I shoot pretty much anything and everything that looks photo worthy. This is a once in a life time opportunity for me so I'm just asking around to see what more experienced photographers would do in my shoes.
As far as I know the equipment you list will work equally well at all latitudes, longitudes and altitudes. If any of this equipment is not meeting your expectations at your current location, then upgrade as necessary.
In general for traveling it's good to have a capable and versatile kit. I dunno what's your budget but if it's permissive in your shoes I'd do as follows:
- replace 18-55 with Nikon 16-85 VR / first because is a better lens optically, offer a better range and it is wider... the difference of only 2mm in the wide area is critical. 18mm on DX is very limiting at least for me.
- replace 70-300 with the newer VR version or with Tamron 70-300 VC. Eventually for a generous budget I'd go for Nikon 70-200mm f/4 VR which is really a stellar lens. With no offence your 70-300 lens is quite poor optically and the lack of stabilization make things even worse.
- I'd keep the 50/1.4 in the bag for low light and portraits
- I'd make sure to take a SB700....SB910 with me.
- a good tripod, a polarizer, spare batteries and cards
-I'd leave everything else at home
More or less the same advice as Mishu01:
The camera body is good enough
I would upgrade lenses:
a slightly better "basic" lens like the 16-85VR or a Tamron 17-50 for instance
upgrade the 70-300 to the VR version
the 50 1.4 is a good choice
add a close up lens (occasional macro/flowers)
gugs wrote:
More or less the same advice as Mishu01:
The camera body is good enough
I would upgrade lenses:
a slightly better "basic" lens like the 16-85VR or a Tamron 17-50 for instance
upgrade the 70-300 to the VR version
the 50 1.4 is a good choice
add a close up lens (occasional macro/flowers)
Guy
+1... A versatile low light zoom like the Tamron 17-50 2.8 is invaluable. Also, the 55-200 VR is a great tele at a very cheap price (around $100 used). You don't have to break the bank on an expensive tele. The D90 is a good body and I think you are better off spending the money on glass at this point.
A circular polarizer is essential especially for landscape photos (mountains/skies/lakes) which will be abundant in Switzerland. It will make a huge difference. Another essential filter is a Hoya ND400 or B+W 110 filter for those long exposures during day light of waterfalls, lakes, clouds, etc... The ND and CPL are IMO the most important equipment for your trip, in addition to a light travel tripod & a good bag. So my suggestion is sell the following:
18-55, 70-300G, 200mm and take the following:
- Nikon 20 AF-D (For landscape & Architecture)
- Nikon 50 1.4 (For night photos)
- Tamron 17-50 2.8 (Everything)
- Nikon 55-200 VR (Wildlife & Landscape)
- Crumpler 6MDH
- Travel Tripod (This is tricky cause they can get expensive, do you have a tripod?)
- Circular polarizer (I highly recommend the Nikon CPL II, get the size for your largest lens's thread and get step up rings)
- ND filter, Hoya ND400 is great. (Again get the size for your largest lens and use the step up rings)
- A shutter release or remote
Most importantly don't forget to enjoy and don't stress yourself out on equipment rush My favorite places were Lucerne & Zurich...
hijazist wrote:
+1... A versatile low light zoom like the Tamron 17-50 2.8 is invaluable. Also, the 55-200 VR is a great tele at a very cheap price (around $100 used). You don't have to break the bank on an expensive tele. The D90 is a good body and I think you are better off spending the money on glass at this point.
A circular polarizer is essential especially for landscape photos (mountains/skies/lakes) which will be abundant in Switzerland. It will make a huge difference. Another essential filter is a Hoya ND400 or B+W 110 filter for those long exposures during day light of waterfalls, lakes, clouds, etc... The ND and CPL are IMO the most important equipment for your trip, in addition to a light travel tripod & a good bag. So my suggestion is sell the following:
18-55, 70-300G, 200mm and take the following:
- Nikon 20 AF-D (For landscape & Architecture)
- Nikon 50 1.4 (For night photos)
- Tamron 17-50 2.8 (Everything)
- Nikon 55-200 VR (Wildlife & Landscape)
- Crumpler 6MDH
- Travel Tripod (This is tricky cause they can get expensive, do you have a tripod?)
