Home vs. travel needs - expand or restructure my lens kit?

Michael Everet
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p.2 #1 · p.2 #1 · Home vs. travel needs - expand or restructure my lens kit?

I don't have specific suggestions other than to say I really like the 20-70 as an all-arounder on my A7cr, but mainly I have noticed several people here and on other threads have talked about f4 being insufficient, and hence preferring 2.8 zooms (if they prefer zooms). 5-10 years ago that was a good point. Today with all the major processing software coming out with AI, one can crank up the ISO a good deal more than before, and still get incredible images. At this point I'm not sure 2.8 vs 4 matters anymore. Of course if you are after lots of bokeh then maybe a 1.4 prime or two would make sense.

Oct 29, 2023 at 03:53 PM

chez
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p.2 #2 · p.2 #2 · Home vs. travel needs - expand or restructure my lens kit?

Michael Everet wrote:
I don't have specific suggestions other than to say I really like the 20-70 as an all-arounder on my A7cr, but mainly I have noticed several people here and on other threads have talked about f4 being insufficient, and hence preferring 2.8 zooms (if they prefer zooms). 5-10 years ago that was a good point. Today with all the major processing software coming out with AI, one can crank up the ISO a good deal more than before, and still get incredible images. At this point I'm not sure 2.8 vs 4 matters anymore. Of course if you are...Show more →

Yep. F4 zooms and 1.4 / 1.8 primes.

Oct 29, 2023 at 05:23 PM

AmbientMike
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p.2 #3 · p.2 #3 · Home vs. travel needs - expand or restructure my lens kit?

Egg Salad wrote:
Hi,

I mainly shoot subjects where AF isn't needed - like landscapes/nature, architecture/lost places or similar.
I do have AF lenses that I use for occasional potrait work, whenever I want maximum subject separation or am too lazy for MF.

These are my current lenses:
Laowa Zero-D 15mm F2 (recently replaced the Voigtländer 15mm F4.5 III)
Zeiss Loxia 25mm F2.4 (replaced the 7Artisans 28mm F1.4 because I've given up on Voigtländer releasing a 24 or 28mm)
(Syoptic 50mm F1.1)
Voigtländer APO-Lanthar 50mm F2 (wish it was 40mm!)
Voigtländer Macro APO-Lanthar 110mm F2.5

Sigma 35mm F1.2 DG DN
Sigma 85mm F1.4 DG DN

Nikon 300mm F4 PF ED VR + Commlite...Show more →

I've used 3 primes + tele zoom very happily, but mostly I like zooms for travel. 35/1.2 @1.2 , for example, sounds more like a home lens. Used to use 50 Summitar on m4/3 occasionally for example, for cool stuff, but I don't think of it as
a travel lens

28-85 or similar + something 17-21mm could cover a lot of it, for me. I've used teles a lot on travel but it just depends

Oct 29, 2023 at 07:05 PM

Egg Salad
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p.2 #4 · p.2 #4 · Home vs. travel needs - expand or restructure my lens kit?

jrscls wrote:
What about the Sony 20-70 f/4 G for travel? Otherwise, you might consider the new Tamron 17-50 f/4 or the Tamron 20-40 f/2.8 if f/4 doesn't cut it.

I originally ruled out the 20-70 F4 for being too slow but after I've accepted that there is no zoom that can replace my primes and that I'll be throwing out money to once again only use while traveling, I gave this lens a 2nd look. I'm about 90% certain this is the lens to solve my issues.
I don't need a one-lens solution, so I don't need to live with the compromises the Tamron 28-200 F2.8-5.6 offers.
I somewhat forgot I'm also looking for a Sony 100-400 (unless someone has a better idea for a 300mm F4 replacement) so the gap from 70 to 100mm isn't an issue.
I now have some months to find a Sony 20-70 for a decent price.

Oct 30, 2023 at 01:32 PM

Blueshound
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p.2 #5 · p.2 #5 · Home vs. travel needs - expand or restructure my lens kit?

