Best Lens for Travel Photography

[klipps7]

I am traveling to Uganda in a few months for a service trip and I plan on taking my camera. I want to buy a lens that I can use for both landscapes and portraits. I've done a lot of research but I'm having trouble narrowing it down to just one. I want to keep it under $1,000 and I would like it to be lightweight but as good of quality as possible. I have a Canon 60D. I really like the idea of a wide angle for landscapes but I don't think that would be the best choice for portraits. Any suggestions?

 

[Scatterbrained]

I'd go with a simple zoom like the 17-55 IS f/2.8.

 

[curtyoungblood]

I think the 24-105 is a really popular travel lens right now. It is light, covers a big focal range, and is good quality. You could certainly get one used for under $1,000.

 

[runnah]

I think the 24-105 is a really popular travel lens right now. It is light, covers a big focal range, and is good quality. You could certainly get one used for under $1,000.

I second this. Plus they are cheap because they are normally included in bundle deals.

A quick search on eBay has them average $600.

 

[Scatterbrained]

24mm isn't very wide on a crop body though. . . . . .

 

[runnah]

24mm isn't very wide on a crop body though. . . . . .

True but it's the best compromise.

How about the 17-24mm L f/4. I have it and do 90% of my landscapes with it. On a crop you still get decent wide shots and reasonable portraits.

 

[Scatterbrained]

24mm isn't very wide on a crop body though. . . . . .

True but it's the best compromise.

How about the 17-24mm L f/4. I have it and do 90% of my landscapes with it. On a crop you still get decent wide shots and reasonable portraits.

Which is why I suggested the 17-55-2.8 IS. It has stellar image quality, is small (compared to lenses made for FF), has a very usable range, faster aperture and IS; for under $900 new. I had never even used a crop camera until about a year ago when I picked up a T2i for IR photography. I was never happy with the range of the 17-40 on that camera, but was never really happy with the 24-70 either as it wasn't quite wide enough. When I picked up the M during that fire sale last year I found that the 18-55 was quite the ideal range. Sure it would be nice to have a bit more range on either end, but for me it was a better compromise than either the 24-70 or the 17-40 for single lens traveling.

 

[Lumens]

My 7D is a crop body like the 60D; my walk-around is the Canon EF-S 15-85 f3.5-5.6, I love this lens. It would work well for you as well and give a wider angle than the others plus a little more on the long end.

The 17-55-2.8 IS and 24-105 are also great suggestions, I believe all three would make a good choice. As always each has its own advantages and disadvantages over the other. I have looked at the other two and would like to have both along with my 15-85 for different reasons, but the 15-85 does wonders for my image quality so I pass on the redundancy.

 

[jaomul]

I'd look at the canon 15-85mm or sigma 17-70mm OS. Either covers a lot with good quality. I used a 24-105 with a 5d but don't think it is suitable for crop camera

 

[TheFantasticG]

Depends on how wide you want your wide to be for landscapes. 24mm for me is wide enough, most of the time, so the 24-105 would suffice. If that's not wide enough you'll compromise on the Long end but chances are pretty good that the 17-55mm will do just fine too.

 

[Usul]

Depends on how wide you want your wide to be for landscapes. 24mm for me is wide enough, most of the time, so the 24-105 would suffice. If that's not wide enough you'll compromise on the Long end but chances are pretty good that the 17-55mm will do just fine too.

It's very easy to find out is 24 mm wide enought or not. Just use ExposurePlot (or something similar) with some your old photos and it shows you what focal lenght you use most. For me 24 is not wide more than half photos that was done in travels done with 17-20 mm (I have a crop camera). So I guess 17-55 or sigma 17-50 are better options.

 

[ronlane]

For portrait AND landscape, I would agree about the 24-105mm f/4. It is way under the $1,000. It's great for a walk around lens and portraits. For landscape, if you feel that it's not wide enough, just take multiple shots for a pano.

 

[Dao]

Can you bring one more lens? If yes, just a standard fast zoom plus a telephoto (prime or zoom).