1 lens for travel photography (FX)

[akagi07]

not sure if this section is right for me to post or rather the travel section since I m a nikon user.
generally applies to any brand actually

I'm with FX body, while owning a 24-70mm F2.8, heavy tank.
I intend to bring this along for comping europe trip.

but now i hesitate if I should need a prime wide like 28mm / 50mm?

I came from D90, with 50mm and find it too tight, so I let it go since. Now on FX 50mm mayb slight diff but still, not quite wide. But I have constraint on budget..

can anyone share their opinion on bringing the tank out? appreciate any views.

 

[Kit]

Really, if weight and bulk are your concerns, just get a mirrorless body with the kit zoom lens.

 

[lenslust]

I'd go with 50mm or 17-35.

I won't bring 24-70 unless I'm aiming to do a lot of street photography, eg: Tibet, India, etc.

50mm is a good choice for me on FX.

 

[akagi07]

Really, if weight and bulk are your concerns, just get a mirrorless body with the kit zoom lens.

If ur idea of mirrorless can b lower than 500 e price of a 50mm f1.4 I do not mind else even my wife s90 can do. But like my quest seek trusty opinion, I do not know how helpful is your reply but appreciate you still do hit the reply btn.

 

[akagi07]

I'd go with 50mm or 17-35.

I won't bring 24-70 unless I'm aiming to do a lot of street photography, eg: Tibet, India, etc.

50mm is a good choice for me on FX.

I was thinking of 17-35 but generally beyond budget.

50mm was my concern. Worried I buy a cheap 1.8. And its just aint wide.. take e light weight but give away my wideness..
After trip, it ended back into my dry cabinet.

 

[crazypaladin]

For the past few trips I had been to, the 24-70 was my most used lens. It is wide enough and the 70mm end can be used for portrait as well. So why not give your 24-70 a try? You might fall in love with it again.

 

[thoongeng]

If ur idea of mirrorless can b lower than 500 e price of a 50mm f1.4 I do not mind else even my wife s90 can do. But like my quest seek trusty opinion, I do not know how helpful is your reply but appreciate you still do hit the reply btn.

did you check B&S section? can see second hand mirrorless systems with kit lens around 500 or less
you didn't specify your budget in your initial post, and also didn't say your wife has a S90
you're also not clear if you want to bring another lens on top of your 24-70 or just 1 lens
try not to be sarcastic to people who are trying to help when your question is not clear

Since you think FX body with 24-70 is a heavy tank, and if your itinerary don't have much time for exploring then even S90 is a very capable and lightweight camera for the trip

 

[wolfton]

Generally the 24-70 itself will suffice.

However, for my personal preference, if I am going Europe, I will not leave the country till I get a UWA zoom. That is more important than any prime lens for me for such trips.

With the good high ISO capabilities of the FX cams now, you can always bump up the ISO when needed. You don't need high shutter speed when using UWA if you employ the right techniques.

But frankly if budget is out of question, just bring that beast along, it should suffice.

 

[nicorn]

How about 16-35 f4

 

[Luminare]

Depending on which part of Europe you are going, different FoV will be required and the 24-70mm will be a very versatile lens to have although it does have certain weakness at 24mm but to be able to capture the images is better than not to.

If you are concerned about the weight, then I suggest instead of looking for a replacement for such a versatile tool, look for something that can let you carry the lens with its weight evenly distributed yet easy to pull out to make the shots. There are Lowe pro bags that can carry a FX body with the 24-70 attached but hood reversed and continue to provide space as a day pack. I don't know if KATA's 3N1 25PL can fit the 24-70mm attached but is worth a try to look at.

Sometimes it is worth to be a bit more innovative with the internal dividers of such bags and it can allow you to carry stuff around. Example: I reconfigured the Lowe Pro slingshot AW 202 and carried a D800 with a 70-200 lens attached and still had space for a small water bottle, maps and spare space for 14-24 and 24mm lens.

 

[george671]

Nikon AF 28 f2.8D and Nikon AF 105 F2D (along with a 1.4 or 2X TC) and a D600...fairly small and very flexible set up for both street and indoors....SB28 and a radio trigger set complete the picture..

But for a lot less weight, and expense. Oly EP1 with pany 14/pany20/ and oly 60 micro...and the SB28 with cactus v5 set.:bsmilie:

 

[wolfton]

Actually the most important consideration before a trip for TS is, who are you travelling with? Is it a tour group?

If travelling on package tours, I will not worry too much about the gears, because you won't have much opportunity to shoot. Many occasions, when a photographer brings his FBO and travel on package tour, he will leave both himself and the group frustrated. The group frustrated because they always have to wait for that missing "photographer", and the photographer frustrated because he's so close to blue hour (just an example) but they have to leave the location.

I can understand why some recommend a M4/3. It is a good choice if travelling on group tours.

If you are not on group tour, do inform your travelling partners your intentions for the trip to set their expectations straight that you are going to be doing lots of photography. Seen on many occasions some black faces in the past because expectations were not set before setting off for the trip. Most importantly, remember that you need to enjoy the trip which you have spent quite a bit on. Don't let photography or the lack of it spoil it

 

[Blur Shadow]

You can always pair it with the new 24-85mm VR, replacing your 24-70mm. That should save you quite some weight.

As for your prime lens idea, you can always bring a couple of light primes - 50mm f/1.8G or f/1.4G, 28mm f/1.8G, 20mm f/2.8D. The other solution is bring only your 50mm and do stitching later if you want to do a wide shot.

