Heading to Arches UT - which two of these three lenses should I take

Harrower · May 22, 2012

I'm heading out to Arches and Yellowstone with the family. My photographic experience is mostly in people and product. I have the Nikon 14-24, 24-70, and 70-200 f2.8 lenses. Which two of these would I get the most mileage out of on a trip. I love the 70-200 but its sort of a beast to take on a family trip and I have heard from others that you get more use out of wide-angle with all the landscapes.

I have four kids, though, and think the 70-200 could make for some nice shots of them interacting with nature.

Thoughts?

BTW I said two of the three because I'm determined to take my smaller camera bag.

TCampbell · May 22, 2012

Do you expect the kids to be at quite a distance as they interact with nature?

Here's a thought experiment:

Go into your bathroom and take the roll of paper -- if you want, take all the toilet paper off the roll and just keep the cardboard tube. Now... hold the cardboard tube up to your eye as if to be looking through a telescope, but imagine that you're at a national park. Is this narrow field of view really what you want to use to photograph a national park?

You could use the 70-200 to photograph wildlife, but probably you'd want an even longer lens. I think you'll find the 14-24 is able to give you dramatic perspectives on things (of course you'll need to be close -- this isn't a lens to do photography at a distance.) The 24-70 will give a nice normal working lens for all the regular shots and landscapes.

1) Definitely take the 14-24.
2) If you think you'll mostly be taking shots of your family enjoying the vacation then take the 24-70
3) If you think you'll be taking shots at a moderate distance and maybe trying to photograph some of the more docile wildlife (not the stuff with big teeth that can run faster than you can) then take the 70-200.

SCraig · May 22, 2012

I took a bunch of shots in Arches about 3 years ago and used my 18-55mm lens for most of the shots. There were a couple of times I used my mid-telephoto zoom but not many. The landscapes there are amazing and in most cases a normal to moderate wide angle lens seems to work best.