Joel Stuart

Hi all,

I will be taking my first trip to Bermuda in May and would love to know your ideas about lens choice. I shoot with a D700 and want to travel very light, perhaps one lens.

I have the following;
Tokina 17-35
Nikkor 50mm 1.8
Nikkor 35-70
Tokina 100mm 2.8
Tamron 70-300

From the pics I have seen, the landscape is the most beautiful to photograph. I am thinking of the 17-35 to use as my lens of choice. I want to be able to capture the beautiful beaches and overall landscape.

I would love to hear your ideas!

Thank you
Joel

PixelStan77 Loc: Vermont/Chicago

Joel, Have a great trip. Landscape is amazing as well as street photography. I have fond memories of my trip to Bermuda. I would take the Tokina 17-35 and Tamron 70-300. Have fun.
I stayed at the Castle Harbor hotel that was sold to Rosewood properties and demolished and rebuilt. It is a chaming area.

https://www.rosewoodhotels.com/en/bermuda/offers/more-rosewood?gclid=CjwKCAjw1dzkBRBWEiwAROVDLFk31e7l7J-YVnrvMZBct1nE_LfAaADz53zGr9GixUfGfHzVOB-brxoCWwsQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Bermuda is beautiful, and I think the 17-35 or 35-70 would be fine. You will be close more than you will be far away - Hamilton, St Georges, cars, people, ships, scenery.

repleo Loc: Boston

Joel, it has been many years since I was in Bermuda so I am sure some things have changed. What I recall most is that the island is pretty well covered by neat single family bungalows with their white washed stone slab roofs. (Check Google Satellite maps to see what I mean). Not a lot of open spaces and most of those are golf courses. Many of the best beaches are dominated by hotels and resorts but I think they may have public access. We rented a moped and travelled from end to end of the island. Views from the roads are mostly obscured by the amazing tropical shrubbery, so there were few locations to get an overview of the island and it is mostly over a sea of white roofs.

Main photo attractions were Hamilton with its pretty wrought iron balconies along the waterfront, the old Naval Shipyard at the West end and the historic district of St George at the East end. There are several interesting beach coves with rock arches etc along the South side of the island. I suggest going overland out to the Naval Yard and taking the ferry back to Hamilton. We were able to bring our moped on the ferry.

For me, the main attraction of Bermuda was the people. They are very courteous and polite and the island exudes an air of civility. We were there in early April. The atmosphere of the island may be completely different during the Cruise ship season.

If I was going back, I would bring my 24-105 or my 24-70 if I still had it. For you, I would suggest bringing both the 17-35 and the 35-70 or just the 50mm. I can't think of anything you couldn't capture with the 50mm and a pair of feet.

Enjoy and post pics when you get back.

Joel Stuart

Thank you ALL so much for taking the time to reply!

I would love to bring a tripod for evening shots but I don’t think my wife would approve..:)

Joel Stuart

Interesting. I was thinking about taking the 50nm only

AndyH Loc: Massachusetts and New Hampshire

I'll second all of these suggestions, and especially the endorsement of the residents. My son and I went there some twenty years ago, and spent quite a bit of time meeting people - even went home with a guy to have dinner with his family. I loved the old naval yard. There are a couple of parks that have some very interesting flora. I don't know if you can still do it these days (high security) but we rented a small boat with an outboard and cruised around Hamilton harbor - which was one of the trip's highlights.

Have a great time - it's a wonderful destination.

Andy

Joel Stuart

Thank you so much

ELNikkor

35-70, (+17-35 if you can swing it)

cameraf4 Loc: Delaware

Ouch! You will probably get more mileage from the 17-35, but I found myself zooming in often when I was there. Maybe two small lenses would do you like they do me. IMHO, let EBAY hook you up with a 28-200mm Nikkor G. Very small and light but quite sharp and snappy.

Papa j Loc: Cary NC

Great choice👍👍👍

Joel Stuart

Great ideas from all of you!

bobmcculloch Loc: NYC, NY

I did Bermuda in the 70's, Argus C-3, so 50mm, all walking, stayed on one of those Great Gray Yachts, lousy accommodations but the price was right, wish I could find those slides , I'd take the 17-35 and enjoy the place, get away from the tourist areas, Bob.
BTW beer prices one block off the strip in the locals bar were less than half back then.

Mariegn

Hi, Joel!
I have been going to Bermuda every summer for the past 23 years. In fact, I will be going again this June. I have a website where I post all my photos from there, which is located at https://www.eslconnect.com/bermudaphotos/index.html You will get an idea of the scenery and types of shots that are available.
I always angst over which lens to bring since I stay at the beach and I don’t want to be worried about lugging around heavy equipment near sand and water. I only have a Nikon D90 that I always bring. I have brought several different lenses over the years, and I have found that a zoom lens is best for my purposes. On most trips I have brought either my Nikkor 18-105mm or my Tamron 18-270mm. In addition to one of those, I have also brought either my Tamron 90mm, my Nikkor 70-30mm, my Nikkor35mm, or my Sigma 10-20mm wide angle lens. However, I always ended up taking only a few shots with those secondary lenses out of over 600 shots, and it wasn’t worth the inconvenience of the extra weight, worry, etc. On my last trip in June 2018, I only brought my 18-105, which made things much easier. Finally, I always pack my lightweight monopod because it’s a must for sunrise and/or sunset shots.
Good luck and have a wonderful trip! Bermuda is a wonderful and friendly country.

(By the way, if you look at my photos, the pictures from the first 8 years or so were taken with a Nikon Coolpix8800. The rest were with my D90.)

camerapapi Loc: Miami, Fl.

I do not know of your photographic skills but I will tell you how I would proceed in this case if I was the person traveling to Bermuda and my opinion is based on the lenses you now own.
I agree with you, the Tokina 17-35 f4 will be a great choice. From all the images I have seen made with this lens I have to conclude that it is a great performing lens. Tokina lenses are mostly metal and are well built. They can last forever. I particularly like the 35mm setting for many of my landscapes images.
I tend to travel with a tele zoom for those cases where I need more reach and for the occasional portrait so the Tamron 70-300 should fit the bill. If you are going to be shooting in low light the 50mm lens will be useful depending on the subject otherwise I do not believe it will be necessary to carry it. I like to use the 50mm lens and I use it often but you are saying you want to travel light.
I bet the majority of your shots for this trip will come from the Tokina lens.