Trip to Mexico - what to take?

[Kemik]

Hi guys,

I have an Olympus EP3 with 12mm f2 and stock 14-42mm 3.5-5.6 lenses that I am taking with me on holiday to Mexico. I will also be taking along a GorillaPod. Edit: I also have a 45mm lense which I love, but the girlfriend will kill me if I continuously switch lenses and she hates having her photo taken anyway.

Do you think a polarising / UV lens filter is required? What about a hood? I used UV filters for a trip to Morocco but didn't really notice any difference to the shots to be honest.

Anything else vital you would recommend? I've got 2 x 16GB cards and will be taking a little camera bag which should hopefully fit in a 10L day bag with water, lotion and a bit of food. Would be interested in hearing how you guys transport your stuff on holidays. I don't want to be carrying a lot of stuff.

Thanks

 

[Kemik]

UV filters will not improve you image, people just use them to 'protect' fromt elements.

If your planning on shooting any scenary/landscape shots I wouldn't leave the house without a CPL filter.

Cheers. Sounds like I should pick up a CPL filter. Quite a few people mention lens hoods too as a necessity. Is this the case? So I would load a CPL filter plus a lens hood when taking photos of landscapes? I assume if you use a CPL filter you then don't put a UV filter on in front of that?

Decent CPL filters aren't cheap! Might be a case of one for the 12mm and leave it on the stock. Any landscape shots/buildings will be the 12mm and then general shooting will be the more flexible stock lens.

 

[Kemik]

UV filters are not needed and only ever degrade image quality for no gains - useless you are shooting in a very harsh environment (Saharan dust storm perhaps)

CPL is pretty much a requirement for landscape work, i have one glued to my 16-85mm. Don't go too cheap or you get a colour cast.I use B&W, Heliopan are also excellent.

Lens hoods are also very important to prevent flare and increase contrast. You don't want the sunlight directly hitting the lens element.

The UV filter was originally bought for that purpose I was in the Sahara in Morocco and didn't want to get anything too dirty.

Would you recommend the CPL goes on the 12mm and the hood on the kit? I don't really want to spend £60 on two different size CPL filters and have to carry round two different size hoods.