what lens to use taking pictures of the Grand Canyon?

I am going to the Grand Canyon of course will be taking pictures.

What lens would be best for this? I have a Canon Rebel Film

camera.

The EF 17-40 f/4L would be a good choice.

the best one is probably a canon one so it fits nicely onto the camera....or a sigma, i hear they make canon mounts too...

Thanks!

I would take ALL of them :)

 

What you have now?

I have a promaster 70-300 and the lens that came with my rebel.

rent one of those 17-40's and take all your lenses and take pictures with all of them because you might not be going back so-soon.

I think you would want to use the 50 1.8 for the grand canyon. this normal lens is the mid point of everything you want to do.

You must have a wide one, 20mm is about perfect but 24mm could do. But don't disregard a tele, also usefull to isolate parts of the great scene (something like 200mm). Zooms are fine if they deliver at these focals. This is the kind of environnement where close to 'normal' (35-105mm) won't be much help.

I'd say take a 180 degree fisheye lens. Then you'd only need to take two pictures.

 

*Click!*

 

... turns around ...

 

*Click!*

Kathy

 

A wide angle lens is a very good Idea.You just can not understand the scale of the place unless you are there . A wide angle will let you put something in the forground to show the scale. If you are shooting B&W, a good orange filter will add contrast and darken the skies. If shooting color a nice film that has good saturation (I use Kodak elite extra color) which will bring out the different colors. Be sure to get up early and stay late for the best light.Its usally windy on the rim, a sturdy tripod or fast film with help keep the motion down. We have several tourist a year fall into the canyon,and I know a photographer who used to work at the paper who dropped a Hasselblad over a cliff ,down 200 ft to rocks below.It was not his best day.Have a great trip.<div></div>

I see you have gotten several humerous although not very helpful replies. The Grand

Canyon is a VERY large National Park and you could very easily find things to shoot with

just about any lens you have access to. The wide angle lenses will allow you to take in

vast scenics, but these often are hard to pull off and really capture the beauty of the park.

Your promaster lens haas a wide range and you could certainly find compositions that

would make you glad you brought it along. If you are considering buying a lens or two

before your trip then i suggest you consider a Canon 50 1.8, it is an inexpensive lens with

very desireable color and contraast performance. The 17-40 F4L lens that several people

have mentioned is also a beautiful performing lens, but at a price that probably exceeds

what you pad for your rebel and promaster lens combined. Still if it is within your price

range it would be a very good lens for the Grand Canyon and beyond. Quality lenses make

all the difference.

oh just get the 50mm, if you want wider, back up more, if you want tele, go forward more. just dont fall off the cliff.

Kathy,</p>I agree with the suggestion(s) that you really can't go wrong because you will find something worth shooting with any lens you might have with you. But since you're asking for ideas, I'm going to suggest the Canon 28-135 IS lens. This will afford you some versatility (without having to change lenses), which I think you'd find to be very convenient, and the image stabilization will correct for camera shake (such as might be caused by the wind, as suggested in a previous response) and allow you to take pictures in lower light. Also, as Canon lenses go, it's not very expensive and is generally considered to be a very good consumer lens. --Russ

I agree with the post above that 17-40L properly cost too much for a rebel film body. I would consider getting a low cost used 28mm to suplement the lens that you already have. 28mm is like 17mm in a digital body anyway and a good one may yield result comparable to a top quality ultra wide zoom (some may say better even). A good used EF28mm/2.8 is about ~$120-$130. One other alternative is to get a used manual Tamron 28mm/2.5 with a pentax (M42) screw mount and a M42 to EOS adaptor. With some time, you may find one (like I did, lens plus mount to EOS) for less than $70.

 

Hope this help

I find funny that people say L lenses are overkill on rebel bodies and then other people say that you got to put money on lenses and not bodies...

 

Sweet paradox

Kathy.. you will certainly need a wide angle there.. 17-40L is pretty expensive, I would recommend you a 24f/2.8.. it is much cheaper, good performer and pretty light too.. performance/cost it is one of the best lenses...

 

:-)) though that 180deg fisheye suggestion was good.. I never though I could cover 360deg with just two shots..

