Vietnam ~ I have a rule

[BigEasy]

I have a rule... never use a new piece of equipment that you have not tested, for the first time on a trip . I should listen to my own advise.

Last month I took a NEW Circular polarizing filter with me to Vietnam. Thought I would just leave it on my one of my travel lenses (18-200mm) when out and about. Figured it might cut down on the glair I get with many quick covert shots straight from the bag. Lazy way...maybe, but I seldom have time to add or remove filters when in crowds and shooting from the hip.

Mine you... this was a good filter (HOYA)... Well long story short. What a nightmare! Everything looked okay on the road in the piss-ant camera screen. But when I got home I noticed that everything was full of grain, focus sucked, and the contrast was almost unfixable even with RAW files. Still not sure why the filter is screwy... later tests show that lens works well with other Circular polarizing filters... just not the one I shot 1300 pictures with.

I have a rule... you should have one too.


Here are a few snaps of Vietnam... C&C always welcome!

Gallery is here : http://bigeasytx.zenfolio.com/p596446354/

[LoungeLizard]

Nice stuff. Was this with/without the filter?

[ngoduyviet]

Sorry to hear about your filter problem. Nice shots, except for your feet on the xich lo, you really captured them in their daily live

[BigEasy]

Originally Posted by LoungeLizard

Nice stuff. Was this with/without the filter?

Thanks. The rickshaw(xich lo) shot was one of the problem filter's offspring. The others were shot either without filter or in the case of the Mekong Delta shots, with a different Circular polarizing filter on a different lens.

[Pattyhm73]

they look good to0 me

[CaptainTom]

Do they have a helmet law there or is it just fashionable and cool to wear one ?

[BigEasy]

Funny thing Tom, they just recently started a helmet law... they hate it, and call them rice cookers cus' of the heat. $10 US if caught without a helmet (that's an expensive fine). But I don't think there is any DOT requirements, because you see everything from plastic Power Rangers to WW II Kaiser-Wilhelm helmets.

[ngoduyviet]

Actually, grew up in VN, I know the helmet rule has been in place for at least around 10 years. It was mandated for the higher ups to make money importing those helmets. The people hate it and call it the rice-cooker like Gene said.

Fortunately, (or unfortunately) the police there is so corrupt that it doesn't really matter, as long as you know how to grease the wheel, you can get away with pretty much anything from running the lights, to racing on the street.

[BigEasy]

Your right Viet, the traffic laws are up for grabs, as almost anything goes! I wrote about my fascination with the traffic in my gallery. If you can drive on it... it will be driven on. Sidewalks are just considered passing lanes..

But what a wonderful place! We love it.. we're going back in a few weeks... gonna spend Christmas there.. then go to Phnom Penh and Angkor Wat.


Sidewalk Passing Lane:


Get out da way...

[Comanche]

Nice shots! Glad to see you made the day trip out to Tay Ninh to see the Cao Dai Temple.

Helmet laws - agreed, the police are very corrupt, but now that the helmet laws are being enforced for about a year, it is very rare to see someone without one. Viet Nam has the second highest traffic fatality rate in the world, so it is a good change to see.

Viet - nice to know somebody else knows what a xich lo is. Of course, you grew up there and I only lived there for 1 1/2 years in 2005-06, but most westerners spell is cyclo.

Very nice work, Gene. Very nice. I'll be in Hue in February and hope to have some shots taken in the mountains west of there.

[toverman]

I like these shots you've posted here.

I've lived by the "test it out at home" rule for most everything I take with me traveling, camera gear and beyond.

My mom's got a Pentax 18-200, and while it's extremely well-suited for travel because of the wide focal range, its results are typically disappointing. She used a polarizer on a trip and got vignetting through the entire range, not just the wide end. And the viewfinder is so dark and grainy with that lens (even without the filter) that it's not great for money shots. Your lens/brand results may vary.