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Archive 2012 · Please suggest a good lens for travelling (and tips!)
  
 
Eli Luong
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Please suggest a good lens for travelling (and tips!)


Hi everyone, I'm going to be travelling to Asia in a few weeks. It's my first time travelling out of the country and I'm not quite sure how to approach this. I currently own a Nikon D80 with Nikkor 28-85 1:3.5-4.5 and Nikkor ED 70-300 1:4-5.6.

Recently, I went to Las Vegas with friends and found most of the time was spent indoors with low lighting, so I ended up taking photos at a high ISO with wide aperture and at 1/30s shutter speeds with steady hands. Because of this, I thought that it might be good to buy a VR lens to help with this situation.

I'll have to discuss with my friends more about whether travelling around Viet Nam, Thailand, and Cambodia is more outdoors or indoors (we'll be in the tour group). I'm thinking predominantly outdoors. If anyone has traveled similarly and can let me know that would be appreciated. I don't plan to carry more than two lenses (risk of breaking or losing stuff), and I'm no pro, so it's going to be for good memories and hopefully nice photos.

If I don't get a VR lens, I was thinking of a wide angle, maybe the Sigma 10-20mm to complement the 28-85. I would get a better lens if I had a better budget, but not right now. I can sell the lens in the future. Does anyone have thoughts about lens choice? Thank you.
Apr 03, 2012 at 04:38 AM
---XR---
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Please suggest a good lens for travelling (and tips!)


Covering bases for cheap you want a good quality midrange zoom-. Tamron 17-50mm 2.8, great IQ (some say it rivals the nikkor) for about $300, my other personal favorite if you'd like to shoot longer is the lightweight AF-S 70-300 VR (in my opinion nikons best bang for the buck in years).


Apr 03, 2012 at 04:43 AM
Eli Luong
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Please suggest a good lens for travelling (and tips!)


---XR--- wrote:
Covering bases for cheap you want a good quality midrange zoom-. Tamron 17-50mm 2.8, great IQ (some say it rivals the nikkor) for about $300, my other personal favorite if you'd like to shoot longer is the lightweight AF-S 70-300 VR (in my opinion nikons best bang for the buck in years).

Would you suggest the 18-200 instead? The 17-50 overlaps with the 25-85, or will it be replacing that?
Apr 03, 2012 at 04:45 AM
lankyelectric
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Please suggest a good lens for travelling (and tips!)


18-200 It is a good walking around and getting wide and zoom stuff. It is a bit heavy to walk around for hours but is worth it. Also you could rent one or buy it and use it for a week for two and sell it and get most of your money back.

Chad
Apr 03, 2012 at 04:57 AM
Eli Luong
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Please suggest a good lens for travelling (and tips!)


I am currently looking at this: http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/16-85mm-vs-18-200mm.htm

One of my uncle has a Tamron AF 18-270mm F/3.5-6.3 II VC, maybe I can borrow that? Does anyone know the general image quality of this lens? Though for me skills I don't think it'll matter that much

Though the Tamron is quite heavier (1200g).

Do you think I could do the Tamron 18-270 with a Nikon 18-55 kit lens for the time being (maybe I can buy used and sell this one back)? Or better to stick with the Nikon 18-200?
Apr 03, 2012 at 05:13 AM
robert829
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Please suggest a good lens for travelling (and tips!)


my first set up on my d300 was 18-200 vr2 and 35mm 1.8 afsSeriously covers everything for me
Apr 03, 2012 at 07:06 AM
Grognard
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Please suggest a good lens for travelling (and tips!)


24-120mm f/4 on FX hands down, then 16-85mm f/3.5-5.6 on DX. Both great lenses, with the 16-85mm being sharp, sharp, sharp.
Apr 03, 2012 at 11:33 AM
Dave_EP
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Please suggest a good lens for travelling (and tips!)


As long as you are not looking for the sharpest possible shots and really just want memories without the hassle of carrying and swapping lenses then the 18-200 VR is very hard to beat. It's certainly my go-to walkabout lens with a D300 for 'memories'. For 'art' is another matter altogether.

Of course when the light drops you'll need to add flash earlier than an f2.8 or f1.4 lens, but you had the convenience of a single walkabout shoot anything lens and that is very hard to beat.
Apr 03, 2012 at 12:10 PM
SHUM
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Please suggest a good lens for travelling (and tips!)


I backpacked Vietnam and Cambodia 4 years ago with a Sony A900, 20/2.8, 35/1.4 and 50/1.7. 95% of my shots were outdoors in bright sunlight. Not many places to shoot indoors. Don't forget the CPL filters and rain cover. When it pours it pours in Vietnam.

If you have any other questions let me know.


Apr 03, 2012 at 12:30 PM
cohenfive
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Please suggest a good lens for travelling (and tips!)


i've been to thailand (cambodia/vietnam is on our list of to do countries), and most shots are outside as others have said. i'm not sure of your budget so it is difficult to determine what to suggest. the 18-200vr is a great walk around lens if you only want to bring one lens, but if your budget allows a combo of the 16-85vr with the 70-300vr would also be a super setup for sure. one thing on your budget...if you buy mint used gear here, you really won't suffer much depreciation if you decide to sell some or all of the glass after your trip. most of the lenses trade pretty frequently at reasonably defined price ranges so if you are careful the 'cost of ownership' can be pretty small on used glass. camera bodies depreciate a lot, but glass does not. good luck!
Apr 03, 2012 at 01:11 PM
Dustoff06
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Please suggest a good lens for travelling (and tips!)


