Travel Photography

[Tighearnach]

So i travel a bit and next stop is ten days in The Lebanon. Cant wait but id like to ask everyone what lens they would bring with them if they could only bring one lens. I really wanna pack light and am thinking of buying a new lens that would be used specifically for travelling.

So any suggestions?
Thanks

 

[usayit]

When I travel and need to pack a DSLR light....

1) 1 camera body. Black electrical tape over the branding and generic camera strap.
2) 1 light-weight zoom lens with a wide focal range. Not necessarily fast aperture.
3) 1 compact prime lens of 35mm or 50mm for low light work.
4) 1 small compact table tripod. Mine is a Cullmann Magic 2 tripod... folds flat
5) Regular looking camera bag.

It will be hard to make suggestions if we don't know what camera you shoot with...

If shooting primes.... I like to at leat carry two: 35-ish and 75-ish focal lengths.

 

[Tighearnach]

Hi

I shoot with a 400D. I will be bringing my nifty fifty. I suppose what i really would like to know is for travel would a 17-85mm f/4-5.6 I.S (or something similar) be better than a shorter focal range but faster lens like the 17-50 f/2.8....

 

[usayit]

Sorry.. I can't shoot with EF-S lenses therefore I have no experience with either.

Assuming both provide reasonable IQ and judging just by specs alone...
I'd take the extra reach of lighter weight of the 17-85mm... paired with the nifty fifity

Again.. take this with a grain of salt.. someone else will hopefully provide more feedback.

 

[Village Idiot]

24-70 f/2.8? 28-105?

 

[McQueen278]

24-70 f/2.8? 28-105?

It's a crop body. Those are great, but not very wide and still not terribly long. Something like EF-S 55-250 IS might be more appropriate.

 

[JerryPH]

Packing light? My D200 and Nikon 18-200VR serve well enough for that. It's always a choice though, right? Quality vs versatility... its near impossible to have both.

 

[dEARlEADER]

Packing light? My D200 and Nikon 18-200VR serve well enough for that. It's always a choice though, right? Quality vs versatility... its near impossible to have both.

sounds good... and how much extra space does a 50mm in a pocket take up.... the 18-200 and 50mm would work well considering....

 

[Village Idiot]

It's a crop body. Those are great, but not very wide and still not terribly long. Something like EF-S 55-250 IS might be more appropriate.

But the 24-70 is an L that's most likely sealed, and as solid as a tank and the 28-105 has IS and good IQ. The 55-250 is does have huge coverage, but IQ usually degrades with that.

 

[JerryPH]

sounds good... and how much extra space does a 50mm in a pocket take up.... the 18-200 and 50mm would work well considering....

Why not just take the 85mm F/1.4? It is better than the 50mm... but then why not also take my 30mm F/1.4 as well... and we cannot go without the... and so it starts... lol.

To heck with light traveling, all or nothing, I say!

 

[Fiendish Astronaut]

Personally I would go wide. I would not want to go there to take portraits but to capture scenes - although the nifty fifty could do the job if I met an interesting looking face...

 

[usayit]

Why not just take the 85mm F/1.4? It is better than the 50mm... but then why not also take my 30mm F/1.4 as well... and we cannot go without the... and so it starts... lol.

To heck with light traveling, all or nothing, I say!

Just like any experienced hiker, traveling within your capacity to carry comfortably is very important. The only time I'd put myself through needless suffering is if a paycheck was depending on it.

Canon's nifty fifty is very light and compact.

As I said... if you really want fast primes, go with 35-sh and a 75-ish. For most that are used to zooms... get a long range one and a single fast prime.

 

[JerryPH]

I sincerely was kidding around with the "all or nothing" comment. Of course it is logical that it is challenging to carry much more than a body and a lens or two... thats why I suggested a lens that has an extreme range, is acceptably sharp and has VR.

As to what is everyone's minimum acceptable carrying weight, you may laugh, but I sincerely can (and *DID*) carry around my D200, 5 lenses, an SB-800, 2-4 sets of every battery type needed and a 6-ft travel-pod and HD Sony camcorder all in a weatherproof backpack. To me, that is my minimum when on vacation, and I have lugged it several times now for 14 hours a day, 5 consecutive days.

When not on vacation, I leave home the video camera, but toss in a couple more speedlights, stands, umbrellas and at least one more heavy full sized tripod.

Everyone needs to make their own decision as to what they consider bare minimum. Some want a body and a 50mm... others, like me, will not accept the challenge (or limitations) of not having what you want, when you want... and are more than happy to lug it all around all day long with a smile.

 

[usayit]

Wow.. I'll carry that kind of weight in a Pelican roll around during a long trip but won't actually carry all of it at any one time.

I did once lug around a 645 Pentax w/ 3 lenses, 1v w/ 4 primes, 100-400L, tripod, a strobe, and all the fixin's ... I wasn't too happy after more than 8 hours and I won't do that again.. I haven't in years.

I'm all about packing right now... to enjoy my trips.

 

[JerryPH]

True story... I thought that I carried around a lot. A couple weeks ago, I went to the Botanical Gardens here in Montreal and met a guy that had a biggger backpack on him AND made his girlfriend carry around one too, and it was all his equipment... lol

Thats an excellent example of over-enthusiasm!