Malaysia Mountain Trekking: What lens to bring?

[darkhorse00]

I am a frequent Malaysia Mountain trekker. I am more interested in capturing our trek experience. Travelling light would be main concern, as mobility is important. Am currently using a D90. I am a budget traveller. (not willing to invest in very expensive lens as well). Haha. Have several lens in mind. Which 2 lens would be the best combi?

1) Nikon 35mm f/1.8
2) Nikon 50mm f/1.8
3) Nikon 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6
4) Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8
5) Tamron 17-50 f/2.8

 

[Numnumball]

I am a frequent Malaysia Mountain trekker. I am more interested in capturing our trek experience. Travelling light would be main concern, as mobility is important. Am currently using a D90. I am a budget traveller. (not willing to invest in very expensive lens as well). Haha. Have several lens in mind. Which 2 lens would be the best combi?

1) Nikon 35mm f/1.8
2) Nikon 50mm f/1.8
3) Nikon 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6
4) Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8
5) Tamron 17-50 f/2.8

if its me to choose, i take 11-16 and 18-105

 

[darkhorse00]

I see. Thank you. Any reasons for that? Not sure if the 18-105mm can performed under the low-light conditions in the forest. But the zoom range is good and well within my budget. Hmm. if I have a Tamron 28-75mmf/2.8, would this be a better choice to go with the tokina 11-16mm?

 

[ziploc]

I was a frequent trekker as well. For my Malaysia treks, my objective was just like yours: capturing the trek experience. So instead of bringing DSLR, I would just bring a compact. I put it in small pouch attached to the chest straps of the backpack, so that it can be easily taken out if I need to take some pics during the trek/climb. I would only bring DSLR (along with the compact) if I'm going to bigger treks. And when I do bring DSLR it will be the 18-200VR most of the time, with occasionally adding in the 12-24.

 

[ziploc]

Not sure if the 18-105mm can performed under the low-light conditions in the forest. But the zoom range is good and well within my budget. Hmm. if I have a Tamron 28-75mmf/2.8, would this be a better choice to go with the tokina 11-16mm?

You'll need to either pump up the ISO or use flash. For Malaysia treks the UWA is not really necessary, as you can always do a panorama when needed (assuming you're bringing your DSLR, for compact you'll need either the pano function or manual mode available).

 

[darkhorse00]

Thank you so much. Good point noted.

 

[Numnumball]

I see. Thank you. Any reasons for that? Not sure if the 18-105mm can performed under the low-light conditions in the forest. But the zoom range is good and well within my budget. Hmm. if I have a Tamron 28-75mmf/2.8, would this be a better choice to go with the tokina 11-16mm?

i presume u will bring a tripod along for landscaping.. UWA will be top of list to cover tat apsect and a mid range to tele zoom is essential for max coverage in the trekking area..
If u have a 28-75 f2.8, i will def recom tt, it does aid to a certain extent for lowlight shooting But do note it is a FF lens (so u get compromised from 17- 41mm )

 

[Xenotzu]

Bring a prime, preferably the 35mm f 1.8. It gets pretty dim and that's the best and lightest combination to bring. Put it in a plastic bag and seal it up when you are not using it. Helps to protect from the rain, mist and damp. And don't bring a tripod. Trust me, the lighter you carry, the more you will appreciate it. Besides, your tripod will get caked in mud and soil in no time.

 

[aspenx]

How about bringing the 50mm + Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8? If you had a telephoto prime, I'd recommend that over the 50mm.

 

[darkhorse00]

Thanks all for your advise. I guess I will bring a tokina 11-16mm and 35mm on my coming Gunung Stong trip.

 

[ziploc]

Thanks all for your advise. I guess I will bring a tokina 11-16mm and 35mm on my coming Gunung Stong trip.

