Urban vacations are simple...street lens...maybe a wide angle...that's it. Keep it small.
Don't forget to experience your vacation rather than recording one.
Jruble wrote:
Good Afternoon,
I will be traveling to Prague next month (Oct. 2022). I will take my Nikon Z6ii. Looking for recommendations for the best travel lens (or lenses).
Thank you
I was in Prague in 2019. I brought 14-30 and 24-70 lenses. Here is a picture with my 14-30 lens early in the morning when it was less crowded. Have a great trip.
I am always intrigued by a question that begins with, “what lens should I take to (name the city or country)”?
I have never felt the need to debate which lenses I should take based on a specific city. I carry the same lens selection when visiting Prague, Rome or Chicago. The only consideration I ponder is whether the trip may include specific situations that would warrant a particular lens. For example, on a recent cruise in Norway, I knew I would be shooting puffins from a small boat so I brought my 80-400 even though it only left the cabin on that one excursion. Same with a Patagonia trip that included a day shooting penguins in Patagonia. I pack what I am comfortable carrying regardless of the locale. On the other hand, if I were in Inverness without my 400mm (which I seldom pack on a city trip) and Nessie popped her head out, I’d kick myself.
I don't like redundancy, or I'd suggest the 24-120. (If I was going, that would be my only lens.) That said, your 24-70 will take 90% of your photos, regardless of your other lens choices. You may not even need to get another lens. If you want wider on occasion, just do the pan-stitch maneuver.
If you want a Nikon Z mount S lens, I would get the 24-120mm f4 as an all purpose zoom lens. It is a full frame lens. I would add a 20mm prime like the Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 20mm f/1.8G ED Lens that you would use with the FTZ adapter. Or a Z mount zoom lke the 14-24 or 14-30mm if you budget can handle it.
When I was in Prague, I used a Nikon 24-85mm AF-S on my D810 and my 20mm prime.
zug55
Loc: Naivasha, Kenya, and Austin, Texas
nervous2 wrote:
If I could only choose one, it would be the 16-50, but I would be tempted to take the 18-140 too.
OP is using a full-frame mirrorless camera. You are recommending lenses that work well for APS-C DSLR cameras. I have used the 18-140mm for years on my Nikon D7100--it is a decent lens but not outstanding.
Jruble wrote:
Good Afternoon,
I will be traveling to Prague next month (Oct. 2022). I will take my Nikon Z6ii. Looking for recommendations for the best travel lens (or lenses).
Thank you
On my last trip (to S. California), I took my Z6, 14-30 f4 and 40 f2. I wanted to travel light, wasn’t planning to photograph any wildlife or any subject matter requiring a telephoto lens. 90% of the shots taken with the 14-30.
Not sure what your photographic interests are (architecture, street, food, etc), but hope this helps.
Stephen
Jruble wrote:
Good Afternoon,
I will be traveling to Prague next month (Oct. 2022). I will take my Nikon Z6ii. Looking for recommendations for the best travel lens (or lenses).
Thank you
I was in Prague for a week, and the bulk of my photos were in the 24-80mm range. I took about 5% at a wider focal length, and 20% in the 80-280mm range. The 24-70 f4 would handle 70% of my shots, and the 24-200 would handle 95% of my shots. If you are willing to stitch panoramas, then the 24-200 would handle everything except the lowest light shots. I did use some prime lenses for a concert and some portrait sessions, but the Z6ii handles high ISO well and the 24-200 could be used for that (although I would use an 85mm f1.8 for those shots). It all depends on what you shoot, of course. I tend to mix work and travel, so I bring a few extras lenses for that.
I definitely would not limit myself to the 24-70, however. There are a lot of interesting architectural elements that warrant a telephoto lens. And there are very few reasons to try for shallow DOF.
At any rate, my ideal kit would be a 14-30 f4, 24-200 f4-6.3, and 85mm f1.4. Usually I bring a 35mm f1.8 for art museums, but I didn't shoot any in Prague. So those three lenses would cover the city. And a light travel tripod for low light and pano shots (that's me...I like to use a tripod and the Sirui T-025X is ideal).
I’ve been there once. I concur with the notion of having a wide angle lens on hand. In my case it was very helpful. I did not have occasion to use a long lenses.
I also have a few recommendations. First, consider a side trip to the Sedlec Ossuary in Kutna Hora. The entire interior of the church is made of human skeletons. Interesting.
Pilsner Urquel brewery is close by car.
I took a walking photo tour with Johnny Muracky. Decent enough. He did get me to some rooftops I would not normally have found. And he like using tripods with ND filters in the square with very long exposure times to essentially wipe out all vision of people walking around. In retrospect I would have cut down the times and had more blue of people walking showing movement. I borrowed a tripod from him. If interested pm me and In will try to find the contact.
As I recall there is also a side trip to Dresden whiz we did not take. Given the significance of the city inWW2 it might be interesting.
I think we did some walking / food tours as well. There may be a “freedom” tour where you can learn a bit more about the Czech Republic’s fight for freedom from the USSR.
Watch the movie, “Anthropoid” before you go. Then visit the church in Prague where the freedom fighters (against Nazis) were finally killed. It’s walkable from the main square. An important part of history. Czechs are very proud of this history.
I know you asked about lenses but felt this might help as well.
Last time I was in Prague was a couple of decades ago, back in film/SLR days. For what it's worth, I carried a 35-70 zoom as walk around, plus a 70-210 zoom for "details". As I remember, the draft Budvar lager was exceptional.
[quote=traderjohn]These are things I do not understand. You have a camera and a variety of lenses. The same lens/lenses you have used in the past will be fine in any city or other environment that you have taken pictures of in the past. There is no special, Prague, Athens, Rome, or any other city lens. It is just another location different name.[/quote
You are correct that I have a variety of lenses. What I do not have is the luxury of taking my arsenal of lenses. I live in Florida and mostly photograph birds in flight and sunrises at the beach. Neither of these scenarios gives me any insight into what I can expect in a European city.
Thank you for the information! I would LOVE to do a photo tour. This is a company trip so I'm not sure how much free time I'm going to have. I'm afraid most of my photos are going to be taken quickly as we are on our scheduled excursions. I'll know more after our pre-trip meeting tomorrow. Any information you can provide is greatly appreciated. Joy
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