Deecee

I was at this museum a couple of years ago, it is well worth the visit. I would stick with the 18-140 and the 14-24 and shoot at a high ISO of around 1600. I used a 18-35 almost exclusively. The place is pretty well lit so I didn't use the flash much. This place is awesome, the German sub is definitely worth a visit. Get there early so you can purchase tickets to go inside the sub. The place is huge, it will take you several hours to see it all

skiman Loc: Ventura, CA

The 18-140mm and the 35mm 1.8.

shutterbob Loc: Tucson

My Nikon 17-55 f2.8 goes everywhere that my D7100 does. Fantastic lens for almost anything, including low light such as the Chicago Museum of S&I. With your D7100 and this lens you can crank up the ISO so that you do not need a flash. The times I have been there they have allowed flash, but other people may give you dirty looks if you use one. And I would recommend against a circular polarizer since you will lose at least one stop with most of them. The exception, as stated, would be for items in glass cases. Have fun there. You can spend an entire day and not come close to seeing everything.

dcampbell52 Loc: Clearwater Fl

Great picture of the sub.. Thanks.. I've read Gallery's "Clear the Decks" and "Stand By to Start Engines."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_V._Gallery

The capture of the sub during WWII was the first time since John Paul Jones that the American Nave had boarded and captured an enemy vessel during war.

prayingmantis

I have a several suggestions. I grew up in suburban Chicago and have been to that museum several times but not in over 25 years. My suggestions would apply to any museum or zoo. First to consider is carrying a monopod. There may be situations where you want a moderate depth of field such as you would have at say f/8 or smaller apertures. With modern image stabilization I find I can hand hold a 35mm lens with exposures down to 1/10 of a second. With a monopod you don't have absolute stability as with a full tripod however I think you should be able to get exposures as long as 1/4 second or longer with a monopod. If you shoot ISO of about 1600 and want an aperture of f/8 you will most likely have enough light at 1/4 second. If you use your 18-140 zoom at 140mm you will need a faster shutter speed, probably at 1/20th second which should be easy with the monopod. That lens is a slow lens with a maximum aperture of f/5.6 when zoomed out to 140mm. As a pro photographer I don't travel light and on a shoot like that I would carry my fast prime lenses which are 15mm full frame f/2.8 fisheye, 35mm f/1.4, 50mm f1.4 and 135mm f/1.8. From your list of lenses I would choose the 18mm-140mm and the 14-24mm which I suspect is a sharper lens than the 18mm to 140mm lens. One last suggestion which I always use in situations in which I want to use a very long shutter speed, say one full second indoors hand held. If you are viewing a display which has a glass pane in front of you and you can move up to the glass you can hold your lens with one hand all the way to the front of the lens which usually means on the lens hood. Make sure that a portion of the side of that hand overlaps the lens hood. Then you can place the camera and your hand where you are touching the glass with the edge of your right hand. If your right hand is too far forward it might intrude slightly in the image and you can see that in the viewfinder and correct the position. With that technique I am able to get tack sharp exposures at 2 second which would enable you to take advantage of a lower ISO for less noise in the picture or a very large depth of field, say f/11. When using a very long exposure such as 2 seconds with the technique you want to take a few deep breaths and then inhale until your lungs are half full, then you can shoot.You must avoid breathing during the exposure. Also you should set your white balance at auto as you will encounter a variety of lighting. One last thing. You definitely want to carry the widest lens you have and stabilize your camera to shoot in the U-505 submarine which is a WW2 German submarine which was captured by US forces. You will want a large depth of field and your widest lens to do a good job in there. You will find it a fascinating photo op.

prayingmantis

One thing I forgot to mention is that photos using a flash will not be attractive. The lighting will be flat, there will be objectionable shadows and portions of the subject that are close may be properly exposed while the background will be poorly illuminated. Using available light to shoot will give you the best results. There is however one scenario to watch for that would yield a nice result with an on camera strobe. If you are viewing a display and there is a low ceiling, say 12 feet or less then you might try pointing your flash head upward to bounce off the ceiling. That technique will give you illumination very much like daylight.

Bram boy Loc: Vancouver Island B.C. Canada

did I miss something , you say digital is new to you . so are you coming from
film ? and yet you have a lot of DX lenses , what did you use them on . as you don't want to buy more . I can see that ? I wouldent eather .

Bram boy Loc: Vancouver Island B.C. Canada

I would think you have enough to do the job

NealB Loc: Lowell Indiana

Ordered several filter sizes last night. Thanks

NealB Loc: Lowell Indiana

Yes I purchased all of those lens when I purchased the camera. The wife surprised me with a Nikon AF-S 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5G ED VR lens last night for my birthday.

NealB Loc: Lowell Indiana

No film as close as I ever got was a Brownie for film and a point & shoot digital I bought years ago for use at work. My hobby was muscle cars but due to a life/death experience 2 years ago I can no longer work on the cars. I thought I would give this a shot for a new hobby.

dcampbell52 Loc: Clearwater Fl

I purchased step up rings so that all of my lenses use the same size filter and lens cap.. that way I don't have to purchase the same filters over and over in different sizes.. I do have a high quality clear glass filter (not really a filter but expensive ultra clear) on each lens to protect it.

jcboy3

I shoot micro 4/3, and my favorite museum lenses are a 17mm f/1.8 and 45mm f/1.8. The full frame equivalence is 34mm and 90mm, and for D7100 the equivalence is about 22mm and 60mm.

Most museums don't allow tripods or monopods, so a fast lens is usually better than a zoom.

I do not think a 35mm lens is wide enough for interior shots where positioning is limited. And zooms aren't fast enough for typical dim lighting; especially the Museum of Science and Industry.

I recommend a 24mm f/1.8 lens. The Nikon is prohibitively expensive, but Sigma makes an affordable version. The depth of field is quite good at that focal length, so you can shoot at f/1.8 or f/2.

Museums usually frown on using special equipment, so bring a dark jacket (dark inside and out, a black windbreaker is good) to block reflections. But the wide angle of the lens also means you can press right up against the glass and take pictures without reflections. A solid/rigid lens hood is a must for this.

Or, use a longer lens at an angle while a friend holds the jacket to block reflections (that's one thing I use the 45mm for).

You can also have a friend hold the jacket while you shoot through an arm. A rolled up piece of black construction paper will keep the arm from dropping in front of the lens.

Have fun.

Museum, 17mm f/1.8

(Download)

jefflantzimages Loc: Seattle

museum is wonderful, but don't forget the "egg"/"bean" sculpture , at Millenium Park, especially at night. the chicago skyline reflections are breath taking.