revhen Loc: By the beautiful Hudson

Some churches also sell slides that can easily be scanned in and post processed. I sympathize with those churches that need to sell pictures. These ancient buildings are terribly expensive to maintain and keep in reasonable repair.

seniormomentnw Loc: Seattle

I just did a quick check online about photography inside the great churches. I suggest that you check online for any particular cathedral you wish to visit. Here is a sample: St. Paul's-no, Westminster Abbey-no, Salisbury and York Minster-yes, except during services, Durham-no, but they offer regular photography evenings. Having visited many cathedrals and other great churches, I go to be inspired by them. i suggest not rushing it. One does not need to be of the faith to be inspired. Some of my very favorites are St. Paul's in London, Notre Dame in Paris, and Chartres, outside of Paris, but I have never been to one anywhere that failed to inspire me.

LoneRangeFinder Loc: Left field

Unless you have a wider angle lens, you should plan on shooting multiple images with the idea of stitching them later. Otherwise, you’ll not be wide enough to capture the full impact of interiors. If you have a chance, drive North out of London to Lincoln and to York. Both of these are magnificent. A chance to try some HDR and some back-lit stained-glass. Most of mine are on Kodachrome... from the mid-1980s.

jdupps

An inexpensive manual focus fisheye such as the Rokinon 8mm would be a good second lens especially for interiors. Look at the small RRS tripods for use where normal tripods are banned. Use it as a brace on your chest.

RolandDieter

The religion does not seem to affect whether they allow photography or not. I've been in Catholic, Protestant and even Muslim places of worship throughout the Mediterranean and Europe, and some of each allow photos and some do not. ALMOST 100% DO NOT ALLOW FLASH!! Some have you pay a fee to take pictures, which I have no trouble doing -- it costs them a lot to maintain these buildings up for our enjoyment. Very few allow tripods; some allow a monopod. There are very interesting details in most old cathedrals that would require a telephoto, although if you have the resolution you can crop. However, most shots will be wide angle to normal. I have found wider than 24 to be very useful, but carrying a lot of gear is a pain. Outdoors, your 24mm may not be wide enough to get the full cathedral into the frame. Answer: I took 12 shots, stitched them, and then straightened the lines in Photoshop. When you take shots of statuary do not just take frontal shots. The best shots are usually at an angle. Also, taking ann angles shot behind and to the side can give a neat shot of what the stature is looking at (assuming there is something of interest where the face is looking).

reverand

You'll probably find yourself using your zoom at the 24mm end, and you'll have to deal with the fact that the cathedral interiors are dark. Also, the contrast between light coming in the windows and the darkness of the interior will give you a contrast range that's difficult too handle, if windows take up a lot of the picture frame. Remember that when you're composing images. You may have to learn HDR technology for some shots, but beware: unless you get special permission in advance (as a pro working on a project), you will not be allowed to use a tripod. Indeed, in some Cathedrals (Canterbury, Eli), you have to pay a fee to take pictures.

I took many cathedral pictures back in the old film days, and found myself constantly leaning against pillars and chairs while shooting at 1/15th of a second. About one out of three shots came out sharp enough. You'll need image stabilization, and probably a higher ISO if you want to shoot around f/5.6

Bob Smith Loc: Banjarmasin

I recently went to Barcelona and took a 18-135 which did more or less all I needed inside and outside the cathedral. I met a lovely American couple, the gentleman had the same equipment as me but he had a 10-24 but found it a little restricted as there were lots of interesting things that were out of the question with the wide angle.

timcc Loc: Virginia

I agree with those who suggest researching the cathedrals you plan to visit beforehand for any restrictions re photography.

As a general rule, do not plan on using either a flash or a tripod. In my experience, most cathedrals and museums bar either or both.

