Photo_Buff wrote:
Have been to DC many times, but never with a DSLR. Will be mainly outdoor, Capitol Mall, Arlington, no tripod. Have the triad, 14-24, 24-70, and 70-200, w/ tc 2. Any other siggestions, please?
Looks like your ready to photograph DC. The 14-24 might give great perspectives of the Washington Monument and Vietnam War Memorial, that lens allows you to find unique angles using foreground and background. For instance, shooting the Vietnam War Memorial I would get close to the smallest end of it and lay on the ground to include the whole scar of the memorial. The isolation of the LOST PATROL in the Korean Conflict Memorial could be done nicely with the 70-200 are even the 14-24 or the 24-70.
But I must be truthful here, personally I think your taking some very heavy and expensive gear to the Mall and Arlington. If your not shooting professionally I would suggest the Nikon 18-200. But you did not mention your camera, I am assuming it is a full frame because if it is not then you wasted some money on the big 3 Nikon lenses.
In that case I would use the 18-300 full frame or the new third party wonder, the 18-400 would do everything for you.
Also, on the Mall there are folks that will mark you so to speak because of your gear. You will have to be aware and careful with your gear if you take all three lenses.
Again, the problem is that you will be changing lenses often to get correct perspectives and that could take away from getting the shot you want. When you start worrying about what lens I loose a sense of being one with the environment. That's why on trips it's nice sometimes to limit yourself to one lens. As you move around your subject using one lens can bring your images together quicker and your flow is much more natural.
So, to sum it up, trip photography, in my opinion, is better done with one all purpose lens than three heavy and expensive ones. And, using three lenses gets even more problematic if your in a group, no one wants to wait constantly for you to move along with the group. They may not say it to you, but they are thinking it.
My favorite travel camera is the Sony HX90V with the 24-720 mm Zeiss lens. I have used it on the Mall with great results. And everyone left me alone and I got all the shots I wanted.