Lens suggestions wanted.
Sep 8, 2018 23:06:23 #
Hey guys & gals, I am traveling to Cuba in about a week and I want to do as much picture taking as possible. I'm going to take a art tour that includes museum art, statues, and street art. I wanted to get some opinions about what gear I should take with me. My arsenal includes two dslr bodies, Nikon D200 and D7100. I'm not sure if I should take both bodies since I will also be taking a Nikon Coolpix s9500 p&s camera. My biggest concern is what lenses to take as I want to travel with the minimal amount of gear needed to do some good shooting. My lens arsenal includes Nikon 50mm 1.8 Nikon 18-55mm , Nikon 55-200mm , Tokina 11-16mm 2.8 , Tamron 16-300mm , Tamron 90mm 2.8 macro. I generally use the 18-55mm & 55-200mm when I'm shooting with the D200. I was thinking that the Tokina 11-16 & Tamron 16-300 might be all I need. Any suggestions will be appreciated. Thanks....
Sep 8, 2018 23:26:29 #
I would limit it to the Tamron 16-300. The Tokina is a great lens but is big and heavy. You can always shoot and stitch in post if you need anything wider. Travel light and enjoy yourself. And by all means, take the P&S as well.
Sep 9, 2018 00:13:16 #
rcarol wrote:
I would limit it to the Tamron 16-300. The Tokina is a great lens but is big and heavy. You can always shoot and stitch in post if you need anything wider. Travel light and enjoy yourself. And by all means, take the P&S as well.
Good advice. Thanks!
Sep 9, 2018 06:22:24 #
PVR8 wrote:
Hey guys & gals, I am traveling to Cuba in abo... (show quote)
Bring one DSLR and one compact and the 16-300mm lens, depending its size and weight. You have to decide if this is a photo trip, with allowances made in traveling for taking time to set up and adjust, or if it is a pleasure trip, during which you'll take pictures. If you're on a tour, how much leeway will they allow for your to chance lenses and cameras and change settings. On a tour of China years ago, most people were fast with their photography, but one woman with a DSLR kept everyone behind her waiting while she got the best shot ever taken by a camera.
Sep 9, 2018 08:06:39 #
PVR8 wrote:
Hey guys & gals, I am traveling to Cuba in abo... (show quote)
I am going to offer a completely contrary view based on my 7 trips to Havana for business and photography. For the itinerary you indicated you’ll not need anything close to the 300mm max zoom. You will be indoors so I’d definitely have the 50mm f/1.8 in my pocket. It will also do well for when you’re out on the streets since it is small and discrete and you’ll be able to pre-focus for candids. I’d also take the 11-16 f/2.8 for the wide shots and the 18-55 zoom for outside walking around. Take the D7200 body so you’ll have more latitude if you need to crop in post.
Sep 9, 2018 08:22:11 #
Sep 9, 2018 09:35:00 #
jerryc41 wrote:
Bring one DSLR and one compact and the 16-300mm le... (show quote)
I held up my group for 20 minutes in Iceland to capture this image of a tidal lagoon that no one else saw. I apologized but I’m not sorry.
Sep 9, 2018 11:40:08 #
jaycoffman
Loc: San Diego
rcarol wrote:
I would limit it to the Tamron 16-300. The Tokina is a great lens but is big and heavy. You can always shoot and stitch in post if you need anything wider. Travel light and enjoy yourself. And by all means, take the P&S as well.
I second this. For travel more is less and the Tamron takes good pics and is versatile. Spend you time shooting rather than trying to anticipate equipment needs. A great trip so don't miss it while you're there.
Sep 9, 2018 12:07:17 #
xt2
Loc: British Columbia, Canada
PVR8 wrote:
Hey guys & gals, I am traveling to Cuba in abo... (show quote)
Travel is a pretty exclusive application. I guess it depends if you are travelling for photographing or vacation. Hate say it but this question has been asked & answered many times in the past. Try searching for responses for a full review of what the rest of us think, however, my advice to you in the short-term is to take whatever body and lens/lenses you like the best. You obviously enjoy using many already, so it should be easy to choose your favourites. Have fun!
Sep 9, 2018 13:07:13 #
jerryc41 wrote:
Bring one DSLR and one compact and the 16-300mm le... (show quote)
Thanks Jerry. I am going to do what you suggest but I am also leaning towards taking the Tokina 11-16 also since it's so great for wide angle and interior shots.
Sep 9, 2018 13:10:48 #
Fotomacher wrote:
I held up my group for 20 minutes in Iceland to capture this image of a tidal lagoon that no one else saw. I apologized but I’m not sorry.
That's an awesome shot! It was well worth having to make an apology. Thanks for sharing it..
Sep 9, 2018 13:19:10 #
Thanks to everyone for your input. As was noted, this type of question has been asked previously, but it's nice to have supportive interaction on a personal level. BTW, I changed my tour from the art museums to exploring the old and new Havana. I've decided to take the Tamron 16-300, Tokina 11-16, & the compact p&s. I truly appreciate sharing here!
Sep 9, 2018 13:48:18 #
PVR8 wrote:
That's an awesome shot! It was well worth having to make an apology. Thanks for sharing it..
Thanks very much. I appreciate the feedback.
Sep 9, 2018 15:18:43 #
I use a Tamron 28-300 and love it. It was purchased for my 35mm cameras. I use it 99% of the time. Turn the sharpness up in your camera. I shoot Nikon D700, which is FX. I shot a wedding yesterday over 200 photos and they turned out well. I figure the Tamron 16-300 would be very good. If you like your photos, then it's a good lens.
Sep 9, 2018 16:02:01 #
PVR8 wrote:
Thanks to everyone for your input. As was noted, this type of question has been asked previously, but it's nice to have supportive interaction on a personal level. BTW, I changed my tour from the art museums to exploring the old and new Havana. I've decided to take the Tamron 16-300, Tokina 11-16, & the compact p&s. I truly appreciate sharing here!
I would add the 50 to that. It's tiny, compared to the others, and might be the sharpest lens you own. And it seems to be the only 1.8 lens you have, which will be important at times. Like inside and at night.
FWIW, I've been all over Europe and the Caribbean (nor Cuba, though) and have rarely used my long lenses when wandering the streets. Maybe to get a closeup of a clock high up there or a gargoyle, but that was pretty much it.
Most of the time you want to go wider-- streets are narrow, and the wider view and deeper depth of field make your life easier and your images more interesting.
If you visit any wildlife sanctuaries, yeah, a long lens will be handy.
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