Hi folks, I am going to Belgium again for an airshow in two weeks. Last year I did the same and spent some time in Bruges and Ghent.
Lenses used in these two places last time were:
1. Voigtlander 21 f1.4 (mainly for the starburst from street lamps at night and some interior stuff),
2. Voigtlander 35 f1.2,
3. Sony 24-70 F2.8 GM II
4. Voiglander 15 (used only a few times)
5. Batis 135 (used only a few times)
My interests are mainly architectures, old streets, not really interested in photographing people. This time I am also bringing my wife. We will be going to Bruges and Ghent again since she has never been there. For the Netherlands, we will be going to Kinderdijk for the windmill rows, Amsterdam, and Amersfoort. I had never heard of Amersfoort before, until Albert Dros posted the beautiful pictures of his hometown.
This time, I will bring the A7RVI, A1II. In addition to the lens for the airshow, I am thinking of bring the following for cities:
1. Sony 20-70 f4
2. Voiglander 28mm f2 APO ( I bought it few months ago but have not used it at all)
3. Bastis 135 or Sony 70-200 f4 G II
4. Voigtlander 21 f1.4 again for street lights at night. It's a bit on the heavy side, I wish I still had the Loxia 21.
5. Voigtlander 15 or Viltrox 14, just in case I want to go wide.
I won't carry all the lenses with me all the time. I also have the Sony 16-35 PZ f4, 24-70 GM II and the Tamron 35-150. I don't think I want to bring these.
If I ever get back to Brussels, Bruges and Ghent, my goto lenses would be the 20-70 for most and the Tamron 12-20 for those tight street “get the whole building/castle/church in without stitching” shots. Then a faster 50 for night street shooting.
Jack Flesher wrote:
If I ever get back to Brussels, Bruges and Ghent, my goto lenses would be the 20-70 for most and the Tamron 12-20 for those tight street “get the whole building/castle/church in without stitching” shots. Then a faster 50 for night street shooting.
Thank you. I was looking at the Tamron 12-20. I am a bit obsessed with Loxia/Voigtlander sunstars. If the Tamron makes nice sunstar (it's subjective of course), I can easily see it replacing my Voigtlander 12, 15 and 21. The Voigtlander 28 f2 will be my walk-around lens at night.
It's hard. You probably do best to take fewer lenses if they are heavy and zoom; or more light special purpose lenses. I think the 14/15 plus the 28mm, my 21mm is heavy too and I left it behind last trip.
35s have a good balance of angle of view and depth; a light-ish 50mm is a great asset. Maybe one of these, plus the Sony 20-70 (to cover the 14-28 gap and give you a bit more reach)? Not much help, I know. Enjoy yourself.
Douglas L wrote:
Thank you. I was looking at the Tamron 12-20. I am a bit obsessed with Loxia/Voigtlander sunstars. If the Tamron makes nice sunstar (it's subjective of course), I can easily see it replacing my Voigtlander 12, 15 and 21. The Voigtlander 28 f2 will be my walk-around lens at night.
It may not be perfect for Sun-stars, but IMHO it doesn't suck. Just a morning shot from my backyard to test them, but you'll get the idea -- this one was at 12mm f16:
Jack Flesher wrote:
It may not be perfect for Sun-stars, but IMHO it doesn't suck. Just a morning shot from my backyard to test them, but you'll get the idea -- this one was at 12mm f11:
Thanks for the sample. The sunstar looks pretty well-defined.
I honestly don't understand why would you want two camreas, so I'm not commenting on that.
But regarding lenses... switching lenses is far more annoying than simply focusing on compositions suitable to the FOV of the lens you already have mounted. Even a zoom is a distraction, because it constantly interferes with your ability to focus. How can one possibly walk around and see in several focal lengths at the same time, is beyond my understanding.
I was there earleir this year with a single Fuji X100vi with its built-in 35mm equiv. lens. Not once I felt the need to change lenses. Since then I switched to the Nikon Zf for travel. I take the 28+40mm pair, but never carry more than one lens on me, leaving the other in a hotel. Basically, one FOV per day.
old-gregg wrote:
I honestly don't understand why would you want two camreas, so I'm not commenting on that.
But regarding lenses... switching lenses is far more annoying than simply focusing on compositions suitable to the FOV of the lens you already have mounted. Even a zoom is a distraction, because it constantly interferes with your ability to focus. How can one possibly walk around and see in several focal lengths at the same time, is beyond my understanding.
I was there earleir this year with a single Fuji X100vi with its built-in 35mm equiv. lens. Not once I felt the need to change lenses. Since then I switched to the Nikon Zf for travel. I take the 28+40mm pair, but never carry more than one lens on me, leaving the other in a hotel. Basically, one FOV per day. ...Show more →
Thank you for chiming in. In general, I always travel with two cameras, to minimize lens changing. Sometimes I even bring a third camera, a Canon R5 infrared camera. I wish I had your vision of using a single focal length. I can see myself walking around at night with a single prime though.
This is just one man’s opinion (obviously 🙂), but I would take two lenses - the 35-150 and the Sony 16-25. Done. The 35-150 covers 80% of what you will shoot and eliminates the need for the Batis 135 and 70-200/4. Do you have a small sling bag? Keeping it quickly accessible in the bag mitigates the weight a lot. The 16-25 is relatively small and can get all the wide angle shots you should need. Throw in the tiny 14/4 Viltrox for slightly wider if needed. Two zooms make it easy on the brain without always worrying about which lenses to take each day. Just take them both and forget the angst choosing lenses. 🙂
Just wondering, if one would visit Spain or England, should one use different lenses then if one goes to Netherland? Why is you specified the country you are going to? Would it be better to say, "I'm going to a city and want to take pictures of a city life. Which lens/lenses I should take? What do you think?
tester_V wrote:
Just wondering, if one would visit Spain or England, should one use different lenses then if one goes to Netherland? Why is you specified the country you are going to? Would it be better to say, "I'm going to a city and want to take pictures of a city life. Which lens/lenses I should take? What do you think?
Yes, generally speaking if you’re not sure, take your all around kit wherever you’re going. The advantage of stating the destination is that other photographers that have been there can share their advice and insights and explain recommendations for specific gear based on experience — which could be invaluable.