Ah Gunung Stong. Sunrise at Lovers' Rock. I was lucky enough to get a sunrise with sea of clouds beneath when I went there 8 years ago, hope you'll have the same luck too. The 11-16 is ok if you decided to bring it along, but I would say your 18-105 (or 17-50 if you need wider aperture) is a better choice than the 35. That's because I would prefer the versatility of a wide to mid tele zoom over the f/1.8, which you can cover with your built-in flash/higher ISO. Furthermore, I find a sun with a UWA or 50mm (your 35mm x 1.5) would be too tiny for my likings. Cheers and have fun.

 

[darkhorse00]

Thanks ziploc. Will try out 11-16 n 18-105 instead. (looks like the range 105mm will come useful @ bahar base camp waterfall too) Looking forward to that sunrise again. Haha.

 

[Vulpix0r]

Yeah definitely do not bring too much gear with you. Quite often you will be bogged down by the weight.

 

[Reportage]

might want to check the weather as the D90 isnt exactly rain resistant and the humidity more then often not beneficial to electronic gadgets.

just in case might want to bring along a weather resistant PNS.

myself, an 18-200 + 18-55 as backup lens...but then if i can afford the weight, a macro lens + flash would be nice to bring as well.

 

[jaRv1s]

18-105mm + good tripod would do... nothing in the forest gonna move fast enough though...

forget about the flash for the animals... even SB-900 won't have enough power most of the time... unless you're going to buy the better beamer... 50mm not long enough... 105mm too slow... and you don't have budget for longer lens let's just forget it...

11-16mm is a rather good choice too... but i would choose 10-20mm because it's cheaper and wider... although saying so... i think having 18-105mm is quite the best choice (no need to change lens) as you'll be able to zoom out to 105mm if something is going on far away and you can't run to reach in time...

 

[darkhorse00]

Yeah definitely do not bring too much gear with you. Quite often you will be bogged down by the weight.

Yup Vulpix0r. Weight is my concerns. Food will be my main load as I will be staying up there for 2 days.

might want to check the weather as the D90 isnt exactly rain resistant and the humidity more then often not beneficial to electronic gadgets.

just in case might want to bring along a weather resistant PNS.

myself, an 18-200 + 18-55 as backup lens...but then if i can afford the weight, a macro lens + flash would be nice to bring as well.

Yes. Thanks. You remind me of waterproofing my camera. It is quite humid up there. I am more interested in capturing our trekking experience. Not going to shoot animals or insects. Will be carrying lowepro off trail 1. Cannot afford too much camera gear.

18-105mm + good tripod would do... nothing in the forest gonna move fast enough though...

forget about the flash for the animals... even SB-900 won't have enough power most of the time... unless you're going to buy the better beamer... 50mm not long enough... 105mm too slow... and you don't have budget for longer lens let's just forget it...

11-16mm is a rather good choice too... but i would choose 10-20mm because it's cheaper and wider... although saying so... i think having 18-105mm is quite the best choice (no need to change lens) as you'll be able to zoom out to 105mm if something is going on far away and you can't run to reach in time...

Thanks for ur recommendation too. Will be bringing my 18-105mm Flash will not be necessary. (Guess the built-in flash shld be sufficient??) Not bringing tripod. Guess nothing much to see @ base camp either @ night. 11-16 should performed better in low-light conditions than 10-20mm?

 

[jaRv1s]

Thanks for ur recommendation too. Will be bringing my 18-105mm Flash will not be necessary. (Guess the built-in flash shld be sufficient??) Not bringing tripod. Guess nothing much to see @ base camp either @ night. 11-16 should performed better in low-light conditions than 10-20mm?

if you don't wanna bring tripod i guess you have to live with high ISO... and bring Tokina 11-16mm alone would do... since you'll need f/2.8 with high ISO to handhold... 18-105mm bright daylight still useful... but need to make sure got enough shutter speed...

by the way... if you're bringing tripod... you can do star trial shots at night... not something you can shoot in the city...

 

[Verticoastro]

I will only bring a 20mm and a 50mm