hoping one day to drive similar routes.
If you can track it down on tinterweb it may provide some inspiration
Edit: I located it on YouTube - the New Zealand episodes appear to be there😀
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEhlm4pvduU
Will check it out. Thanks!
Comment by johnieutah posted on 4 weeks in New Zealand at 19/10/2016 - 20:02
Guys, I'm off to New Zealand in a few weeks (for a month).
I will be travelling with the wife (a sort of delayed honeymoon), and we are both not in to the "extreme sports" scene and more looking at the hikes/walks side of things, and of course lots of beautiful scenery for some great photo opportunities (luckily she is very patient with me).
Current plan is around 1 week on the north island and then 3 on the south. I know this is not enough to cover everything, but we will have a car so I am looking at a round trip to encompass a good selection of the best bits.
Who's been and what can you recommend? I'm also keen to hear on what wasn't so great as expected... it's all too easy to read a lot of blogs etc... where everything is fantastic and people tend to get carried away IMO.
Ideas and suggestions much appreciated.
I will be travelling with the wife (a sort of delayed honeymoon), and we are both not in to the "extreme sports" scene and more looking at the hikes/walks side of things, and of course lots of beautiful scenery for some great photo opportunities (luckily she is very patient with me).
Current plan is around 1 week on the north island and then 3 on the south. I know this is not enough to cover everything, but we will have a car so I am looking at a round trip to encompass a good selection of the best bits.
Who's been and what can you recommend? I'm also keen to hear on what wasn't so great as expected... it's all too easy to read a lot of blogs etc... where everything is fantastic and people tend to get carried away IMO.
Ideas and suggestions much appreciated.
Comment by johnieutah posted on 4 weeks in New Zealand at 17/10/2016 - 16:48
The K5-II (and s) have pretty much exactly the same processing engine and internals as the K5, which was limited to ~20MB/sec card writes. It doesn't matter what card you use over a certain limir the bottle neck is the camera. Having camera lens distortion and lens corrections turned on will significantly slow down the picture processing as well.
I would still buy decent Sandisk cards. I recently had some of the "ultra" cards rated at 40MB/sec, that is the read rate, not write! Write is significantly slower and I did notice a difference when shooting in burst mode.
I believe for the K3 onwards they started using better/faster internals which can take advantage of faster cards.
I would still buy decent Sandisk cards. I recently had some of the "ultra" cards rated at 40MB/sec, that is the read rate, not write! Write is significantly slower and I did notice a difference when shooting in burst mode.
I believe for the K3 onwards they started using better/faster internals which can take advantage of faster cards.
Comment by johnieutah posted on K5IIs and K3 Write speed. at 26/08/2016 - 09:50
Am very very tempted by this lens, but I have to say there aren't that many reviews around. I'm surprised there isn't more talk on the forum about it, looks like a really great quality lens. Perhaps too expensive?!?
Comment by johnieutah posted on DAL 16-85 WR at 03/12/2015 - 15:42
Argh, I put a 55-300 in my basket last night then did some more reading around on other lenses, then got side tracked and forgot to checkout last night! DOH!
You (literally) snooze you loose in this case
You (literally) snooze you loose in this case
Comment by johnieutah posted on Pentax 55-300mm HD & 100mm WR early 'Black Friday' PU forum exclusive promotion! at 01/12/2015 - 09:14
I knew NZ would be offer beautiful landscapes, but I wasn't quite prepared for how lovely some of the scenery would be.
Just had a quick dig through the pics... These are literally straight from the camera (ok, quick process through LR).
Lake Tekapo
Drive to Mt. Cook
Anaikwa