Robin54 wrote:
I have Nikon D40 with 18-55 mm lens and 55-200 mm lens. I am going on a trip in August to San Francisco..Sonoma valley taking Amtrak to Seattle then Alaskan tour...I am considering up grading to Nikon 7100 .. My question what lens..the lens I have are they interchangeable with 7100 if so I don't want to purchase bundle with same lens...for the trip would the 18-200 be enough plus not too heavy..that way I would not have to worry about changing. Thanks in advance for your comments!!
What to do with the camera and lenses may depend on your expectations with the "Alaskan tour", what ever that is...
The simple way is indeed a D7100 and an 18-200mm lens. No need to ever be changing lenses, and you carry what you need in one hand.
Less money would be buy the D7100, and take both the D40 and the new camera. Use one lens on each. Not as convenient, but saves the cost of the 18-200mm lens.
However, if your Alaskan tour includes perhaps Denali Park, and any intension of getting wildlife photos, change everything. Think about a Tamron 150-600mm instead of the 18-200mm. Take both cameras and always have both available with the two most likely to be used lenses. In the park, the wide angle for landscapes and the long zoom for wildlife. But if you aren't into wildlife at all, there probably is no need for anything longer than 200mm.
And all that said... I'll give you my standard rant about "touring" Alaska. This is one really big place, with more diversity than you can imagine. There is no way to see anything other than a very small portion. I think most tourist make a horrible mistake in choosing what to see and where to tour. The Highway System is the part of Alaska most similar to the Lower-48. Go for an 800 mile loop close to home, and you'll see just as much and it won't cost nearly the same.
Or you can see the Alaska that isn't the same. And given the cost of just getting here, that seems like a smarter idea too! When you get to Anchorage consider how close it is to Alaska... Only one airplane ride away! And Fairbanks... that one ride is shorter and costs less.
Go to Bethel, Unalakleet, Nome, Kotzebue or Barrow. Or if you are brave, Aniak, McGrath, Anaktuvuk Pass and Kaktovik are all really cool places. I do highly recommend Barrow as the easiest to visit and at least as unique as the others; not because I live here, but rather I live here because that is true. Barrow is an all day every day adventure!