Agree completely with Dave_EP. My wife has a D7K with the 18-200. For simipicity and convenience it's hard to beat. I would also take something faster for indoors, say a 35 1.8.


Apr 03, 2012 at 01:29 PM
bbvaj
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · Please suggest a good lens for travelling (and tips!)


This is a good read.

http://www.bythom.com/rationallenses.htm
Apr 03, 2012 at 02:31 PM
locomacdaddy
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · Please suggest a good lens for travelling (and tips!)


I went to SE Asia a couple of years ago and used two lenses. 14-24mm and 70-200mm on D700's. I have sold the 14-24 and now use the 16-35 and 70-200mm for travel. This coverage give me everything I need. Of course, this is easier with full frame and 2.8 lenses but I would get something similar to cover the same range in 1.5 crop.

Some Examples on my site: South East Asia Photos

Good Luck and Have Fun!


Apr 03, 2012 at 04:05 PM
turnert
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · Please suggest a good lens for travelling (and tips!)


bbvaj wrote:
This is a good read.

http://www.bythom.com/rationallenses.htm

+1

~Ted
Apr 04, 2012 at 02:05 AM
runamuck
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · Please suggest a good lens for travelling (and tips!)


Tamron 17-50 for indoors. 70-300VR for outdoors. That's all the lenses you need. Covers everything from 27 to 450 on DX. Some refer to the 70-300 VR as the 70-200 f4 that Nikon won't make.

Rain gear for the camera and photog is a MUST. It doesn't rain in 'Nam. It's like standing under a giant faucet.
Apr 04, 2012 at 02:27 AM
cppguy
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p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · Please suggest a good lens for travelling (and tips!)


Tamron 17-50: It's constant f/2.8, and fairly inexpensive for that. The non-VC version is sharper. Optically it's excellent, and focusing is fast enough for travel, especially outdoors. It works great for temples/churches/cathedrals, too. I tend to travel with this in Europe. It's surprisingly light for a 2.8 zoom.

70-300VR: It's the best lightweight telephoto zoom. Optical quality should not be a concern, unless maybe at 300mm. You'll be in f/3.5-f/4 range a lot, which is not bad for telephoto.

18-200VR: The ultimate all-in-one, so you never miss a shot. The main disadvantage is that f/5.6 won't make it easy for you to throw the background out of focus. At 35mm you're already at f/4.2, at 50mm at f/4.5, at 70 at f/5. Bokeh is mediocre. Some say the 18-200 gives you too many compromises. You're definitely not going to miss a shot with it, though.

16-85VR: I've never had this lens, but it is said to be a bit better optically than the 18-200VR. It's noticeably wider, which is very useful in my book. The f/5.6 limitation still exists, which can be worked around if you also bring either a 35 f/1.8 or a 50 f/1.8.

If you are comfortable manual focusing, the Samyang/Rokinon lenses are cheap, small, lightweight and have a great optical quality. Same for the classic Nikkor primes, such as the 24mm AI/AI-S. If you get a used Sony NEX, and put a Samyang 85mm f/1.4 on it, and a Tamron 17-50 on your D80, you never have to change lenses, and still get a relatively inexpensive, lightweight 2-camera solution that's fun to use. One advantage of the NEX is that you can shoot is unnoticed in the street (from the hip, no one will suspect you took their photo).

Ultimately you have to decide if you're more willing to compromise zoom range, aperture, convenience, image quality, etc. When I'm traveling, I often don't have the time to wait for the best light, or if I did, I would miss a lot of opportunities. Many places are crowded, so the ability to throw the background out of focus is useful. If you have company, they may not want to wait for you to constantly change lenses. There are photo trips where everything is planned, and then there are fun/family trips, when you want to enjoy yourself and take a few pictures on the side.
Apr 04, 2012 at 04:24 AM
Eli Luong
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p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · Please suggest a good lens for travelling (and tips!)


Thanks for all the opinions, everyone! Looks like everyone will have their preference regarding lenses. The Tamron 17-50 sounds interesting; I've never heard of that lens, will look it up in the future. I think I'll probably borrow the 18-200VR and lose the background effect (maybe image manipulation can fix that in the future), but that's a good point about crowded places that I'll keep in mind. Thank you for the thorough walkthrough of the lenses, cppguy! Do you feel like you use zoom much? I'm sure it depends on the situation... I'll have to dig through my old photos to see what focal length I often take pictures at; maybe there's a Lightroom shortcut that can do a binned analysis on focal lengths.

I'll have to decide what to get to replace the Nikkor 28-55 I have in the future.
Apr 04, 2012 at 05:37 AM
tedbare
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p.1 #18 · p.1 #18 · Please suggest a good lens for travelling (and tips!)


robert829 wrote:
my first set up on my d300 was 18-200 vr2 and 35mm 1.8 afsSeriously covers everything for me

Exactly what I would recommend.
Apr 04, 2012 at 04:41 PM
huddy
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p.1 #19 · p.1 #19 · Please suggest a good lens for travelling (and tips!)


Great suggestions already on the various zooms. Definitely take a 35/1.8 so that you have one lens capable of going into low light territory.
Apr 04, 2012 at 07:41 PM
euua
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p.1 #20 · p.1 #20 · Please suggest a good lens for travelling (and tips!)


+10
hell of a read
thank you for link

turnert wrote:
+1

~Ted
Apr 05, 2012 at 01:33 PM
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