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Archive 2014 · What lens should I pack to Japan?

  
 
sjms
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p.2 #1 · p.2 #1 · What lens should I pack to Japan?


the x100- light, but limiting.

24-120/4 on a D610 Tokyo Christmas 2013





24mm







38mm







120mm



Edited on Aug 16, 2014 at 10:51 AM · View previous versions



Aug 16, 2014 at 07:06 AM
FredAz
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p.2 #2 · p.2 #2 · What lens should I pack to Japan?


I was in Osaka and Kyoto in June.
Took my D800E with the new 80-400G, 24-120 and 14-24.
NEVER used the 80-400.
The other two seemed perfect.



Aug 16, 2014 at 08:24 AM
Frogfish
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p.2 #3 · p.2 #3 · What lens should I pack to Japan?


Kyoto last September :

80mm


400mm - cropped


140mm


21mm


21mm





Aug 16, 2014 at 09:07 AM
jc9394
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p.2 #4 · p.2 #4 · What lens should I pack to Japan?


Frogfish wrote:
I think the OP needs to define exactly where he is going and what he intends to shoot. Because if it is temples, shrines and castles then 50mm is not even close to wide enough !

The 21mm I had was great but even that was pushed at times (BTW - MF is irrelevant 99% of the time with the 21mm because you are shooting at infinity, my 21mm is hard-stopped there).


It will be mostly cityscape, temples, shrines and castles. I definitely taken the 14-24 as it is the most used lens when I was in Zurich earlier this year. I'm thinking both 14-24 with 24-70 or 14-24 with 50.



Aug 16, 2014 at 11:51 AM
ytwong
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p.2 #5 · p.2 #5 · What lens should I pack to Japan?


I live in Hong Kong, and have been to Japan for a few times (Miyagi, Tokyo, Shirakawa-go, Takayama, Tokyo, Nikko, Usunomiya, Nagano, Osaka, Nara, Fukuoka etc...)

I'd pick 24-70 from the list, but having a wider lens is good too (I use 16-35 VR). I'd also bring a longer lens, since I quite like the compressed view (even with buildings in cities, Hong Kong with 150mm, Tokyo with 300mm) and longer lens would be useful for candids too (but I rarely take pictures of strangers, esp in Asia since without consent as we consider that rather offensive).

The good thing about traveling in Japan (and in Hong Kong too) is that it's so safe, you don't usually need to worry about someone would pull a gun or knife at you and get your gear, and you can keep your gears in hotel/minshuku without worrying too much. I usually takes lots of unnecessary gear to Japan, just put them in hotel/minshuku when I don't use it (I don't even bother to keep them in the safe most of the time).

I'd definitely bring a good pocket camera and a tripod too.



Aug 16, 2014 at 01:32 PM
jc9394
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p.2 #6 · p.2 #6 · What lens should I pack to Japan?


Thanks for all the recommendations, I will pack a 14-24 and 24-70. Definitely a tripod for the night shots from the peak.


Aug 16, 2014 at 03:50 PM
Frogfish
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p.2 #7 · p.2 #7 · What lens should I pack to Japan?


ytwong wrote:
I live in Hong Kong, and have been to Japan for a few times (Miyagi, Tokyo, Shirakawa-go, Takayama, Tokyo, Nikko, Usunomiya, Nagano, Osaka, Nara, Fukuoka etc...)

............and longer lens would be useful for candids too (but I rarely take pictures of strangers, esp in Asia since without consent as we consider that rather offensive).

The good thing about traveling in Japan (and in Hong Kong too) is that it's so safe, you don't usually need to worry about someone would pull a gun or knife at you and get your gear, and you can keep your gears in hotel/minshuku without worrying
...Show more

Just want to pick this middle sentence out here. Sorry YT I'm not at all sure I agree with you. I've lived 20 yrs in Asia (3 in HK and 17 in Shanghai) and have a Chinese wife of 27 yrs. That is not at all my experience. I would say that in HK and the more developed Asian countries they are more akin to the generally suspicious Western attitude whilst in other countries (particularly China & S.E.Asia) they are far more accommodating, often posing for shots or most especially posing their children - happy that a foreigner is taking such interest in their offspring.

