Equipment What lens to take travelling

Hi guys, I've got a holiday coming up shortly to Spain and Italy, mostly cities like Barca, Rome, Venice.

I'm taking my DSLR (nikon 3200) but wondering what lenses I should take/buy?

I have an 18-55, a 50, and am considering buying a tamron 18-270 (£330)

What would you do?

Thanks!

 

Depends on what kinds of things you like to shoot, and whether you need/want a fast aperture.
I'd say a 35mm lens is pretty essential, the AF-S DX 35mm f/1.8 is meant to be great value for money, but with 35mm vs 50mm it really comes down to preference, the 50mm will have shallower depth of field. Also I'd take the 18-55mm so that you have the wider end covered. A decent telephoto is good to have as well, say something like this 75-300mm. Steer clear of ultrawide to telephoto lenses, they'll be unsharp, full of chromatic aberration and have less contrast.

 

I took a bunch of lenses on holiday. Ended up using a Sigma 18-50 f/2.8 mostly, followed by a Pentax 18-135 WR.

 

I think it really depends exactly where you'll be going/what you'll be doing, and most importantly what kind of photos you like taking/want to try to take.

 

Borrowed a friends 18-135 last time I went. Worse IQ than the 17-50 Tamron that broke the day before I left, or the 70-200L, but I wouldn't have changed lenses half the time and the weight would have annoyed me over 20 miles of walking each day. The best lens is the one you have with you

 

Standard zoom is all you need. I'm just back from holiday and the only lens I used was my 24-85.

 

Recently picked up a secondhand-mint Canon 24-105 F4L for just this purpose (Trip to Texas in 2 weeks!).

 

Get a standard zoom. 24-85, 18-55, or 18-135. IQ is not as great but again weight can get annoying. I just got back from Russia toting around my D7000 and 17-35 f/2.8 D and i can tell you that it does get heavy quickly

 

Well the 18-55 kit lens is light and pretty good.
I personally love the 35mm 1.8, but if I could take just one lens, it's just not wide enough, so I'd take the kit lens.
Of course if you find an 18-200 you like you're set.

 

I'd go on ebay and get yourself a nice used 24-70/2.8 sigma lens.

You won't regret it, it's a lot better than the tamron lens and you will probably get it a few quid cheaper

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In an Urban environment the 18-55 should be fine, most things you'll want to shoot will be close to you so the wide end will be more use than a zoom.

 

Fantastic lens, holiday in Edinburgh, Paris and along England South coast all using this single lens. Took 2 others but they were rarely taken out of the bag.

For a prime, get 35mm equivalent. If I can only get 1 prime, I'd get this....... in fact I did with Fujifilm x100 I'll be going on holiday to China end of this year travelling mostly with this camera and 35mm equivalent lens. Only taking the DSLR out of the hotel for specific photography trips.


For travelling, take the least amount of stuff you can get away with. You want to work to get that photo while enjoying the moment, not work to carry those gear.

 

I'm tempted to go with just the 50mm prime....but wish it didnt scale up to 85mm on a digital....

 

Nice for portraits but I think you might find it annoying when wanting to shoot something wider like a landscape or building.

I would take the zoom and pack the 50mm prime anyway (its very small and light)

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Ok, I guess it's decided then, will bring the Kit lens + the 50, but will probably end up sticking with the 50. I'll save up for the 18-200....

Worth picking up a flash gun and taking that?

 

18-200 while nice zoom, usually have terrible image quality. I had the Nikkor 18-200, very nice build quality and image quality at lower focal length but it was terrible from 100mm onwards. Might as well buy a 16-85mm which has better image quality all around.

I personally dislike any use of on-camera flash, except for fill flash during sunny days. With that in mind, I don't think it's worth packing a flashgun for holiday.

If you've got money to spare, have you considered getting the 35mm f2 or Sigma 30mm? They are slightly more expensive but the focal length are infinitely more useful than 50mm on APS-C sensor.

 

If you want a nice range of high quality lenses I would recommend this for your bag

http://item.mobileweb.ebay.co.uk/viewitem?sbk=1&nav=SEARCH&itemId=161086157338

http://item.mobileweb.ebay.co.uk/viewitem?sbk=1&nav=SEARCH&itemId=271259959096

http://item.mobileweb.ebay.co.uk/viewitem?sbk=1&nav=SEARCH&itemId=281115167611

That setup will cover you for just about any eventuality, they are all the same aperture through the lens as well so when you zoom in and out there is no faffing around with settings all over again.

If you wanted a macro as well you could go for

http://item.mobileweb.ebay.co.uk/viewitem?sbk=1&nav=SEARCH&itemId=310725249995

With regards to flashes I use sb910s but I've used the 600s as well and they are excellent

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Hence the popularity of the 35mm f1.8...scales to a "nifty fifty" on your camera.

I've got the SB200...it's really tiny, way better than the built in one, and of course swivels to the ceiling.

 

My understanding was that the 50 was nifty because of the quality it produces at the price, and less to do with the focal length?

 

This is what I bought, and really havent looked back, apart from an ultra wideangle on a cropped body.