I've found that a super-wide angle (10-16 or so) is very useful for interiors (as well as narrow streets and alleys). If the lens is fast enough, you can usually brace yourself against a column, pew, or whatever is handy to minimize shake. They can be expensive -- you may want to rent one for the trip. With a super-wide angle you can expect some key stoning (leaning verticals), but if you shoot wide enough, they can be corrected in post processing without losing the features you want to capture.

donsyler

I used my 18-135mm lens and found it to be perfect in almost every situation. By the way, do not miss Ely Cathedral and Salisbury Cathedral. Wonderful and I hope you have a great time.

sirlensalot Loc: Arizona

Went to a few in Scotland. They were all open the public. They did not allow tripods. You may get away with a monopod. Would not count on being able to use a flash. Unless you are near a window, the interiors can be pretty dark. A fast lens is your friend. That said, you should do well with your gear. Definitely practice before you go. In all cases, would advise to avoid automatic settings on the camera. Some of the graveyards are pretty interesting also.

cambriaman Loc: Central CA Coast

Many times places that rules against tripods have no problem with monopods. You can use the monopod like a walking stick and they assume you need walking support and don't challenge you. It's worth a try. I have never been challenged for carrying my monopod. BTW I always just carry my camera (and maybe one suitable alternative lens in my pocket) and not my bag with all the lenses and accessories when visiting churches (and museums). As to the lens choice, wider is better. There is little use for a long lens unless there are some architectural details way high up that you know you want to image.

Charles 46277 Loc: Fulton County, KY

Locally in the Memphis area where I lived a long time, I never had anybody object to going into any church and setting up a tripod when nothing was going on. There was never anybody in there, so they just didn't care. The reason I mentioned Catholics is that they have people coming in all the time seeking spiritual help or prayer, and they don't need photographers taking their picture. I can't recall a single case where anybody came into the Protestant churches on weekdays, and typically in Memphis they were shut and locked anyway. Protestants don't have people living there as Catholics do. But ministers have an office there, and there are often activities for members in other parts of the complex. I went to a big Presbyterian church built with stone in the Gothic manner, and the sanctuary was generally open all day because of all the activities under and around it. You could set up there in the sanctuary to photograph at any time without any trouble unless there was a funeral or a wedding. As for flash, I can't imagine what you would use it for in a big church. It would shatter the ambiance and not reach all around.

Doddy Loc: Barnard Castle-England

Perhaps it was my ugly mug that offended them!!

David in Dallas Loc: Dallas, Texas, USA

I agree with the responses others have given. Take the widest lens you have--your 24-70 zoom will do fine for much of your needs. When I was using 35mm film cameras, my lens was a 28-200mm zoom; with my DX DSLRs I use an 18-200mmVR zoom. You will find some facilities that will not permit photography; most will not allow it during services. Virtually no such facility will allow a flash, and most forbid tripods. Learn to find ways to physically stabilize your camera using what structure is available (columns, pews, tables, etc.) You will probably find that the 24mm setting of your lens is not wide enough to get the shot you want, so take several photos across the scene and join them into a panorama. I did this with 3 photos in the Notre Dame Cathedral of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada:

Notre Dame pano by David Casteel, on Flickr

I also find that I frequently use post-processing to adjust perspective and tilt (I don't always keep the camera level)--inside churches being off-level is particularly obvious on shots down the central aisle, and I prefer to not have the columns inside leaning in at the top. Perspective adjustment may also be helpful for exterior shots, especially those attempting to include the towers (but extreme alterations may be unattractive).

Where photography is prohibited, there may be shops with photos for sale. Be advised that most of those are copyright protected and cannot legally be used on line. If photography is permitted with a fee, I'd pay it--you'll be glad you did later.

Consider practicing in a couple of local churches--start with the one you attend. Practice ways to stabilize the camera for long exposures (1/15 sec or longer). Experiment with how high you can set the ISO and still get good results.

As examples of different focal lengths in use, check out this Album: https://www.flickr.com/photos/8712554@N02/sets/72157635093172322/. (Skip to those of the cathedral.) When you view each photo separately, there is information shown below the image that gives data about camera settings. I think the longest focal length in any of them was 80mm.

Bill Paustian Loc: Sun City, Az

The nikon 24-70 is f/2.8 not 2.4