Weather gear and lens opinions...

[hacksaw35]

I am going to Oregon on a camping trip in Sept. and I would like to get some weather gear and a lens...

LENS ISSUE:
Currently I only have the Nikkor 17-55 f/2.8 ($1000 and heavy) There are two lenses I am thinking about...

Nikkor 55-200mm f/4-5.6G ED AF-S VR DX ($250, good addition to my 17-55, nice zoom for wildlife)
Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 (light, fast, $120, but I already have that length in my bag)

OPINIONS???

WEATHER ISSUE:
I would like to have something in case of rainy weather. I was thinking about the Aqua Tech ss rain gear on B&H, and was wondering if anyone has experience with these...and if you actually need to buy the $30 eye piece that goes with it?

OPINIONS???

Any thoughts are welcome. Thanks guys.

 

[sothoth]

Any thoughts are welcome. Thanks guys.

I'm old fashioned. I use plastic bags when dealing with rain. Stuff still fogs up. Rain sucks.

 

[kundalini]

I got the 55-200mm as the second lens to the kit lens (18-55mm). It's not as fast as I want, but it gives me the range I like. For the $250 price tag I think it's a good addition in my bag.

As far as the bag, I have a Lowepro top load AW. I like it because it sits on my chest for a quick retrieval of my camera and has an attached rain cover. Also, I was living and traveling in Western Europe where major crime wasn't an issue, but pick-pockets ran amuck. My bag and gear was in front of me which virtually eliminated someone coming from behind and deftly unzipping compartments to see what they could see. I could also carry a full backpack. If you carry more than 2 lenses with the body, extra battery, filters and small items, you want to look for another model, but I really like mine. Have had it for about 15 years and it has held up nicely.

 

[Alex_B]

WEATHER ISSUE:
I would like to have something in case of rainy weather. I was thinking about the Aqua Tech ss rain gear on B&H, and was wondering if anyone has experience with these...and if you actually need to buy the $30 eye piece that goes with it?

I am hiking with SLRs and dSLRs for more than a decade now, some really long distance hikes, and some of those with lots of rain and cold damp nights in the tent. I never took any special protection with me except one transparent plastic bag to cover the camera from direct rain while shooting, and enough plastic bags to wrap up and seal each camera and lens before crossing rivers without bridges.

No experience with the gear you mention.

 

[hacksaw35]

Thanks for your thoughts... I think I am going to try and fashion something out of a poncho of mine.

 

[notelliot]

I got the 55-200mm as the second lens to the kit lens (18-55mm). It's not as fast as I want, but it gives me the range I like. For the $250 price tag I think it's a good addition in my bag.

As far as the bag, I have a Lowepro top load AW. I like it because it sits on my chest for a quick retrieval of my camera and has an attached rain cover. Also, I was living and traveling in Western Europe where major crime wasn't an issue, but pick-pockets ran amuck. My bag and gear was in front of me which virtually eliminated someone coming from behind and deftly unzipping compartments to see what they could see. I could also carry a full backpack. If you carry more than 2 lenses with the body, extra battery, filters and small items, you want to look for another model, but I really like mine. Have had it for about 15 years and it has held up nicely.

sorry to throw this a little off topic, but you've had a lowepro bag for 15 years? they really don't make them like they used to.. haha mine's a year old, and starting to go already.

 

[Alex_B]

sorry to throw this a little off topic, but you've had a lowepro bag for 15 years? they really don't make them like they used to.. haha mine's a year old, and starting to go already.

they still make some really tough ones ... but some are just toys made to last a couple of months only. unfortunately the shapes and sizes I need are mostly in the toy class