 

Enjoy your trip..

Kathy, a couple of thoughts on this. First, no matter what lens you take, you're not going to be taking any pictures that haven't been done before. So the point of your taking pictures is for you to have fun, and you're the only one that can say what fun is for you.

 

If you're happy with the lenses you have, take them, and you won't necessarily need anything else.

 

Personally, I like wide angle lenses, and I have done a lot of hiking taking only a 24mm lens (a Sigma one, in my case). If you don't just haul a whole suitcase full of lenses, you'll always be seeing shots that could have been done better with something else. (If you carry ONLY a wide angle lens, you're guaranteed to see some distant eagles!)

 

One thing I like to do with wide angle lenses is try to get objects of interest in the foreground with the scenery in the background. Example: Flowers or cactus very near the camera, the canyon in the background. Wide angle lenses work best for this due to the apparent increased depth of field.

 

It would help, if you get a new lens, to go shoot quite a few shots with it before you go on your trip. You can get carried away with what you see through the viewfinder and take a lot of crappy shots before you realize they may not look that neat later on. With wide-angle lenses, it looks neat when you look through the viewfinder because you can see how much is taken in, but that effect doesn't translate into the picture. Especially with a new wide angle lens, it may help to know what happens when you shoot into the sun, know to watch out for your shadow in pictures looking the other way, know that some filters may vignette, etc. A couple of rolls shot at your local semi-scenic spot beforehand may save you some grief.

If you can't afford to buy, then do look into renting a lens or 4 before you go. Though the $70 50mm f/1.8 should be an easy purchase :)

 

And bring a tripod.

Kathy, you didn't say whether you were going INTO the canyon. If you are, is it hiking or on a mule? If on a mule, try to minimize or avoid lens changes. I once dropped a camera from a mule into the canyon, fortunately just a Brownie Hawkeye, fixed it with electrical tape. If hiking, you might not want to lug a tripod. Unless you are staying in there overnight, you will not really need a fast lens, as low-light situations are not likely to be your biggest challenge; blazing sun might get to you, though. Stephen's advice seems excellent.

maybe you would consider renting a medium format for your trip? just think, HUGE PRINTS on your wall !

<i>I find funny that people say L lenses are overkill on rebel bodies and then other people say that you got to put money on lenses and not bodies...<p>

Sweet paradox

</i>

<p>

I don't see anything like a paradox here. The former are simply idiots.

No matter what lens you decide to use, make sure you take a good polarizing filter

(circular since your Rebal is AF), since that will help to bring out the colors in the

landscape and help to cut the atmospheric haze somewhat.

Here's what I'd bring:

 

1 - Super Wide Zoom (either 16-35L f/2.8 or 17-40L f/4)

2 - Wide Primes (14mm, 20mm, 24mm, or 28mm)

3 - Filters (ND, Polarizer, and Infrared or other)

4 - lens hoods

 

Pick lenses that are f/4 or faster- f/2.8 is expensive, but ideal for getting the most detail out of your RAW captures.

 

Filters will be a lifesaver as you cannot predict the atmospherics on and around the GC--stuff like fog, haze, humidity, glare, etc. These all can make getting the 'perfect' shot more difficult. Definitely make sure you have lens hoods and polarizers for each of your lenses for those bright and sunny days.

 

Have a great time and happy shooting!

What Stephen H said. The 28-135mm IS USM is a very good, versatile and reasonably affordable lens for what you're planning, IMO. It should serve you well later. I don't know how it stacks up against your Promaster. As far as low light, there are huge areas of shade, such as under huge cliffs and rocks and in the forest. You may want a faster lens and/or film when you get out of the stark sunlight into the shadows.

 

You may or may not make a photo someone else has made, but what you make will be yours, not theirs, recording your memories as seen through your eyes. That's a worthy objective, IMO.

 

If L glass is too expensive and you want a wide angle, you might try the Canon 20-35mm f3.5-4.5. I like it because it's good enough for many things and very small and light. The 50mm f/1.8 is light and sharp. The 28-135 IS tends to be my walkaround lens though. Have a great trip and welcome to Beautiful Arizona!

 

Michael Ging: Great photo. (As always!)