I did it a couple of times with my DX + 35mm combination.

 

[Ben Ang]

if you re using the newer high mp fx bodies you can also get a DX UWA and shoot in crop

 

[pinholecam]

If ur idea of mirrorless can b lower than 500 e price of a 50mm f1.4 I do not mind else even my wife s90 can do. But like my quest seek trusty opinion, I do not know how helpful is your reply but appreciate you still do hit the reply btn.

Actually a good m4/3 like G3, GX1 with kit lens in BnS is lower than a new 50/1.4.

Its a bit of a waste to go Europe (cost and long travel time) and not be able to take more photos.
IMO, just tough it out and use the 24-70, bring a tripod and thats all, just don't overgear.

If you do want to stick to 1 prime lens :
People/object centric shots - 50mm, 35mm, 28mm
Wide viewand environmental candid centric - Voigtlander Color Skopar 20/3.5; 24mm; 28mm

Personally, if I were in your shoes, I'd bring 2 primes, 24mm and 50mm.

 

[akagi07]

did you check B&S section? can see second hand mirrorless systems with kit lens around 500 or less
you didn't specify your budget in your initial post, and also didn't say your wife has a S90
you're also not clear if you want to bring another lens on top of your 24-70 or just 1 lens
try not to be sarcastic to people who are trying to help when your question is not clear

Since you think FX body with 24-70 is a heavy tank, and if your itinerary don't have much time for exploring then even S90 is a very capable and lightweight camera for the trip

My err in missing out budget. But if my post is sarcastic.. hmm I felt weird.. cos my thread topic indicate FX which I believe and thought I will expect people providing me relative relevant replies.
And does countering an advise of using mirrorless with canon s90 being sarcastic?? Where am I being sarcastic.

Anyway my intention is rather on asking of opinion of using 24-70 or other wide prime. And not starting an argument. Lastly I still apprectiate all feedbacks.

My bad.

 

[akagi07]

Actually a good m4/3 like G3, GX1 with kit lens in BnS is lower than a new 50/1.4.

Its a bit of a waste to go Europe (cost and long travel time) and not be able to take more photos.
IMO, just tough it out and use the 24-70, bring a tripod and thats all, just don't overgear.

If you do want to stick to 1 prime lens :
People/object centric shots - 50mm, 35mm, 28mm
Wide viewand environmental candid centric - Voigtlander Color Skopar 20/3.5; 24mm; 28mm

Personally, if I were in your shoes, I'd bring 2 primes, 24mm and 50mm.

Actually the most important consideration before a trip for TS is, who are you travelling with? Is it a tour group?

If travelling on package tours, I will not worry too much about the gears, because you won't have much opportunity to shoot. Many occasions, when a photographer brings his FBO and travel on package tour, he will leave both himself and the group frustrated. The group frustrated because they always have to wait for that missing "photographer", and the photographer frustrated because he's so close to blue hour (just an example) but they have to leave the location.

I can understand why some recommend a M4/3. It is a good choice if travelling on group tours.

If you are not on group tour, do inform your travelling partners your intentions for the trip to set their expectations straight that you are going to be doing lots of photography. Seen on many occasions some black faces in the past because expectations were not set before setting off for the trip. Most importantly, remember that you need to enjoy the trip which you have spent quite a bit on. Don't let photography or the lack of it spoil it

Very glad for both opinions and the others. Looks like I ll tag along my 24-70..
Ya weight n cost b a factor. Cost definitely under 500. I m spending lesser now. My travelling partner is wife. In fact we r taking it as honeymoon. Free n easy. A UD n belt system is all I intend to kit myself.
I guess even 16-35mm f4 cost alot more. Have a sigma fe 16mm. I guess I can live with these two.

 

[lenslust]

I was thinking of 17-35 but generally beyond budget.

50mm was my concern. Worried I buy a cheap 1.8. And its just aint wide.. take e light weight but give away my wideness..
After trip, it ended back into my dry cabinet.

It ain't wide but it aids in composure as it's eyes focal length, what I did was to close 1 eye, frame it in my eyes, lift the camera and shoot. WYSIWYG.

Of course for the wider pics, which we by 1 eye already know cannot be covered in 50mm, that's where the 17-35 comes in.

My 17-35 was bought long ago before the era of appearance of the 16-35 f/4VR thus I can only bring this when I go travelling.

A good UWA for travels is not a waste, since there would be many more chances of it following you again, why not invest in a good one? I'm also looking at 16-35VR for travels.

I like the size of the D600 coupled with 17-35, it's not loud and compact enough to carry using a small sling bag. With 50mm is best, I just walk around and shoot by framing the image using my eyes and lift to fire off.

 

[ZerocoolAstra]

If low cost and low weight, can consider a used Nikon 1 w kit lens 10-30mm... versatile range and low price.

If sticking to your FX body for upcoming trip, perhaps prime lens not a must if you don't require big aperture. Lighter weight option could be 24-85VR. 24-120VR would exceed your budget by a long way.

 

[Kit]

did you check B&S section? can see second hand mirrorless systems with kit lens around 500 or less
you didn't specify your budget in your initial post, and also didn't say your wife has a S90
you're also not clear if you want to bring another lens on top of your 24-70 or just 1 lens
try not to be sarcastic to people who are trying to help when your question is not clear

Since you think FX body with 24-70 is a heavy tank, and if your itinerary don't have much time for exploring then even S90 is a very capable and lightweight camera for the trip

It took me 15 secs to write that response. Its fine, life is too short to be bothered with the minute, insignificant and confused......