- Circular polarizer (I highly recommend the Nikon CPL II, get the size for your largest lens's thread and get step up rings)
- ND filter, Hoya ND400 is great. (Again get the size for your largest lens and use the step up rings)
- A shutter release or remote
Most importantly don't forget to enjoy and don't stress yourself out on equipment rush My favorite places were Lucerne & Zurich...
I think this is good advice, but I would swap the 20 AF-D for something wider like a Nikon 10-24 or Sigma 10-20. 20mm really isn't that wide of DX. Also consider a 28 1.8G, 35 f/2D or Sigma 35 1.4 for night instead of the 50mm. 50mm is too tight indoors on DX if you are wanting pictures at a bar for instance. Also, pay attention to lens thread diameters. If you can match them up you will only need one set of filters which can save you space in your bag and coin in you pocket.
RRRoger wrote:
Are those suggesting upgrading the 18-55 actually familiar with the lens.
I had one and it was quite good.
However, I would take a 10-24 and 28-300 plus maybe the 50mm if needed indoors.
I actually used it for three years on my D3000 and I love that lens, however, the only thing is that it has a slow aperture and that's why I suggested the Tamron 2.8 which will be more versatile for travel...
I have a huge number of lenses at home, but never take more than 3 with, and even that's always overkill, and you're stuck dragging them around with forever.
The one thing that I'm worried about is having to stop down my zooms to get good results and also not being able to get wide enough. I've been looking into some of the wider lenses that were mentioned here.
Mishu01 wrote:
In general for traveling it's good to have a capable and versatile kit. I dunno what's your budget but if it's permissive in your shoes I'd do as follows:
- replace 18-55 with Nikon 16-85 VR / first because is a better lens optically, offer a better range and it is wider... the difference of only 2mm in the wide area is critical. 18mm on DX is very limiting at least for me.
- replace 70-300 with the newer VR version or with Tamron 70-300 VC. Eventually for a generous budget I'd go for Nikon 70-200mm f/4 VR which is really a stellar lens. With no offence your 70-300 lens is quite poor optically and the lack of stabilization make things even worse.
- I'd keep the 50/1.4 in the bag for low light and portraits
- I'd make sure to take a SB700....SB910 with me.
- a good tripod, a polarizer, spare batteries and cards
-I'd leave everything else at home
Everyone photography style is different and I have not used any of the equipment that the OP stated, but when I lived in Geneve Switzerland from 2008-2010 I brought the following equipment with me: D700, 24-70mm, 70-200mm VRI, two CPL and a tripod. At the time I was just started to get into photography and almost all of the pictures that I took there was with the 24-70mm. Yes it is heavy, but I found that lens to cover almost everything I wanted to capture, day or night, inside or outside.
The url below will take you to a gallery where I posted some of the pictures that I took while I lived there.
If you don't already have one do invest in a good portable camera bag. This last summer I went back for vacation and purchased a Tamrac 5426 bag and it worked out great. It held ( barely) a 24mm f1.4G, 50mm1.8G, 24-70mmF2.8G, D700 and a IPAD. It was perfect to use on outings as I would only take the Body and one or two lenses.
Also, if you plan on driving, DO NOT speed in and around major cities. Speeding tickets in Switzerland are expensive VERY EXPENSIVE.
Enjoy your trips, it is a fantastic place to visit.
I'm visiting my family over there so I won't be driving. As far as a camera bag goes I have a nice backpack from lowepro. I have a circular polarizer as well and find that onto lens most of the time. Are there any good dx substitutes for the 24-70?? I can see the optical quality lacking in the 18-55 wide open vs my 50mm 1.4 and it bugs me quite a bit.
kpc011895 wrote:
I'm visiting my family over there so I won't be driving. As far as a camera bag goes I have a nice backpack from lowepro. I have a circular polarizer as well and find that onto lens most of the time. Are there any good dx substitutes for the 24-70?? I can see the optical quality lacking in the 18-55 wide open vs my 50mm 1.4 and it bugs me quite a bit.
A used 17-55 or my favorite for the price/quality ratio: the Tamron 17-50 2.8 (non BIM/VC version) Next to that don't underestimate the IQ of the 16-85VR and the 18-55 is not THAT bad anyway, it is a very reasonable lens.