In my not-so-humble opinion, the unusual focal range coverage offered by the 20-70 is a game changer, and perhaps doubly so for those who, like me, enjoy being able to head out with only one lens.

All too often I'd feel that 24mm just isn't quite wide enough, and I can't image settling for a standard range zoom that only starts at 28mm.

Kudos to Sony for doing something outside the typical lens paradigms.

Edit: To respect the theme of this thread, I now travel primarily with the PZ 16-35/4 and the 20-70/4. The 16-35 is the least likely to stay behind. If I want the bag to be lighter than the 20-70 allows, I would take either the 55/1.8 or the 85/1.8. Most likely might be the 55, which gives me 82mm in crop mode on the A7RIV or the inbound A7C R.

Brian

Oct 30, 2023 at 01:54 PM

Craig Gillette
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p.2 #6 · p.2 #6 · Home vs. travel needs - expand or restructure my lens kit?

Egg Salad wrote:
Thanks to everyone for taking your time to answer!
While I still haven't found the perfect solution to my issues, I could take in your thoughts and have a tleast reached a few conclusions:
1. I will keep all my primes since there doesn't exist a zoom lens right now that would best them.
Neither 24-70 nor 35-150 would make sense since neither F2.8 nor their optical performance could replace my primes, and I'd rarely if ever use them at home, giving that I also have the 35/1.2 and 85/1.4.
2. I don't see myself buying and bringing 2 bodies to a...Show more →

I tend to agree with that approach for you. I'm in the western US so 28-200 works well as my casual or primary lens almost all of the time. I have a 17-28/2.8, too. On our just completed trip to Switzerland and the Rhine River, the Swiss half, 28-200 was fine. On the cruise portion, especially city walking trips with cathedrals, "old cities," etc., a 20-70 or 17-50 might have been a better first lens. But I'd not consider it alone, still wanting reach now and then.

I might consider 2 bodies, perhaps as back-up and/or considering the time or ease of swapping often. I'm not a big prime user but I'm doing some experimenting on local/casual travel. Two bodies on the trip but maybe only carry one could cover back-up but not mean all the weight all the time.

Oct 30, 2023 at 05:57 PM

foto16
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p.2 #7 · p.2 #7 · Home vs. travel needs - expand or restructure my lens kit?

It seems you want to crystalize your shooting condition/criteria:

1. What is the percent of time you shoot home vs. travel?
2. Do you tend to get a lot more keepers while traveling?
3. What is your tolerance level for some loss of image quality compared to your home kit?

These will help you allocate your spending. If one doesn't want to switch lenses in the field, there is no choice other than (1) use zooms, and (2) use 2 bodies, (3) let go of the photo opportunities that don't match the attached lens. Maybe bringing a second body is a useful idea if you want to stick with primes and do not want to switch lenses. After all, an additional body is often not bigger/heavier in the bag than an additional lens. Since you mostly shoot stationary subjects, f4 zooms are enough, coupled with a fast prime. Stopping down the image quality difference may well be within your tolerance band.

Oct 31, 2023 at 11:55 AM

Egg Salad
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p.2 #8 · p.2 #8 · Home vs. travel needs - expand or restructure my lens kit?

foto16 wrote:
It seems you want to crystalize your criteria:

1. What is the percent of time you shoot home vs. travel?
2. Do you tend to get a lot more keepers while traveling?
3. What is your tolerance level for some loss of image quality compared to your home kit?

These will help you allocate your spending. If one doesn't want to switch lenses in the field, there is no choice other than (1) use zooms, and (2) use 2 bodies, (3) let go of the photo opportunities that don't match the attached lens. Maybe bringing a second body is a useful idea if you...Show more →

1. I guess like 80/20. But my statitics told me that I only shot twice as many pictures the time I was home.
2. Yes! Where I live there isn't anything comparably interesting than the things I see at trips.
3. 20%?

I've already found my answer but thanks for further thoughts.I'll see how often I'll use said zoom and how high its yield will be.

EDIT: a 2nd body is simply too expensive. It would be like one A7R5, but twice as much. That's 2-3 lenses costwise.

Oct 31, 2023 at 03:23 PM

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