I am going to Berlin next week and will have time to photograph the city. I am definitely taking my D3 and 14-24mm, but beyond that I am not sure what to take. I have the 24-70, 70-200VR, the 1.4x tc, a Zeiss 35mm ZF and a Zeiss 100mm ZF. I am thinking maybe just the 14-24, 35 ZF and 100 ZF.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Peter

Given your setup, if I had to take one lens, it would be the 24-70. I would lave the 14-24 at home and take the 70-200 instead.

I have the same three zoom lenses you have. I would definitely take the 14-24 for the city landscape opportunities, and probably the 24-70, but that sort of depends upon the photographic ideas you have in mind. To me, the zoom lenses provide flexibility when you're not sure what you will encounter and what you will shoot, whereas the primes would be for more specific intentions. I almost always have my three fast zooms in my bag.

Have fun!

Berlin's super-wide streets are definitely suited to the 14-24mm, bringing the 35mm and 100mm sounds like a good idea to me (so far as keeping weight managable).

with the D3 I think 24-70 is wide enough unless you like to take fisheye in any event a 3 shot from 24 can be stitch later

one thing not to forget is TRIPOD

Berlin is such a big, open city I'd highly recommend keeping equipment weight to a minimum - you'll be doing so much walking around that I can guarantee you'll want to lug around as little weight as possible.

Also I'd highly recommend the free walking tours that take you around the city and fill you in on its history. I was staying in hostels when I went there and there were fliers advertising these free tours everywhere; if you're staying in hotels rather than hostels that might not be the case, but try and find them because the tours and the guides are excellent - a great way to meet drinking buddies too, and the bars and beer in Berlin just cry out for attention!

For sure don't leave the 14-24 at home because Berlin has some amazing architecture! I never found much use for teles on vacation so I would add the 24-70 and maybe a point and shoot for when you really want to go light.

Berlin has more Museums than Paris! Also many, Many wonderful classical and opera venues. Don't miss them.

bring the 14-24 and 24-70 with ya... you will regret it so much if you leave the 14-24 at home. you have that lens for trips like this

Thanks. I think I will bring the 14-24, 24-70, and the 100mm ZF. That's about the maximum weight I want to carry around. I will also bring my Sigma DP1 for when I don't want to carry the D3. I plan to walk all over the city. I am staying on the Ku'damm shopping street at a hotel, and plan to explore the east side of the city a lot, especially Kreuzberg and Prenzlauer Berg. I am going for a convention and have plans every night with colleagues and friends so it should be fun.

petermendelson wrote:
I am going to Berlin next week and will have time to photograph the city. I am definitely taking my D3 and 14-24mm, but beyond that I am not sure what to take. I have the 24-70, 70-200VR, the 1.4x tc, a Zeiss 35mm ZF and a Zeiss 100mm ZF. I am thinking maybe just the 14-24, 35 ZF and 100 ZF.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Peter

I'd say either 14-24, 35, 100 or 24-70 and 35. Or if you want it old school, 35 and 100 or just the 35!

18-200 solves all your problems
but since this is not a choice I would go with the ultra wide one for sure.

Don't miss Parade Platz! Perfect for the 14-24.

Berlin - Baltimore. Whats the difference? City is city. Spend the day walking around town with a camera and a couple of lenses. Do this for 10 -12 hours. After that you'll know what to do.

Let me know what lenses you took with you, I'll be going to Berlin on the 30th of May untill the 2nd of June.

Hi. Given your combination, I would take the the 12-24 (keep it on the camera), the 24-70, and the 100. The 70-200 VR is too large and heavy to haul around on foot or on the U-Bahn/S-Bahn, etc. To be honest, I have an 18-135, and love it. If I was making your trip it would be the ONLY lens I would take for a walking trip. Also, a small flash won't do you much good, and a big one just adds weight for the 3 or 5 times it might be of use, so skip them as well. Most places (museums, etc.) won't allow use of tripods indoors or flash indoors anyway. Try to get a good tour book NOW and figure out your trip/evening plans. When I was stationed there my mother came for two weeks, called my Dad to tell him she was staying for another two weeks, and still didn't get through all the neat stuff she wanted to see.

Have a great time, Berlin is a wonderful city and it may just capture your heart.

Berlin is definitely not Baltimore! Berlin has exciting "edge of the art" architecture, compelling to any photographer. Since he owns the 14-24 it would be a shame to leave it at home.

I would like to confirm your choice. I would have proposed 14-24, 24-70 and 105VR or similar. A wide angle is a must for architectural shot...

Here are 12mm examples on the D70... I cannot imagine what you could with a 14-24 on the D3...

Thanks everyone. I am just finishing my trip in Berlin and took about 1000 photos. I had my Domke bag with an Op/Tech strap, which was absolutely essential considering how much weight I was carrying around - a regular strap would have made it feel way too heavy.

I had my D3, 14-24, 24-70, Zeiss 35mm f/2 and Zeiss 100mm f/2. I carried around everything the first day, but it was too heavy so the second day I left the 24-70 in my room safe. The third day I left the 35mm in the safe and took the 24-70 to change it up. The 14-24 has been fantastic and essential. In retrospect I would have been happy to take either the 24-70 or the two Zeiss primes but did not need both the zoom and the primes since the 24-70 is so good, although the Zeiss are pretty incredible. I did miss a longer lens, however, so it might have been better to rent a D300 or a 70-300mm instead (the 70-200 f/2.8 would have been way too big). So maybe next time, I would take the D3, 14-24, 35mm Zeiss and a 70-300 zoom or something like that. I did feel very conspicuous with the D3, but I did feel safe and I walked all over the city (I really liked Prenzlauer Berg).

When I get back I will post some photos. Checking out my photos on my home LCD may also guide my lens choices for next time - it is hard to really evaluate results on the camera LCD!

I walked by a Leica store today and checked it out. Wow - my Nikon / Zeiss stuff seems dirt cheap in comparison, but man is the Leica stuff nice, and it would great to carry around such a small camera. No regrets though...

Peter