There are always exceptions of course (and if they wave me off I respect that and I don't take the shot) however I have far more shots taken of me (!) than vice versa, mostly surrupticiously but often people come up and openly ask to be photographed with me (and I always agree, smile and try to make it a good pic for them) I don't think it's rude, a smile and a wave usually receive the same in return.

Absolutely agree with you on the safety aspect above, again there may always be an exception but generally personal safety in Asia is far higher than the West.



Aug 16, 2014 at 10:13 PM
Two23
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p.2 #8 · p.2 #8 · What lens should I pack to Japan?


I'm on a trip to Victoria BC at the moment, and can't for the life of me understand why anyone would take big heavy lenses unless photo'ing wildlife. I've brought a D7100 with Nikon 17-55mm f2.8 and 11-16mm f2.8 & 80-400mm AFS. All of that has turned out to be too much to carry, so I've generally slimmed down to D7100 & 17-55mm. Really, I've been using my little Leica with lenses 28/50/90mm the most. For places as crowded as Japan the Fuji X cameras are looking like the best option, but if you are trying to save money right now if it were me I'd buy a 24-120mm VR and just resell it when you got home. Big heavy cameras and lenses just don't make sense any more as we now have great options.

For a tripod I've been using the Benro A269 Travel Angel. It's very sturdy, folds down to something like 16 inches, but when I get home I'm selling it to get the C169 version. It's lighter duty but the carbon fiber makes it plenty sturdy enough for a light to mid weight camera. The problem with a regular sized tripod is in crowded places you might be bumping it in to people a lot. The Benro I have is OK in that regard as it is small, but I definitely want to get rid of the extra pound & half and will also lose a little bulk by going down to the C169 version. I may end up dumping the Nikon system totally and going to Fuji X after this trip--will check into that when I get home.


Kent in SD



Aug 16, 2014 at 10:34 PM
ytwong
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p.2 #9 · p.2 #9 · What lens should I pack to Japan?


Frogfish wrote:
Just want to pick this middle sentence out here. Sorry YT I'm not at all sure I agree with you. I've lived 20 yrs in Asia (3 in HK and 17 in Shanghai) and have a Chinese wife of 27 yrs. That is not at all my experience. I would say that in HK and the more developed Asian countries they are more akin to the generally suspicious Western attitude whilst in other countries (particularly China & S.E.Asia) they are far more accommodating, often posing for shots or most especially posing their children - happy that a foreigner is taking
...Show more
What I said "consent" doesn't necessarily verbal or written one..sometimes eye contact, gesture and a nod would do. Yes , in some places (like Iran) the local people took more pictures of me than pictures of myself taken in all trips combined. I personally prefer to ask(and maybe a chat). It's just a matter of manner.



Aug 16, 2014 at 10:57 PM
Zichar
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p.2 #10 · p.2 #10 · What lens should I pack to Japan?


Go light!
I went full MF the last I was there (28, 50 and 135 AIS) and have been working progressively towards that in the previous years. I did miss the 14-24mm, but definitely not the weight.

Was on my feet for far longer than I expected and stuffed my bag with far more than I expected - fruits, candy, snacks and small bites galore; bottles of tea; rental mifi device with charger.
The city didn't really offer many tripod opportunities, broke it out for only a handful of times.



Aug 17, 2014 at 09:29 AM
jc9394
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p.2 #11 · p.2 #11 · What lens should I pack to Japan?


Normally I will take 24, 35, 50, and 85 prime lens but changing lens in a dusty HK is going to cost me a lot of dust on the sensors.


Aug 18, 2014 at 04:00 AM
Frogfish
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p.2 #12 · p.2 #12 · What lens should I pack to Japan?


jc9394 wrote:
Normally I will take 24, 35, 50, and 85 prime lens but changing lens in a dusty HK is going to cost me a lot of dust on the sensors.


No it won't. I never have a problem changing lenses in HK ! Now condensation from the insane AC in shops, malls and hotels is something else



Aug 18, 2014 at 07:10 AM
sjms
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p.2 #13 · p.2 #13 · What lens should I pack to Japan?


Frogfish wrote:
No it won't. I never have a problem changing lenses in HK ! Now condensation from the insane AC in shops, malls and hotels is something else


thats not AC that bloody referigeration




Aug 18, 2014 at 07:28 AM
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