Travelling with Sigma 10-18mm F2.8 DC DN

Holiday is one of the most beautiful word in the English language. Everyone gets excited. Young or young at heart. Traveling do comes with a lot of preparation. Packing the right camera gears in the right bag is as critical as selecting the correct wardrobe for the right season of travel. I hope I am talking sense. 

I remembered last year when I travelled to Tokyo; my set-up was X-H2 and 4 lenses. Primarily, Viltrox 13mm F1.4, XF23mm F1.4, XF56mm F1.2 and XF70-300mm. All packed in a 20L Peak Design Everyday backpack and some space left for other stuff. My total weight was 4.5KG. I survived. Why so many lenses? I will hate myself if a great scene present itself and I don’t have the right lens with me. I know I am crazy but If I could; I will bring a GFX.

This recent trip, the set-up was a X-H2 plus 3 lenses. The trios are Sigma 10-18mm F2.8 DC DN , XF56mm F1.2 WR and XF70-300mm. A PGYTech 20L OneGo Air Backpack to pack everything in. Total weight is 3.4kg. I shave more than 1 KG by having 1 lesser lens and a lighter backpack for this trip. If you walk an average of 8-10KM per day, this weight saving is critical. I used a backpack because I also have a laptop. Once I reach the hotel, I will switch to a sling bag. I feel that I am smarter photographer this year. LOL. And I must say, the  PGYTech 7L  OneMo Sling (0.84 KG) is the best sling I ever used!  I actually own 3 other sling bags and therefore know what I am talking about, when I said it’s the best I ever used. The other sling bag that I own is a 3L and 6L PD sling and 10L Moment sling. 

I shave another 0.6KG by changing from my backpack to a sling bag. Now my total weight is now 2.8KG. The PGYTech 7L  OneMo Sling bag has many great compartment just like all the other sling bag. There are 2 features that makes this sling bag uniquely different from the pack. I have used it exclusively for my 2 weeks in Japan. This 7L this sling bag could shallow quite a bit. Comfortably fits my X-H2 and 3 other lenses. 

This sling has a “sandwich” slot. This open space is between the main compartment and the front pocket. It has 2 side adjustable strap. I have sloted my sweater and a bottle of water into this slot. It’s a great space to slot odd thing like a gimbal. It’s extremely versatile. If you needed more space, This sling bag is expandable from 7L to a 9L. Simply by unzipping the zip around the top area and thus increases the height and giving you the precious 2 extra litres of space. 

We spend a total of 13 days in Japan. As we all know, when travelling with family; we are only 10% a photographer. The rest of 90% we are parents, logistics offices, safety officers, meals advisors, driver, porter during shopping etc.

First 4 nights we stayed at Hotel Groove at Shinjuku. A noisy and colourful north side of Shinjuku. Next 5 nights we stayed at Hotel Clad at Gotemba. We made this town our base as we explore area around Mount Fuji. When you stay long enough; Fuji San will reveal itself. And the last 3 nights we stayed at Grand Nikko Odaiba. Reason for that, is because of its proximity to Disneyland and Hanada Airport. Just a 20 minutes bus ride to Hanada Airport and 30 minutes train ride to Disneyland or Disneysea.

I cut down by 1 lens for this trip vs last December trip to Tokyo.. And that lens is XF23mm F1.4 WR. Which is my favorite everyday lens. The main reason is, I have a new Sigma 10-18mm F2.8 lens. I told myself to give 18mm focal length a try. So the default lens for this trip is the Sigma. This is a rather small ultra wide F2.8 zoom lens. I do enjoy using the Sigma. Weighting at a mere 250 grams; it’s a gem. Good AF, Good IQ, light weight. Small in dimension and priced well at USD $599 for a F2.8 zoom that is made in Japan. 

So together with my beloved XF56mm F1.2 WR and my fav travel zoom, XF70-300mm I conquer this trip. Below are many more of my fav shots. Let me know what you think of my set-up for this trip?